Skip to main content

A Few of my Favorite Things


Raindrops on roses . . .
I love getting presents, but I love giving them more.  While shopping if I see something that reminds me of someone, I buy it and give it to them the next time I see them.  I seldom wait for a birthday or any other special day.
With ten grandchildren, I am on the constant look out for things they might enjoy – books, toys, clothing.  I love to shower them with presents, but come September, as much as it hurts, I stop doling out goodies and start hoarding for their Christmas stash.
Brown paper packages tied up with string. . .
My blog turns seven years old this April.  It needs a revamp, a rebrand, a rejuvenation, so I decided to celebrate its anniversary with my followers, those dedicated few who have stuck it out with me throughout the journey finding my “voice” and all.  Hey, we celebrate birthdays with presents and cake, right?
But there will be no cake. Sorry.
To be eligible to win the end-of-the-month giveaway, a reader has to follow on my blog page (and, sorry again, be a member who lives within the contiguous United States because of the postage).
For January, I have chosen to giveaway my favorite thesaurus The Synonym Finder by J. I. Rodale.  I found my first copy years ago at a Borders bookstore and have since owned five copies of this book.  The original one sits on my book shelf, tape and glue holding its binder together, but I have a second copy on my desk.  Two were gifts, and the fifth copy sits inside a “If it fits, it ships” postal box, waiting for its new owner.
I have also chosen a movie whose story made such a huge impression on me that I scoured the Internet for years until I found it for purchase.  Made in Ireland, and originally a four-part series on the BBC, Falling for a Dancer didn’t make it to the US (and Amazon) until recently.  I own the DVD and the original book by its author, and I watch all three hours and twenty minutes of this treasure once a year.
The reader/writer giveaway would not be complete without including a swanky new journal and some writing implements, so I added some of those in there too.
I simply remember my favorite things. . .
I keep hoarding things for future giveaways and have to restrain myself from doling them all out at once, so favorite readers. . .  
Join as a follower. Get in on the fun.  I promise you will enjoy the gifts.

 And thank you for sticking with me all these years. 
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Finding My Muse

1)Because my muse has a wicked sense of humor and visits me at odd times and in inconvenient places, I have learned to record inspirations/ideas immediately before I forget them or they dissolve into nothing. I carry small notebooks, own a digital recorder, and have been known to text messages home. I will scribble on anything – old napkins I find in my glove compartment or old receipts. I even pop out of bed in the middle of the night to jot things on sticky pads. 2)Calendars are great places to find topics. I use important dates, seasons, and upcoming holidays to plan blog posts. I can also go back into my work calendar to refresh my memory about meetings, conferences, or books I have read that might be worth sharing with others.   3)I will sit with a good cup of coffee, pen and paper ready, and read the newspaper searching for topics, interesting characters, or modern trends.  News channels and other newsfeeds are just as good.   4)I love to read the TV and movie guides for titles and…
4 comments
Read more

The Girl Who Eats Canned Spinach

I went to a Catholic elementary school run by strict Belgian nuns, and we could not leave the cafeteria until we ate everything served on our food tray. Once a week, they served warmed, canned spinach with our meal. The spinach tasted nothing like the way my grandmother made it, but I ate it. I gulped it down in three or four bites and it amazed my table mates. I told them we ate it at home so I was used to the taste. Now, my real problem began the day I ate the spinach off my friends’ trays so we could go play outside. As soon as the nun monitoring the cafeteria turned her back, my friends ate something off my tray I didn’t want, and I ate their serving of spinach. I only did it for two of my table mates, but the word spread. On the next Spinach Day, kids followed me to my table.I was suddenly very popular, and as soon as the nun marched off to the other end of the cafeteria, my friends and an army of others who only knew me as The Girl Who Eats Spinach, begged me to take their servin…
2 comments
Read more

Facing My Fear of Guns

With the ownership of firearms comes responsibility, so I had asked HoneyBunch several times to teach me how to shoot and to help me get my License to Carry. I got my wish two weeks ago. HB and I signed up to take a LTC class. He bought me a gun, one similar to his, that would be the type we needed to show shooting proficiency, and for one whole week he tried to get me to become familiar with it, but I was hesitant. I read the booklet that came with the gun. I practiced loading and shooting it in what is called dry shooting (no bullets), and since the flyer said I would have to shoot thirty shots at different distances, I finally tried with it loaded. I was a nervous wreck. The class of twelve turned out to be close to forty people. We were of all ages, colors, and genders, and I was glad I wasn’t the only woman my age. The shooting test came first, and we were separated into two groups. Those who were proficient (or thought they were) would shoot first, and those who were novices wou…
Post a Comment
Read more