Rose Anderson's Blog, page 23

Shine on

The moon has been so bright in the night sky as of late it’s been waking me up far earlier than usual, and I am by nature an early riser to begin with. It reminds me of an old cartoon, either a Disney or a Warner Brothers, where no matter what the guy does to block the light, the moonbeam manages to come into the room to wake him. I’ve searched all over youtube without success. I just don’t have enough to go on. Thinking on that cartoon now, I can hear the opera music too. I just can’t place it. Rats. It’s like a brain worm!

I read this the other day. How fitting.

The full moon of December is no summer serenader’s moon, no sentimental moon of silvery softness to match the rhyming of the ballad singer.It is a winter’s moon with more than fourteen hours of darkness to rule in cold splendor.

It is not a silvery moon at all. This is a moon of ice, cold and distant. But it shimmers the hills where there is a frosting of snow, and it makes the frozen valleys gleam. It dances on the dark surface of an up-country pond.

It weaves fantastic patterns on the snow in the woodland. It is the sharp edge of the night wind, the silent feather of the great horned owl’s wing, the death-scream of unwary rabbit when the red fox has made its pounce.

This winter’ moon is a silent companion for the nightwalker, a deceptive light that challenges the eye. It dims the huddled hemlocks on the hillside and it sharpens the hilltop horizon. It wreathes the walker’s head in the shimmer of his own breath, and it seems to whistle in his footsteps. It makes wreaths of chimney smoke and sweetens the smell of the hearth fire.

It is the long winter night in cold splendor, night wrapped in frost, spangled and sequined and remote as Arcturus.

~Hal Borland (1900-1978), Twelve Moons of The Year

More~

That fantastic moon image does not belong to me.  It was created by amazing concept artist Leonid Tishkov. Discover more of his surreal moon work and other projects here:

http://leonid-tishkov.blogspot.com/search/label/private%20moon

Here’s a list of works by American author and journalist Hal Borland. Very worthwhile and thoughtful readings on nature.  “No winter lasts forever; no spring skips its turn.”

http://www.naturewriting.com/hal.htm

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Vintage Greetings

As mentioned earlier this month, my husband and I are building a vintage postcard scrapbook — one postcard at a time. The album covers 100 years from 1860 to 1960 and has many slots yet to be filled. In the spirit of the season from now until New Year’s Day, I’ll share cards from my collection. Scroll down to see previous posts. Subscribe to get them in your inbox!

Here’s a fitting postcard. I do believe this card is Swedish. This too was pasted in a scrapbook. God Jul & Gott Nyar = Merry Christmas & Happy New Year.

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Get your FREE ebooks in all formats

>>>Both are now at Barnes & Noble<<<

Exquisite Quills Holiday Anthology Vol 2.

Exquisite Quills Holiday Anthology Vol 1.

And while you’re there, sample my scorching love stories for free too!

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Today is R. Ann Siracusa’s blog day.

http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/

Romance Books ‘4’ Us ~

The December contest is on at RB4U! The top prize this time is a $100 gift card to Amazon or B&N. The horde of remaining prizes will be split between two winners.

http://www.romancebooks4us.com

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gifts to the next generation

If I were given the opportunity to present a gift to the next generation, it would be the ability for each individual to learn to laugh at himself.

Charles M. Schulz

On this date in 1965, A Charlie Brown Christmas aired for the first time. The TV show was based upon the comic strip Peanuts, by Charles M. Schulz. Did you know this show has been on TV every year since? It was also honored with both an Emmy and a Peabody award. To be honest, as a child it used to make me feel so sad.  Still, Charles M. Schulz’ work was genius and he sure brought a lot of joy into the world with his Peanuts characters. I once read where he said Charlie Brown was basically him as a boy. Good grief, Charlie Schulz, I hope not. That would make me sad too. Here’s a clip from A Charlie Brown Christmas.

More~

https://schulzmuseum.org/

http://schulzmuseum.org/about-the-man...

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Vintage Greetings

As mentioned earlier this month, my husband and I are building a vintage postcard scrapbook — one postcard at a time. The album covers 100 years from 1860 to 1960 and has many slots yet to be filled. In the spirit of the season from now until New Year’s Day, I’ll share cards from my collection. Scroll down to see previous posts. Subscribe to get them in your inbox!

One of our best lithograph cards.  The colors are perfect. Most likely this is due to the fact it was once pasted in a book. It still has bits of a page glued to the back.  :)

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Get your FREE ebooks in all formats

Exquisite Quills Holiday Anthology Vol 2.

Exquisite Quills Holiday Anthology Vol 1.

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Today is Author Melissa Keir’s blog day.

http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/

Romance Books ‘4’ Us ~

The December contest is on at RB4U! The top prize this time is a $100 gift card to Amazon or B&N. The horde of remaining prizes will be split between two winners.

http://www.romancebooks4us.com

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The secret life of…

December 8, 1894  is the birthday of that clever, sharp-witted, and most popular humorists of his time, James Thurber. Thurber was known for his canny cartoons and short stories such as The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, The Thurber Carnival, and my husband’s personal favorite — Thurber’s Dogs. A lot of Thurber’s humor had to do with the henpecked husband.

No, my husband enjoyed Thurber’s works long before he met me. lol

Here’s a reading of The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (written in 1939) Enjoy!

More~

http://www.thurberhouse.org/
http://www.notablebiographies.com/St-Tr/Thurber-James.html
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/books/11279896/James-Thurber-the-man-who-created-Walter-Mitty.html

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Vintage Greetings

As mentioned earlier this month, my husband and I are building a vintage postcard scrapbook — one postcard at a time. The album covers 100 years from 1860 to 1960 and has many slots yet to be filled. In the spirit of the season from now until New Year’s Day, I’ll share cards from my collection. Scroll down to see previous posts. Subscribe to get them in your inbox!

Here’s a cute one dated 1899.  Very good condition given its age.  Curiously, it’s not addressed to anyone. Written on the back: Hoping this card finds you well.

Hmm…It’s a mystery!

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Get your FREE ebooks in all formats

Exquisite Quills Holiday Anthology Vol 2.

Exquisite Quills Holiday Anthology Vol 1.

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Today’s guest is Author & Editor Jerri Gallagher

http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/

Romance Books ‘4’ Us ~

The December contest is on at RB4U! The top prize this time is a $100 gift card to Amazon or B&N. The horde of remaining prizes will be split between two winners.

http://www.romancebooks4us.com

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Anthology, Funday Sunday, Vintage Card & More!

I’m joining the Exquisite Quills Holiday Anthology Vol 2.  authors over on my satellite blog today. Do stop by. You’ll be able to read a snippet from my holiday offering and following a link will take you to a free download. (Vol 1 is free too!) Follow the other author links to their snippets and more.  and meet the other authors.

http://calliopeswritingtablet.blogspot.com/2014/12/exquisite-quills-holiday-anthology-vol.html

While you’re at Smashwords.com getting your free downloads, you’ll see a free sampler of my scorching romances  as well. Have copy on me to Sample for free!  Find my unusual love stories in ebook and paperback wherever books are sold.

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If you’ve been here before then you know Sundays on my blog are all about wonder and smiles. In honor of mentally kicking back once in a while, Sundays are Fun Days! Each Sunday, visitors will find a fun, interesting, or unusual something here. I’m a nerd with a complex sense of humor and absurd wit. It could literally be anything.

Today I’m sharing a fascinating clip about hermit crabs. I had no idea they did this conga line exchange for shells. What can I say? I did admit to being nerdy.  :)  http://emp.bbc.co.uk/emp/embed/smpEmbed.html?playlist=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.co.uk%2Fiplayer%2Fplaylist%2Fp029mzlf%2Fmedia_set%2Fpc%2F&title=Life%20Story%3A%20Home%3A%20Hermit%20crab%20housing%20chain&product=news

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Vintage Greetings

As mentioned earlier this week, my husband and I are building a vintage postcard scrapbook — one postcard at a time. The album covers 100 years from 1860 to 1960 and has many slots yet to be filled. In the spirit of the season from now until New Year’s Day, I’ll share cards from my collection. Scroll down to see previous posts. Subscribe to get them in your inbox!

Here’s a cutie.  :)

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My 4th of the month post is still up at Romance Books ‘4’ Us. Here’s the direct link: http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/2014/12/oh-those-family-traditions-by-rose.html

Today’s guest is Author JoAnne Myers. http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/

Romance Books ‘4’ Us ~

The December contest is on at RB4U ! The top prize this time is a $100 gift card to Amazon or B&N. The horde of remaining prizes will be split between two winners.

http://www.romancebooks4us.com

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Worth mentioning ~

We were in DC this past October. This was our second trip to DC and certainly the lesser of the two. I must say the first in 2012 was stunning — the monuments, the museums, the century trees and architecture, the hallowed ground, even the railway system. I have never missed voting in an election large or small. Call it a promise made to those who fought to give me the right.

In our first trip to DC in 2012, I finally felt the point of it all.

Ours is a Democratic Republic and as such our country was modeled after the ancients. From Rome we built a republic — that power rests in the body of voting citizens and exercised by representatives they’ve chosen. Like them, we emphasized secular, individualistic, and critical thought. From Greece we built a democracy — a government without divisions of class where the supreme power is vested in the people and their free electoral system.  Like them, we had a say in our governing. Our founding vision was secular because that was the modern thought of the time of Enlightenment the founders lived in. Their history up to that point had more than enough Inquisitions and wars over ideology. 

America was the tabula rasa — the blank slate with which to do better. Anyone, pundits and politicians alike, who say otherwise does not understand the history of the period nor the minds of the men who framed this great experiment. They’re simply wrong.  For all the garbage we inexplicably endure from our representatives, for all the perplexing numbskulls and soulless creatures voted into office, for all the dirty money and partisan BS games, for all the sneaky riders and paperclips attaching nonsense or graft to important legislation, you can’t fault the perfect dream for humanity that came out of the time of the Enlightenment.

The whole project was designed from the beginning to have wiggle room. The founders knew it had flaws but they were picking their battles. Battle one was get the country formed first. Battle two was keeping the country together through the Civil War. After, we’d finally get busy living as men should under the auspices of free will. There were still flaws and prejudices to overcome. We’re still mired in leftover muck. Nothing like this had ever been done before and so they could only make educated guesses as to how it would go. But the founders in their brilliance designed our government to be fluid that it might adapt as we matured.

The trappings of Washington DC embody the Humanist vision for this country. Were you to go there with an understanding of the ideals of the Enlightenment and a smattering of knowledge of the Renaissance and the Reformation, this all make perfect sense. You discover this never-before break with king and tradition was a hopeful foothold for the future of humanity. I think that absolutely amazing and I’d really like us to get back on board.

Goodness, what a cup of coffee stirs from the mind on a rainy morning. :)

Like I said, the second trip to DC was the lesser of the two. We had grand plans to hit the Library of Congress (where I just happen to have books) and the research rooms of the National Archives. Sadly, through a scheduling snafu, my husband went one way and I went another. It was never our intent that I spend the entire day walking the nation’s capitol alone but that’s what happened. 

Crews were doing work on the lawn between the Capitol Dome and the Lincoln Memorial. This is where all the crowds go for various events there and the grass really gets beaten down. I asked a docent at one of the museums and was told they were installing in-ground sprinklers.  Great idea. But. The entire lawn was fenced off including all those handy crosswalks, meaning I had to walk blocks instead of yards to get from the various museums with their different opening times.  Many, many blocks, all told. Good god my feet hurt at the end of the day. You can rent a bike to get you from here to there, but once you get to wherever there is, you’ll find no place to dock it. Not good to leave it leaning up against a tree when you’re monetarily responsible for its return.  So I walked…and walked.  We never did get to do our research. So disappointing.



I bring all this up today because this date in history is important to that giant obelisk on the mall. On December 6, 1884 an aluminum capstone was set atop the Washington Monument in Washington, DC. Aluminum was a very big deal at the time. Here’s more:

http://www.tms.org/pubs/journals/JOM/9511/Binczewski-9511.html

Why Aluminum?

http://findersfree.com/science-nature/aluminum-considered-valuable-gold

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Vintage Greetings

As mentioned earlier this week, my husband and I are building a vintage postcard scrapbook — one postcard at a time. The album covers 100 years from 1860 to 1960 and has many slots yet to be filled. In the spirit of the season from now until New Year’s Day, I’ll share cards from my collection. Scroll down to see previous posts. Subscribe to get them in your inbox!

Here’s a cute meeting of the holly and the ivy. It’s a vibrant lithograph. I love the buttoned gaiters on their legs. Undated.

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Exquisite Quills Holiday Anthology Vol 2.

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/498109

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My 4th of the month post is still up at Romance Books ‘4’ Us. Here’s the direct link: http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/2014/12/oh-those-family-traditions-by-rose.html

Today is Author Tina Donahue’s blog day. http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/

Romance Books ‘4’ Us ~

The December contest is on at RB4U ! The top prize this time is a $100 gift card to Amazon or B&N. The horde of remaining prizes will be split between two winners.

http://www.romancebooks4us.com

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Love Waits in Unexpected Places – Scorching Samplings of Unusual Love Stories

Find my novels wherever books are sold.

Sample for free!

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A new trailer

I’m happy to share a hot-off-the-press video created by talented author Kaye Spencer for our free Exquisite Quills Holiday Anthology Vol. 2.

Bravo, Kaye, it’s lovely!

The Exquisite Quills Holiday Anthology Vol 2.

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/498109

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Vintage Greetings

As mentioned earlier this week, my husband and I are building a vintage postcard scrapbook — one postcard at a time. The album covers 100 years from 1860 to 1960 and has many slots yet to be filled. In the spirit of the season from now until New Year’s Day, I’ll share cards from my collection. Scroll down to see previous posts.

This stunning little lithograph has ragged edges. Sadly, sometimes these postcards see a bit of wear. Notice the top right corner missing? I did my best to digitally trim before I posted. Normally we look for postcards in the best condition for our collection but sometimes the pictures just grab you. This one was sent to Frau M__ Huff of Milwaukee Wisconsin, postmark 1907. The script is blurred and not easy to read (It’s been a long time since my high school German language class)  I can make out this one word: Weihnachten (Christmas).
:)



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My 4th of the month post is still up at Romance Books ‘4’ Us. Here’s the direct link: http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/2014/12/oh-those-family-traditions-by-rose.html

Today is Author Paris Brandon’s blog day. http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/

Romance Books ‘4’ Us ~

The December contest is on at RB4U ! The top prize this time is a $100 gift card to Amazon or B&N. The horde of remaining prizes will be split between two winners.

http://www.romancebooks4us.com

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Love Waits in Unexpected Places – Scorching Samplings of Unusual Love Stories

Find my novels wherever books are sold.

Sample for free!

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Traditions & Detective Work

It’s the 4th of the month and that means it’s my blog day at Romance Books ‘4’ Us. I’m talking about traditions and sharing one too. Come share one of your own!

http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/

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As mentioned earlier, my husband and I are building a vintage postcard scrapbook — one postcard at a time. The album covers 100 years from 1860 to 1960 and has many slots yet to be filled. In the spirit of the season from now until New Year’s Day, I’ll share cards from my collection. Scroll down to see previous posts.

Too bad this one doesn’t have a date stamp. The postcard was never mailed.  It was kept in pristine condition until it came to me, perhaps tucked away between the pages of a book. There are clues to its age to be found here if you look closely. For one, the tree has candles. Going by the line of the gowns, I’d say it has a late Art Nouveau quality to it. But not quite. The lettering and bold colors say something different. To me these artistic elements suggest it’s in the transition period moving from Art Nouveau to Art Deco. The Art Nouveau style went to about 1910. The hair styles here suggest early 1920s.  Deconstructing is fun.  Oh so many clues!
:)

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The second collection of holiday short stories written by the Exquisite Quills authors and friends is now available.

The Exquisite Quills Holiday Anthology Vol 2.

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/498109

Both collections are free in several formats on Smashwords and at Barnes&Noble.

Consider them a gift to our readers. We hope you enjoy.  :)

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The December contest is on at Romance Books ‘4’ Us! The top prize this time is a $100 gift card to Amazon or B&N. The horde of remaining prizes will be split between two winners.

http://www.romancebooks4us.com

❋❋❋❋❋❋❋

Love Waits in Unexpected Places – Scorching Samplings of Unusual Love Stories

Find my novels wherever books are sold.

Sample for free!

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Reach Out & Touch Someone

As mentioned yesterday, my husband and I are building a vintage postcard scrapbook — one postcard at a time. The album covers 100 years from 1860 to 1960 and is far from filled. In the spirit of the season, from now until January, I’ll share cards from my collection.

Postcards are ephemera, that is, they are transitory things.  I love that word ephemera. From the Greek it means lasting a day. To me it evokes those now you see it now you don’t kind of things like crystal-winged mayflies, toadstools in the lawn after it rains, diamond dewdrops on spiderwebs, and sky-spanning rainbows. Postcards are like that. They’re meant to tell someone you’re in their thoughts in that moment. They’re meant to make you smile. They were never meant to keep forever. Yet people kept them as treasures until the day they died. We stumble across them in our travels all the time and that’s the way of things, because as the saying goes, you can’t take it with you.  I keep them as treasures now because to me they’re tokens of love and affection.  The sentiment surrounds them, even if I never knew the people involved. And who doesn’t love love?

Of all the cards we have to date, the brightest boldest images are found on cards from Germany. Postcards were printed across Europe and the US, but the Germans excelled at lithography, in fact, it was a German invention. Their colors were so lively and the images so clever that people tended to keep their ephemera and were hungry for more. Needless to say, WWI brought changes to the postcard industry. After the war, Germany’s devastated print shops never regained their world-class footing. The impact of the war brought changes to other postcard printers as well. There were now shortages of ink. You can tell at a glance what postcard comes from this time. There will be a rather thick colorless border around the picture to save ink. See it in the card above.

Postcards lost some of their popularity when the world moved on. The telephone changed the way people said, I’m thinking of you.

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I’m happy to announce the release of a second collection of holiday short stories written by the Exquisite Quills authors and friends ~

The Exquisite Quills Holiday Anthology Vol 2.

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/498109

Both collections are free in several formats on Smashwords, Barnes&Noble, and quite possibly itunes and Amazon in the future (if we can figure out how to keep them free).

Consider it a gift to our readers. We hope you enjoy.

:)

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Today is guest Author Sabrina York. http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/

Romance Books ‘4’ Us ~

Find the dancing Santas. The December contest is on!  Top prize this time is a $100 gift card to Amazon or B&N. Remaining prizes split between two winners.

http://www.romancebooks4us.com

❋❋❋❋❋❋

Love Waits in Unexpected Places – Scorching Samplings of Unusual Love Stories

Find my novels wherever books are sold.

Sample for free!

❋❋❋❋❋❋

Free ~The Exquisite Quills Holiday Anthology Vol 2!

I’m happy to announce the release of a second collection of holiday short stories written by the Exquisite Quills authors and friends ~

The Exquisite Quills Holiday Anthology Vol 2.

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/498109

Both collections are free in several formats on Smashwords, Barnes&Noble, and quite possibly itunes and Amazon in the future (if we can figure out how to keep them free).

Consider it a gift to our readers. We hope you enjoy.

:)

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Three years ago, my husband gave me a mostly empty album for collecting vintage holiday postcards and together we’re building a scrapbook, one postcard at a time. The album is set up by the decade with sleeves for each and covers 100 years from 1860 to 1960. Cards kept as keepsakes speaks volumes of the regard in which they were held. We love them too.  From now until January, I’ll share one from my collection.

Did you know this hobby is as popular as stamp collecting? Collecting postcards is called Deltiology from the Greek deltion or writing tablet. How often do you think of the time before common things? Even the simplest things in our lives started as a spark in someone’s imagination. I think postcards have an interesting past.

Before there were cards sending wishes, there were decorated envelopes. The first concept for the postcard appeared in 1861, brainchild of John P. Charlton of Philadelphia. Shortly after he transferred his copyright to H.L. Lipman. The postcard idea had a slow start.

It wasn’t until 1889 that postcards became popular. It all started with the Eiffel Tower and the 1889 World’s Fair in Paris. People visiting that modern wonder could send a photo postcard to family and friends. It wasn’t a souvenir per se, more an advertisement. It was after the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago that postcards really took off.  And they only cost 1⊄ to mail vs. the going rate of 2⊄ for letters. Comparatively speaking then and now, a penny back then had a value equal to a quarter today. If 15⊄ could buy you a quart of milk for your kids, you’d likely think saving a penny to send a greeting to your loved ones was a bargain.

:) Tomorrow I’ll share a bit more postcard history.

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Today is Author Polly McCrillis/Isabel Mere’s blog day. http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/

Romance Books ‘4’ Us ~

The December contest is on! Find the dancing Santas. Top prize this time is a $100 gift card to Amazon or B&N. Remaining prizes split between two winners.

http://www.romancebooks4us.com

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Love Waits in Unexpected Places – Scorching Samplings of Unusual Love Stories

Find my novels wherever books are sold.

Sample for free!

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Writing in the Twilight Zone at #RB4U

I’ve been away and then busy so not much happening here until next week. In the meantime, it’s my blog day on Romance Books ‘4’ Us. I’m talking about writing in the Twilight Zone. Come see!

http://romancebooks4us.blogspot.com/2014/11/writing-in-twilight-zone-by-rose.html

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For 100 days, I’ll post something from my chosen topic: Clichés. There are 19 entries to come. Here’s a cliché for today: Powers of darkness

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Romance Books ‘4’ Us ~ the site is all new and the November contest is on!

http://www.romancebooks4us.com

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Love Waits in Unexpected Places - Scorching Samplings of Unusual Love Stories

Find my novels wherever books are sold.

Sample my love stories for free!

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/333971

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