Mary Emma Allen has been a columnist since 1964 and has written many columns for newspapers and magazines. These include cooking, history, book reviews, restaurant reviews, gardening, quiltmaking, consumer topics, children's stories and activities, homespun philosophy, travel, and marriage. Currently she writes "Country Kitchen" for newspapers in New Hampshire and Utah, "Refunder's Hotline" for a New Hampshire newspaper, and a marriage column for The Oasis, an online Christian publication. Mary Emma Allen also is a book author and newsletter editor/publisher.
MARY EMMA ALLEN'S BOOK AMONG TOP 10
(PLYMOUTH, NH) - Mary Emma Allen's book, WRITING IN MAINE, NEW HAMPSHIRE & VERMONT, was named on Carolyn Howard-Johnson's list of Top 10 Books for Writers. Howard-Johnson also placed a review of this resource book for writers, publishers, librarians, and educators at Amazon.com.
This book, published by Writer's World Press, gives resources for writers, publishers, librarians and those interested in writing and publishing, whether they live in the Tri-States area or in other parts of the country.
"This little volume makes an excellent addendum to any book an author might presently be using as a resource," said Ms. Howard-Johnson, the award-winning author of "This Is the Place" and a familiar name among book reviewers.
Check out Mary Emma Allen's Web Site for more cooking information and recipes. http://homepage.fcgnetworks.net/jetent/mea
She also writes "Teacher to Teacher," a column for teachers, homeschooling parents, and parents who are encouraging young writers. This appears on the Rising Writers site: www.writingcorner.com/rising/main.htm
E-mail: me.allen@juno.com
Photo by Caron Gonthier

WINTER BIRD WATCHING TIME

One year for Christmas, my daughter put a bird feeder on her list.  Both grandmothers gave her one.  So we hung one feeder in the front yard, where the smaller birds, like the chickadees, seemed to congregate. The other we placed in the back yard, where the bluejays and woodpeckers dined.

Bird watching is a fun activity for children and helps develop their interest in nature and the creatures of the outdoors.  Shut-ins find much pleasure in watching bird feeder visitors outside their windows, too.

My mother, when she had Alzheimers, enjoyed the feeder on our front deck.  Her mind was still active enough, at that time, so she could reminisce about birds in her past.

Birds in Quilts 

Recently I had a project of researching bird designs and patterns in quilts and found that bird names, especially those of domestic ones, appeared in many designs over the years.  Quiltmakers of days ago often named their patterns from things in their everyday life.

So names like Duck and Ducklings, Goose Tracks, Flying Geese, Fox and Geese, and Bird of Paradise found their way into quilts. 

My Enjoyment of Birds

From Mother I learned to appreciate and enjoy the birds around our farm home and to discover those in other parts of the country wherever Jim and I have lived and traveled.

Ive written about birds in poetry and story and included them in my painting, book illustrations, and poetry.

One of my friends finds the poems, Lord Baltimore Oriole and Red-Winged Blackbird her favorite pieces in my anthology for children, Tales of Adventure & Discovery. (For more information about this book, e-mail me at: me.allen@juno.com.)

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