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Catherine Castle

Tag Archives: Talitha the Traveling Skirt

A Writer’s Garden—The Comeback Garden by Becky Van Vleet

19 Thursday Aug 2021

Posted by Catherine Castle in A Writer's Garden, Blog, books, Children's books, Children's Fiction, garden blog series, Guest Authors

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

A Writer's Garden, Becky Van Vleet, children's book, Children's Picture Book, Garden blog, garden pictures, Talitha the Traveling Skirt

Welcome to A Writer’s Garden where writers who are gardeners or just love gardens will be sharing their garden and flower stories, as well as a bit about their writing. Today’s writer/gardener guest is Becky Van Vleet talking about the resilience of nature.

Welcome, Becky.

Every year I look forward to planting my vegetable garden, knowing full well that my husband and I will enjoy the fruits of my labor with fresh salads almost every evening for a period of time. I get so excited when I see my rhubarb wake up after sleeping all winter. I can almost taste the raspberries that will appear later in the summer when my bushes come alive again.

Come April, all my perennials around our whole house show their sleepy heads and inevitably burst forth with all kinds of promises of blooms in the month of May. The spring and summer months invite me to a bright and colorful foliage party every year, and I never miss it, always praising God for his artwork right in my yard.

But this year my yard party not only stalled, but nearly did not happen at all. I was devastated when on May 29 we had one of the worst hail storms I can remember. The afternoon the heavens broke open with hail about the size of golf balls gripped me in fear. For nearly an hour, the sound was deafening as hail pummeled our roof. I feared broken windows, not to mention destruction of all my beautiful plants that had already emerged from their winter slumber, showing great promise of what was to come. I watched this storm for a few minutes from my kitchen window. But I finally had to walk away; I couldn’t take the scene that fell before my eyes.

I

While I was thankful we had no broken windows and I believed our roof stayed intact, I went outside after the storm to assess the damage. I was heartbroken. My rhubarb was totally beaten to a pulp, my daisies and flocks and clematis in the front yard were flattened, my daylilies in my back yard as well as my cone flowers were no more. Even the heavy-duty branches of my mini rosebushes snapped. I couldn’t believe that within an hour, my beautiful yard turned from hope and beauty to ruin and ugliness.

What to do? Just accept it and look forward to next year.

But God didn’t leave me there. No, not at all. Slowly, ever so slowly, my flowers, bushes, and trees revived. I saw new promises of a beautiful yard, a comeback garden. I watched the progress each day while our sunshine and showers and rainbows gifted me.

Take a look at the “comeback” pictures to see the miracle God did with our yard! And isn’t that what God does with our lives? One day we are a mess and we feel hopeless, like there can be no comeback. But if we trust God and we’re patient, He will do mighty works to turn ruin and ugliness in our lives to new hope and beauty again.

About the Writer/Gardener:

A retired teacher/principal, Becky Van Vleet makes her home in Colorado Springs where she enjoys gardening, writing, oil painting, and hiking. But her favorite hobby is spending time with her family, especially reading books to her eight grandchildren.  When they come to play at her house, they love to check out her vegetable garden to see if there are any pickings.

Becky is an award-winning author of children’s picture books, inspired by true family stories. She is currently working on her first novel, a young adult book about her father’s adventures in WWII aboard the USS Denver.

A little skirt that has been traveling around in her family for more than 70 years, passing through three generations, inspired her to write her first children’s picture book, Talitha, the Traveling Skirt.

Social Media links: Website Facebook Goodreads

Talitha, the Traveling Skirt

By Beck Van Vleet

Meet Talitha, a little plaid skirt that likes to travel. Through the years, she visits many two-year-old girls in a special family who wear her to get their pictures taken. But Talitha encounters problems when she least expects them. Filled with colorful and detailed illustrations, young children will delight in this heartwarming story about a little skirt’s adventures.

Purchase link

This delightful book, geared for ages 3-8, may be purchased at Amazon. Be sure to let Becky know if you’d like the free coloring pictures her illustrator provided. She can send those your way!

A Writer’s Garden–Making Garden Memories by Becky Van Vleet

09 Thursday Jul 2020

Posted by Catherine Castle in A Writer's Garden, garden blog series

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

A Writer's Garden, Becky Van Vleet, Children's Picture Book, garden memories, Talitha the Traveling Skirt

Welcome to A Writer’s Garden where writers who are gardeners or just love gardens will be sharing their garden and flower stories, as well as a bit about their writing.

Today’s writer/gardener guest is Becky Van Vleet, a gardner who loves to create memories. Welcome, Becky!

 

There are so many aspects to my gardening that I love. The sweet fragrance of my flowers. The amazing fact that my perennials know when it’s time to pop their heads up each year. Working my hands in the rich dirt in my vegetable garden and sometimes feeling a worm. Harvesting my herbs and veggies every summer for my family to enjoy. In fact, I would have to say that working in my flower and vegetable gardens is very therapeutic for me. I reap the pleasures and joys of gardening as I also deal with destructive hail and drought. (Note hail covering!)

Every spring I look forward to setting out my hummingbird feeder in anticipation of the hummers who will put on a sweet show for my husband and I to enjoy.

 

A few years ago, I started painting rocks with my grandchildren’s names to display in my front yard. My little Grands get excited when they come to visit and walk right past this visual of their special garden markers. When I’m tending to this section of my flower beds, I think about the stone markers in the Old Testament we read about in Joshua 4:5-7, and then I pray for my grandchildren.

 

 

 

In addition to my love of gardening, I especially enjoy creating and preserving family memories for the next generations. I have endearing memories of picking green beans in my grandmother’s garden in southern Indiana back in the 1960s. After we had a couple of sacksful, we would sit on her back porch and break the beans in preparation for cooking. We would converse about all kinds of things as we snapped away. I didn’t realize it at the time, but my grandmother was imparting life lessons to me—love your family, work hard, read your Bible, honor God, don’t cheat, be kind, and much more. We had no background music. We simply had the tranquility of the farm house, fresh air, and birds singing. Sweet memories!

So now this grandma likes to have my own grandchildren break green beans with me every summer as we snap and talk. I hope I am preserving my own memory and creating a new one for them!

 

 

 

About the Writer/Gardener

Becky Van Vleet is a retired teacher and principal. She and her husband make their home in Colorado Springs where Becky enjoys oil painting, hiking and biking, as well as gardening. Becky’s children’s picture book, Talitha, the Traveling Skirt, was inspired by a true family story to preserve a treasured family memory. Her first book has already won two awards and her second children’s book, also inspired by a true family story, is due to be released the end of the summer. Becky enjoys writing projects to preserve family memories.

Connect with Becky on her social media sites  Website:  Facebook: Instagram

 

Talitha, the Traveling Skirt

by Becky Van Vleet

Meet Talitha, a little plaid skirt that likes to travel. Through the years, she visits many two-year-old girls in a special family who wear her to get their pictures taken. But Talitha encounters problems when she least expects them. Filled with colorful and detailed illustrations, young children will delight in this heartwarming story about a little skirt’s adventures.

Want to read more about the traveling skirt or purchase it for the little girls in your family? You can find Talitha’s story at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tasty Tuesdays–Blissful Burgers from Becky Van Vleet

28 Tuesday Apr 2020

Posted by Catherine Castle in food, Recipes, Tasty Tuesdays

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Becky Van Vleet, Blissful Burgers, entree, food, Recipes, Talitha the Traveling Skirt, Tasty Tuesdays

Today’s Tasty Tuesday recipe is from author Becky Van Vleet, who’s sharing a family favorite—Burgers with a twist!

 

Blissful Burgers

Ingredients:

1 ½ pounds ground beef

4 slices dry bread soaked in water, then squeezed out

1 beaten egg

1 tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

½ tsp garlic powder

2 T milk

Directions

Add all ingredients to ground beef and stir until completely mixed. Shape into patties. Grilling is preferred, but pan frying works as well. Add your favorite condiments with a healthy bread and you will want to cook these frequently. Delicious!

This recipe originates from my Polish paternal grandmother, Elizabeth Holeva Troyan. When she would visit our home when I was a young girl, I always thought her hamburgers were “spiced” up a bit more than other hamburgers I ate. It wasn’t until I became an adult that I found out that she had her own recipe, and that, yes, indeed, they really were spiced up in her own special way. I chose a family recipe because I am all about creating and preserving family memories, the theme of my website. In fact, my first children’s picture book, Talitha, the Traveling Skirt, was inspired by a true family story. We have had a little red plaid skirt that has been traveling in our family for more than 70 years, spanning three generations. And this family recipe has been “traveling” around as well!

While the burgers grill check out Becky’s delightful picture book.

 

Talitha, the Traveling Skirt

By Becky Van Vleet

Meet Talitha, a little plaid skirt that likes to travel. Through the years, she visits many two-year-old girls in a special family who wear her to get their pictures taken. But Talitha encounters problems when she least expects them. And Tippy the dog certainly participates. Filled with colorful and detailed illustrations, young children, ages 3-8, will delight in this heartwarming story about a little skirt’s adventures, inspired by a true family story.

Buy Links     Amazon  Barnes & Noble:

 

About the author:

Becky Van Vleet is a retired teacher and principal. She and her husband make their home in Colorado Springs, where Becky enjoys oil painting, gardening, and hiking and biking in the great outdoors. Becky is all about creating and preserving family memories as you will see on her website. She relishes spending time with her family and especially reading books to her grandchildren.

 

Social Media

https://www.beckyvanvleet.com/

https://www.facebook.com/memoriesandtraditions/?modal=admin_todo_tour

https://www.instagram.com/becky_van_vleet/

 

 

 

 

WEdnesday Writers–Talitha, the Traveling Skirt by Becky Van Vleet

22 Wednesday Jan 2020

Posted by Catherine Castle in Children's Fiction, Wednesday Writers

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

Becky Van Vleet, Children's photographs, Children's Picture Book, family traditions, memories and traditins, picture tradtions, Talitha the Traveling Skirt, Wednesday Writers

Welcome to Wednesday Writers! Today’s guest blogger is Becky Van Vleet. Becky will be talking about her Children’s Picture book, Talitha, the Traveling Skirt, and where the inspiration for this traveling skirt story came from.

When I read this blog, I immediately thought of the traveling pants story that was so popular a few years back. I loved that story. Now Becky has a version for children. Ingenious!

Welcome, Becky!

 

Who could guess that Talitha is anything more than an ordinary skirt? Well, I could! You see, I have watched the history of this little skirt unfold in my lifetime for three generations. A little red plaid skirt began to traveling within my family in 1948 and has continued to travel across the country for more than 70 years. I was inspired to write this children’s story to preserve my family history.

A hand-sewn skirt was given to my mother, Alberta, by her childhood friend, Omadeen, for my older sister’s second birthday. My mother took her first daughter to a professional studio to have her picture taken in the little skirt, honoring her friend. Alberta saved the skirt and a tradition was started when three more daughters were born.

Alberta and Omadeen, friends as teenagers in Southern Indiana, 1940 public domain

I was the third daughter to wear the little skirt from the first generation.

Becky wearing Talitha skirt in 1955 (personal collection, not in public domain)

Over time, the four daughters began to pass the little skirt around to one another when we had daughters of our own, the second generation. The tradition of the little girls in our family getting a professional picture wearing the skirt at age two held fast and continued on into the third generation, Alberta’s great-granddaughters. As our family scattered around, the little skirt began to fly on airplanes to reach all of the little two-year-old girls in the third generation in various locations throughout the United States!

Omadeen, still living, receives Becky’s book in September, 2019 public domain

My sisters and I took great care of the little skirt, hoping not to have to wash it as the skirt aged.  One may wonder if any little boys were born into our family.  And yes, of course!  But it was the daughters that kept the little skirt traveling around when they were added to our family tree.

The first-generation daughters have encouraged the safekeeping of the little skirt and we pay attention to the skirt’s traveling itinerary.  Amazingly, the pleats are still intact and the fabric is still a vibrant red plaid.

When I set out to write a fun tale about this traveling skirt, I decided the skirt would be personified as the main character and I wanted to come up with a meaningful name for her. Talitha’s name means “little girl” from Mark, chapter four, in the New Testament. My children’s picture book is geared for ages 3-8 and includes themes of family life, overcoming challenges, and family traditions with added discussion questions.

Talithia the Traveling Skirt

by Becky Van Vleet

Meet Talitha, a little plaid skirt that likes to travel. Through the years, she visits many two-year-old girls in a special family who wear her to get their pictures taken. But Talitha encounters problems when she least expects them. Filled with colorful and detailed illustrations, young children will delight in this heartwarming story about a little skirt’s adventures.

Want to read more about the traveling skirt or purchase it for the little girls in your family? You can find Talitha’s story at Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

 

About the Author:

Becky Van Vleet is a retired teacher and principal. She and her husband make their home in Colorado Springs, where Becky enjoys gardening and hiking and biking in the great outdoors. Becky is one of the original girls who wore Talitha and is the mother of four adult daughters, each of whom also wore Talitha. To date, five of Becky’s granddaughters have also worn the little skirt. Becky relishes spending time with her family and especially reading books to her grandchildren.

Social Media

https://www.beckyvanvleet.com/

https://www.facebook.com/memoriesandtraditions/?modal=admin_todo_tour

https://www.instagram.com/becky_van_vleet/

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