Window Views #2: Mom's Kitchen Window

I didn't get out to take a picture of a window

I had this one in my files

this is the view from my mother's kitchen window

it makes for lovely dining

photo by

Sepia Scenes #6: tractor parts

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Book Review: Wild Indigo

Wild Indigo
by Sandi Ault





About the Book:
from Barnes and Noble

Scenes of the high, dry, glittering landscape are as clean as a sun-bleached bone, and there are thrills galore when Jamaica Wild, BLM officer, is trapped in a flash flood that tears down the canyon walls of an ancient mountain sacred to the tribe. But Ault is no less artful at depicting the marriage customs, funeral rites and religious ceremonies that have drawn Jamaica to this tightly knit world and made her lose her heart to its people.

About the Author:A former journalist and newspaper section editor, Sandi Ault has taught writing for many years, including holding a position at the University of Mexico-Taos.

My Review:

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. It is set in a remote area of New Mexico. The story features the customs and traditions of “the People”, pueblo dwelling American Natives. The author does an excellent job bringing the complexities of life among the natives out through her descriptive narrative. Jamaica Wild works for the BLM and is also working on writing a book about the traditions of these people. Her mentor, Mama Santa cannot speak of these traditions but she is showing them to Jamaica as she invites her to participate in their traditions with her and the family. They have “adopted” Jamaica as the wolf woman. Jamaica owns an orphaned wolf named Mountain. The People have a sacred connection with the “Lobos”; this is partly why Jamaica is allowed to associate with them.

The story is a murder mystery and begins in the opening paragraph. Jamaica has been summoned by a frightened young boy to help because the Buffalo have escaped the pen. A man is wandering, dazedly, inside among the Buffalo when they are startled and the man is gored and trampled. The animals escape the pen through a gate that has been left open and Jamaica’s jeep is severely damaged, but she escapes unharmed. Jamaica is implicated in the murder of the trampled man; she is accused of starting the stampede.

The rest of the story follows Jamaica and an FBI agent as they solve the mystery of the murder. The story is fast paced and exciting, involving both the white world and the Native American. After several twists and turns of the plot the mystery is solved. During the climactic scenes of the book Jamaica is directed by her spirit guide and truly becomes one of the people.

One of the most intriguing aspects of this book for me was the difficulty of solving a crime when two sovereign nations are involved. The Native people of America are a separate nation from America; they have their own laws and customs. American officials are also bound to investigate a crime that takes place within American borders, but have to be careful to observe the laws and customs of the people. I found the dance between the two nations to be very complex.
When I was finding information for this book on Barnes and Noble I discovered that this debut novel for Ms. Ault was the first in a series. The main character, Jamaica Wild, continues her adventures in subsequent novels.

Click button for Barrie's home page

this months book review's can be found

@Barrie Summy
just click on the link

Happy Reading!

Wordless Wednesday: April Showers bring May Flowers

 Temple Square, Salt Lake City, Utah
photo by

Tuesday Tales: May Day

One of my very favorite subjects is the legend of King Arthur. I've read many books and seen many movies about the man. My very favorite is "Camelot" starring Richard Harris and Vanessa Redgrave. The Monday Mission yesterday was to write a May Poem. Naturally my thoughts went to the scene from this movie when queen Guenevere goes "a Maying". So for todays tale I thought I'd post the lyrics from "The Lusty Month of May".

Queen Guenevere goes "a Maying"















"The Lusty Month Of May"
Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner
Music by Frederick Loewe
Sung by Vanessa Redgrave and Chorus

GUENEVERE:
Tra la! It's May!
The lusty month of May!
That darling month when ev'ryone throws
Self-control away.
It's time to do
A wretched thing or two,
And try to make each precious day
One you'll always rue!
It's May! It's May!
The month of "yes you may,"
The time for ev'ry frivolous whim,
Proper or "im."
It's wild! It's gay!
A blot in ev'ry way.
The birds and bees with all of their vast
Amorous past
Gaze at the human race aghast,
The lusty month of May.

CHORUS:
Tra la! It's May!
The lusty month of May!
That lovely month when ev'ryone goes
Blissfully astray.
Tra la! It's here!
That shocking time of year
When tons of wicked little thoughts
Merrily appear.
It's May! It's May!
The month of great dismay.

GUENEVERE:
When all the world is brimming with fun,
Wholesome or "un."

GUENEVERE & CHORUS:
It's mad! It's gay!
A libelous display!
Those dreary vows that ev'ryone takes,
Ev'ryone breaks.
Ev'ryone makes divine mistakes
The lusty month of May!

Bring the May into your life by bringing home green branches, flowers and branches of flowering trees. Transform your house into a bower. This is a time for giving gifts. Gather flowers with special messages for friends and relatives. Other appropriate gifts include perfume, incense, candied flower petals, herbs, sachets and artificial flowers. Stay up all night, preferably outdoors. At least go for a walk in the night on April 30th and listen for the bells that herald the approach of the Fairy Queen. Then run around, under cover of darkness, leaving May baskets of flowers on doorsteps.On the first of May, wear your most colorful clothes or dress all in green (the color of the fairies). Consider wearing a flower in your hair.

I think I'll go rent the movie!
Have a happy May day!

Teaser Tuesday: Fablehaven

today's teaser comes from

Fablehaven #4

Secrets of the Dragon Sanctuary

by Brandon Mull

As Seth heaved his suitcase onto the bed, he caught a flicker of motion in the far corner by the window.
He turned, staring at the empty corner. Was the window open? Had the curtain blown sideways?
Staring hard, he abruptly caught another flicker, a hand flashing briefly into view along with part of a leg. The body parts appeared out of nowhere and disappeared just as quickly. Seth cried out and stumbled away from the corner.

pg. 169



It is mid-summer's night eve, a night when all evil creatures are free to roam unbound by the rules of the sanctuary. My name is Seth and I am the grandson of the caretaker of the Fablehaven reserve, a sanctuary for all magical creatures hidden away from the eyes of the world. Grandfather thought we would would be safe if my sister Kendra and I stayed the night at a motel away from the preserve.

read my review here




If you'd like to play along, open your current read, randomly select several sentences to "tease" your readers with. Please no Spoilers. Click on the buttons to read more Teaser Tuesdays and discover where other readers are today.

Monday Missions: May Day

about 10 years ago when my neice married in May

we decorated a Maypole at her wedding

For Mary G

For De


For Virginia

(who loves color)

and of course

for the

Painted Maypole

For Heidi
(who checks often and comments regularly--come play)


May Day

The May Queen is here
With a voice so clear
Her bright melody leads the way.

On the road to the knoll
Where we’ll dance round the pole
And celebrate first of the May.

a May poem
by Kaye

And for my bloggy friends introduced to me by the Painted Maypole--
Here are some photo's of May flowers.
You can pretend I put them in a basket and hung them on your door :)
In turn you have to give a kiss to someone you love!

Happy May Day!

Monday Musings: Non Fiction

Today's MUSING MONDAYS post is about reading non-fiction . . .

Do you read non fiction regularly? Do you read it in a different way or place than you read fiction? (question courtesy of Diane)

The only non fiction I read on a regular basis is the scriptures (but depending on what you believe you might think that's fiction, I happen to believe it's non-fiction). I generally only read non-fiction when I need to learn something--for example, how to sew a wedding dress. I also enjoy reading an occassional biography. I find non-fiction time consuming because it requires more thinking and paying attention. I usually read it when I am alone, in a quiet place so I can pay close attention and take notes from time to time.

MONDAY MOVIES

This weekend I caught two Will Smith Flicks. I enjoy Will Smith. I think he is a superb actor who can really carry off a part.

First I watched Seven Pounds. I was confused for at least half of the movie wondering what the heck was going on--but Will Smiths Portrayal of Ben Jones an IRS agent kept me interested in figuring the plot out. Outwardly he was this nice guy doing nice things for people, but when left to himself you could tell he was a tormented person. The plot finally unravels about the last 30 minutes of the film. When realization dawns it is an agony--I won't post spoilers. But this film really pulled at the heart strings. I loved it.

Next I watched Hancock also starring Will Smith. This film--well I didn't like it so much. But I've never liked crude, loud, crunch-em' kind of movies. Though Will Smith played the Hancock character very well.

Sunday Scripture: Sight

Saying, What wilt thou that I shall do unto thee?
And he said, Lord, that I may receive my sight.
And Jesus said unto him, Receive thy sight:
thy faith hath saved thee.
And immediately he received his sight,
and followed him, glorifying God:
and all the people, when they saw it,
gave praise unto God.

Luke 18: 41-43
KJV

Photo Hunt #159 : Protection

Neighbors working together to protect their neighborhood

The neigbors dog--she contributes too!

photo's by

Photo Story Friday: Locks of Love

This is daughter #4's hair before she cut it

It hung 4 inches below her hips and

had a permanent kink where she sat on it

Not only is her hair long, it is thick

and has a bit of a wave

a thick braid hanging down her back

looks like a rope of honey taffy

Yes, she had it cut

13 inches!

donated to "Locks of Love"

and she's still left with a lovely head of hair

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

(the pony tail)

Window Views #1: reflections of teal

Friday while my daughter was having her Bridal Portraits taken, I entertained myself snapping pictures of the local photo fodder.

This window graces  Historic Hotel Utah that has been restored to much of it's former glory. I loved the teal reflection off the glass framed by the white stone of the building. The wrought iron railing on the balcony flanked by the menacing heads of two stone lions was also a nice touch.

“Art is the window to man's soul.

Without it, he would never be able to see

beyond his immediate world;

nor could the world see the man within.”

~Claudia Ladybird Johnson

photo by




this button will take you to places where there are views of more great windows
Mary the teach also hosts another meme I am participating in today
Stop by to see my sepia scene

Sepia Scenes #5: barrel's

This shot was taken in the store-room of a 'staged' small community store (Joseph Smith's Red Brick Store) representing life in the mid 1800's. I thought it creative that even their merchandise arrived in barrel's and was stored much as it was back in the day represented.


photo by

I started a new photo meme today
See the view from this window