Mystery Seeds

"With every deed you are sowing a seed, though the harvest you may not see." ~Ella Wheeler Wilcox

Are you tired of seed mysteries yet? When I walked this afternoon, I kept seeing more and more seeds. I could keep this up for another month of two, but I won't. The giveaway contest ends on October 31. Then I'll draw a couple of winners who will get one of my books and a grab bag book as well. All you have to do to enter is take a guess on these seed pictures. Or just leave a comment saying you don't know if you're stumped and can't think up a guess. Either one will get you an entry and you get a new entry on each guess of a new seed picture. Deadline is October 31, so only a couple more seed pictures after this one. Remember to leave a way to contact you. If you've left your e-mail on a previous guess, you're okay.

Feel free to check back the last few entries to guess on the previous seed pictures if you didn't get a chance to see those posts until now. While I've fessed up to what seed was in the photo and there won't be much suspense, it's still fun. 

Last week, most of you were spot on with the photo. They were grapes, but not the tame type that grow in your yard or gardens. They were wild grapes. Those that climb up on and around trees out in the woods and make vines for country kids to play on. Like me when I was a girl. I felt like Tarzan back then. 





And now my grandkids go out in the woods here on the farm and play on grapevines too. Some ways to have fun never change. 

When I was a kid, I didn't pay much attention to the wild grape fruit. I was all about the vines. People used to tell me the grapevines wouldn't break. They are flexible and pretty strong, but if you try to do some of those Tarzan tricks and swing through the "jungle" or woods, you might just get a close up view of the "jungle floor." Even so, you got to give it a try and swing. Right?

One of you guessing called them "possum grapes." A good name since little animals do feast on them. I never ate them, but my mother made wild grape jelly once just to see if she could. The wild grapes are very small, nothing like those grapes you buy at the store, so she had to gather a lot of them. But that was Mom. She liked trying things like that. I have no doubt that when she was a girl she played on grapevines too. Did you?

Now you've got a new picture to guess. I think this one might be harder than the wild grapes, but you all surprise me sometimes. So what is it? 

Tell Me a Story

When I have a book celebration giveaway the way I am now for my July release Love Comes Home (it will be sneaking in stores very soon), I sometimes ask readers and friends to share a story with me when they send in their entries. It's not necessary to enter, but it's fun. This time I asked for Homecoming or family stories since Love Comes Home starts with WW II ending and the boys coming home.  

The story I'm sharing forward with you today is one from Brenda that points out something we all should keep in mind. We need to take time to share our stories with our families and listen to the stories our older family members have to tell. I so miss Mom being able to tell me the stories of back when she was a kid or when she first got married, but I am blessed that I did get her to tell me many of those stories before she lost those long ago memories. 

The old memories were the last to go, so we had a few years where I would get her to talk about them while we were waiting at doctors' offices or other quiet moments together. What a treasure those memories were to her and me too. Without them, I might never have written Angel Sister and the Rosey Corner stories that follow it up, Small Town Girl and now Love Comes Home. 

These days, we all seem to be so busy with all the electronic gadgets that can entertain us. But sometimes those electronic gadgets lose power and we have to come up with the old ways to entertain ourselves. That's what Brenda and her family did during one of those times. Her story below shows how sharing those family stories can make for new treasured memories. Here's her story.

One of the great memories I have is when a few years ago we had a huge snow storm and the electricity was out for 6 days. There was 6 of us in the house (husband, me, son, daughter, and three grandsons) as my daughter had MS and was bed bound. It was so cold, and we couldn't go anywhere to wait it out since my daughter couldn't be moved very easily. So we bundled up and sat around the living room and told true stories of days from the past....when the boys were little....when their mother was young....how my husband and I met and got married. The boys loved it, and still talk about it.  We lost my daughter 3 years ago, as she returned to the Lord, and are still raising our grandsons who are all teenagers now. That is one snow storm we will never forget. 

Thank you, Brenda, for sharing your story with us. Maybe we all need a snowstorm to make us lose that electric power now and again so that we can celebrate those special things that connect us and make us family.

Do you like hearing your family stories? 

Remember, you can still enter my giveaway if you haven't already thrown your name in the hat. Details on my website events page. Plus, remember I have the blog only giveaway too where I'm picking five winners to get your choice of one of my books. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment on one of my blog posts here in June (with a way to contact you). Each comment on a new post here before the end of June gets your name in the hat again. That gives you more chance to win. If you're in the USA or Canada, you can win a paper copy. If you live overseas, then you can win an e-book. Must be 18 to enter.

I'm the real winner when I get your comments. Love hearing what you have to say.

Birthday Stories to Make You Smile

"Age is a question of mind over matter. If you don't mind, it doesn't matter." (Satchel Paige) 

Happy birthday to me! Do you like having birthdays? I do. I may not like counting them up, but I do like having them. I didn't have either of these desserts today, but as pretty as the top one is, I'd take the homemade chocolate pie any day. Can't put candles on it, but the smoke detector would go off anyway if you tried to put a candle for my every year on a cake or pie. What about you? What is your favorite birthday dessert? Do you have to blow out candles? I guess I should have said do you I get to blow out candles. Kids think it's fun anyway. You can check out Jim's birthday story from last Sunday to prove that's true.

Most of the birthday stories I've been getting tell about a party or a day that's special. But Kathy sent in one that made me smile and remember. Here's what she told me. "Definitely a memorable, not favorite, was the one when my husband gave me an ironing board as a gift. 'But you needed one' was his sad lament. 'But I didn't want one' was my equally sad response."

I wrote back to Kathy and told her I totally understood. My husband gave me a floor polisher once. Not a cheap present but one I definitely "didn't want" just like Kathy. Sometimes husbands are clueless even when they're trying hard. Or maybe they aren't trying too hard! LOL. My husband has brought in some winners in the present line, but he's also come home with some questionable gifts. Like the aluminum can masher. Useful, but a birthday gift? Or the apparatus that was supposed to pick up litter. Puzzled look on that one. Or the set of dishes from the auction. Only a couple of the saucers had chips! 

But then he also brought me in a Cockerspaniel puppy once. That made up for a lot of those more questionable gifts. Then he got a salvaged desk from an old office somewhere and had it beautifully refinished for me. I've written a lot of books using that desk. And he really did think I'd like that floor polisher. His mother told him it was a great gift. What difference did it make that, at that time, we lived in an old farmhouse where the pattern on the linoleum rug in the kitchen was worn down to the black backing in spots? It could also be very clean and polished. I used the thing - then. I still have it, but only as a souvenir these days. Oh yeah, and he insisted on buying me another floor cleaner last Christmas. Some guys never learn!  

Remember, you still have time to enter my giveaway for the Shaker Christmas decoration and mini-quilt along with books, of course. Full details on the Events & News Page on my website. You can enter by leaving a comment here with a way to contact you should you be one of the winners. Or you can e-mail me. www(dot)annhgabhart(at)yahoo(dot)com. Don't forget to tell me if you're one of those people who "never win." I have a special drawing and prize for one of you so that you won't be able to say those "never win" words again. Also I'd love it if you want to share those special birthday stories. Not necessary to enter, but I have such fun reading your stories. 

There's also a giveaway going on Goodreads for Orchard of Hope, that will be out soon all dressed up in its new cover. 

Thanks to all of you for the birthday wishes. I'm feeling much loved and I want you all to have a piece of pie. I'd bake it for you, but I have these edits to get done. :) Thanks for reading!!

   

    "I don’t let old age bother me.  There are three signs of old age: Loss of memory .... I forget the other two." – Red Skelton