My Blog

   Hello, my name is Joyce Valdois Smith. I live in beautiful southwest Missouri with my husband and soulmate, Bob and our Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Lady Catherine (Katie). Well usually it’s beautiful here. Right now we are so dry the grass is drying up.

We have four married children and twelve amazing grandchildren. Ten of our grandchildren live near us. For that I am very grateful. Last week our son was visiting from South Carolina so we had all of our grand kids here. Our house was overflowing with love and lots of food.

I enjoyed cooking for my family as they were growing up, but it’s much more difficult to cook for two. These days, it’s easier to eat out or fix something simple. When the whole family’s back home I fall back into the habit of making huge comfort food meals at their request. This is a rare picture of my kitchen. It’s a working kitchen. The counter usually isn’t that empty.

The recipe I’m sharing is one I received from my sister-in-law years ago and it’s a family favorite that we had last week. I was going to take a picture as I was preparing it, but I forgot until it was all eaten. Sorry.

Here’s my salt and pepper shakers. They are Pioneer Woman. I would love to have more Pioneer Woman dishes.

A retired public health and school nurse, I have had a long time passion for reading and writing. As a stay-at-home Mom, I completed the Institute of Children’s Literature. Though I had many projects in progress. I set aside my writing for several years due to family circumstances, but recently started writing again. God’s timing is always right. In November 2017, my children’s book, “Grandpa Forgot My Name” was released, and my first novel, “Romance Along theRails”, came out in January 2018.

I’m currently working on the rough draft for “Home for the Heart”, It is the second in a series “The Harvey Girls Legacy.” Their will be four in the series. “Romance Along the Rails” takes place in 1885; “Home for the Heart in 1900; the other two will be in the 1920’s in New Mexico or Arizona at one of the Resort, Harvey Houses with the Indian detours. The Harvey Girls were couriers for the Indian Detours: and in the 1940’s  during WWII. The Harvey Girls were an important part of our history.

“Romance Along the Rails” is a historical romance with the spiritual theme woven throughout. I’ve tried to be as accurate as possible with the history of the Harvey Houses and the Railroad. Here are the blurbs from the back of the book:

They both work along the railroad, but their jobs separate them. Will they get back on the same track?

 “The year is 1885, Harvey House restaurants are spread out along the western United States, following the route of the AT&SF railroad. Elise Dumond, a Kansas Harvey Girl, wants to save her family farm in Missouri. She falls for a handsome railroad surveyor, Daniel Gilbertson, but he is on his way to lead a survey team in the Oklahoma Territory. Will the distance and time apart or other circumstances come between them? Will they allow God to orchestrate the events in their lives to bring them back together?”

 I wrote my Children’s book, “Grandpa Forgot my Name,” while I was caring for my father. We have had three family members with Alzheimer’s Disease. My desire is that it will be an easy to understand explanation of dementia and Alzheimer’s for children who have family members with the disease. There are coloring pages in the back.

I have another children’s book, “A Christmas Treasure Hunt,” which will be released in Nov. 2018.

Social Media links:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/joyce.smith.18007

Twitter: https://twitter.com/JValdoisSmith

Website: www.joycevaldoissmith.com

email: joyce@joycevaldoissmith.com

Instagram: rgjlsmith70

https://www.amazon.com/Romance-Along-Rails-Joyce-Valdois/dp/0999762605