by Salina Yoon & Christopher Polentz People often ask me if my characters come first, or the story. Which inspires the other? Each book is different, but it’s an interesting question, and fun t…
Source: Storystorm Day 9: “The Original Character” by Salina Yoon & Christopher Polentz
Intriguing way to search for story ideas!
It’s party time, followers!
Thank you for voting in confidence
for my posting and blogging bent.
I’m so glad to meet you here,
sharing where we went.
Horrid, I know, but meant very well;
Thanks for hanging with me.
The (blog) world is our oyster!
Forward now, to see what we see.
As we learn and play and chat and goof,
join in the fun, my dears;
Welcome, friends, each and all,
and happy, happy New Years!
The snow that has fallen would easily reach the second step, but diligent shoveling makes finding the welcome mat possible!
The welcome mat is out. Snow covered. But out.
Bundle up, jump in the one-horse open sleigh, and drive over the river and through the woods to Nana’s house. I mean Nana and Papa’s RV.
First, we’ll visit and catch-up. Of course, in our tiny space, this may require sitting in shifts or booting a cat off the chair. Speaking of cats, the floating fur is free.
For the exercise portion of our gathering, shall we shovel some snow? As it seems to fall continuously, there are a couple of acres ready for your attention. We’ll add in a bit of slip-sliding our way up the hill to the irrigation ditch, view the wildlife, and sled back down into the pasture.
To conclude our fun times together, toasty hot tea or coffee and perhaps a snack or two shall be served.
As we wave you out of sight, know our hearts and RV are warmer and happier. Thanks for stopping by. Hope to see you again soon.
Just aim for the welcome mat.
The Christmas tree that shall stand in place until probably March – or until the snow melts enough to get to the base. It’s still beautiful, so I shall enjoy it until then!
Snow, glorious, snow.
Falling, drifting, growing
Into mountains
And triathlon driving adventures.
Snow, fabulous, snow.
Beautiful, peaceful, blanketing
Covering all
And putting to bed those who live under.
– By Angie Quantrell
The sweater of a thousand photos joins me as I corral and snuggle our 5 grands!
New beginnings.
January always brings fresh hope and promises of renewed dreams, goals, plans.
View the sweater of a thousand photos.
This wardrobe piece awaits my beck and call all hours of the day and night. Menopause requires layers. And this, my Goodwill find from years past, is perfect. Cold? Snuggle in this button-up baby. Hot? Fling it across the room without any answering complaints. Fold it. Wad it. Wash it. Toss it. Wear it. Love and hate it.
From my viewpoint, the sweater of a thousand photos matches every item of clothing I own. Because I wear it with any and every thing. Coordinating or not.
As evidenced by photos. At least 1,000 of them.
Life in the RV has finally taken its toll. Laundry facilities are stranded across compacted snow and ice trails inside the stick house of our son and his family. Sometimes one forgets to empty the dryer on time. Usually that is ok. But just this once, it was not.
For the sweater of a thousand photos has been damaged. Heated too long and too hot. The yarns melted into permanent wrinkles. Never before static cling haunts attempts at layering. What once was fuzz and softness is now thin and bare. The sweater of a thousand photos, MY sweater, the $2 deal, is nearing the end.
My heart is sad but realizing the futility of wearing holes and wrinkles held together with bits of yarn. It is time to move on. Let it go. Wave a fond farewell, not looking back.
Unless it is in photos.
New beginnings come in different forms. Out with the old, in with the new. Or maybe new-to-me.
The hunt has begun. This year, I resolve to capture the next sweater of a thousand photos. The search will be in reverse order, according to hunting aficionados, but this works well for clothing.
Hunt. Bag. Shoot.
What will you be hunting this year?
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Little Angie |
by Angie Quantrell @AngieQuantrell
Actually, it is 53 years – until my birthday in November. Why am I making myself older than I am???
A tiny baby girl was born 53 years ago. When that girl was married, she had 2 children, a boy and a girl. Neither resembled her. YES. She was there for the birth, so she knows they are hers.
Much later, the boy and girl both married their lifemates and produced wonderful grandchilden. None of which looked even the slightest bit like the Nana. Rather, they looked like mommy or daddy or this cousin or that one, or even aunties and uncles. No one resembled short little Nana.
Until now. Nana giggles and rubs her hands together with glee.
Little Autumn, the youngest princess, coming in at barely 3 months old, finally shows signs of having something in common with the Nana!
Autumn’s eyes look like Nana’s eyes. A family resemblance – how nice for me!
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Little Autumn and her Nana eyes! |
This Nana is happy with even the slightest hint of “she has my eyes.” I would be fine if she had Papa’s height and not my lack. Actually, I am very happy that she is healthy. A slight resemblance is just eye-cing on the cake. Wink, wink.
Yippee for grands.
Do your children resemble you? How about those grands?
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Just chatting with my Nana. |
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Almost bursting open sunflower. As Kevin says, my sunflower jungle is alive! |
By Angie Quantrell @AngieQuantrell
I’m amazed at how quickly the garden is taking over the backyard.
I’m sad that several icky pests are winning and eating as much as they can (slugs, earwigs, pill bugs, and aphids). Since I prefer not to spray my garden with pesticides, it’s a daily battle to find those critters. Loss is expected.
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Strawberries are still blooming, though they are exhausted! |
But mostly, I’m happy to see this dirt produce food and beauty for our eyes, nose, hands, and tummies. I supposed I could add ears to that list, as the bees are a humming, though they classify as beauty not food. At least for us. The cats love to snatch and gobble them up.
Here are some things growing in the garden.
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Oregano, much loved by bees, is heading towards full bloom. |
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Tea roses – beautiful though they were plagued by aphids early on in the season. |
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Creeping thyme, a walkable plant (you can walk on it). But watch out for bees! |
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Edible thyme is blooming. |
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Radishes are tasty and almost gone. Mmmm |
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Sunset lily. I love the color of these blooms. |
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Ripening Roma tomatoes. |
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The pumpkin plants that are threatening to take over our tiny backyard. Soon, it will be true. |
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Poor, sad, dwarfed okra. I’ve replanted 4-5 times. This is the best so far. |
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Wax beans love my back yard. Green beans? Not so much. |
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Dill entices more bees and is ready for canning. |
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Part of the sunflower jungle. |
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Lavender and friend. |
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Raspberries are coming on strong, much to the delight of the icky pests. |
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Baby zucchini. |
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The parsley is blooming. Those tiny sweat bees love this stuff. |
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Garlic. I have no idea when it is done! |
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Kale. |
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Baby yellow squash. If you squint, you can see someone else was impatient to try it. Go away, bugs! |
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Sage. This is also in bloom. But there is more than enough to go around. Five times around. That’s my garden so far, all from the backyard. I’d be happy to share, especially the herbs. Has anyone else grown okra? What trick am I missing (other than heat, which I think it really needs)? Happy tasting, smelling, seeing, touching, and hearing in your garden today! |
Love, Laughter, and Life 