Love, Laughter, and Life

Adventures With a Book Lover

Happy Thanksgiving!

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Celebrate World Kindness Day Today – November 13! PLUS #Giveaway

Be Kind, Make Friends, wmu.com/be-kind-make-friends/
World Kindness Day
November 13

Each year on November 13, we celebrate World Kindness Day, “a day to celebrate and promote positive human interactions.” We focus on showing kindness in ways big and small. Every kindness extended to others spreads goodwill and lightens the load of stress people shoulder as they go about their days.

Need more info and ideas? I found Awareness Days very helpful. I especially like the list of ideas and the #hashtags to use when sharing and talking about World Kindness Day (and kindness in general).

Some things you could do include showing random acts of kindness, volunteering, donating to a charitable cause, and teaching kindness to children and young people.

Not quite two years old, my picture book Be Kind, Make Friends, helps preschoolers and the younger audience learn about showing kindness and making friends. I’m glad to have this resource to encourage us to celebrate kindness every day! Do you know of any other resources to help promote kindness to the younger crowd? Add them to the comment section so we can all hear about them.

What will you do to celebrate World Kindness Day?

To celebrate World Kindness Day, I’m giving away one copy of Be Kind, Make Friends to someone who comments on this blog post (US only). Let us know how you would use Be Kind, Make Friends with someone in your world. Winner chosen in one week on November 20. Check back next Thursday to see who won!

Happy World Kindness Day! Thank you for being a part of this blog world!


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2025 Pumpkin Report

Pumpkin Displa

Like last year, the “new seeds” portion of the pumpkin crop was off to a slow start. I repeatedly replanted several sections of the various garden areas I have. Not to great results.

Monet and pumpkins

BUT the “toss out some old pumpkins and let them rot and self-seed” portion of the crop performed with glee! Pumpkin glee!

pumpkin patch after first frost, before harvest

Keep reading to find how many pumpkins were harvested in 2025!

during the pumpkin harvest

Especially productive was the raised bed we have way out in the pasture. That’s where I left several pumpkins from 2024: a white one my son surprised me with after a trip to a pumpkin farm stand, a smaller orange one, and one of those tiny pumpkins. They rested in the bed over winter and sprouted early. Hundreds of sprouts. I had to rip out handfuls to give room to the rest. By pumpkin harvest day, the spread was huge! We actually had to curb the growth as it headed over to the horse pasture (not ours) next door. It took many hours to harvest them. And then more moving them, ripping out the vines, stepping gently to find any lost ones.

I love my pumpkins!

Also productive were the tiny pumpkins planted (but also I left some from 2024, so it’s a toss-up which ones actually sprouted) in the sunflower forest bed. I love these, because they vine and grow up. We had them climbing pumpkins, shrubbery, and some of the pine tree (which began as a twig with roots from the Arbor Day Foundation, and is slowly taking over said sunflower forest and patio). I love discovering where these cuties show up.

I had a little help

I had some muscle to help haul in the heavy wheelbarrows!

wagon for the animal farm next door

We even ended up with a wagon of rejects (partially eaten) for the animal farm on the other side of the pasture.

40 for church potluck

Plus 40 in the trunk to go to church for a potluck!

Finally, here are the 2025 pumpkin harvest totals! Drum roll please . . .

2025 Pumpkins on Display

White pumpkins: 17

Tiny pumpkins: 67

Orange pumpkins: 158

For an amazing grand total of 242 PUMPKINS!

So thankful for a wonderful harvest! Can’t wait until next year!

Just for fun, check out totals from last year here.


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Haiku Moment: beach time mystery

as I walked one day-

random sunbathing surprise

beach time mystery!

dog toy? picnic side?

fallen barbecue baked dish?

couch beach potato

beach time mystery by Angie Quantrell

Grayland Beach State Park, WA


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come fall

come fall, my breath eases

garden chores relax

cozy becomes theme of the day

sweaters resurface from storage

colors vibrate with final goodbyes

crisp air invigorates

dew dampens pant hems and ankles

caws and honks sing seasonal music

rustles dance through dried sunflowers

zinnias fade and go to seed

pumpkins dangle from spent vines

birds fatten, cats fluff, people bundle

tea and scarves and throws

beckon me to breathe,

embrace

all that is autumn

come fall by Angie Quantrell


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Haiku Moment: fall hurrah

garden end begins

sunlight dwindles, weather cools

final fall hurrah

fall hurrah by Angie Quantrell

Yakima Valley


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Sunday Peace

Yakima Valley, WA


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A Morning Date

Some days you need a date with your cutie. Just the two of us. We took the Yakima River Canyon drive to Ellensburg, happy to spy a bald eagle, osprey, and several boaters and rafters already out on the water. Once we got to Ellensburg, we parked downtown on Pearl Street and hit D&M Coffee-a cup of joe for him and a London Fog for me. We sat and sipped at the adorable little outdoor tables. The view was just right.

After the drinks were gone, we walked around and headed to Jerrol’s so I could stock up on purple pens. I got the LAST box! Rumor says they might not reorder. I encouraged the cashier to ask for them to be reordered. The good news is they can order them for me, so there is always that. Whew. Plus I found my Sierra Club plan book for 2026. Ready for the new year!

We wandered back to the car, pens and plan book in tow. After a quick stop at Freddy’s to grab some veggies for dinner, we cruised back home.

It wasn’t a long date. We barely spent money. But the time away together was precious.

What do you like to do with your cutie or bestie?


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Ginger Cat Appreciation Day

Happy Ginger Cat Appreciation Day! To the gingers in our lives. Be they weird or be they lovey-dovey, be they hairy and fur-shedding. To all the snugglers, destroyers of the things, sleep-on-your-head kitties. [And all the other things our gingers do!] Celebrating the gingers!

Put the weirdest, funniest, cutest, or scariest thing your ginger has done in the comments below. We will celebrate with you. Or despair. Your choice!

This post has a compilation of the four different gingers I know and love. Three different households, but alas, I’ve never owned (or been owned by) a ginger.

The look. The nap. The ready-to-attack.

Especially the leave-me-alone.

Let’s not forget how helpful they can be!

Ahem. YOU again?

Happy Ginger Day!!

Gingers in order of starring role: Reeses, Peanut, Daisy, Marmalade, Reeses, Marmalade, Daisy, Marmalade


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Haiku Moment: rainforest floor

rainforest floor

littered with wonder

translucent friend

rainforest floor by Angie Quantrell

Olympic Peninsula, WA