Thursday's Talk About the Book

I so appreciate good reviews for my work because I work hard at what I do.

Here's one from Crosswalk.com; a website I have written for over the years and have a tremendous amount of respect for:

Crosswalk.com:  Chasing Sunsets Leads to Lessons Learned

Monday Musings on All Things Southern

My husband and I took a walk with our two pooches the other night. We don't walk too far; one of the dogs has managed to become quite tubby so, for her, the short distance for now is just a start. The other dog simply adores being home and let's you know that while she is excited to be a part of the journey, she'd just as soon be a part of the journey at home. 


So, we took our short walk returned toward our lakeside home. We walked up the long driveway. As we neared the door, just before the front porch, we both bent to release the dogs from their leashes. I noticed a huge grasshopper like I haven't seen in years on one of the floral arrangements decorating the front of the house.

"Look at that grasshopper," I said. "It's huge."  

"That's not a grasshopper," my husband said. "It's a Georgia Thumper."

I smiled. "I haven't heard that term in years. No wonder I didn't remember it." (Plus, I'm just not a work-in-the-yard kinda girl, to be honest with you.)

Now for those of you not from the South, you may be wondering what in the world is a Georgia Thumper?


A Georgia Thumper is, in fact, a grasshopper of the Eastern Lubber variety. They are multi-colored, mostly black with red and yellow added in. The males can get up to 8.0 cms. and the females up to 6.0 cms. They are expressive in their faces ("Get too close and I'll jump all over you!") and their names come from the fact that when they jump, they land with a thump.


Georgia Thumper...now isn't that a cute name? There's even a Southern band called by the moniker. And, it kinda makes you think of the cute little bunny in Bambi.But make no mistake about it. They are deadly. Not to humans, of course, unless one jumps on you and frightens you to death. No.

Ask any Georgia farmer and they'll tell you; these little suckers can pretty much eat a crop up in a day. Seeing one is seeing disaster.

So, now I'm wondering why we Southerners didn't think to call the Georgia Thumper the Georgia Crop Destroyer...or something clever like that. Sigh. I suppose, being the genteel Southerners of way back, we just couldn't do it. Give it a cute name...and maybe it will be our friend.

Uh... no.

Hmmm...now I'm thinking...maybe someone should form a baseball team...call them The Georgia Thumpers.  Instead of doing the tomahawk chop, fans can jump up and down in rhythm.

Thump! Thump! Thump!


I can hear it now...

Friday with Friends: "B. J. Robinson"

 

Nothing Like a Southern Strawberry, or

Southern Fiction

By B. J. Robinson

New beginnings burst forth with a shower of flowers, green grass, and tiny green leaves sprouting on trees. With fresh air and sunshine, there is nothing like the dawning of a new spring, my favorite season of the year. And, there is nothing like a Southern strawberry, dark green leaves, small white blossoms, tiny green berries, then juicy delicious ones.

 As a result of new spring growth, the world awakens like an old bear from a long winter’s sleep. Fresh mowed grass smells like watermelons. Birds sing happy to see spring. Flowers bud, bloom, and blossom. Smells, sights, and sounds feel the air delighting the senses, making my heart leap like a spring. I have more energy, feel more alive, and I seem to be ready to take on the world. Blood rushes. My heart pounds. A new spring morning dawns bright and fresh. With the dawning of the morning, my senses come alive. Oh, to be surrounded by fresh berries, the smell that fills a packing shed. Early morning dew on the bushes, and the scent of the fruit tempts a picker to eat just one. Problem is, it's so hard to eat only one.

 It’s great to be alive and smell spring! To me, spring is strawberry season. Strawberry season is spring! All around me things are awakening, bursting forth in new bloom and blossom, awakening and coming alive from a long winter’s sleep. My senses are alert. I notice how pretty the sun shines and how sweetly the birds sing. The smell of sweet, juicy, red, ripe strawberries take me back to the past, to another time, another place, an old packing shed. Those were the days!

 So what, hand carries of berries were stacked to the ceiling, waiting for one lone packer to roll them around on that little silver tray, like she was washing red beans. Strawberry flats were stacked higher than she, waiting for their journey to the farm bureau. The fate of those berries was decided with a roll in the silver tray. Either they traveled to the farm bureau, or they were culled to become a sweet delight with a bowl of sugar and cream, or baked into strawberry shortcake. Every sweet berry had its own unique special place in the world and would end up pleasing someone in some way.

 Back to a time when life was simple, strawberries bring memories of early-morning dew and spring, an old beat-up car, a baby stroller, a baby boy named Rodney. Wow, where has the time flown? Now, there is no baby stroller or baby boy. He's now a proud father of two boys of his own and has become an automotive mechanic and an electrician. He has his own new beginnings. Years have come and gone, but a sunshiny spring morning with birds singing, the smell of strawberries in the air, flowers blooming, and an old strawberry shed are strawberry-packed memories, memories everlasting.

 There are so many reasons why spring is my favorite season of the year. It's the renewal and rebirth. It was also my mother's. favorite.  For me, spring is the season that awakens my soul and my senses. Spring makes me feel more alive than any other time of the year. Fall is my second favorite because I love the turning of the leaves in all their splendid colors. Thank God for blessings us with seasons. 

From Eva Marie: Journey with B J through another season of  life! Last Resort releases July 15 from Desert Breeze Publishing. It is the story of honest farmers who try to earn their living with the toil of the soil.  

You can read a free excerpt from Last Resort, B. J. Robinson's Christian Romantic Suspense released by Desert Breeze July 15 at http://stores.desertbreezepublishing.com/-strse-184/B-J-Robinson-Last/Detail.bok

Visit B. J. at http://barbarajrobinson.blogspot.com for an opportunity to win free novels by leaving a comment.

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Thursday's Talk About the Book

From "A Peek at My Bookshelf" by Deena Peterson 

Chasing Sunsets by Eva Marie Everson

Fair warning! Eva Marie Everson is back with a new fiction series, so don't pick this one up thinking all things will be nice and tidy at the end. While I've enjoyed all of her stand-alone novels, it's nice to have a series to look forward to!


"Chasing Sunsets" is about life not turning out like we've planned...can I get a witness! Kimberly Tucker is making her way through the valley of the divorced. Problem is, she hasn't a clue as to what went wrong. And her two sons are caught in the middle of the animosity between the two former spouses.


Maybe a vacation back in time will help her clear her head? Not literally...but back in Cedar Key, where life felt less complicated and the air was fresher. While the boys are with their dad, Kimberly returns back to happier memories and to hopefully make some new ones.


Unfortunately, she didn't know her first love had returned as well. Seeing Steven Granger puts a crimp in Kimberly's sense of peace. But maybe it's time to talk about the past and heal and move on...


...and see what the future holds.


I enjoyed my time in Cedar Key, and look forward to more stories from this lovely locale. No word on how many novels, but I'm hoping for at least four or five...or six or seven...


My thanks to Donna Hausler at Revell for my copy, and I'm giving "Chasing Sunsets" four out of five bookmarks, with a key to the future as a charm. Take my advice...give that key to God and let HIM plan your future...and then FOLLOW HIM!!


Happy Reading!

To see more of Deena's book reivews, go to: http://deenasbooks.blogspot.com/

To see videos, photos, and stay updated about the next book in the series, go to: 

Eva Marie Everson's Cedar Key Novels

Wednesday's Recipe of the Week

Another recipe from Miss Betty's* Daily Diary Cookbook

Cheese-Chili Burgers

Ingredients

1 small onion
2 Tbs. shortening
1 pound hamburger
1 can tomato soup
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 tsp. chili powder
1 cup grated cheese

Directions:

Chop onion and cook in melted shortening along with hamburger until meat is rich brown. Stir in tomato soup, salt and pepper and chili powder. Cover and cook slowly for a half hour. Stir occasionally.

At the end of the cooking time, add grated cheese and stir until well mixed. Cut hamburger buns in half, toast until crisp and spoon the hamburger on top.

(Miss Betty was my mother. These are the recipes I found in her penmanship, written in a Sexton's Daily Diary from c. 1955.)

Tuesday's Southern Style Tunes

America, the Beautiful

Ray Charles

Monday Musings on All Things Southern

How do you celebrate this great day in our nation's history?

Do you tell your children about it? Do you remind them of why we celebrate? Have you shared the story--the real story--to the older ones? Have you expressed the real sacrifice that was made during the Revolutionary War?

If you have not had a chance to see America, The Story of Us, I highly suggest you do. Watch it with your children or your grandchildren. I watched it with our youngest and was absolutely dumbfounded at the things I did not know. Reminded of the things I did. Made proud at them both.

We live in a great country. Whether you hail from the North, the East, the West or the South...whether you are Democrat or Republican, Independent or Tea...this country, with all it's problems, is still a great country.

I encourage you to say one thing today...just one...to your children or your grandchildren about the "land of the free and the home of the brave." One thing that will tell them why this country is great. They've probably heard you plenty of times fussing about this or that. Now, tell them one reason why they can hold their shoulders back, tilt their chin up, and say, "I am an American."