Love, Laughter, and Life

Adventures With a Book Lover


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Flowers in France #TBT

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Ten years ago this spring, my honey and I spent 3 weeks in France. Most of our time we stayed in Paris, where flower shops and coiffured gardens displayed dazzling blooms. I loved gazing at the gorgeous blooms. And, according to my external hard drive, spent much time clicking photos to remind myself of their beauty.

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The first two photos are favorites because of the price tags. Without those French words and Euro price tags, one would assume the flowers could be found on any continent during the proper season. Well, maybe not Antarctica or the Arctic.

at monet's water lilly pond

One of my most favorite memories was taking a day trip to Giverny, the home of Claude Monet. I have been a long time admirer of his impressionistic work. With settings such as these, how could he NOT paint? Breathtaking! If you squint, you can see his featured bridge back beyond the willow trees.

 

bedroom up, studio down

This is a part of Monet’s home. We took a walking tour inside. I don’t have any photos of the inside, I think because we were not allowed to take pictures. It was inspiring to see the places he worked, slept, ate, and enjoyed family life. I would move in in a second!

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The flower gardens are all that-and more! One could spend days exploring and not see it all. Actually, I want to return one day and spend the entire day soaking in the beauty.

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Oh, the flowers that grow! Below you can see the green bridge covered in tourists. Alas, I attempted photos without the crowds, but you can see I created a false impression. 😉 Plenty of others had the same ideas we did about a day in the country.

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Have you been inspired to travel some place special? What captured your imagination and led you to visit and explore?


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Happy Hump Day Haiku Challenge: fruit soldiers

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resting tired trees

tucked in slumber, root anchors

rows of fruit soldiers

 

fruit soldiers by Angie Quantrell

Photo: Taken in January, West Valley of the Yakima Valley

 

Happy Hump Day! What nature scene is unfolding in your neighborhood? Try a Haiku and share it so we can enjoy nature in your area.

In case you don’t know or remember, Haiku is a syllabic-count poem written in 3 lines:

5 syllables

7 syllables

5 syllables


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2019 Word of the Year: Treasure

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Treasure.

This is my word of the year for 2019. I’m excited to see what new thoughts come to mind as I ponder the meaning and the depths of TREASURE. I know my life is filled with treasures, and I want to take time to be thankful for my treasures.

TREASURE is a unique word of the year in that I already have three different facets to explore:

1. My treasure, my hope, is in Jesus. He is the best treasure in my life! I want to explore my Treasure this year.

2. My treasures, plural, are my family. I have a loving, supporting, wonderful spouse. I have fabulous children and perfectly grand grands. I have extended family and friends, more treasures. I want to take time to recognize and be thankful for my treasures.

3. My treasures, gifts with which I’ve been blessed, are many. Home (be it an RV), cat, vehicles for getting around, writing, hobbies, talents, skills, opportunities, health, food…this list is huge. I can’t wait to find out more about my treasures, acknowledge them, and be thankful.

So, “Come further up, come further in!,” as C.S. Lewis says in The Last Battle. I’m going to dig deep and discover the hidden gems found in my word of the year, TREASURE.

Onward!

P.S. If you have a word, phrase, verse, or quote of the year, please let us know in the comments!

 


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Coming Friday: Multicultural Children’s Book Day #ReadYourWorld

This Friday!!! Drop by and read my review of Just Like You by Keosha Sath.

Multicultural Children’s Book Day 2019 (1/25/19) is in its 6th year and was founded by Valarie Budayr from Jump Into A Book and Mia Wenjen from PragmaticMom. Our mission is to raise awareness of the ongoing need to include kids’ books that celebrate diversity in homes and school bookshelves while also working diligently to get more of these types of books into the hands of young readers, parents and educators.

MCBD 2019 is honored to have the following Medallion Sponsors on board!

*View our 2019 Medallion Sponsors here: https://wp.me/P5tVud-
*View our 2019 MCBD Author Sponsors here: https://wp.me/P5tVud-2eN

Medallion Level Sponsors

Honorary: Children’s Book CouncilThe Junior Library GuildTheConsciousKid.org.

Super Platinum: Make A Way Media

GOLD: Bharat BabiesCandlewick PressChickasaw Press, Juan Guerra and The Little Doctor / El doctorcitoKidLitTV,  Lerner Publishing GroupPlum Street Press,

SILVER: Capstone PublishingCarole P. RomanAuthor Charlotte RiggleHuda EssaThe Pack-n-Go Girls,

BRONZE: Charlesbridge PublishingJudy Dodge CummingsAuthor Gwen JacksonKitaab WorldLanguage Lizard – Bilingual & Multicultural Resources in 50+ LanguagesLee & Low BooksMiranda Paul and Baptiste Paul, RedfinAuthor Gayle H. Swift,  T.A. Debonis-Monkey King’s DaughterTimTimTom BooksLin ThomasSleeping Bear Press/Dow PhumirukVivian Kirkfield,

MCBD 2019 is honored to have the following Author Sponsors on board

Honorary: Julie FlettMehrdokht Amini,

Author Janet BallettaAuthor Kathleen BurkinshawAuthor Josh FunkChitra SoundarOne Globe Kids – Friendship StoriesSociosights Press and Almost a MinyanKaren LeggettAuthor Eugenia ChuCultureGroove BooksPhelicia Lang and Me On The PageL.L. WaltersAuthor Sarah StevensonAuthor Kimberly Gordon BiddleHayley BarrettSonia PanigrahAuthor Carolyn Wilhelm, Alva Sachs and Dancing DreidelsAuthor Susan BernardoMilind Makwana and A Day in the Life of a Hindu KidTara WilliamsVeronica AppletonAuthor Crystal BoweDr. Claudia MayAuthor/Illustrator Aram KimAuthor Sandra L. RichardsErin DealeyAuthor Sanya Whittaker GraggAuthor Elsa TakaokaEvelyn Sanchez-ToledoAnita BadhwarAuthor Sylvia LiuFeyi Fay AdventuresAuthor Ann MorrisAuthor Jacqueline JulesCeCe & Roxy BooksSandra Neil Wallace and Rich WallaceLEUYEN PHAMPadma VenkatramanPatricia Newman and Lightswitch LearningShoumi SenValerie Williams-Sanchez and Valorena Publishing, Traci SorellShereen RahmingBlythe StanfelChristina MatulaJulie RubiniPaula ChaseErin TwamleyAfsaneh MoradianLori DeMonia, Claudia Schwam, Terri Birnbaum/ RealGirls RevolutionSoulful SydneyQueen Girls Publications, LLC

We’d like to also give a shout-out to MCBD’s impressive CoHost Team who not only hosts the book review link-up on celebration day, but who also works tirelessly to spread the word of this event. View our CoHosts HERE.

Co-Hosts and Global Co-Hosts

A Crafty ArabAgatha Rodi BooksAll Done MonkeyBarefoot MommyBiracial Bookworms, Books My Kids Read, Crafty Moms ShareColours of UsDiscovering the World Through My Son’s EyesDescendant of Poseidon ReadsEducators Spin on it Growing Book by BookHere Wee Read, Joy Sun Bear/ Shearin LeeJump Into a BookImagination Soup,Jenny Ward’s ClassKid World CitizenKristi’s Book NookThe LogonautsMama SmilesMiss Panda ChineseMulticultural Kid BlogsRaising Race Conscious ChildrenShoumi SenSpanish Playground

TWITTER PARTY Sponsored by Make A Way Media: MCBD’s super-popular (and crazy-fun) annual @McChildsBookDay Twitter Party will be held 1/25/19 at 9:00pm.E.S.T. TONS of prizes and book bundles will be given away during the party ( a prize every 5 minutes!). GO HERE for more details.

FREE RESOURCES From MCBD

Free Multicultural Books for Teachers: http://bit.ly/1kGZrta

Free Empathy Classroom Kit for Homeschoolers, Organizations, Librarians and Educators: http://multiculturalchildrensbookday.com/teacher-classroom-empathy-kit/

Hashtag: Don’t forget to connect with us on social media and be sure and look for/use our official hashtag #ReadYourWorld.


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2018 Word of the Year: Roots

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My 2018 word of the year was ROOTS.

It sounds odd now, when I say roots, but by choosing it, I claimed the focus of concentrating on my roots.

Not only my spiritual roots, but the roots of who I am as a woman, mother, daughter, sister, wife, Nana. The importance of roots in the natural world, my love of nature and gardening, hiking, photography-all played a part in my word choice. My roots anchor me to who I was, am, and will be. With my roots firmly attached to Jesus, I know I am secure and safe from the storms of life, ponderous and damaging though they be.

My art project incorporating the word ROOTS didn’t pop into my head until well after the year got underway. Using watercolor paints, permanent markers, glitter glue (after all, life can always use more sparkle), ink, and rubber stamps, I created a piece to remind me of my word of the year.

My art was not stagnant the entire year. As I found more Bible verses or sayings, had thoughts about the word, or saw something missing and filled it in, I added to my project. I really like the finished look. It occupied a space on my work bulletin board where it was easy to see.

Tomorrow I will share my new 2019 word of the year. I’ve had some thoughts about it, some unique applications already in place. Just recently, the image for my art project popped into my mind, but it is not yet on paper.

Read about The Year of Peace here.

Do you choose a word for the year? Maybe you choose a phrase, sentiment, or goal. I’d love to hear!

 

 


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The Year of Peace

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[PEACE. I found this unpublished post from June 2017. It could read the same for any year. There will always be stuff. As you read this, know that we all face struggles. And peace is available.]

This was supposed to be my year of peace. Not like The Year of Sue (In the Middle), but a year where my focus word was going to be PEACE, and I would gracefully float through the year, thinking peace-filled thoughts and letting peace drip off my fingertips.

Nope. To date, this year has been filled with the most anguish, sorrow, betrayal, stress, frustration, and anxiety I’ve ever experienced. Notice that peace is not listed. It has been hiding in the corner. Right where I’ve shoved it.

As per the title of the blog, we’re talking life. Love, sure. Laughter? At myself and the grands. But mostly, life.

Just this morning, while giving thanks for my breakfast, I asked Jesus for peace. His peace. My mind instantly popped to the story in the Bible (Matthew 8:23-27; Luke 8:22-25) of Jesus sleeping on the boat while the storm raged all around, frantic disciples fearing imminent drowning.

What I need is to be like Jesus, sleeping through the storm. Well, peacefully resting in the midst of the storm. That’s what I need to learn this year.

My thoughts switched to the disciples who should have taken their clue from the Master. He was napping, no concerns, things were fine. Ok, if Jesus is fine with this storm, we are fine with it. Sure there’s water coming in, the wind is blowing up some fine waves, rain is coming down in sheets, but if Jesus is good, we’re good.

But no. They forgot the bit about Jesus being in charge of all the stuff. All. The. Stuff. Weather, lakes, boats, drowning included. Me? I would have joined the friends on board. “Jesus, Jesus, Jesus! Wake-up-wake-up-wake-up-wake-up! We’re all gonna die!!!”

Yes. That would be me. Totally forgetting everything I’ve already seen and heard. Living in the drama of the moment.

Instead of who I want to be, I’m just like them. The eyewitnesses who saw every big and little thing Jesus did, more than we can know this side of Heaven, and they still missed the Big Picture until later, after everything was said and done and the Lord ascended to Heaven and the Holy Spirit came to dwell in believers.

I forget. The big and little things Jesus did and does. I even have the entire Bible to read – something many of the disciples contributed to but were not around to see completed.

It’s not circumstances I need to focus on, but Him. I KNOW this. But…

I don’t want a year of this chaos.

Peace. Some of it may be me allowing Him to redirect my thoughts. Some of it is my choice to wallow, see the negative, hang on to the pain with all ten of my fingers and toes. Some is allowing the Holy Spirit to fill me, daily, every minute, each second.

The year of peace – when I allow myself to nap in the boat with Jesus while the storm rages all around. I’m sure I’ll peek around to see what’s going on, glance at the Captain to see if all is well, then snuggle back up for a good rest.

Peace.

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Happy Hump Day Haiku Challenge: echoes of me

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how many me’s, there?

first in line, glass reflections,

we’ll need more tickets.

 

echoes of me

by Angie Quantrell

 

Hello, Happy Hump Day! Already 2019 is speeding by. Pause and pen a Haiku or share a story about going to the movies. I’d love to read your comments!


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Book Report: The Disasters by M. K. England

The Disasters

The Disasters

By M. K. England

Harper Teen, 2018

 

I won a copy of an ARC of The Disasters by M. K. England through Literary Rambles, an ‘everything literature’ blog by Natalie Aguirre. SPOILER ALERT

Blurb From Goodreads:

Hotshot pilot Nax Hall has a history of making poor life choices. So it’s not exactly a surprise when he’s kicked out of the elite Ellis Station Academy in less than twenty-four hours.

But Nax’s one-way trip back to Earth is cut short when a terrorist group attacks the Academy. Nax and three other washouts escape—barely—but they’re also the sole witnesses to the biggest crime in the history of space colonization. And the perfect scapegoats.

On the run and framed for atrocities they didn’t commit, Nax and his fellow failures execute a dangerous heist to spread the truth about what happened at the Academy.

They may not be “Academy material,” and they may not get along, but they’re the only ones left to step up and fight.

Book Report

I truly enjoyed reading The Disasters. Nax is a mix of Captain Kirk and Han Solo-rebellious, risk-taking, and flying by the seat of his pants. Oh, and don’t forget skilled and able to creatively solve problems. The rest of the cast was just as interesting and unique. These failures who were kicked out of Ellis Station Academy formed a team capable of trying to figure out what to do to help, well, the Universe.

What I loved: I enjoyed the characters and the setting of post now. I found it intriguing that once humans left the area, they were unable to ever visit Earth again. I loved the mystery and thrill of bad things happening, evil plans, and plot twists. The living in outer space setting was fun and I might have learned a few new things.

I found the writing to be smooth, engaging, and page-turning. I think I finished the book over 2-3 evenings. Just couldn’t put it down.

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Thanks to M. K. England, Literary Rambles, and Natalie Aguirre. Great read!

You can read the interview over at Literary Rambles here.


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Happy Hump Day Haiku Challenge: blue

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it’s not what you think,

this winter shade; cold, blue light-

snowdrifts cast shadows

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blue

by Angie Quantrell

 

Happy New Year! Welcome to the first Happy Hump Day Haiku Challenge of 2019. I hope you’ll join the fun by commenting or writing your own winter Haiku.


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Snow Play in a Writer’s Life

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After a writing day of sitting at the table, this person had to get some moves on! Writing is great for the mind, but deadly for the backside.

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After a bout of shoveling slush, I fixed the snowman’s melted face. He’d lost his ability to see, smell, and smile, poor fellow.

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I walked to the top of the hill to see what I could see. But all I could see was the other side of the hill

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I made my own rectangular snow walk, smartly going round and round, turning sharp corners and attempting straight paths. Apparently I can’t walk a straight line.

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But still, the designs in the snow are intriguing, and shadows cast by the melting sun throw footprints into blue relief.

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If only I were a raven, my bird’s eye view would snatch hidden gems from the mystery that is snow and sun, freezing and melting, white and blue.

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Did you play outside today?