The woodpigeon is many things to many men. To the farmer, who has some claim to priority of verdict, it is a curse, even as the rabbit in Australia, the lemming in Norway, or the locust in Algeria. The tiller of the soil, whose business brings him in open competition with the natural appetites of such voracious birds, beasts, or insects, regards his rivals from a standpoint which has no room for sentiment; and the woodpigeons are to our farmers, particularly...

Did you know that the ancient Romans left sixty days of winter out of their calendar, considering these two months a dead time of lurking terror and therefore better left unnamed? That they had a horror of even numbers, hence the tendency for months with an odd number of days? That robed and bearded druids from the Celts stand behind our New Year’s figure of Father Time? That if Thursday is Thor’s day, then Friday belongs to his faithful wife,...

Ten years ago Jon's passion for the piano took him across the country to New York, where a demanding concert career consumed his life and left him no time to look back. His father's stroke is the only thing that brings him home to Seattle. The sickroom makes for a dreary holiday until Jon runs into Bo, whose inner light can make anything sparkle. Bo loves the holidays: the food, the crafts, the glitter! A fling with an old school friend-who grew...

Dealing with the unexpected loss of his mother isn't how carpenter Steve Browning planned to spend his Christmas. Hoping her costume jewelry can bring some happiness to others, he takes it to the local community theater, where he runs into his first love, Troy Baxter. Troy's trying to help his sister put on a gender-fluid version of A Christmas Carol, but no one on the cast or crew knows which end of a hammer to hold let alone use a power tool. Then...

Whether warm from the oven or wrapped up for giving, cookies are a timelessly classic treat. Bakers searching for an essential collection of recipes should look no further than Best-Ever Cookies, another must-have book in the bestselling “Gooseberry Patch” cookbook series. Family & friends will love Old-Fashioned Butter Cookies, Glazed Honey-Walnut Bars, Chocolate Drops, Raisin-Nut Pinwheels and Raspberry Meringue Kisses. Filled with over 200...

When Emily, a small town baker, receives a Christmas Calendar from a secret admirer, it attracts the attention of the locals. With financial problems looming, the calendar turns out to be a Christmas miracle for Emily and the bakery.

Eva, a 29-year-old paraplegic and former dancer, has been living in a wheelchair for the past three years. On her birthday, she receives from her best friend Sophie a mysterious advent calendar. But the small calendar windows do not hide traditional sweets or candy, and as Eva opens them each day, she gets to face more and more disturbing surprises : sometimes pleasant, often terrifying, and increasingly bloody. Even though she knows she should stop...

Lunar calendars suffer from an inherent uncertainty in the length of each month and the number of months in the year. Variable atmospheric conditions, weather and the acuity of the eye of an observer mean that the first sighting of the new moon crescent can never be known in advance. Calendars that rely on such observations to define the beginning of a new month, therefore, suffer from this lack of certainty as to whether a month will begin on a given...

It's beginning to cost a lot like Christmas… Why him? Of all the party planners in the city, I managed to hire a company run by my ex-husband James. I haven't seen him in more than ten years. He broke my heart by turning away from me in his time of need. I'll never forgive him for that. But damn, he looks good. And he's saying all the right things. I just have to get through this Christmas season without falling for his charms, and I'll be right...