My Grandfather's Clock and Thankful Thursday

This, is my grandfather's clock. I mean that literally. Sometime between 1906 and 1910 my grandfather built this clock in his high school shop class. Which makes it between 105 and 109 years old.

It was a kit clock. The style, with the picket fence along the bottom, was popular in its day. In the original Great Gatsby movie (with Robert Redford) there's a scene in which a clock very similar to this one makes a brief appearance.

It's the only thing I have of my grandfather as he wasn't a part of my father's life and thus not a part of the lives of his grandchildren. My father said, since he slept in the living room, that he grew up listening to it's ticking and bonging all of his life. When Dad's mother died, he took the clock. Then he gave it to me.

It has kept descent time all these years, until recently when it just plain stopped.

We spent a small fortune and had the clockworks completely overhauled, cleaned and repaired.

It's tick-tocking and bonging beautifully once again.

The clock man says, with oiling once every 4 or 5 years, it's good for another 100 years. That's a lot of tick-tocks, a lot bongs.

My grandfather's clock is too tall for the shelf
So it's stood 109 years on the floor...                  

***

Every Thursday, from now until I don't know when, I'm going to express my thankfulness, for at least ONE something.

I've chosen a picture of the Deep Field to remind us all of how precious and rare this tiny ball of dirt, that we call Earth, is. 

This is it. It's all we've got Let us be kind to Earth and each other. Let us be THANKFUL for what we have.

Today I'm thankful for: Hamburgers!

 Why? Because it's National Hamburger Day.

Pay it forward, buy a hamburger for somebody in need.

***

What are you thankful for? Do you have something from a grandparent that you cherish? Will you be eating or giving away a hamburger today?

Alternatives and Thankful Thursday

Alternatives is a recurring post in which I give synonyms for an over used word. Click on the tab above for a "complete" list of over used words.

Today's word is:

Like "effective" last week, this is another word I wouldn't have thought to include in my list of over used words. But here it is. Perhaps there are writers who write something like this:

"You could have stopped them." The emphasis on "could" did not escape her astute mind.

"How was I to know they'd chop off his head?" Tears streamed down her face for emphasis.

He sighed, emphasizing his exaggeration. "Surely with that uzi in your hands you could have done SOMEthing." 

She sniffed, rubbing her eyes. "I forgot where the safety was..."

Depending on how you use it, this list may come in handy for finding another way to say the same thing.

accent/accentuation, affirm, articulate, assert, attention

bear down, beat

charge, consequence, consideration

decidedness, dramatize, dwell on

enlarge, enunciate, express, evince

force

headline, heed, highlight, hit

ictus, import/importance, impress/impressiveness, indicate, insistence, insist on, intensity, italicize

labor the point, limelight

maintain, make a point, make clear, make emphatic, make much of, mark, moment

note

pinpoint, play up, point out, point up, positiveness, power, precedence, press, primacy, priority, preeminence, prominence, pronounce, punctuate, put the accent on,

regard, reiterate, repeat, rub in

show, significance, spotlight, strength, stress

top billing

underline/underlining, underscore/underscoring, urgency

value

weight, worth

***

If, like me, you don't know what ictus means, it has to do with the stressed beat in poetry. In medicine it refers to a stroke or seizure.

***

Every Thursday, from now until I don't know when, I'm going to express my thankfulness, for at least ONE something.

I've chosen a picture of the Deep Field to remind us all of how precious and rare this tiny ball of dirt, that we call Earth, is. 

This is it. It's all we've got Let us be kind to Earth and each other. Let us be THANKFUL for what we have.

Today I'm thankful for flowers in our yard.

It's spring and this spring is special because we've actually had a significant amount of rain. Over 5 inches and more is predicted, though weather people have been known to be mistaken.

This has been the longest, coolest, wettest spring we've had in many years, 4 or 5 at least. It is a relief.

The drought isn't broken yet, but it's a start.

In our yard...

 Black eyed Susan

 Horse mint

 Yarrow.

 Leather flower.

 Rose corn flower

 Road-side wild flower, can't remember the name.

Today I'm thankful for flowers.

***

What are you thankful for? Got a favorite alternative word to emphasize something that needs emphasizing?

Alternatives and Thankful Thursday

Alternatives is a recurring post in which I give synonyms for an over used word. Click on the tab above for a "complete" list of over used words.

Today's word is: Effective

I can't say that effective has ever been on my personal list of overused words, but when I originally began collecting words it's one that came up so, not wanting to leave someone elses pet word out, I thought I'd best include it. 

Depending on how you use it, this list may come in handy for finding another way to say the same thing.

able, accomplished, active, actual, adept, adequate, applicable

be firing on all cylinders, businesslike

capable, cogent, compelling, competent, consummate, convincing, current

direct, dispatch, do the trick,does what it says on the tin dynamic

effectual, efficacious, efficient, emphatic, energetic, ergonomic, essencial, experienced, expert

feasible, fire, forceful/forcible, fruitful, functional

hard-hitting, having lead in, helpful, hyperefficient,

impelling, implied, impressive, in effect, in execution, in force, in operation

killer

labor-saving, light, live

masterly, miraculous, moving

on the ball, operative, ortganized

pencil, persuasive, playing hardball, potent, powerful, powerhouse, practicable, practical, practiced, proactive, producing, productive, proficient, punch/punchy

real, realizable, resultant, rough and ready, run/go like clockwork

serviceable, serving, skilled/skillful, smooth, snappy, sound, striking, strong, sufficient

tacit, technical, telling, timesaving, together, treat, trenchant, trick, try

ultraefficient, unacknowledged, usable, useful

valid, valuable, versed, veteran, virtual, virtuoso, virtuous

weighty, well oiled, well tried, wicked, with dispatch, work like a charm, work wonders/miracles, workable, working, worth, worth your salt

yielding

If you'd like, to HERE to hear a youngster named Jannah Bolin sing The 7 Habits of Effective People. Pretty cool.

THANKFUL THURSDAY

I've been delinquent with these posts due to the A to Z Challenge. At least that's my excuse and I'm sticking with it. 

Every Thursday, from now until I don't know when, I'm going to express my thankfulness, for at least ONE something.

I've chosen a picture of the Deep Field to remind us all of how precious and rare this tiny ball of dirt, that we call Earth, is. 

This is it. It's all we've got Let us be kind to Earth and each other. Let us be THANKFUL for what we have.

Today I'm thankful for Coral Reefs.

They are vital to the health of the planet.

And yet they are dying.

Their beauty cannot save them.

Only we can. And while we make plans to go to the moon and to Mars, less than 10% of the oceans have been explored. We know so little about our home, why do we need to go to places where we cannot live? Earlier this month, off the coast of Puerto Rico (the deepest part of the Atlantic Ocean) scientist captured images of new creatures that have yet to be named.

Check it out.

 Thursday, May 7, 2015

Today I'm thankful for coral reefs.

***

What are you thankful for?

Another Win and Thankful Thursday

Thanks to Natalie at Literary Rambles, for the second time in one month I've won a book! This time it's Villain Keeper by Laurie McKay.

The Blurb

Unexpected magic, villainous teachers, and dragons in disguise await readers in the first book of a delightful new tween adventure series by debut author Laurie McKay.

All his life, Prince Caden has dreamed of being sent on a quest to slay a dragon. But before he has the chance, he is ripped from his home in the Winterlands of Razzon and finds himself in Asheville, North Carolina—a land with no magic and no dragons. But a prince must always complete his quest. And the longer Caden is in Asheville, the more he realizes there is magic in this strange land after all. More important, there may just be dragons here, too. But what if Caden’s destiny isn’t to slay a dragon, like he's always believed?

Fans of Soman Chainani’s The School for Good and Evil and Chris Colfer’s The Land of Stories will be transported by this first book in an epic new series for middle grade readers about a brave young prince’s quest to find answers, honor, friendship—and what it really means to be a hero. 

Sounds like it's right up my alley!

***

Every Thursday, from now until I don't know when, I'm going to express my thankfulness, for at least ONE something.

I've chosen a picture of the Deep Field to remind us all of how precious and rare this tiny ball of dirt, that we call Earth, is. 

This is it. It's all we've got Let us be kind to Earth and each other. Let us be THANKFUL for what we have.

Today I'm thankful for laughter

What is it about laughter? On the one hand it can look and sound like someone weeping. And yet... we know the difference.

It can be contagious.


Sometimes we can sound a bit like apes... hmmmm.

It also makes you feel good and is good for your health. Just ask Ellen.

Today I'm thankful for laughter.

What are you thankful for?

C. Lee McKenzie, I'm a Winner, and Thankful Thursday

Available at Amazon.

C. Lee McKenzie has released THE GREAT TIME LOCK DISASTER,  a new middle grade novel. 

Here's a blurb: There's nothing’s more dangerous than a wizard-in-training. And Pete Riley, has just proven it. He's worked a bad time spell--a very bad time spell. No YouTube, no smoothies, no Manga. Not ever again. Not unless Pete figures out how to reverse his spell and free Weasel and him from Victorian England. 


He has until the next full moon. Only a few days.

Tick. Tock.

PLUS, Lee is having a Rafflecopter giveaway so hurry over and sign up for a chance to win

***

It's been a while since I've won anything. So, winning a copy of WOVEN by  Michael Jensen and David Powers King was a very pleasant surprise! (How did they decide who was getting top billing?)

About Woven:

Two unlikely allies must journey across a kingdom in the hopes of thwarting death itself.

All his life, Nels has wanted to be a knight of the kingdom of Avërand. Tall and strong, and with a knack for helping those in need, the people of his sleepy little village have even taken to calling him the Knight of Cobblestown.

But that was before Nels died, murdered outside his home by a mysterious figure.

Now the young hero has awoken as a ghost, invisible to all around him save one person—his only hope for understanding what happened to him—the kingdom’s heir, Princess Tyra. At first the spoiled royal wants nothing to do with Nels, but as the mystery of his death unravels, the two find themselves linked by a secret, and an enemy who could be hiding behind any face.

Nels and Tyra have no choice but to abscond from the castle, charting a hidden world of tangled magic and forlorn phantoms. They must seek out an ancient needle with the power to mend what has been torn, and they have to move fast. Because soon Nels will disappear forever.

Available at Amazon.

***

Every Thursday, from now until I don't know when, I'm going to express my thankfulness, for at least ONE something.

I've chosen a picture of the Deep Field to remind us all of how precious and rare this tiny ball of dirt, that we call Earth, is. 

This is it. It's all we've got. Let us be kind to Earth and each other. Let us be THANKFUL for what we have.

Today I'm thankful for mockingbirds.

Hubby and I have a special fondness for mockingbirds. They are a portent of spring. When they start singing you can almost feel that their songs are lassos, or sky hooks they are throwing out to pull Spring up from the southern climes. On a sunny morning they will find the highest point on a tree and while they are singing, they will LEAP up into the air and flutter back down to the perch. Then a few moments later, again, LEAP. It's as if singing their joy isn't enough, they must leap for joy as well.

I had a dog named Chester that I dearly love who was devoted to me. He would have given his life without a thought and on three occasions proved himself ready to take on anything or anyone to protect me. And yet he wasn't in the least bit mean or aggressive. Chester loved exploring and seemed connected to nature in a special way. He played tag with the deer. (For TRUE!) On the day he died we came home to see a fine looking stag standing across the street staring at our yard. He stood there for a good five minutes before moving on. In all the years we've been here that's the only time a stag has done that.

The other thing that happened was that a mockingbird sang in our yard ALL. DAY. LONG. He went from tree to tree to tree and sang and sang and sang. It was as if he was singing about the joy Chester brought us, singing his praises. We'd had mockingbirds sing in our yard before he died and after, but never as long as that one bird sang.

Today I'm thankful for mockingbirds. They are starting to sing Spring into being.

***

What are you thankful for?

Alternatives and Thankful Thursday

Alternatives is a recurring post in which I give synonyms for an over used word. Click on the tab above for a "complete" list of over used words.

Today's word is:

Easy can be used in an abundance of ways. 

Easy as in: "That test was a breeze to get through!"

Easy as in: "They say she's a wanton hussy."

Easy as in: "He was a push-over and fell for the scam."

Easy as in: "The teacher is too lenient with his students."

Depending on how you use it, this list may come in handy for finding another way to say the same thing.

a breeze, abandoned, accessible, acquiescent, affable, agreeable,  amiable, apparent, artless

basic

calm/calmly, can of corn, carefree, casual, charitable, cheap, child’s play, cinch, clean, clear, clear-cut, clement, comfortable/comfortably, comfy, contented, conveniently, cozy, credulous, cushy

debauched, deceivable, defenseless, dew-eyed, distinct, downhill, duck soup, dupable,

easy as one-two-three, easy as pie, easygoing, effortless, elementary, evident, exploitable

facile, fast, fictile, flowing, fluent, fluid, forbearing,

genial, gentle, genuine, good-humored, graceful, gradual, guileless, gullible,

hands-down

idiot proof, inconsiderable, indulgent, informal, innocent

kid’s stuff

laid-back, lax, lenient, libertine, licentious, light, like rolling off a log, like taking candy from a baby, little, loose

malleable, manageable, manifest, merciful, mere, mindless, moderate

naïve, natural, nonchalant, no bother, no problem, no sweat, no trouble, not burdensome, nothing to it

obliging, obvious, open-and-shut,

painless, palpable, paltry, patent, peaceful, perspicuous, picnic, piece of cake, plain, plain sailing, pliable/pliant, promiscuous, pushover

quick, quiet

ready, relaxed, royal

safe, secure, serene, simple, simple as ABC, simplified, slight, slutty, smooth sailing, snap, snug, soft, spontaneous, straightforward, susceptible

tolerant, tranquil, transparent, trouble-free, trustful/trusting

user friendly, unaffected, unambiguous, unceremonious, unchallenging, unchaste, uncomplicated, unconcerned, uncritical, undemanding, unequivocal, unhurried, uninhibited, uninvolved, unmistakable, unproblematic, unreserved, unrestrained, unsophisticated, unsuspecting, unsuspicious, untroubled, unwary, unworldly,

vulnerable

wanton, wide-eyed, wieldy, whorish

yielding

***

Every Thursday, from now until I don't know when, I'm going to express my thankfulness, for at least ONE something.

I've chosen a picture of the Deep Field to remind us all of how precious and rare this tiny ball of dirt, that we call Earth, is. 

This is it. It's all we've got Let us be kind to Earth and each other. Let us be THANKFUL for what we have.

Today I'm thankful for HEART.

Because it's so close to Valentine's Day, it seems appropriate to give my wonderful Random Followers a few heart-felt Valentines.

Happy Valentine's Day everyone!

***

What are you thankful for? Is there an alternative for easy that you particularly like?

Thankful Thursday

Every Thursday, from now until I don't know when, I'm going to express my thankfulness, for at least ONE something.

I've chosen a picture of the Deep Field to remind us all of how precious and rare this tiny ball of dirt, that we call Earth, is. 

This is it. It's all we've got Let us be kind to Earth and each other. Let us be THANKFUL for what we have.

Today I'm thankful for kisses

Kissing isn't universal to all cultures, but for cultures where kissing is the norm it's been around a long time. The first account of kissing is in the Hindu Vedas, written in Sanskrit about 3500 years ago.

Who can really know why we do it. I'm sure there have been many studies done on the history kissing.

Whatever the reason it certainly is a show/sign of affection.

Even if one isn't too sure.

Or when taken by surprise.

Or openly passionate. Eyes closed.

Today I'm thankful for kissing in any form: a small peck on the cheek, a quick smack or the lips, a lingering smooch. 

***

What are you thankful for?

Thankful Thursday

Every Thursday, from now until I don't know when, I'm going to express my thankfulness, for at least ONE something.

I've chosen a picture of the Deep Field to remind us all of how precious and rare this tiny ball of dirt, that we call Earth, is. 

This is it. It's all we've got Let us be kind to Earth and each other. Let us be THANKFUL for what we have.

Today I'm thankful for SMILES.

There are only few things that reach across culture and language that are understood by everyone in the world. Tears, laughter, and smiles are three.

Most of us come into the world crying. It must be a huge shock to be in a nice warm, dark place then be in a cold, brightly lit, probably noisy, space.

However it doesn't seem to take too long to figure out how to smile.


Where did smiling come from? Why do we do it? Aren't you glad we do? And why does it take fewer muscles to smile than to frown?

Today I am thankful for smiles which, though they come in all shapes, sizes, colors, and languages, are understood by everyone.

What are you thankful for?

***

Only 3 days left to win a copy of one of my books! Stop by Carol Kilgore's web page. 2 people will win! Contest ends Saturday, January 31st. Thank you, Carol for letting Anansi and Marvin hang out with you for a whole month.

Alternatives - Thankful Thursday

Alternatives is a recurring post in which I give synonyms for an over used word. Click on the "Over Used Words" tab above for a "complete" list of words.

Today's word is: Eager/Eagerly

Depending on how you use it, this list may come in handy for finding another way to say the same thing.

accordant, acquiescent, acquisitive, affirmative, agape, agog, agreeable/agreeing,alacritous, ambitious, amenable, animated, anticipating/anticipatory, antsy, antsy-pants, anxious, appetent, approving, ardent, assenting, athirst, avid, awaiting

born-again, breathless, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, bursting to

certain, chafing, champing/chomping at the bit, compliable, compliant, confident, consentient, consenting, content, cooperative, covetous, craving, crazy

delighted, desiderative, desireful/desiring/desirous, disposed, docile, dying to

earnest, edgy, endorsing, energetic/energized, engaged, enthused/enthusiastic, excited, expectant/expecting

fain, favorable, favorably disposed/inclined, fervent, fervid, forearmed, forestalling, forewarned, forward, fretful, fretting, full of life

game, gaping, geeked, glad, great, greedy, gung ho

hankering, happy, hasty, heated, hepped up, honing, hooked, hopped-up, hoping/hopeful, hormic, hot, hot to trot, hungry, hung up

impatient, impetuous, in a lather/stew/sweat, in anticipation, in the mind, in the mood, inclined, inspirited, intent, interested, itchy

juiced

keen, keen as mustard

lascivious, libidinal/libidinous, lickerish, lively, longing, looking for, looking forward to, lustful

mad about/for, minded, motivated

needing, not surprised, nothing loath, nuts for

obliging, obsessed, on edge, only too please to…, optative, optimistic

panting, passionate, permissive, pining, pleased, pliant, predisposed, prompt, prone, pumped

quick

raring/raring to go, ratifying, ready, ready and willing, receptive, responsive, restive, restless

sanctioning, sanguine, self-starting, solicitous, spirited, squirming/squirmy, stimulated, stoked, submissive, sure

tempted, thirsty, tractable

uneasy, ungrudging, unloath, unpatient, unquiet, unrefusing, unreluctant, unsurprised

vehement, vital/vitalized, vivacious, vivid, voracious

waiting/waiting for, warm/hot blooded, wanting, watching for, well-disposed, well-inclinded, wild, willed/willing, willinghearted, wishful/wishing, wholehearted

yearning, yielding

zealous, zestful

***

I'm just a bit nervous today as I'm to be interviewed for a local weekly paper. I've doing plenty of interviewing in my day, but have never been an interviewee. I'll let you know how it goes.

***

Every Thursday, from now until I don't know when, I'm going to express my thankfulness, for at least ONE something.

I've chosen a picture of the Deep Field to remind me, and perhaps others, of how precious this is tiny ball of dirt we call Earth. It is unique and rare. Let us be kind to Earth and each other. Let us be THANKFUL for what we have.

Today I'm thankful for FOOD.

Even though there are many things I can't and/or shouldn't eat any more, like nuts, beans, whole corn, peas, wheat bread, raw fruits and vegetables, I'm thankful to still have an abundance of food available to me.

Unlike others. This picture was taken in 2011.

In the markets in Haiti, women sell dirt biscuits. Made with dirt, water and a bit of
 oil, salt, or butter (if they have it), Haitian dirt biscuits are a common way for
 mother's to stop the groaning in their children's bellies.
No one should ever have to choose this option

It's seems a crime when we (I'm talking the U. S. here) as a nation throw so much food away, that people all over the world are going hungry, are starving.

Today I'm thankful for food.

***

What are you thankful for?  Do you think you'd eat a dirt biscuit if you were hungry/starving? Is there anything, that's edible, that you just couldn't put into your mouth? Do you know what you would eat if it was your last meal? Got a favorite alternative for eager?

The month of January I am the Author of the Month on Carol Kilgore's web page. I'll be giving away books. Come check it out!

Alternatives and Thankful Thursday

Alternatives is a recurring post in which I give synonyms for an over used word. Click on the tab above for a "complete" list of over used words.

Today's word is:

I have this strange feeling definitely has already done, but I can't find it... Parts of the list are familiar, other parts not so much. I know too, this is a long list of those dreaded "ly" words, but sometimes, when you definitely want something different, at least now you have a choice. Yes, indubitably, you have a choice.

Depending on how you use it, this list may come in handy for finding another way to say the same thing.

absolutely, about it, accurately,affirmatively, all right/alright, apparently, reprehensibly, articulately, assertively, assuredly, at all events, at any rate, authentic, axiomatically,

beneficially, beyond any doubt, by all means

categorically, certain/certainly, clearly, coherently, come hell or high water, completely, comprehensibly, conclusively, concretely, conspicuously, constructively, consummately, correctly

dead, decidedly, decisively, declaratively, denominationally, directly, discernibly, distinctly, doubtless/doubtlessly

easily, especially, even, evidently, exactly, explicitly, expressly

factual, faithfully, far and away, finally, firm, flatly, for certain, for a fact, for sure, forsooth

glaringly,

hands down, honestly

in all respects, inarguably, incontestably, incontrovertibly, in detail, indisputably, indubitably, in every respect, in particular, in plain English, in plain terms, in plain words, in truth, indeed, indeedy, indubitably, intelligibly, ipsissimis verbis, irrefragably, irrefutably, item by item

just

limpidly, literally, literatim, lucidly

manifestly, markedly, meticulously, minutely, most assuredly, most certainly

needless to say, no ifs ands or buts, no mistake (about it), nothing else but, noticeably,

objective, observably, obviously, of course, optimistically

particularly, patently, pellucidly, perceivably, perceptibly, perspicuously, precisely, perfectly, plainly, plumb, point-blank, positively, precisely, prominently, pronouncedly,

properly

realistically, really, recognizably, right/rightly, rigidly, rigorously,

seeably, separately, simply, singly, so, specially, specifically, square/squarely, staringly, starkly, straight, steadfastly, strictly, supremely, sure/surely

to a certainty, to be specific, to be sure, to the letter, true/truly, trustingly

unambiguously, unarguably, unconcealedly, unconditionally, undeniably, understandably, undoubtedly, undeviatingly, undisguisedly, undoubtedly, unequivocally, unerringly, unmistakably, unqualifiedly, unquestionably, unrestrictedly, utterly

verbally, verbatim, verbatim et litteratim, veritably visibly,

with clarity, without doubt, without fail, without question, word by word, word for word

This is definitely not my room...

Do you have a preferred alternative?

***

Every Thursday, from now until I don't know when, I'm going to express my thankfulness, for at least ONE something.

I've chosen a picture of the Deep Field to remind me, and perhaps others, of how precious this tiny ball of dirt is, the one we call Earth. It is unique and rare and the chances of us finding something like it is rarer still. Even if we do find something like it, we are totally incapable to reaching it.

This is it. Let us be kind to Earth and each other. Let us be THANKFUL for what we have.

Today I'm thankful for Monarch butterflies.

These lovely creatures, eye candy for us lousy humans, are in serious decline. They could soon be going on the endangered species list.  This is something I never thought I'd see in my life-time, actually in just the past few years. It's horrifying.

Pesticides and habitat destruction are the main enemies along with drought and cold. (Hmmm climate change?)

Today I'm thankful for Monarchs.

What are you thankful for?

***

The month of January I am the Author of the Month on Carol Kilgore's web page. I'll be giving away books. Come check it out!