Kelley Heckart's Blog, page 27

Monday Musings: Arizona Sunsets #18

Kelley HeckartOtherworldly tales steeped in myth & magic.http://www.kelleyheckart.comhttp://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/ http://twitter.com/CelticChickhttp://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604
http://www.goodreads.com/kheckart
Beauty may be the real beast
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Weird Word Wednesday

caoutchoucnoun  caou·tchouc  \ˈkau̇-ˌchu̇k, -ˌchük, -ˌchü\Definition of caoutchouc:Rubber
Origin of caoutchouc
French, from obsolete Spanish cauchuc (now caucho), probably from a language of Amazonian Peru or Ecuador
Kelley HeckartOtherworldly tales steeped in myth & magic.http://www.kelleyheckart.comhttp://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/ http://twitter.com/CelticChickhttp://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604 http://www.goodreads.com/kheckart
Beauty may be the real beast
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Monday Musings: Do memories reside in your home or do they exist in any place you call home?

I come from a family of gypsies, not in the sense that we have gypsy blood, though I wouldn’t discount that, but in the sense that we moved all the time when I was a child, and my parents continued to move well into my adulthood. They just moved from the dream house they had built and had no trouble leaving it behind.How do they do this?I know so many people who refuse to leave a home they have lived in for many years because “all of their memories are in that home.”Now, you would think that I’d be like my parents, having moved so much, but I am not. My husband, on the other hand, who’d lived in the same house since he was born, has no problem moving.See, I get attached to things. And I’m having trouble with our latest move. We made the decision to downsize. It’s for all the right reasons, but I’m having trouble letting go of the home we lived in for 15 years, the longest I’ve ever lived in any home. There are so many memories there—good and bad—but for me there is a special energy in that house and it’s hard for me to leave it behind.There is the beautiful, large Palo Verde tree we planted and is what I call, “the tree of life,” because of all the wildlife that gathers around that tree. There are my desert iguanas, Mr. and Mrs. Godzilla, I see each year in spring and summer and are more like pets than wild animals.There are so many great memories of my dogs that have since passed away.There are memories of when we first moved into the house and how excited and happy we were to be embarking on a new path in life.There are also the not-so-good memories of struggling to get through the Great Recession, but we prevailed, mostly unscathed, from that troubling time and found hope again.Will I forget all of that once I have left that home behind?I sure hope not. As I settle into our new home, surrounded by my possessions and photographs, I sense a new special energy forming like a familiar, comfortable blanket.  I think it’s clear to me now. My memories live inside me. They are a part of me. I will still have my old memories and will make new ones here in this place I now call home. This is my new Palo Verde tree. I'm watering it and hoping it will grow to be as large and beautiful as my old tree.
Kelley HeckartOtherworldly tales steeped in myth & magic.http://www.kelleyheckart.comhttp://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/ http://twitter.com/CelticChickhttp://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604http://www.goodreads.com/kheckart
Beauty may be the real beast 
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Weird Word Wednesday

calaboosenoun  cal·a·boose  \ˈka-lə-ˌbüs\Definition of calaboosePopularity: Bottom 30% of words:  jail; especially :  a local jail
Examples of calaboose
Origin of calabooseSpanish calabozo dungeon

First Known Use: 1792

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Kelley HeckartOtherworldly tales steeped in myth & magic.http://www.kelleyheckart.comhttp://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/ http://twitter.com/CelticChickhttp://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604 http://www.goodreads.com/kheckart

Monday Musings: An Easter surprise, my hummingbird visitors

I woke up on Easter morning and went about my usual chores, which included watering the Palo Verde tree growing on our back slope. We just moved and I've been a little bummed about leaving my old house with the large, beautiful Palo Verde tree and a multitude of Arizona wildlife, my desert iguanas and all the birds we had visit that tree. This Easter morning was pretty special and a bit magical because as I was watering the tree with the hose, a hummingbird appeared. She buzzed around the water's spray and then she landed. I let the hose rest between the chain links in the fence and hurried to grab my camera. When I returned, she was taking a bath in the water puddles. Then another hummingbird appeared to do the same. I wasn't fast enough to catch both of them, but I managed to get a couple of shots of one. Having the hummingbirds visit me made my day. Even though I will miss my lizards at the old house, it looks like I will have some new backyard wildlife here at the new place.
Easter is all about rebirth and new beginnings. The hummingbirds symbolized this for me.

This hummingbird appeared on Easter morning.




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Kelley HeckartOtherworldly tales steeped in myth & magic.http://www.kelleyheckart.comhttp://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/ http://twitter.com/CelticChickhttp://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604http://www.goodreads.com/kheckart

Weird Word Wednesday

calabashnoun  cal·a·bash  \ˈka-lə-ˌbash\Definition of calabashPopularity: Bottom 30% of words1:  a tropical American tree (Crescentia cujete) of the bignonia family; also :  its large hard-shelled globose fruit2:  gourd; especially :  one whose hard shell is used for a utensil3:  a utensil (as a bottle or dipper) made from the shell of a calabash
Origin of calabash
French & Spanish; French calebasse gourd, from Spanish calabaza
Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance authorCaptivating...Sensual...Otherworldlyhttp://www.kelleyheckart.com         http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/http://twitter.com/CelticChickhttp://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604http://www.goodreads.com/kheckartMy author page at amazon.com with all my books listed http://www.amazon.com/Kelley-Heckart/e/B002BMOQ3C/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1341885749&sr=1-2-ent

Monday Musings: Arizona cloud formations #18

Line from The Wolf Queen:He pulled away, his eyes warm and glittering playfully beneath his heavy brows. “If you keep doing that, I will need to have you again, my lovely princess.”
Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance authorCaptivating...Sensual...Otherworldlyhttp://www.kelleyheckart.comhttp://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/ http://twitter.com/CelticChickhttp://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604 http://www.goodreads.com/kheckart

Weird Word Wednesday

cajeputnoun  caj·e·put  \ˈka-jə-pət, -ˌpu̇t\Definition of cajeputPopularity: Bottom 20% of words:  an Australian and southeast Asian tree (Melaleuca quinquenervia syn. M. leucadendron) of the myrtle family that yields a pungent medicinal oil and has been introduced into Florida
Origin of cajeput
ultimately from Malay kayu putih, from kayu wood, tree + putih white
Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance authorCaptivating...Sensual...Otherworldlyhttp://www.kelleyheckart.com         http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/http://twitter.com/CelticChickhttp://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604http://www.goodreads.com/kheckartMy author page at amazon.com with all my books listed http://www.amazon.com/Kelley-Heckart/e/B002BMOQ3C/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1341885749&sr=1-2-ent

Monday Musings: Arizona Sunsets #17

Quote from The Wolf Queen:“Gods, woman. You are the most stubborn female I have ever met.”
Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance authorCaptivating...Sensual...Otherworldlyhttp://www.kelleyheckart.comhttp://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/http://twitter.com/CelticChickhttp://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604 http://www.goodreads.com/kheckart

Weird Word Wednesday

caipirinhanoun  cai·pi·ri·nha  \ˌkī-pə-ˈrēn-yə\Definition of caipirinhaPopularity: Bottom 30% of words:  a cocktail consisting of lime, sugar, and rum
Origin of caipirinha
Brazilian Portuguese, from caipira backwoodsman, rustic
Kelley Heckart, Historical fantasy romance authorCaptivating...Sensual...Otherworldlyhttp://www.kelleyheckart.com         http://kelleysrealm.blogspot.com/http://twitter.com/CelticChickhttp://www.facebook.com/pages/Kelley-Heckart/111838455604http://www.goodreads.com/kheckartMy author page at amazon.com with all my books listed http://www.amazon.com/Kelley-Heckart/e/B002BMOQ3C/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1341885749&sr=1-2-ent