Wordless Wednesday: Bubbles

Wordless Wednesday: Baby Nae at 7 weeks

Where Purple_Kangaroo is From

I am from the teakettle simmering on the back of the stove, from homemade Butterfinger ice cream, and tea parties with Holly Hobbie and Raggedy Ann.

I am from the brown two-story house my father built, wrapped in a broad porch and shadowed by the hill, with frogs croaking at night and Ramblin' Creek bubbling and laughing below.

I am from blackberry vines, wild roses, evergreen trees; tall grass, gerilliums, and koi eating duckweed in the pond.

I am from potlucks at the park and softspoken people who are small spitfires; from Jennie Squires and a Moravian prince who eloped with the milkmaid, and the seven Swift brothers who came on a ship when the land was new.

I am from strongwilled and stubborn, deeply loving and fiercely protective.

From "Don't let that stop you!" and "Your sisters are your best friends;" from Dad taking us fishing and chanting "They're Coming to Take me Away, HaHa" and mom showing us how to do the Charleston and saying, "Look, girls! Isn't the mountain pretty?"

I am from non-denominational evangelical faith in Jesus Christ as our Savior; a relationship not a religion; asking questions and searching the Scriptures, solid on the basics but knowing that there are some things we can't know and it's OK to disagree.

I'm from lumberjacks in the Pacific Northwestern USA; from immigrants and pioneers; from England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, The Netherlands and Czechoslovakia, but adopted Latin America; oven pancake and lemon meringue pie; poppyseed kolache and roast beef empanadas; pan-fried grasshoppers and oven-fried chicken.

From the little green man under the stairs, Uncle Ned's Fox and Coyote stories, Grandpa smiling and saying "Yes, Yes" in Spanish while revolutionaries waved weapons and threatened to kill him, the beaver trap we almost stepped in, and the time Sis ate dirt cookies that I made.

I am from yellowed photo albums, pictures lined up on the shelf in the old farmhouse, the scrapbook of letters from loved ones, the hand-knitted hats and mittens tucked away in the closet, the opal earrings in the treasure box, and the framed picture of the bridge over Multnomah Falls where my grandparents got engaged.

I am from roots run deep in generations of grit, spunk, perseverance in hardship, and love.

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I got this from MysteryMommy, who got it from Magpie and Crunchy Granola.

This exercise is based on a poem by George Ella Lyon called "Where I'm From."

The template is here if you'd like to join in. Schmutzie is compiling a list of links to different bloggers' versions of the meme.

Wordless Wednesday 20 May 2009: Giant Guinea Pig (a.k.a. Patagonian Cavy)--and this is a young/small one!

Wordless Wednesday 29 April 2009: Hoppiness

Which of these 100 things have you done?

I stole this from Wendy. I'm not going to tag anyone, but feel free to do it if you want to.

Items 11, 54, 64, and 65 were missing, so I searched around and found a few different versions of them. I used the ones here. Just for the record, I'm absolutely amazed at how many bloggers copied and pasted the list and answered the survey without realizing there were only 96 statements instead of 100. :)

RULES: There are 100 statements and you bold / change the colors of the ones you have done. Grab it and play for yourself!! When you post this on your own blog, come back and link me to your post! and tag four friends while you're at it :o)

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1. Started your own blog

2. Slept under the stars

3. Played in a band (orchestra)--only if the church worship team counts.

4. Visited Hawaii

5. Watched a meteor shower

6. Given more than you can afford to charity --Not sure how to answer this one. It seems that the more one gives, the more God provides even when it didn't seem feasible on paper. We've never suffered for it, and God has always more than provided for our needs.

7. Been to Disneyland

8. Climbed a mountain.

9. Held a praying mantis

10. Sang a solo

11. Had stitches

12. Visited Paris

13. Watched a lightning storm at sea

14. Taught yourself an art from scratch

15. Adopted a child

16. Had food poisoning

17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty

18. Grown your own vegetables

19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France

20. Slept in an overnight train

21. Had a pillow fight

22. Hitchhiked

23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill

24. Built a snow fort

25. Held a lamb --I think I have held a lamb at the fair. I know I've petted lambs. I've held baby goats a number of times.

26. Gone skinny dipping --Only in a recurrent nightmare. You know, that one where you're in a crowded swimming pool and look down and realize you forgot your swimsuit.

27. Run a marathon

28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice

29. Seen a total eclipse (solar)

30. Watched a sunrise or sunset

31. Hit a home run --Only playing ball as a kid, not in a real game.

32. Been on a cruise

33. Seen Niagara Falls in person

34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors

35. Seen an Amish community --I don't think I've done this in person, but I've had Mennonite friends.

36. Taught yourself a new language

37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied --I don't think it's really money or the lack of it that determines someone's level of contentment.

38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person

39. Gone rock climbing --I've climbed up rocky hills and big rocks in wilderness areas, but never the type that actually requires special equipment.

40. Seen Michelangelo’s David

41. Sung karaoke

42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt

43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant --I don't think I've done it in a restaurant, unless you count giving away a fast food gift certificate to someone who asked for money. But I carry pre-prepared meals in my van to hand out to panhandlers.

44. Visited Africa

45. Walked on a beach by moonlight

46. Been transported in an ambulance

47. Had your portrait painted --Actually, it's a pencil drawing, but my SIL did a great job making a wedding portrait of us. I might have had my portrait painted in high school (homeschool co-op) and university art classes, too. I know there have been plenty of sketches! When you're in art class, you get to be the subject and get stiff siting still in turn with everyone else. :)

48. Gone deep sea fishing --And we pulled in half a barracuda, along with the whole ones!

49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person

50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris

51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling

52. Kissed in the rain

53. Played in the mud

54. Gotten a speeding ticket. (One version says gotten OUT of a speeding ticket, and that I would have to bold. --I did get stopped for speeding once. I was going 58 in a 55MPH zone, and the officer asked me if I knew I was speeding, and why I was speeding. I said that I just wasn't paying enough attention and I was very sorry, I was just in a hurry to get home. DH insists that the reason I got only a warning and no ticket because I was 9 months pregnant at the time. That could possibly have contributed, but I maintain it was because (1) I was honest and respectful, (2) It was my first offense, and (3) I was only going THREE MPH over the speed limit. I mean, really, do you think it's incomprehensible that I would get only a warning under those circumstances even if I wasn't pregnant? I ask you. But DH thinks it's an example of how pregnant women get special treatment, and therefore the unfairness of life. LOL.)

55. Been in a movie --I don't think home videos count. :)

56. Visited the Great Wall of China

57. Started a business

58. Taken a martial arts class

59. Visited Russia

60. Served at a soup kitchen

61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies

62. Gone whale watching

63. Got flowers for no reason

64. Stayed the night in jail

65. Cried so hard you threw up --I've never done this (at least as an adult), but I have been in so much pain that it caused me to lose my stomach contents. When asked to rank pain on a scale of 1 to 10 with 10 as the worst I've ever been in, I figure if I'm not passing out or throwing up or flat-out screaming yet (as opposed to crying, groaning, writhing, etc.), it can't be a 10. My lovely head/jaw pain last week reached only an 8 or 9.

66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp

67. Bounced a check

68. Flown in a helicopter --But I've gotten to take the controls of an airplane!

69. Saved a favorite childhood toy

70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial

71. Eaten caviar.

72. Pieced a quilt --Only individual squares and doll quilts.

73. Stood in Times Square

74. Toured the Everglades

75. Been fired from a job --Not sure if it counts, but my boss the veterinarian decided to find a replacement for me when I asked about the possibility of working fewer hours on days when not all the employees were needed, due to my health issues.

76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London

77. Broken a bone

78. Been on a speeding motorcycle --Don't know if it was speeding or not, but I've been on motorcyles a few times with someone else driving, and drove a dirt bike once as a kid.

79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person

80. Published a book

81. Visited the Vatican

82. Bought a brand new car

83. Walked in Jerusalem

84. Had your picture in the newspaper

85. Read the entire Bible

86. Visited the White House

87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating

88. Had chicken pox

89. Saved someone’s life

90. Sat on a jury

91. Met someone famous

92. Joined a book club

93. Lost a loved one

94. Had a baby

95. Seen the Alamo in person

96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake

97. Been involved in a lawsuit

98. Owned a cell phone

99. Been stung by a bee

100. Read an entire book in one day --I do this all the time . . . I have a hard time putting down a book once I start it. That's part of the reason I haven't done a whole lot of reading lately. :)

Wordless Wednesday 29 Oct 08: Driftwood Adventure

Wordless Wednesday 22 Oct 08: AJ's Art

Wordless Wednesday 15 Oct 08: "He is happy who has a wonderful dog."--AJ

Thankful Thursday 6/19/08

• I went shopping with Dr. B. tonight, and when we came out of the shop, my car was not where I left it. It was in the middle of the street in front of the store.
  
  Apparently I either forgot to set the parking brake or didn't set it hard enough. Also, nobody ever told me that you're not supposed to leave a manual transmission car in neutral when you park it. It doesn't have a "park" gear like my van does. (DH normally drives that car, and I'm not very experienced at driving a stick shift.)
  
  The car rolled out of the parking space, turned just enough to avoid hitting another car, and then stopped in the middle of the street, with room for other cars to go around it.
  
  It didn't hit anything, though there were other cars and concrete pillars nearby. Really, it should have hit something because of where it was parked and the angle of the slope. There wasn't a scratch on anything except the tire marks on the curb at the side of the parking space, where the curb helped to turn it enough to avoid hitting the other cars nearby. And it stopped before it hit the building.
  
  We stood there and thanked God aloud in the parking lot.
  
  I highly doubt that I will ever forget to set the parking brake or to put the car in first gear when parking it again.
  

Wordless Wenesday: Recess

Wordless Wednesday: My Darlings

Picture Book Answers

Here are the answers to the picture book first lines quiz--click on "read more" and then scroll down to see them.


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1. One berry / Two berry / Pick me a blueberry. --Jamberry, by Bruce Degen.

2. In this book/ With your little eye / Take a look / And play 'I spy' --Each Peach Pear Plum, by Janet and Allan Ahlberg.

3. Five little puppies dug a hole under the fence and went for a walk in the wide, wide world. --The Poky Little Puppy, by Janette Sebring Lowrey.

4. The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play. --The Cat in the Hat, by Dr. Seuss.

5. Granddaddy says when he was little and the world was young, and only a few people had cars . . . --The Rolling Store, by Angela Johnson. (This book isn't a "classic", but I really like it . . . the pictures and words are lovely.)

6. Mr. and Mrs. Mallard were looking for a place to live --Make Way for Ducklings, by Robert McCloskey.

7. Way up in the hayloft of an old barn live a mother cat and her new baby kittens. --The Shy Little Kitten, by Cathleen Schurr.

8. "Come inside, Mr. Bird," said the mouse. --In a People House, by Dr. Seuss.

9. A happy little elephant was dancing through the jungle. --The Saggy Baggy Elephant, by K. & B. Jackson.

10. In the light of the moon a little egg lay on a leaf. --The Very Hungry Caterpillar, by Eric Carle.

11. In the great green room / There was a telephone / And a red balloon . . . --Goodnight Moon, by Margaret Wise Brown.

12. This is George. --Curious George, by H. A. Rey

13. Chug, chug, chug. Puff, puff, puff. Ding-dong, ding-dong. --The Little Engine that Could, by Watty Piper.

14. One evening, after thinking it over for some time, Harold decided to go for a walk in the moonlight. --Harold and the Purple Crayon, by Crockett Johnson.

Picture Book First Lines

These are first lines from books geared toward the younger set. How many can you recognize?

[ETA: I added the second sentence to #4. I think most people who grew up in the USA should know this one.]

1. One berry / Two berry / Pick me a blueberry.

2. In this book/ With your little eye / Take a look / And play 'I spy'

3. Five little puppies dug a hole under the fence and went for a walk in the wide, wide world.

4. The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play.

5. Granddaddy says when he was little and the world was young, and only a few people had cars . . .

6. Mr. and Mrs. Mallard were looking for a place to live

7. Way up in the hayloft of an old barn live a mother cat and her new baby kittens.

8. "Come inside, Mr. Bird," said the mouse.

9. A happy little elephant was dancing through the jungle.

10. In the light of the moon a little egg lay on a leaf.

11. In the great green room / There was a telephone / And a red balloon . . .

12. This is George.

13. Chug, chug, chug. Puff, puff, puff. Ding-dong, ding-dong.

14. One evening, after thinking it over for some time, Harold decided to go for a walk in the moonlight.

Children's Lit Quiz Answers

Here are the answers to both part 1 and part 2 of the children's lit quiz. I'll put the answers below the fold and leave some space in case someone doesn't want the spoiler.

How many have you read? Feel free to share your opinions and memories of the books in the comments.

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Scroll down for answers:



















1. One warm night four children stood in front of a bakery. --The Boxcar Children, by Gertrude Chandler Warner.

2. From the pleasant village of Mayenfeld a path leads through green fields, richly covered with trees, to the foot of the mountain, which from this side overhangs the valley with grave and solemn aspect. --Heidi, by Johanna Spyri.

3. This is a story about something that happened long ago when your grandfather was a child. --The Magician's Nephew, by C.S. Lewis.

4. Once upon a time, sixty years ago, a little girl lived in the Big Woods of Wisconsin, in a little gray house made of logs. --Little House in the Big Woods, by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

5. "Where's Papa going with that ax?" --Charlotte's Web, by E.B. White.

6. Keith, the boy in the rumpled shorts and shirt, did not know he was being watched as he entered room 215 of the Mountain View Inn. --The Mouse and the Motorcycle, by Beverly Cleary.

7. This journey took place in a part of Canada which lies in the northwestern part of the great sprawling province of Ontario. --The Incredible Journey, by Sheila Burnford.

8. "That slowpoke Sarah!" --All-Of-A-Kind Family, by Sydney Taylor.

9. THE FIRST place that I can well remember was a large pleasant meadow with a pond of clear water in it. --Black Beauty, by Anna Sewell.

10. "Papa, is this the place?" --A Little Princess, by Frances Hodgson Burnett.

11. "How white the moonlight is tonight!" --Anne of Ingleside, by L.M. Mongtomery.

12. It was January in northern New York State, sixty-seven years ago. --Farmer Boy, by Laura Ingalls Wilder.

13. For many days we had been tempest-tossed. --The Swiss Family Robinson, by Johann Wyss.

14. The antique shop is very still now. Theobold and I have it all to ourselves, for the cuckoo clock was sold day before yesterday and Theobold has been so industrious of late there are no more mice to venture out from behind the woodwork. --Hitty: Her First Hundred Years, by Rachel Field.

15. The little old kitchen had quieted down from the bustle and confusion of midday; and now, with its afternoon manners on, presented a holiday aspect that, as the principal room in the brown house, it was eminently proper it should have. --Five Little Peppers, by Margaret Syndey.

16. One morning a little rabbit sat on a bank. He perked his ears and listened to the trit-trot, trit-trot of a pony. --The Tale of Benjamin Bunny, by Beatrix Potter.

17. To start with there was Shora. --The Wheel on the School, by Meindert DeJong.

18. There was this boy, Davie, and he was going to have a rabbit. --Shadrach, by Meindert Dejong. (It hadn't even clicked with me that these two books were by the same author until just now, LOL.)

19. IT seemed like Mother Nature was sure agreeable that day when the little black colt came to the range world and tried to get a foothold with his long wobblety legs on the brown prairie sod. --Smoky the Cow Corse, by Will James.

20. I REMEMBER the day the Aleut ship came to our island. --The Island of the Blue Dolphins, by Scott O'Dell.

21. The seat of the old wicker chair on the rock was worn right through. --The Majesty of Grace, by Jane Langton.

22. "Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents." --Little Women, by Louisa May Alcott.

More Children's Lit First Lines

Here are the first lines (or two) of several more of my favorite children's books. (Liz, I put one of these in especially for you.)

As before, these are books that were either written for children, or that I read and enjoyed before age 12. I'll post the answers eventually.

I really enjoy this meme. I think I'm going to have to do a picture-book version and a "classic books for grown-ups" version eventually, too. Maybe even a poetry version--wouldn't that be fun?

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11. "How white the moonlight is tonight!"

12. It was January in northern New York State, sixty-seven years ago.

13. For many days we had been tempest-tossed.

14. The antique shop is very still now. Theobold and I have it all to ourselves, for the cuckoo clock was sold day before yesterday and Theobold has been so industrious of late there are no more mice to venture out from behind the woodwork.

15. The little old kitchen had quieted down from the bustle and confusion of midday; and now, with its afternoon manners on, presented a holiday aspect that, as the principal room in the brown house, it was eminently proper it should have.

16. One morning a little rabbit sat on a bank. He perked his ears and listened to the trit-trot, trit-trot of a pony.

17. To start with there was Shora.

18. There was this boy, Davie, and he was going to have a rabbit.

19. IT seemed like Mother Nature was sure agreeable that day when the little black colt came to the range world and tried to get a foothold with his long wobblety legs on the brown prairie sod.

20. I REMEMBER the day the Aleut ship came to our island.

21. The seat of the old wicker chair on the rock was worn right through.

22. "Christmas won't be Christmas without any presents."

Children's Lit First Line Quiz

I stole this idea from MysteryMommy.

These are the first lines from several children's books I have lying around. See if you can identify them.

1. One warm night four children stood in front of a bakery.

2. From the pleasant village of Mayenfeld a path leads through green fields, richly covered with trees, to the foot of the mountain, which from this side overhangs the valley with grave and solemn aspect.

3. This is a story about something that happened long ago when your grandfather was a child.

4. Once upon a time, sixty years ago, a little girl lived in the Big Woods of Wisconsin, in a little gray house made of logs.

5. "Where's Papa going with that ax?"

6. Keith, the boy in the rumpled shorts and shirt, did not know he was being watched as he entered room 215 of the Mountain View Inn.

7. This journey took place in a part of Canada which lies in the northwestern part of the great sprawling province of Ontario.

8. "That slowpoke Sarah!"

9. THE FIRST place that I can well remember was a large pleasant meadow with a pond of clear water in it.

10. "Papa, is this the place?"


* As per Liz's definition, these are books that were either written for children or that I read and enjoyed before age 12.

Wordless Wednesday: AJ's Quiet Time

Wordless Wednesday: While the Dew is Still on the Roses

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[Click to see more photos]

Wordless Wednesday: In the Field

(These photos were taken today.)