Hooray for Mama!

Dallas here.

Excitement is in the air. I don’t know what’s going on, but mama is running around the house like a person on fire.

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Sunrise? Sunset?

Which would you rather see, a sunrise or a sunset?

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Write First; Then Hawk

A few years ago, I went to a writing conference where we were encouraged to start building our “platform” before we were ready to publish our book.

(“Platform building” is basically marketing of you as a writer. It encompasses those things you do to engage potential readers and includes a website, blog, and social media.)

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Feeling a Wee Bit of Wanderlust

Have you ever felt the need to get away?

I’m not talking about taking an afternoon or a day off (though that would be nice).

I’m talking about jumping in the car or onto a train or plane and going away.

Railroad tracks

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Domer’s First Visit Home

My Favorite Domer (my son) drove down from the Land of the North to celebrate Thanksgiving with us in Central Illinois.

He thought it would be warmer.

He was wrong.

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Blog of the Year 2013 Award

My new blogging friend Morgan has graciously presented me with the Blog of the Year award (thank you, Morgan!)

Now if you’ve been blogging for a while, you know awards like this carry rules.

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My Hometown Gets It!

Ed. Note: Can you stand just one more post on this topic? At times I feel I’m preaching to the choir, but who knows? Maybe somebody will drop by, read something here that resonates with them, and drop their plans to shop on Thanksgiving Day. We can only hope more people will join the movement!

Contrary to what some retailers are trying to urge us to do, nobody really has to shop on Thanksgiving Day.

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Nobody Needs to Shop on Thanksgiving Day

Ed. note: A group of us bloggers feel strongly about the demise of Thanksgiving Day’s tradition of being a holiday without stores being open. Thus, we are staging our own boycott of shopping on that Thursday. Any who would like to join the cause are welcome and encouraged to post their opinions at their blog home, as well as to visit our Facebook page and pledge NOT to shop on Thanksgiving Day. Thank you.

Last month I was making a purchase at Kohl’s when the checker informed me they were opening on Thanksgiving Day this year.

What? I demanded. You’re kidding.

No, she said with a wistful voice. I have to leave my family and come to work.

There’s something radically wrong with that picture, folks.

Nobody needs to shop on Thanksgiving Day.

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Lump Day?

Yes, it's a lump!

Yes, it’s a lump!

On one of my regular walks, I passed by a house and saw this more-than-human-sized lump in the front yard, so I had to snap it.

What is it, I wonder?

I’m guessing it must be about 15 feet long and probably 2-3 feet high (it’s hard to tell just by looking!)

Nobody was outside for me to ask, so my imagination went into overdrive.

Was it a construction project of some sort?

A storm shelter?

Did this yard have moles — LOTS of them?

Is a small car stashed under all that dirt, a car the owners tired of because it never quite worked?

Was a whale washed ashore in land-locked Central Illinois?

Is it the burial ground of somebody’s lover(s) caught in the act?

Tell me, What does it look like to you?

It’s a Puzzlement

You know, there are days when I just can’t help wondering:

1) With only 10% or so of the population being left-handed, how come vacuum cleaners have their cord on the right side of the handle? How are we expected to hold both in one hand?

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