Photo Hunt: Bagged

A deer I "bagged" when I was much younger than I am now.

I've mentioned before
I live in the western United States, come from a hunting family and grew up game fed, so yeah I'm OK with this.

Photo Story Friday: October

The end of October means it's time to post the results of Photo Hunt Challenge #4 hosted by Kristi at Photo Hunt Challenges. I expect to see a lot of fun Halloween shots and great fall scenery. Click on the button to see more hunts.



Enjoy!


to enlarge click on the slideshow
photo's by




Hosted by Cecily and Carissa

Thesaurus Thursday: Prompt

Word of the day: Prompt; to assist (a person speaking-or writing) by suggesting something to be said. (or written about)

The "word of the day" is chosen by me and usually has something to do with my day. This is an "increase your vocabulary activity"

Play the game like this: Open up a thesaurus on-line. Type the word of the day in the search bar. Using the generated words write a sentence, paragraph, poem, story; anything you choose using at least one of the generated words.

Today Mama Kat at Mama's Losin' It has posted several writers’ prompts on her blog. She would like to elicit a response about any of the posted subjects. She posted a “vlog” as inspiration, hoping to help motivate others to have the urge to join her in improving their writing skills. So if you feel impelled to participate, I suggest you click on her button to find out what it’s all about. So without further rambling; I give you the prompt and my story.

Describe a favorite Halloween costume or moment you wish you had on video.

The year was 2002; it was a chilly, dark Halloween night. In order to help the little people of the neighborhood feel safe our church held a trunk or treat in the parking lot. Participants parked their cars in a line and decorated them with lights and Halloween decorations. They looked quite festive. Adults dressed in costumes waited for the arrival of the little goblins in order to fill their bags with treats.

[picture: Aunt Susan with my little Jedi knight--yes, I made his costume--and Legolas, my 11 year old daughter]


My sister in law, Susan decorated her SUV in a spooky manner with spider webs hanging from the raised hatch back. Inside she had created three life size monsters by stuffing clothes and putting a scary mask where the face should be. She leaned their backs against the seat and stretched their legs out in the cargo hold of the vehicle. The bowl of treats was settled between the legs of the monster in the middle. A sign indicated that the brave little trick or treaters should help themselves. I brought my youngest daughter who was about eleven at the time and my oldest grandson who was three. The kids ran happily from car to car and watched with glee as their treat bags filled and became heavier and heavier. They arrived at the dark, spooky SUV and were a little hesitant to stick their hands in a bowl protected by three frightening monsters. Finally the little one worked up the courage as the older one held him up to reach the bowl. Just as he reached into the candy bowl the monster in the middle moved and tried to grab his hand. Oh my, such howling you have never heard! He screamed and cried in terror. After a moment of comforting and settling him down and giving him his treat my grandson said he did not like the weird man.

Later that evening while we sat in the warm living room at grandma great’s house gorging ourselves on the nights haul, there was a knock at the door. Of course it was trick or treaters asking for candy, as well as a mysterious shadow that stood at the foot of the stairs. The doorbell continued to ring with more tricksters begging treats, and still the creature stood at the foot of the stairs. Yet another time the bell rang. Grandma opened the door expecting little goblins; instead there stood the weird man from the parking lot. Grandma let out a scream and so did the little ones in the room behind her. Some of them ran to their mama’s laps for safety. Then to our amazement the weird man took off his face, right in front of us—it was Levi, Susan’s son. Laughter and shouting and punching of shoulders erupted from the group. Levi had scared each and every one of us from the littlest to the biggest.
Happy Halloween!photo's and story by


join in the fun at
Mama's Losin' It


looking for this weeks sepia scene? I posted it on Tuesday :)


Join Jack in a game of Kokology

Booking thru Thursday: Blurbs

 I'm getting bogged down with meme's, so I'm not making a post anymore.  I'll leave my answer in the comments.

Thursday November 12, 2009

“Life is too short to read bad books.” I’d always heard that, but I still read books through until the end no matter how bad they were because I had this sense of obligation.

That is, until this week when I tried (really tried) to read a book that is utterly boring and unrealistic. I had to stop reading.


Do you read everything all the way through or do you feel life really is too short to read bad books?


I usually finish a book unless it’s vulgar. Breaking Dawn, the 4th book in the Twilight series was a killer for me. The first 100 or so pages were great but the last 500 or so I just about died. There's been a few in book club I've had to force myself to read so that I could participate in the discussion.

This week’s Booking Through Thursday question, suggested by Jennysbooks, asks:

“What words/phrases in a blurb make a book irresistible? What words/phrases will make you put the book back down immediately?”

I scanned through the blurbs on my book review page (books I've read this year) and picked a few words that jumped out and caught my attention:

Tender
Wise
Uncanny insight
Delightful
Innocent
Humorous
Heart warming
Master of story telling
Thriller
Fast paced
Suspenseful
Inspirational
Self-discovery
Poignant
Historical fiction
Romance
Mystery

I am usually most captivated by a well written tease--

Words that would turn me off would be opposite. I tend to be attracted to "light" reading and not "dark". I like wholesome and positive verses degrading and negative. Life is hard enough without reading a lot of negative words.

Book Review: The Blue Star

The Blue Star

by

Tony Earley

About the Book
(Barnes and Noble)

Seven years ago, readers everywhere fell in love with Jim Glass, the precocious ten-year-old at the heart of Tony Earley's bestseller Jim the Boy. Now a teenager, Jim returns in another tender and wise story of young love on the eve of World War Two. Jim Glass has fallen in love, as only a teenage boy can fall in love, with his classmate Chrissie Steppe. Unfortunately, Chrissie is Bucky Bucklaw's girlfriend, and Bucky has joined the Navy on the eve of war. Jim vows to win Chrissie's heart in his absence, but the war makes high school less than a safe haven, and gives a young man's emotions a grown man's gravity. With the uncanny insight into the well-intentioned heart that made Jim the Boy a favorite novel for thousands of readers, Tony Earley has fashioned another nuanced and unforgettable portrait of America in another time—making it again even realer than our own day.

This is a timeless and moving story of discovery, loss and growing up, proving why Tony Earley's writing "radiates with a largeness of heart" (Esquire).

About the Author:

(Barnes and Noble)

Tony Earley is the author of Jim the Boy, Here We Are in Paradise, and Somehow Form a Family. He lives with his family in Nashville, TN, where he is the Samuel Milton Fleming Associate Professor of English at Vanderbilt University.

My Review:

The story of “Jim the Boy” continues in the sequel “The Blue Star”. Jim is now a senior in high school preparing to graduate. I appreciated the fact that the author gave him characteristics common to young men of that age. Jim was obnoxiously aware of himself and the girls around him. Being a senior he had the attitude that he was the top dog in the school and behaved accordingly. His friends were equally obnoxious.

This story is a love story, not a romance novel, but the story of a young man discovering his first love (a car named Major and a girl). A long with discovering his first love Jim also discovers that the life of the young woman he loves, Chrissie, is very different from his own. The process of courting her also becomes a time of change for Jim as he comes to view life from a different perspective.

Tragic events that occur as Jim finishes out his senior year prepare him for the outbreak of WWII. He consigns himself to his duty and enlists in the army. The title “The Blue Star” is for the service star his family hangs in the window for their man in service to his country.


The story ends as Jim departs for the war; hopefully Mr. Earley is planning on continuing this story. Jim the boy has been a pleasure to know and I am looking forward to becoming acquainted with Jim the man.

read a teaser from the book here and here
read my review for the first book in this series "Jim the Boy" here

Click button for more
book review blogs
@Barrie Summy

Wordless Wednesday: Halloween Brides

these two ghostly brides are actually my children
the first is my 3rd daughter that was married this summer, I took this photo of her and thought it looked like she was the bride of dracula--I couldn't wait for Halloween to do some photo-editing and post it.
the second is my oldest daughter when she was about 13--it's straight out of the camera folks--she made a great "white lady". It's always been her favorite costume.
photo's by




edited with

A-Z Wednesday: L

Welcome to A-Z Wednesday!!
Hosted by Vicki at Reading at the Beach

To join, here's all you have to do:
Go to your stack of books and find one whose title starts with the letter of the week.
Post:
1~ a photo of the book
2~ title and synopsis
3~ link(amazon, barnes and noble etc.)
4~ Link back to Reading at the Beach
If you've already reviewed this book you can add it also.
Be sure to visit other participants to see what book they have posted and leave them a comment.
(We all love comments, don't we?)
Who knows? You may find your next "favorite" book.

THIS WEEKS LETTER IS: L


Dan Brown
The Lost Symbol

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the latest in the Dan Brown mysteries
If you like Dan Brown, you will love this book.

information about this book and my review is here

Tuesday Tales: Trick-or-treat

Big Bear dressed as Indiana Jones--yes I made his costume, I make all his costumes!


hosted by Mary the Teach

Today's Trick:

add a verse to the following rhyme

Trick or Treat
Smell my feet
Give me something
Good to Eat

(example verse)

Give us Candy
Give us Gum
Hurry up and
Give us Some

the verse has 4 beats on the first and 3rd lines, and 3 beats on the 2nd and 4th. The 2nd and 4th lines have the rhyming word--let's see what you can do!!!!

Happy Halloween!!!!

Teaser Tuesday: The Blue Star

This week's teaser is from
The Blue Star
by
Tony Earley


hosted by Adventures in Reading

My name is Jim
I've just graduated from Highschool
I live in Aliceville, North Carolina


hosted by should be reading

"He glanced over his shoulder and studied the outline of the hat worn by his shadow. It looked strange to him no matter how he turned his head. Jim had never owned a real hat before, only baseball caps and hunting caps and the cowboy hat, red with white piping around the edge of the brim, he had favored when he was a boy. He felt like he was wearing a disguise, or someone else's clothes."

pg 273

Thanks to Zia at My Life in Not So Many Words for sending me this book. I ordered Jim the boy, the first book in the series and read it first. I enjoyed both books very much.

Congratulations to all the Dewey Marathon participants for completing the Marathon. I participated in a "Marathon" crafting day. I taught women how to sew aprons. My daughter Heidi from Cake Crumbs came and made an apron set for a basket she donated to her elementary fundraiser. She models the finished apron here with little sweetings. Didn't she do a nice job?

Monday Mission: Phone Message

Hello!

You've reached the Jensen's.
I'm home, I'm just outside with Little Bear who seems to think that's the best place to be. No matter the weather; sun, rain, snow or sleet you'll find me out there watching him. So if this is an emergency you can always drive by and sit and chat, if not I'll call as soon as the boy get's hungry and needs lunch. Thanks for calling and have a nice day.

hosted by the Painted Maypole

she's the operator on duty directing phone calls today, you just might hear some more entertaining phone messages that will make you chuckle.

Monday Movies: Surprise Endings

hosted by Molly at the Bumbles

This week's movie topic is all about Surprise Endings...

My brain is in low gear this morning and doesn't seem to have the inclination to kick it up a gear anytime soon--so I used google (such a helpful tool). I typed in "movies with a surprise ending" and found a great web page called EW.com. They had nice big pictures from the movies, described the set up and then if you wanted you could click an arrow and see the twist. Quite helpful for someone who isn't thinking very quickly.

So from that page I pulled off a few movies I'd seen that had a surprise ending:

The Others with Nicole Kidman--a ghostly story that had me puzzled about what was really going on.
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back--I remember being so shocked when that twist was revealed!
Soylent Green--an oldie but a goodie, all about survival of the species.
The Game with Michael Douglas--this show was a puzzle and had me trying to figure it out right down to the last scene.
The Prestige--about a couple of magicians that keep you guessing how the trick is accomplished

Another twisted movie, or movie with a twist that I saw was The Butterfly Effect with Ashton Kucher--that was just weird

I've mentioned before I love Harrison Ford--How about the twist in What Lies Beneath? Harrison Ford made a great creepy villain.

I saw a movie about a hundred years ago when I was in Jr. High that had a surprise ending. The movie was shown in the gym and it seems like it was Halloween. The student body carried their chairs in, and the show may have been more mysterious and frightening just because we were silly girls sitting with silly boys that were constantly trying to scare us. The movie was Wait Until Dark starring Audrey Hepburn.

Monday Musings: Taking Notes

Today’s MUSING MONDAYS post is about note taking…
Do you take notes while reading – either for your reviews or for yourself? How/where do you make these notes (on the page, post-its, scrap paper, notebooks etc)?

hosted by Rebecca at Just one More Page

I do take notes.

If it is a book I'm keeping and referring back to often I'll underline, or highlight and make notes in the margins. I also use post-it flags to mark pages.

If I'm watching for a passage to remember I'll use a post-it note until I type it into a computer file.

In my scriptures I highlight or underline, make notes in the margins, and in a notebook.

BUT . . . . since purchasing my kindle I can make my notes in the book and archive them together. I can review them anytime I like since the notes are saved. I love my e-reader!

Thanks for stopping by today I'm feeling a little under the weather so I'll try to get around to your posts a little later.

thanks

Photo Hunt: Tied

My Son-in-law rappelling into the Black Box, San Rafael Swell, Utah
The rappelling rope is securely tied to him and the anchor


climbing down to the anchor point

I did not take these photo's, but sadly I can't credit them because I don't know who the photographer is. The group pooled their pictures and burned a CD for all participants




hosted by tn chick

Photo Story Friday: Meet Jack

Meet Jack



Jack lived happily in a pumpkin patch in the river bottom at the east of town. He was born one fine summer day, a little round ball of green. His early days were spent basking in the sunlight, swimming in irrigation water and receiving a little nourishment from his umbilical. Life was pretty easy. Late in the summer Jack noticed stripes of yellow running up his ribs. A few spots of color dotted his flesh. After a few more weeks in the sunlight Jack turned a glorious shade of orange. Jack had reached maturity, he wasn’t the biggest pumpkin in the patch but he was content. Lazily he basked in the pleasant temperatures of Indian summer. Towards the end of September a brisk breeze blew in. Brightly colored leaves danced in the wind as they flew off the branches leaving skeletal remains behind them. That night Jack felt a shiver in his umbilical. He woke in the morning to find it gray and dead. Soon hands reached down severing his tie to the patch. He was gently laid in a pile of his fellows. More hands, more faces appeared above him. He was picked up over and over again, poked and examined and finally loaded into a vehicle and transported far away from his patch. Jack lived a solitary life for the next two weeks he wondered what had happened to the patch. And where had the warm lazy days gone. Jack began to feel the life ebb out of him. His existence became a weary one. On all Hallows Eve he came to a fateful decision.

Poor Jack

This story does end on a positive note. On the night that Jack blew his brains out scattering them across the porch step and onto the ground, he left a seed.

Meet Jack Jr.



yup that's right, one of those little seeds found it's way into the ground along side the porch. It rested all winter under the snow. Spring arrived, the seed germinated and soon pretty green leaves pushed up to the sun. We waited with anticipation to see what kind of squash it was. We were so surprised at Jack Jr.'s arrival. A tiny green, round pumpkin. We had a ton of fun watching him grow all summer. He's a little fellow, but we'll carve him up just the same.

the last one :)

if you have a pumpkin in your post

leave a note in the comments

and I'll stop by and visit.

Hosted by Cecily and Kelli