April Showers Bring

Please visit Flowers on Saturday, Today's Flowers and Macro Monday.
If you visit Today's Flowers on Sunday you can see my guest post.

My Little Helper

It is definitely spring in our area but the weather has been strange.

One day Miss Fuzzi and I are out pulling weeds. Kittens make such good garden helpers. See how she is stalking those weeds (okay, so maybe it's a moth or perhaps one of those invisible things that cats like to chase).

Taking time out for a few photos. It was a gorgeous day.

And the next day, the sleet came down. Thank you Mother Nature.

It's Thursday! That means it's time for Thursday Two Questions.

The other day I saw a headline in our local newspaper, it said "Voice Mail going the way of the horse & buggy." The article explained that voice mail is rapidly being replaced by text messaging. I can't recall the last time I sent or received a voice mail.

1) Do you ever use voice mail?
2) What other current technology do you expect to see decline or disappear in the next few years?

I Heart Reflections

Reflections are one of my favorite photo subjects. It's all in the lighting and turn of the lens. And speaking of reflections, the theme for this month's photo contest at The Retirement Chronicles is Reflections. Have you entered yet? Click HERE for the details.

Do you see the flying fish?

Visit Watery Wednesday and Outdoor Wednesday for more photos.

Ordinary Thunderstorms - Review

One May evening in London, Adam Kindred, a young climatologist in town for a job interview, is feeling good about the future as he sits down for a meal at a little Italian bistro. He strikes up a conversation with a solitary diner at the next table, who leaves soon afterward. With horrifying speed, this chance encounter leads to a series of malign accidents, through which Adam loses everything—home, family, friends, job, reputation, passport, credit cards, cell phone—never to get them back.

William Boyd’s electrifying follow-up to the Costa Award-winning Restless, Ordinary Thunderstorms is a profound and gripping novel about the fragility of social identity, the corruption at the heart of big business, and the secrets that lie hidden in the seamy underbelly of every city

About William Boyd

William Boyd is the author of ten novels, including Ordinary Thunderstorms; A Good Man in Africa, winner of the Whitbread Award and the Somerset Maugham Award; An Ice-Cream War, winner of the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and shortlisted for the Booker Prize; Brazzaville Beach, winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize; Any Human Heart, winner of the Prix Jean Monnet; and Restless, winner of the Costa Novel of the Year.

Visit William Boyd's Website.
Buy Ordinary Thunderstorms.

Review
An ordinary thunderstorm comes with noise, flashing lights and wind but moves on and is gone. But ordinary thunderstorms can in a very short time morph into something much more powerful. It is those fast moving super cell storms that can change our lives forever.

When I first started reading Ordinary Thunderstorms I thought here we go again, another ordinary guy stumbles into something he shouldn't have seen/done and now he is being chased by the bad guys. But as I read I discovered this story was moving in a different direction than I was expecting. No only is the lead character on the run but he loses every possession we consider essential to make our way in today's world. His identification, credit cards, phone and money are gone and worse yet he cannot rely on friends or family. With all ties suddenly broken he finds himself on the fringe of what we call society.

Broken, battered and hungry. Where do you turn? Perhaps follow the advice of a street wise hooker and seek out The Church of John Christ?

The story give a gritty glimpse into a hidden world that we choose not to see. It is the characters that make up this world that I found most interesting. The situations and language are both very coarse much of the time but then so is that part of our world.

If you want a book that will hold you in its clutches from the start and take you places you would never dare to dream about, and most certainly would never go, this is the one. I enjoyed Ordinary Thunderstorms and will be looking for more of William Boyd's novels.

What you would do if everything that ties you to this society was suddenly lost?
I was not compensated for my review. I received a copy of the book from the publisher for review but all opinions are my own.

Meet Benny

He isn't Peter Cottontail and he doesn't deliver eggs or even a jelly bean. But he is the only rabbit we know and he is as cute as can be.

He is a little shy but after much persuasion we convinced him to stand in for the Easter Bunny for just a while.

Meet Benny Bunny!
Benny has a sad story with a happy ending. He was abandoned by his owner which is very sad, how anyone could part with such a sweet fellow we don't understand. After living at the animal shelter for awhile Benny found a very special forever home.

Benny is now the rabbit in residence at our Pioneer Park Aviary. He has a huge (safe and secure) grassy area to play in, his choice of shelters and good food. But the best part is he has many, many birds and squirrels to call friends. He also gets regular visits from the folks around our town, we all love Benny.

To visit with critters from around the world go see Camera Critters.

HAPPY EASTER

Reflection of Blue

The theme for this week's Photo Time is Sky. Okay so this is a reflection but it's still a view of the sky.

But I prefer to flip it around to this view. I am also linking this to Weekend Reflections.

Feathers and Questions

The handsome peacock was strutting his stuff for all the girls to see.

The pretty peahen was either very shy or playing hard to get as she glanced at him over her shoulder. (All of the peafowl in this post and the one below reside at our local Pioneer Park aviary.)

It's time for Thursday Two Questions.

I have been trying to catch up on my reading as you can see from my sidebar so let's talk books today.

1) Do you have a favorite type of book (non fiction, historical, romance, etc) or do you read whatever catches your attention at the moment?

2) If you were stranded on a desert island (the hypothetical one that we all get stranded on in questions like this!) what three books would you want to have with you?

Slow Traffic Ahead

Mr. Peacock was doing his daily commute across the bridge, usually a quick trip unless there was turtle traffic. Mr. Turtle was in no hurry today as the sun was warm and this was a good place to soak up a few rays. As this is a family oriented blog we cannot print the quote we have from Mr. Peacock.

For more photos visit Watery Wednesday and Outdoor Wednesday.

Spring Easy!

"Sugar magnolia, ringing that bluebell, caught up in sunlight, come on out singing
I'll walk you in the sunshine, come on honey, come along with me.

Sunshine, daydream, walking in the tall trees, going where the wind goes
Blooming like a red rose, breathing more freely,
Ride our singin, I'll walk you in the morning sunshine
Sunshine, daydream. sunshine, daydream. walking in the sunshine."

Sugar Magnolia Robert C Hunter and Robert Hall Weir (performed by The Grateful Dead)

Won't you take a moment and visit Freda's Quote It Saturday?

The theme for this month's Brenda Photo Challenge is "Spring Easy!"

And to more beautiful flowers from around the world visit Today's Flowers.

Miss Hildreth Wore Brown—Anecdotes of a Southern Belle

SYNOPSIS
With storytelling written in the finest Southern tradition from the soap operas of Chandler Street in the quaint town of Gainesville, Georgia, to a country store on the Alabama state line, Olivia deBelle Byrd delves with wit and amusement into the world of the Deep South with all its unique idiosyncrasies and colloquialisms.

The characters who dance across the pages range from Great-Aunt Lottie Mae, who is as “old-fashioned and opinionated as the day is long,” to Mrs. Brewton, who calls everyone “dahling” whether they are darling or not, to Isabella with her penchant for mint juleps and drama.

Humorous anecdotes from a Christmas coffee, where one can converse with a lady who has Christmas trees with blinking lights dangling from her ears, to Sunday church, where a mink coat is mistaken for possum, will delight Southerners and baffle many a non-Southerner. There is the proverbial Southern beauty pageant, where even a six-month-old can win a tiara, to a funeral faux pas of the iron clad Southern rule—one never wears white after Labor Day and, dear gussy, most certainly not to a funeral.

Miss Hildreth Wore Brown—Anecdotes of a Southern Belle is guaranteed to provide an afternoon of laugh-out-loud reading and hilarious enjoyment.

REVIEW
As many of my blogging friends know while I no longer live in the South I am a born and bred Southern girl. When I was contacted by the author of Miss Hildreth Wore Brown to see if I was interested in doing a review I jumped at the chance.

I read the book on a Sunday afternoon. Every time my husband walked into the room I was laughing out loud and he kept asking what was so funny. I would read the section to him and he either started laughing or shook his head and walked away (his exit from the room was marked by a low laugh).

You know how it is when you are chatting with a good friend over coffee. You talk about family, friends and acquaintances. Reading Miss Hildreth Wore Brown (you will discover the meaning of the title on the first page) is very much the same. The laughs are many but there are also words of wisdom and a touching moment....or two.

Miss Olivia, I do declare, you and I must have had some of the same relatives! The names may be different but the descriptions are almost identical. Your Mama Ruby could easily have been my Mama Minnie.

My favorite quote from the book:
"I can only assume that in other parts of the country people do not ride a full grown horse through the living room at their little soirees, converse with the dead on elevators, or have nonagenarians serving in the Marines. I have to believe it is the kind of occurrences that only happen in the South. But, honestly, I ponder these things. I surely do."

Am I recommending this book? You bet I am! If you are Southern you will love it! If you are not Southern you will love it! Buy it now! You can purchase Miss Hildreth Wore Brown on the author's website HERE or at Amazon.com HERE. Don't wait!

If you would like to read an excerpt check out POSSUM QUEEN.

And now dear readers, I would like to share a guest post from author Olivia deBelle Byrd.

AN ACCIDENTAL AUTHOR

It began as a mundane task of cleaning out my filing cabinet. I happened upon a humorous anecdote I had written when my son was sixteen years old. He had asked me a question pertaining to sex that had struck me as funny. Since we Southerners have a penchant for turning ordinary happenings into entertainment, I had written an anecdote about it. My husband and daughter were sitting in the room so I read this anecdote to them and they looked at me with their mouths agape and said, “Honey/Mom, that is really funny!” The truth is they were amazed I could write something other then thank you notes.

A few days later, I was telling one of my oft repeated stories and my husband said to me in exasperation, “Why don’t you write this stuff down?” The Scarlett O’Hara in me, who loves nothing more than a good challenge, surfaced and these two occurrences spurred me to action. Why not write some of these tales down for my children as a Christmas gift? I had a quest.

Since I had been raised by a Southern father and grandmother of uncommon wit, the fabric of my childhood was laced with humor. When I finally put pen to paper, the stories flowed as freely as water drops on a rainy day. The tales would surface in the quiet of church, where it seems much of my book was written on the back of offering envelopes. It would probably be best if my preacher never discovered this little fact. One day I was thirty minutes late picking my daughter up from the airport, where she was perched on her suitcase, hands in face. I had pulled over to the side of the road to write. When I surfaced from this rain storm of writing, I realized I had actually written a book!

With the encouragement and mentoring of two wonderful Southern authors, I began the arduous journey into the world of manuscripts and rejection letters. I had armed myself by reading everything I could on publishing and growing a thick skin, but the rejection letters were growing faster than my skin. Then, miraculously, thirty-one months and fourteen rejection letters later, Miss Hildreth Wore Brown-Anecdotes of a Southern Belle was published by an independent New York publisher.

Lives have many forks in the road, but this was a U-turn in mine. The world of marketing a book has taken me down many new paths. My readers have made the lost sleep, uncertainty, and long hours worth it all. I have made new friends and renewed old friendships. I have found family I never knew existed. Every time a reader tells me they laughed at my words, my soul smiles. I have been in love with the written word as long as I can remember and to use it to bring pleasure to others is the greatest pleasure of all.

Olivia deBelle Byrd is a self-proclaimed Southern Belle who resides in Panama City, Florida, with her husband, Tommy. She is the author of Miss Hildreth Wore Brown—Anecdotes of a Southern Belle, which is her first collection of satirical essays.
www.oliviadebellebyrd.com













I was not compensated for this review. I received a copy of the book from the author, all opinions are my own.

Taking My Time

When the ducks are playing in the water it really stirs things up and, almost like clouds, there are many shapes to be found. I didn't see the heart at first but if you look in front of the Wood Duck you will see an almost perfect heart. There are other shapes too (my fav is the goblet), what do you see? Be sure to visit Clytie's Guest Heart Thursday for more hearts.

It's also time for Thursday Two Questions!

1) This Friday is my stepdaughter's birthday, she's a tax day baby. So, for those in the US, are your taxes done or will you wait until the last possible moment?

2) Do you like to get things done as far ahead of time as possible or are you a procrastinator?

I did our taxes back in February. It depends on the project but sometimes I just barely finish before a deadline.

Touches of Yellow

I was out at one of our local parks this past Sunday to see how the spring colors were coming along. Some of the trees are blooming as you can see from this photo and my header but many branches are still bare. The forsythia is bursting with lovely yellow blooms however.

For more photos visit Freda's Tuesday Takes.

An April Day

Things are only impossible until they're not.
Jean-Luc Picard

The sun was warm but the wind was chill.
You know how it is with an April day.
Robert Frost

Please take a few moments and visit Quote It Saturday and Today's Flowers.

A class from one of our local schools is doing a fund raiser to help save our Pioneer Park Aviary. They are using a collage of my photos as part of the promotion. You can see the photos at Pioneer Middle School HERE.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Can You Hear Me?

Visit Freda's ThisWay/ThursWay for more photos.

Thursday also means it's time for Thursday Two Questions.

Let's talk about communications today.
1) What kind of telephone service do you use at home? Landline, internet, cell or other?
2) Are you happy with your service or do you plan to change?

We currently have phone service through our cable company but as soon as the current contract is up we are going to cell phones only.

Two Heads are Better?

I was out at the park last week and saw this cute duck and snapped a quick photo. It wasn't until I got the photos on the computer that I realized the duck was looking at something. Oh cool, I also got a turtle in the photo. But then I took a closer look, I think there are two turtle heads.

I cropped the photo to get a better look. It looks like a second head but it's not the same kind of turtle that I usually see at our park. Any thoughts?

For more photos visit Tuesday Takes (yep, I'm late again) and Outdoor Wednesday.

Mystery Reveled

I believe in the imagination. What I cannot see is infinitely more important than what I can see. Duane Michals, Real Dreams


Hi everybody, my name is Spooky and I'm one of the Kitty Krew. In case you are wondering about my name I got it because when I was a little kitten I got scared really easy. I have told Mom that now I'm a big boy and real brave. I think I should change my name to something like The Hulk or Batman. Mom says we'll talk about it later.

Anyhow, it's my turn to bring you this week's Camera Critters and Quote It Saturday.

Do you remember the mystery bird my Mommy asked you about in a post HERE. She gave you a chance to guess what kind of bird you thought it was.

Maybe if you saw a little more of the birdie!

Some of you guessed a pheasant and you were on the right track. This is a Blue Eared Pheasant. They are common in Central China in the mountain areas. To learn more about this pheasant visit Wikipedia. This photo was taken at Pioneer Park Aviary.

I doubt that the imagination can be suppressed. If you truly eradicated it in a child, he would grow up to be an eggplant.
Ursula K. Le Guin, The Language of the Night

For more visit Quote It Saturday and Camera Critters.

Bye for now!
Spooky