What have The Custer’s Mill Mysteries Writers been up to?
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​Tammy Cullers: This summer seems to have taken wings and flown away! As soon as school ended in June, our family kicked off the official holiday season with a beach trip to Chincoteague. Although it rained a lot, we were still able to enjoy fun days in the sun. July was a blur practicing with the Off Broadway Players for an upcoming performance, and now, it’s August and time to go back to school. The summer of ’23 will soon be another memory!

Barbara Finnegan: This summer, we decided to stay home and tend to our farm, including watering 40+ new native plants we bought from Virginia Department of Forestry. We've missed many of the rains around the region, so it's been a weekly chore to haul barrels of water to our baby plants, and scoop out helpings with buckets. We'll be glad for a break in the weather and plentiful rain. Grateful that most of the plants are thriving!

Mary Smith: During the spring of 2023, my husband and I took a road trip to visit our niece in Kansas and granddaughter at college in Nebraska. We made a stop in Hannibal, Missouri, the birthplace of Mark Twain. Looking out his bedroom window, I imagined the young Mark Twain watching the riverboats glide by on the Mississippi River and how his dreams and imagination birthed his characters, Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn.
Check out our August Custer’s Mill Mysteries newsletter to catch up on our book events and a great recipe for Blackberry Cobbler. Yum! 

By Barbara Finnegan
 
In our Custer’s Mill Mystery series, we’ve tried to emphasize the contribution of older persons in a community. Our “library ladies” are retired women who devote their time and energy into making the town a better place to live. They are important in their spheres of influence, even if the wider world doesn’t recognize their value.
 
In our western culture, we tend to shy away from talk about mortality, and old age is often denigrated.  Aging, for women especially, is an embarrassment, to be hidden away like an ugly scar. Popular culture urges women to try to conceal it as long as possible.  Maybe that’s part of the draw of retirement communities. Perhaps being around other aging people is the only way folks can be themselves. It’s okay to be old around other old folks.
 
And yet, on a personal level, many of us mourn and miss our deceased relatives for years, no matter how old they were when they died. I still find myself often wishing my father, who died in 2016, could walk around my farm with me. He’d love it!
 
If you can shake off the constraints of the anti-aging culture, aging can be freeing. Wise old folks realize time is precious, and the expectations of earlier years don’t matter as much as they used to. Take time to enjoy simple pleasures with new and old friends, offer a helping hand to those in need, or bake cookies with a grandchild. Revel in nature by tending a garden. Figure out what it means to use your time wisely.
 
Share stories of your life for your family members. I treasure written stories of the lives and times of my grandparents and parents, and wish they’d written down many more.
 
Do you have written stories about your older relatives? Send them to us, we’d love to see them!
 
Copyright 2023
Larson Hess, LLC
All rights reserved

As we came to the end of writing our second book, we tried to create a warm and inviting Christmas scene as the ladies prepared to open the Compass Rose Tearoom to the villagers of Custer’s Mill. A quiet guest took in the sights in the parlor before everyone arrived, remembering images of Christmas past.
Merry Christmas to you and your family!
We wish you peace, joy and happiness in the coming weeks and New Year.
 
The Mountain’s Secret Epilogue, Dec. 1st
The grandfather clock chimed the quarter hour. Three-fifteen. In forty-five minutes, the Compass Rose Tearoom would open to the public. But right now, the spacious parlor was empty. The evergreen garland that lay across the fireplace mantel swayed in the breeze generated by the vintage Georgian ceiling fan. It infused the room with the fresh smell of the forest. Tiny white lights twinkled around archways and windows. Music box holiday carols chimed in the background. Miniature Christmas trees were centered on each table, and delicate lace ribbons graced the backs of the chairs.
If anyone had come into the tearoom at that moment, they would not have seen the elderly lady standing by the frosty window. They would not have noticed her soft blue eyes or her wistful smile. She looked out over the parlor as if trying to take in every detail. The starched white linen tablecloths, the Royal Doulton china with the hand-painted holly leaves, the sparkling silver spoons, and sprigs of cedar tucked into brass napkin rings.
This was not the time for her to indulge in memories, but she couldn’t help but recall past Christmases in this parlor. The eleven-foot tree that grazed the surface of the plasterwork ceilings, the wrapped packages, the sound of sleigh bells as her brother and father hitched up the wagon to Molly, their old mare, to carry the family to midnight services.

​Which character in our Custer’s Mill Mystery series would you like to chat with and have a cup of tea? What would you want to talk about?
Mary-I’d like to have tea with Mia, Emma’s aunt. She seems to be a good listener and the type of person who is caring and concerned for others. She would be able to share stories of Emma, Sissy, and Serafina as young children. I’d also be able to ask her about Emma’s mother so I could get to know more about her. Mia would know a lot of the history and stories of Custer’s Mill that I hope she would share with me.
Tammy - I’d love to spend time with the late Bertha Brubaker. She was truly a woman in the know! Although elderly and spinsterish, Bertha was the hub of her community, the “grapevine” of the information world, and a role model for every up and coming ingenue! Bertha would have advice for every situation — from setting a proper table to running an estate.
Barbara-I would like to spend a few afternoons having tea with Professor Nelson, Emma's great-uncle. I'd ask him about Ruth. Perhaps we could talk about how they communicated while having a secret relationship. I hope he'd feel free to share the struggles and pain they both suffered by keeping their relationship secret. I wonder what he'd do now, if he could have another chance to let the world know about their love. Would he be able to give up his professorship to marry Ruth?  And I want to see his house and overgrown garden!
We’d love to hear which character you would like to chat with and have a cup of tea.  You can fill in your answer below and send to The Chimney Rock Chronicle, P.O. Box 862, Broadway, VA 22815. All of those who respond will have a chance to win a $10 gift certificate to Jackson’s Corner in New Market.

I don’t know about you, but when the grey days of January hit, I’m ready to enjoy some warm soup and chili. In fact, today I made the Spare Change Diner’s Potato & Ham Soup. It was yummy. In case you haven’t tried it, you can find the recipe in our blogs.
One of our family’s winter recipes is my mom’s easy chili. She grew up in Indiana and brought this recipe with her when she moved east. I liked the chili as a child, but I learned to really appreciate it when I grew up and had children of my own. As a working mom, I looked for quick recipes I could make in about 30 minutes.  Give this recipe a try.
 Easy Chili
1 pound of ground beef
½ cup of onion (chopped)
1 can of Tomato Soup
1 can (14.5 ounce) diced tomatoes (do not drain)
2 cans dark red kidney beans (drained)
2 teaspoons of chili powder
Salt & Pepper to taste
Optional-Shredded Cheddar Cheese
 Brown the ground beef in a skillet and add onions. Cook until onions are translucent and beef is not pink. Add Tomato Soup, tomatoes, drained beans, and chili powder. Bring to a simmer and cook for 20 minutes on low. Add salt and pepper to taste. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese when served.
 The last years of my mother’s life she had progressive dementia. There were many things she forgot, but she didn’t forget this chili.  The last time I made it for her, she said, “this chili tastes like home.” I hope it helps you stay warm on these cold winter nights and brings you that feeling of home.

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