Here we go with the second installment of “Guess That Novel!”
For those of you who haven’t played before, here is the first installment complete with rules.
I can’t tell you how much fun I’m having doing this. I have on occasion felt like a kid again. :) As I said, some of these may be easier than others.
“It sometimes happens, even in the best of families, that a baby is born. This is not necessarily cause for alarm. The important thing is to keep your wits about you and borrow some money.”
Elinor Goulding Smith
Today I went to a baby shower for my niece, Amanda, and her husband, Jeremy. This will be their first baby and will be a girl. Her name will be Shaelyn Faye and she may even be coming sooner than expected.
“A baby will make love stronger, days shorter, nights longer, bankroll smaller, home happier, clothes shabbier, the past forgotten, and the future worth living for.”
Author Unknown
And Amanda is sooo ready to have Shaelyn be here.
“A babe in the house is a well-spring of pleasure, a messenger of peace and love, a resting place for innocence on earth, a link between angels and men.”
I guess it is also reason to eat deliciously sweet confections.
“Making the decision to have a child is momentous. It is to decide forever to have your heart go walking around outside your body.”
Elizabeth Stone
But I can’t think of anything more wonderful.
“The founders of a new colony, whatever Utopia of human virtue and happiness they might originally project, have invariably recognized it among their earliest practical necessities to allot a portion of the virgin soil as a cemetery, and another portion as the site of a prison.” Nathaniel Hawthorne
Although I’m sure that this cemetery’s original purpose was much different, it has become among other things, the final resting place for prisoners who die in Maricopa County and have no one to claim them. If you could see beyond the distant line of trees, you would see Perryville Prison.
In the oldest section of the cemetery, there are some personal markers. But for the most part only small round plaques with a name and date mark the gravesites.
And although it looks empty, believe me there are hundreds and hundreds of the small round plaques.
Somehow, this is the saddest cemetery I have ever visited.
While out using up a little time the other day while Mom was at therapy, I saw this F-16 shooting touch and go’s.
These planes are stationed at Luke Air Force Base. It is in the news that they will soon be replaced by the new F-35’s.
The base has quite an economic impact on the West Valley area (West of Phoenix). Several local mayors have united in their efforts to keep the base open. Being an Air Force Brat, I love the sound of the jets.
At a local farm/ranch they have a duck pond in front of their house with a beautiful waterfall. They normally have a large assortment of ducks and geese, but this time of year they have a few travelers….just passing through.
For those of you who were playing “Guess That Novel!”, the picture represented – drum roll, please – The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck. So Kathy of Ramblin’ Kathy was the winner! Thanks to everyone for playing and having fun with me. I loved all your comments and Mary Beth that was a great guess. Randy…a little spooky, but nice try. Next week I’ll be bringing you another installment of “Guess That Novel!” and I would love to have you all play again.
Okay, here is the idea that came to me late one night. I’m going to take a picture that to my warped mind or sometimes not so warped mind represents the title of a classic American novel. Then you guess what novel you think that is. The prize? Bragging rights because I have nothing to offer but my admiration. Some may be really obvious and others may be really obscure.
So here’s my first picture. Now guess that novel!
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I’ll try to be doing this about once a week and would love to have you guys get in on the fun too. :)
in my beautiful balloon…okay he’s not flying away. He’s pigging out! And correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think this is a hummingbird. :)
I’ve been very bad about posting this week. So sorry. As always lots going on and I haven’t been out getting any new photos. So here are some more shots from Poet’s Park.
and finally….
I’ve been hatching a new plan about something to do on my blog and I think it’s going to be fun. But I have some pictures to get out and take, so be patient with me….as you always are. :)
Heartache, darkness and pain swept into her life one hot August day.
She didn’t hesitate to face it head on and do what needed to be done.
Innocence stolen and trampled - betrayal of the deepest kind.
At just fourteen she was ready to slay dragons in the name of friendship and what was right.
God placed angels all around. Little did I know He placed one in my arms on the day she was born.
Dirty, ugly secrets that should never a child touch were brought out that day.
Confrontation, battles, voices raised – worlds falling down.
But now a hand to hold and an embrace to cling to.
Strength and support, beyond her years, unwavering. Given with no thought for self.
God placed angels all around. Little did I know He placed one in my arms on the day she was born.
Questions, doubts, regrets. Guilt and anger, but above all now…love.
Nightmares and tears but morning comes with salvation.
Hold fast to the good and let the bad fall away.
Build on the new foundation found on that hot August day.
God placed angels all around. I’m so glad He placed one in my arms on the day she was born.
I love you, Nicole.
I wrote this for my daughter, Nicole, who met and befriended a lonely girl who needed a friend desperately. I couldn’t be more proud of Nicole and the young woman she is. Today, we learned the step father pled guilty and saved us all from the trauma of a trial. God is good.
Last night as I lay in bed trying to turn the day off and fall into a restful sleep, bizarre thoughts were racing through my mind. It first started with me wondering about sayings we use all the time and what do they really mean.
Like “Be good for goodness sake”….what does that really mean? Are we to be good for the sake of good? Or does it mean goodness sake like “Oh, for goodness sake, Gloria. Everyone knows you shouldn’t wear white after Labor Day!” Sometimes it depends on who’s singing the carol and where they’re putting the emphasis.
And then there’s “A friend in need, is a friend indeed.” Again, are we saying if a friend’s in trouble we’re bound to see a lot of them? Or are we saying if your friend sticks with you during your trouble, he’s really a friend? See, I heard a lot of these things over the years, but am still confused by what they really mean.
I was pretty sure I knew what my Pop was saying when he told me “Don’t throw the baby out with the bath water”, but now someone sends me an email saying that all had to do with the order of bath taking in the small amount of water allotted for these things during days gone by.
I was so conflicted I almost got out of bed and wrote this post last night. Thank goodness the cold night and warm bed persuaded me to stay where I was. Why can’t I just count sheep??
PS: Living in the rural area I do, I didn’t think it would be too hard to find some sheep to take a picture of for this post. These sheep are normally in the field by the bee keeper’s hives, but NO, not when I need a picture. I finally found a couple in the yard around the barn and pulled to a stop on the rutted, washboard(ed?), single lane dirt road to get my shot. As I’m rolling down my window, I glance in the rear view mirror and right behind me is a truck stopped and waiting on me. This world is TOO crowded! He was kind and patient and waited quietly (no honking) while I took my picture. Kathy, do you deal with this kind of thing in Texas?
Annie, Nicole and I went out Saturday in search of a place Annie had heard about named Poet’s Park. We found it!
It was a gorgeous park. Beautifully landscaped and covered with plaques with quotes from poets and such.
There was a light breeze and the air was warm and gentle. The light and shadow played across the quotes in a game of tag.
Annie took the following plaque to heart….
This stairway was beautiful…
I couldn’t resist playing with a shot or two…
It was a wonderful time. Can’t wait to show it to Tracy. She’s been working a lot lately. She needs a little time out and about with her camera.
Tracy’s lemons are finally turning a beautiful yellow and starting to look like lemons instead of limes.
Well, one of them looks more like a grapefruit. It’s huge….like the elephant lemon or something.
I have a lovely basket full of them and plan on making a lemon pie today.
These are some shots from my recent trip with Annie. I thought they lent themselves nicely to black and white photography.
Saturday I went to Annie’s house to take updated photos of the Basset Hound puppies that she and her daughter, Sara, are fostering.
The cast of characters….
Baldwin, the Basset that Sara adopted. I always want to call him Chuck. Don’t know why.
He can be a bit “flighty” at times.
This is Petunia named after Petunia Pig because she gets her share of the food and then some. She’s the biggest of the three.
This is Henri. He is the only male of the three puppies and is said to be quite the baby…he whimpers and cries quite a bit. He already has a Forever Family waiting for him.
This is Minnie Belle and she has the sweetest temperament of them all. She is the smallest, but has won over Annie’s heart.
“Which one of these things is not like the others? One of these things doesn’t belong.” (Sesame Street)
Miss Trixie was right in the thick of things, but she is obviously not a Basset Hound.
They love soaking up the sun and are pretty laid back when they’re not tearing everything up.
Basset parts….
Ear puddle….
Legs?……
Foot…..
And this Grand Dame is Wrangler. She is the matriarch of this family and is a saintly, long-suffering soul.
We had a wonderful day. I took over 70 pictures and took Nicole and Kayla with me so they could play with the puppies. But, I have it on good authority that everyone will be happy and thankful when the new additions have found their ways to their Forever Families.
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