Suzanne McMinn, a former romance writer and founder of the popular blog chickensintheroad.com, shares the story of her search to lead a life of ordinary splendor in Chickens in the Road, her inspiring and funny memoir. Craving a life that would connect her to the earth and her family roots, McMinn packed up her three kids, left her husband and her sterile suburban existence behind, and moved to rural West Virginia. Amid the rough landscape and beauty of this rural mountain country, she pursues a natural lifestyle filled with chickens, goats, sheep—and no pizza delivery. With her new life comes an unexpected new love—"52," a man as beguiling and enigmatic as his nickname—a turbulent romance that reminds her that peace and fulfillment can be found in the wake of heartbreak. Coping with formidable challenges, including raising a trio of teenagers, milking stubborn cows, being snowed in with no heat, and making her own butter, McMinn realizes that she’s living a forty-something’s coming-of-age story. As she dares to become self-reliant and embrace her independence, she reminds us that life is a bold adventure—if we’re willing to live it. Chickens in the Road includes more than 20 recipes, craft projects, and McMinn’s photography, and features a special two-color design.

This must-have third revised and newly expanded edition of the only single reference source for information about state symbols features over 300 information updates plus three new chapters, updated license plate illustrations, and a newly formatted design for ease of use. Libraries that hold earlier editions of this work need this edition to keep their information on the states and territories current. With the addition of new chapters on state and territory universities, state and territory governors throughout U.S. history, state professional sports teams, and a complete revision of the chapter on state and territory fairs and festivals, the work now totals 17 chapters of essential information that is a treasure trove for students. This completed redesigned reference work features chapters on state and territory names and nicknames, mottoes, seals, flags, capitals, flowers, trees, birds, songs, legal holidays and observances, license plates, postage stamps, miscellaneous designations, fairs and festivals, universities, governors, professional sports teams, and a bibliography of state and territory histories. The work features full-color illustrations of every state and territory seal, flag, flower, tree, bird, commemorative postage stamp, and license plate (updated for this edition).

About the Book Sebastian "Chany" Almazan was born in Cienfuegos, Cuba, on August 9, 1945, the day the atomic bomb was dropped in Nagasaki, Japan. Little did he know the role war was going to play in his life. Chany enjoyed a carefree life as a child in his beach town. He lived like Huckleberry Finn from the pages of Mark Twain. On April 21, 1961, the Bay of Pigs attack failed to liberate Cuba from Communism. His parents decided to look after Chany's future, and they told their fifteen-year-old son that he was going to be "SENT to the USA." Chany arrived in Miami, Florida, on September 12, 1961, as part of "Operation Pedro Pan," a movement created by the Catholic Church in conjunction with the US Government and some antirevolutionaries in Cuba that airlifted over 14,000 unaccompanied children from Cuba to the US in the early sixties. He struggled in Puerto Rico, where he was sent to live with a distant relative. He worked during the day for sixty-five cents an hour at a loading dock while attending evening classes to finish his high school. When he finished high school in 1963, he moved to Virginia to attend Virginia Tech and become an architect. He studied during the day while working at night. He graduated in December of 1968 and was drafted into the US Army in February of 1969. Sebastian did not start living a normal civilian life until 1971. The issues he had to face in order to achieve the "American Dream" are unique and worth reading about....