Deerfield Fair with the Girls

Welcome to A to Z!

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This week is the letter D.

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Deerfield Fair. It's been part of our family forever. Forever? Yes! It's the fair my mom grew up going to and when my older sister and I were kids, still living in Maine, we'd make the trek and go to the Deerfield Fair whenever we could...which wasn't often, but it was enough to engrain it into us.

It's the fair of all fairs in our family. Still.

So, this year when Mom said she wanted to go to the fair, we converged in Boston. (Did I mention the fair is in Massachusetts?) We flew in from IL, MO, AZ, and Puerto Rico.

This last summer I went to a LOT of fairs and let me tell you, Deerfield Fair is nothing like them. It's bigger and better and cram-packed with people and events. Country events--things like horse pulls, oxen pulls, horse shows, 4-H shows...all that fun stuff.

The big event for us was the heavy horse pulls. We spent hours sitting in that arena watching the horses and teamsters and listening to the announcer. It didn't take long for us to loose our Rs and start talking how we used to. Start became staht. Horses were hosses and we cahfully remembered where-ah we pahked the cah.

We spent hours and hours sitting in the horse arenas (plural--one for pulling and another for the horse shows, which were super cool to see!) Cheryl was smart, she brought her toys and did some journaling with her paints. Talk about cool!!  I loved watching her dip and dab while we waited for the shows to start--cuz yanno, we couldn't lose our good seats. =)

We had a BLAST! The fair was WONDERFUL, but being together was the BEST. We talked and ate and acted goofy and did all those fun things sisters do when they get to go on a trip with their mom. hehe.

So tell me, did you go to the fair as a kid? What was your favorite thing?


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Time to Celebrate!

Welcome to A to Z!

We'd love to have you join the fun, either blogging your way through the alphabet with us, or simply visiting. =) We dearly love visitors.

This week is the letter C.

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It's time to celebrate!!

Our baby has a name!
What? You didn't know I had a baby in progress? LoL. Actually, some of you did. It's the Christmas anthology I've been compiling.

Awhile ago the idea to put together a Christmas anthology hit me. It was a full-blown brain blizzard. I put it off but the idea wouldn't leave me alone so I finally shared it with some people...and that led to going for it.

A group of us, represented by the wonderful Linda Glaz, decided to take the plunge and go for getting a book out in time for Christmas. I've had the privilege of compiling the book and I have to tell you, I have been SO BLESSED by the stories. I cannot wait to share them with you!

At this point I don't have a cover or release date but that's okay. The book is well underway and it's all I can do to sit quietly and wait.

Oh, wait!
I still haven't told you the name! LoL. (Did I mention how excited I am?!)

*drum roll*

Christmas Treasures: 
A Collection of Christmas Short Stories

Stay tuned for more information as I get it.

So tell me, what's your favorite kind of Christmas story?

PS--Keep an eye on Facebook to see who has stories in Christmas Treasures!

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Monkey Bath

Sometimes when we are at work with the monkeys someone will go by and make comments about them being dirty or having fleas and lice. (It makes me mad, but I keep my mouth shut. But really, if the monkey was like that, do they think I'd bring him out like that? Do they think the fair board will allow me to set up and work there? Really, sometimes people talk before they think. Other times I think they're in a hurry and don't want to stop so their kids can see a monkey up close.)

ahem.
Rant over.

Sure, some monkeys are dirty. Some monkeys do smell. Some monkeys might even have fleas or lice. *shudder*

But NOT all monkeys! 
And certainly not mine!

Those of us who have monkeys and love them, take care of them, and that means they get baths.

Toby loves his bubble bath. Adores it!

A few days ago, author Karla Akins, who is also an animal lover (be sure to check out her well-loved pets!) sent me a link to this video and asked if my monkeys do this...



YES!! They do! I use baby shampoo for their bubble bath and on their fur like you see in the video and they scrub and scrub, using their hands, feet and tail. Sometimes though, I end up as wet as they do.

Maybe another day I'll show you what happens when Toby decides to he doesn't want to take a bath...

And thank you, Karla for this great video clip! Squirt is adorable!!

So tell me, do your pets like their baths?

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Beauty Instead of the Beast

Welcome to A to Z!

We'd love to have you join the fun, either blogging your way through the alphabet with us, or simply visiting. =) We dearly love visitors.

This week is the letter B.

If you're joining in the meme, be sure to link up with us at the end of this post. Since this is a blog hop, you can grab the code for the linky down there too. Find more info about the A to Z meme here.

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It's been raining here at my house for days and days. Even when I wasn't home it was raining. We've had everything from storms to drizzle. Constant drizzle to tornado warnings. 

Yesterday my daughter came out of her room and growled when she looked out the kitchen window. "See, this is why I hate winter! It's so dark and gray. It's awful." I know what she's talking about. Often the winter--the dark days become like a Beast in our lives, making it hard to see anything else. Thankfully, later that day God reminded me of something I need reminding of often...

My youngest son stepped outside for something and came running back in to tell me to come see.

Beauty had flooded the sky.

Often we're so focused on the Beast that we miss seeing the Beauty.

After snapping a few pictures (okay, lots of pictures), I turned around to go back to the house. This is what I saw...

More beauty, even if this picture doesn't show it well.

A double rainbow.

What a reminder that there's beauty all around us. Even on dark days full of storms and the constant dripping of drizzle.

Sometimes we just need to step to where we can see and then look around.

Beauty is there, if we'll just look.

So tell me, what's something beautiful you've seen lately?

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If you're joining us for the A to Z meme by posting on your blog this week about the letter B, be sure to add your name and the link to that particular post in the linky gadget here. Also, if you don't have the linky gadget on your site, click the link to get the code so you can add it.

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Changing of the Colors

Sometimes the best way to make a change is to do something drastic. Like remove the background I've been using for years. The background I love adore. The background that is truly me.

So I did it.

I removed my background.

I've always said I never wanted a white site, and we both know that using words like always and never is never a good idea.

Maybe I was holding onto my pink and green stripes too tightly...

Losing readers is something I've spent a lot of time thinking about over the years and lately too. I want to know what makes a person leave a site.

As I've tweaked my focus from time-to-time I've seen people stop following, and I'm good with that. Time is such a huge issue for everyone and I'm honored and humbled that anyone reads my blog--when I started blogging it was out of obedience, not to be found by others. I've worked at staying obedient even when it felt I wasn't doing what should be done to build my site. I want it to be relevant and good. I want people to leave with a smile, sometimes. I want to give them something to think about, sometimes. Sometimes I post things because I feel I need to.

Recently, on Facebook as well as on my agent's client loop, I asked for input on my site and my friends came through for me. They gave me encouragement and things to think about and opinions--I asked for opinions. =) I'm so thankful for all their input! I will be making changes here, as soon as I settle at home for more than 5 days in a row. LoL.

Some of the responses to my request for input made me think about what makes me leave a site...and there are some sites I will NOT go to, some that I leave without reading a word of the content (content I know they have and would like to read), and some sites that I'll scowl as I read the content and leave ASAP.

What is it that makes me leave a site like that?

• Black sites or too-dark sites. I just can't do them--can't read white text on a black or dark background without killing my eyes and my eyes work hard enough without adding to their struggle.
• Evidence that the site owner doesn't care about how the site looks. I find this in content-is-king-everthing-else-is-stupid group. Yes, content is king, but if the owner demonstrates they don't care about their site, why should I?
• Cluttered. AND, I've found that this is very subjective. What I find cluttered is far different from what a minimalist finds cluttered. 
• Ugliness. There. I said it. If I come across a site that strikes me as ugh-gly, I leave. Sorry, but I do. Chance are that I'm not the only one.

The interesting thing has been to see how my site fits into half of those categories (some people hate pink and my site is was definitely very pink). Do I have to please everyone? No way! It's not even possible. But, I can find a way to mold what I have here into something that doesn't drive people away before they read a word. And that's what I'll be working on. I may find something I like quickly and easily, but then again, it may take several tries. I'm not in a hurry and I want to get it right. The site may be pink when I'm done with it, but I doubt it'll be as pink and as bold as it was. The thing is, I'm staying open to change. So, if you see me changing faster than the trees up north, please bear with me. 

So tell me, what makes you leave a site?

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Anxious About...

Welcome to A to Z!

It's here! And I'm so excited. Another round of A to Z.

We'd love to have you join the fun, either blogging your way through the alphabet with us, or simply visiting. =) We dearly love visitors.

This week is the letter A.

If you're joining in the meme, be sure to link up with us at the end of this post. Since this is a blog hop, you can grab the code for the linky down there too. Find more info about the A to Z meme here.

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This year I've learned a lot about anxiety.
It's not a learning curve I sought out.
It's not been a fun lesson.

But it is the path I've been on and I know God has used it in my life. When the anxiety became too much I turned to the only One I knew who could handle it and do something about it. I dug into the Word and I think it saved my sanity.

I know it saved my peace of mind.

Not only did I find peace of mind, I found peace. All-encompassing peace. The peace that passes all understanding.

Now I'm anxious to--as in really looking forward to--share what I learned about anxiety and worry. I've been working on a study about worry and sometime this fall I'll be putting it on Kindle.

It's a good kind of anxiousness. One that I like.
One that I can live with.

So tell me, what's an anxiety you can turn the tables on and turn it into the good kind of anxiousness?

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If you're joining us for the A to Z meme by posting on your blog this week about the letter A, be sure to add your name and the link to that particular post in the linky gadget here. Also, if you don't have the linky gadget on your site, click the link to get the code so you can add it.

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Done with Monkeying...

Done for the season!

This last weekend was our last monkey gig on the calendar. Which isn't unusual. I've gone from an empty monkey schedule to three events within a few hours, but not this time. It's too cold for monkeys outside! And I have to admit, I'm glad to see the cold weather come this year--it means I get to stay home for awhile. =)

Here Fonzie is enjoying the frozen treat Eileen gave hime while at the St. Clair Fair, in Belleville. He LOVED it!! (thank you, Eileen!)

Wednesday, October 8th, A to Z starts! That's THIS Wednesday. And if you've asked for the links for this run of A to Z I'll be getting them to you soon.

Just didn't want you to think I'd forgotten. ;-)

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