Reading Recommendations:

The Butterfly's Daughter

The legend of "las mariposas", the beautiful monarch butterflies that every year fly more than two thousand miles on fragile wings to return to their winter home in Mexico, is Luz Avila's birthright. She learned of their ways and their mystical powers from the grandmother who was the only family she ever knew. Now it is her turn, like the butterflies, to make that long, perilous journey. In order to honor a promise to her beloved "abuela", Luz must return her grandmother's ashes to her ancestral village in the mountains of Mexico. But while the "ofenda", a tradition so old its origins are lost in the mists of time, will mean leaving behind a man who loves Luz deeply, the journey promises to bring deep spiritual meaning to the life of a woman who cannot find her way into the future until she comes to terms with the past.

As Luz slowly makes her way south from blustery Milwaukee to a VW Bug so ancient it has no business on the highway, a series of random encounters touches her life; a desperate mother-to-be, even younger than her, fleeing an abusive lover. An anywhere-the-wind blows free spirit. A lonely career woman who is determined to live, really live, for the first time. It is in San Antonio, however, that a truly startling revelation awaits Luz; a reunion with a shadowy figure from her childhood.

Together, they cross the border into Mexico, but they also must somehow cross the border that separates past from present, bitterness from love, and truth from lies. They will honor the memory of another beloved woman by standing in the Sacred Circle to witness the spectacular, glittering river of orange monarchs descend from the sky to return home. If they can share in this age old ritual, perhaps they will be able to find their way beck to love and take their place in the enduring cycle of life.

A Song For My Mother

Years after running away with her boyfriend in her junior year of high school, Marly Hanson returns to Dreyerville at the request of her daughter, Katie, who has recently been treated for brain cancer. Katie has never met her grandmother, Marly's mother, Winnie. But Marly and Winnie have been estranged for years, and confronting the past for each of them is painful. The homecoming is bittersweet, but revisiting the conflict between them is crucial if Marly and her mother are ever to find the bond they shared before Marly left Dreyerville.

To complicate matters, living next door to Winnie is handsome sheriff and widower Reed Bennett and his son Ham, who is close to Katie's age. Ham and Katie became fast friends, while the parents find their attraction to one another going deeper than mere friendship. But Marly's time in Dreyerville is limited and risking her heart isn't something she's willing to do.

As the days slip by, and though she tries to avoid it, Marly and Reed become more deeply involved. Can she make a life in Dreyerville after what happened all those years ago? Will Marly finally realize that her true destiny and ultimate happiness lies in coming to terms with her past?

Custom Couture

From your closet to the Fashion Runway - Dozens of details will call out to your inner designer!

• A modified collar or cuff

• An added border of pretty print fabric

• Tiny romantic embroidered knots

• Delicate fabric flowers

• Beads and sequins and painted motifs

Each project has step by step instructions that you can easily adapt to your own clothing, and line drawings and photos of the details show exactly how to create the finished product.

See you at Rylander!