Every year in the early summer a pair of hummingbird couples can be found hovering outside one of our kitchen windows.  We own a small collection of basic hummingbird feeders, so that we can switch them out when one needs cleaning.  These tiny miracles of God’s great and grand creation are wonderful to watch.  They are such funny little creatures – particularly when they get territorial about the feeder.  When I’m outside I hear them zooming about – even if I can’t always hear them.

Of the wide variety of hummingbirds that migrate across North America, ours are the classic Ruby-Throated Hummingbirds.  The males are unmistakable because of the red patch on their throats.

We weren’t sure if there were hummers in the neighbourhood, but we just bought a feeder, filled it up and put it out, within a matter of a week, we had visitdors.  I knew they were back when I saw one buzzing at the feeder, even though I hadn’t yet restocked it for the summer.   Because they are so fast, hummingbirds are hard to hunt down for nature study, with a feeder you’ve got it made, just sit your children at the window with a sketch pad and pencil, and you’re ready to go!

Here she is…goat baby!  Eleven months old and climbing up and into everything.  On the floor you see the results of her victorious raid – papers strewn about, and she looks mighty proud of herself too!  She’s our lightest baby at this age, earliest walker and definitely earliest climber.  She’s a little daredevil…maybe I can get a snap of her standing on the back of her rocking horse with no hands.

This week, the
Christian Fiction Blog Alliance
is introducing
Ghostwriter
FaithWords (May 28, 2009)
by
Travis Thrasher

My Note:  Well, I’m about half way through Ghostwriter.  I LOVED Isolation, and this is similar, but different.  I just picked it up a few days ago in the city, and I’ve somehow misplaced it in all of our unpacking!  ARGH!  Must finish!  Frustration!  So, yes – it does involve a gal in the storyline!

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

It was during third grade after a teacher encouraged him in his writing and as he read through The Narnia Chronicles by C.S. Lewis that Travis decided he wanted to be a writer. The dream never left him, and allowed him to fulfill that dream of writing fulltime in 2007.

Travis Thrasher is the author of numerous works of fiction, including his most personal and perhaps his deepest work, Sky Blue, that was published in summer of 2007. This year he has to novels published, Out of the Devil’s Mouth, and a supernatural thriller, Isolation.

Travis is married to Sharon and they are the proud parents of Kylie, born in November, 2006, and Hailey, a Shih-Tzu that looks like an Ewok. They live in suburban Chicago.

Stop by and visit Travis at his Blog where you can sign up to follow him on Facebook and Twitter!

Also check out the radio interview with Travis on Monday June 8th at BlogTalkRadio/FaithWords

ABOUT THE BOOK

For years Dennis Shore has thrilled readers with his spooky bestselling novels. Now a widower, Dennis is finally alone in his house, his daughter attending college out of state. When he’s stricken by a paralyzing case of writer’s block and a looming deadline, Dennis becomes desperate. Against better judgment, he claims someone else’s writing as his own, accepting undeserved accolades for the stolen work. He thinks he’s gotten away with it . . . until he’s greeted by a young man named Cillian Reed–the true author of the stolen manuscript.

What begins as a minor case of harassment quickly spirals out of control. As Cillian’s threats escalate, Dennis finds himself on the brink of losing his career, his sanity, and even his life. The horror he’s spent years writing about has arrived on his doorstep, and Dennis has nowhere to run.

If you would like to read the first chapter of Ghostwriter, go HERE

…today, and possibly for the past few days.  Our Christian Carders Mr. Linky was dead, but after it was pointed out to me, we’ve been transferred to the new, super-fast, Mr. Linky 2 server!  Woohoo!  All should be well now.  Much thanks to Brad who gave me the heads up.  And please, sweet readers, if you ever notice an error here, I welcome any comments pointing out oopsies and errors .

How can a girl ever forget how to spell Mississippi after spending hours upon end practicing a funny jumping game on a couple of skipping ropes tied together and stretched out between two sets of ankles?  I’m sure you know the game I’m referring to.  You jump between the ropes on the M, jump so that your feet are on the outside of the ropes for the I’s, straddle each rope in turn for the S, and jump firmly on both ropes for the P. 

I haven’t been far enough south to make it to Mississippi yet, but it looks lovely…and warm…and damp..and full of beautiful, old mississippi real estate.

Is it legal to post two Wordless Wednesdays in the same day?  If so, here’s my second installment!  This is a sequel to my first WW post here.  This is our three-year-old daughter in the self-same post hole that my six-year-old is shown in in the first WW post.  She’s a pretty tall girl too!  They just HAD to try!

When I stop to think upon it, I am very grateful for God’s protective hand. Thankful for the fact that He has given the government (and therefore the law enforcement agencies) His sword of retributive justice. We aren’t called to work in the police forces, but I’m ever thankful for those who serve to keep peace and order in that capacity.

Those of you with husbands involved in this line of work might be interested to know that L.A. Police Gear sells a wide variety of Blackhawk SERPA Holsters, and that for a limited time offer they are offering a free tactical hat with the purchase of every SERPA Tactical Holster.

Just to provide some background information. This is our oldest daughter – she’s six, and she’s tall! This is a hole that her father dug in the ground for a post for the swing set her Dad put up for her.  Yep, it used BIG posts.  What a goofy girl we have!

Billiards, or pool as it is more commonly known in our society has a rich and full history as a gentleman’s game. Somehow in our society it seems to have been relegated from sumptuous billiards rooms to smoky bars and basements.

Now, I’ve never been one to splurge on pool sticks or pool cues, my limited experience with pool dates back to my days in high school. My comrades and I would hunt down pool rooms that were actually open to minors such as ourselves (yes, in the big city there are such things!) and bat away at the little, round, shiny balls.

Suffice it to say…we were bad. If any of my high school chums are reading this you might object, so let me rephrase my statement. I was bad. Very bad. But it was worth a few laughs at least!

My paternal grandmother on the other hand is a pool whiz. At the age of 83+ she was still a member of the seniors ladies pool team in her town. That is impressive. She beat me every time I played her hands-down, and that was even after I’d had a few years to season at the age of 21.

So, while I may not understand the intricacies of pool equipment any more than I understand that of the mysterious game of golf, if you play, check out Pool Cue Guru, where perpetual clearance sales are available for the taking.

Well, it’s official – we’re now in full-blown fence building mode for the summer! Larry has already put in two units worth of fence, and he’s working on the next two. It’ll be back and forth, back and forth to the city until we’re all done, so posting here might be a tad bit slower than usual. I always have packing/unpacking to do at least once a week and it’s a big job .

Thanks for your patience everyone!