Among Us

ON NOVEMBER 28 , 2015 BOOKSMART in Morgan Hill hosted a book signing and celebration of Small Business Saturday . Amont the local authors present were : Patti Ansuini — Spirit of the Warhorse , Kitty Silverwings , An Appoloosa Story ; Jordan Rosenfeld … fiction works — Woman in Red , Night Oracle , Forged in Grace , and Zebulon Nights : An Anthology of LiveWire Readers ; Ian L . Sanders — A Hundred Years of Gilroy Hot Springs : 1860s-1960s - A Visual History of Gilroy Hot Springs and “ Magic ” Springs with Michael F . Brookman , The Mineral Springs of Santa Clara County , Views of Morgan Hill : Postcards and Images of Morgan Hill , California , More Views of Morgan Hill with Michael F . Brookman ; David Thomas — Keepers ; and Loretta Wilson — You Take the High Road , A Love Story .

Patti Ansuini ’ s book , Kitty Silverwings , was recognized as an Amazon best seller in 2015 , awarded the 2014 Christian Writer ’ s Award and featured in the Guideposts Magazine . It is a story about the spiritual bond that can form between humans and horses and the power of love in the face of insurmountable challenges . Dareel Dodds , Publisher of Western Horseman recommends this book stating : “ If you love horses , or just an inspiring read , you will enjoy this well-written , compelling story of love , courage and dogged determination .”

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SOME PEOPLE MAKE GENEROUS , but often impersonal donations during the holidays . Others make very intimated and personal gestures . Jenn Guajardo , daughter of Milias owner , Ann Zyburra , takes a more personal approach .

Jennifer has a relative who , without the continuing help of family and friends , would certainly be homeless . Because of this , she has taken her concern for the homeless to a uniquely personal level ; engaging family and friends in donating . Then , a few weeks before Christmas , she gathers some friends to pack large festive bags full of toiletries , food and a warm blanket . With overflowing bags , she and friends set off to find thirty homeless people to receive their warm personal greeting and a bag full of goodies

Anyone interested in helping Jennifer next year can contact her at 408.310.2645 or jennzyburra @ yahoo . com .

ON SATURDAY , DECEMBER 12 , several hundred volunteers gathered at Gavilan Hills and St . Mary Cemeteries in Gilroy along with Mt . Hope Cemetery in Morgan Hill to place wreaths on Veterans ’ graves . The effort , which began at Arlington National Cemetery in 1995 , has grown to over 1,000 cemeteries across the country where more than 700,000 wreaths are laid . In South County , volunteers placed nearly 1,200 wreaths . For more information on how you can be part of this effort next year , contact Mark Turner at the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce .

GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2016 gmhtoday . com

PHOTO BY LORA SCHRAFT