Book Blurb Friday #18 : "In The Shadows"

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

"In The Shadows"

by 

Kathy Matthews

Ever since the accident, 98-year-old Aunt Gert could no longer see the world in color.  Gert realized that she should be grateful that she could see at all, and of course, she was.  Still, she missed the colors of the plants, flowers, sunsets and everything else. 

The world was strange in muted black, white, and gray tones.  Gert saw faces now, where she hadn't before.  Nature faces, tree spirits, and the like.  For example, right this moment, under the entry mirror above the table, there were several images seeming to seek her attention.  Her twin, Myrtle, informed her that they were not really there, but Gert could accurately sense them.  

It was only when their caregiver, Justine-the-Psychic moved in, that the shadow faces and their voices became a reality within the entire household.  This entertaining thriller draws the reader swiftly along, as these women uncover the history of their home.   (150)

I am participating in Lisa's Book Blurb Friday, from over at Writing in the Buff.   It is fun, and you can play too!  Pretend that the picture above is the cover of a book.  Thank you to Becky Povich  for giving us this week's inspiring photo!  On the inside jacket, you have 150 words to entice the reader to buy your book.  Lisa gives us a week to think about next week's entry (she's gracious like that).  Please CLICK HERE  to read what everybody else wrote! 

At Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy, if you miss a day, you miss a lot!  All material on this post is copyrighted and not for use without my permission ...Please click here to go to my home page and see what is happening in Mayberry today.
 

I Appreciate You and What's Up:

Card by Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Hey Everybody ...


Thanks for stopping by to see what's up.  I really do appreciate you, each and everyone.  That is why I made you the card above.  I hope you like it.  If you would like to send it to somebody that you appreciate, you have permission to copy and paste this one.


I've been busy with life and busy posting pictures, but I haven't really written on here for awhile, giving you an update on the happenings in Mayberry.  So, here goes, in no particular order:


*  Cary had surgery on his elbow last Friday, and he is healing up fine.  However, he isn't thrilled to be wearing a cast during the summertime.


*  The day before he had his surgery, I came down with a bug that is still hanging on.  The version that I have is a head cold, sore throat, muscle aches and a problem with mucus.  Gross.  TMI?  I was absolutely freezing for the first day.  I'm not kidding!  I came home, turned the heat up to 71*, put on tights, sweatpants, two pairs of socks underneath my slippers, wore my heavy sweatshirt and covered up with a sleeping bag on the couch.  It took me 3 hours to warm up.  That was miserable.

I do okay as long as I take my favorite cold remedy:  A 24-hour antihistamine (sometimes they have only worked for 12 hours this time), Mucunex twice a day and Aleve.  The other day I thought that I was better, and quit taking the meds and it came back full force.  Dang.  I just now got up and changed toothbrushes.  Maybe that will help?

* I just finished "Midwives" and it was really good.  (To read about the post when I started it, please "CLICK HERE and go half way down" ".)  I didn't fly through it, but that was okay.  I savored it. 

Last night,  I began reading Tom Wolfe's trilogy: "The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test",  "The Kandy Kolored Tangerine-Flake Streamline Baby" and "Radical Chic & Mau-Mauing The Flak Cathers".  Very interesting bits of history about the 1960's, including Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters.  I think that they will get their own blog post soon.  Ken was an Oregon boy, after all.

* We had a HUGE and LONG-LASTING all night thunder and lightening storm on Monday night.  We even lost power for a while.  Usually, we get thunderstorms in the afternoon, and you can see them build up and getting ready.  This one was different in all ways.  It was so hot and humid and didn't begin until almost dark.  There was a grand-finale at 4:00 a.m., and the ground acually shook, so the lightening must have hit close by.  


* We are looking forward to spending some time in Portland next week, visiting with friends and family.   I will finally get to see my BFF Nancy's new house.  Yay!  I am hoping that we will get to go to the zoo, and that I can get lots of cool pictures to show you.  What a busy summer this is turning out to be.


Well, I guess that is enough for now.  I'd love to hear about what you guys are all up to!


Hope your week is wonderful.

~ Kathy M.

At Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy, if you miss a day, you miss a lot!  All material on this post is copyrighted and not for use without my permission ...Please click here to go to my home page and see what is happening in Mayberry today.
 

Downtown Seattle, Washington:

On June 18th, Cary and I drove to Seattle to watch a Mariner's game.  Here are some of the pictures that I took of the downtown area, most of them from a rainy car window.  Most of them certainly are not award winning, but I think that they give you an idea of the what Seattle's downtown looks like, if you haven't been there yet.  I hope that you enjoy them!

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Sometimes, if a photo doesn't turn out "good", I'll mess around with it to see if I can still use it:

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

To read about where we stayed and related posts, here is some more information:

* My First Mariners Game

* Where We Stayed On Our Trip

* The Beach at Ocean Shores, Washington

* Kylie's Graduation



This is a SkyWatch Friday post.  Please "CLICK HERE" to see other cool skys from around the world!

I decided to go ahead and make this a Watery Wednesday post too ... most of the pictures at least have wet streets!  I just wanted as many people worldwide to get a chance to take at look at Seattle.  If you would like to see great watery photos, please "CLICK HERE" when Wednesday gets here.

At Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy, if you miss a day, you miss a lot!  All material on this post is copyrighted and not for use without my permission ...Please click here to go to my home page and see what is happening in Mayberry today.
 

Blue Monday: Ocean Shores Mural Collages

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

I took these pictures last week of a mural painted on the side of a surfing shop in downtown Ocean Shores, Washington.  I loved the blues and bright colors, and hope that you enjoy them too.  Happy Blue Monday!

~ Kathy M.


This is a Blue Monday post.  Blue Monday is hosted by our friend Smiling Sally.  Sally's granddaughters have just posted that Sally is still in ICU after her first surgery of a couple of weeks ago.  There isn't a Blue Monday meme today, but if here is the link to her blog if you would like to leave her a comment:  "Smiling Sally".  Please keep Sally in your prayers.  Thank you.

.

At Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy, if you miss a day, you miss a lot!  All material on this post is copyrighted and not for use without my permission ...Please click here to go to my home page and see what is happening in Mayberry today.
 

Shadow Shot Sunday #162: This Week In Pictures

For those of you who haven't been here for awhile, Cary and I were on vacation last week.  We drove 800 miles and I took 800 pictures during our six day adventure.  We went to our granddaughter Kylie's graduation, to the beach, to a Mariner's game in Seattle and then stopped by the Edgefield McMenamin's in Troutdale, outside of Portland.  Here are some of the shadow shots that I thought you might enjoy (some are repeats, though, if you have been reading all week long).

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

1.  We were not allowed to take pictures of the graduation ceremony.  I could not abide by those rules, so I took mine with the flash off and on the Advanced Sports Shooting setting that my camera offers.  I have come to love that setting.  I don't have to wait for my camera to focus on something in particular.  This picture and the next crack me up.  They remind me of that old show "Mystery Science Theater", where you see the heads of the alien reviewers as they make fun of the old science fiction movies.

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

3.  I love this picture.  I didn't do anything to make it happen.  Kylie is in perfect focus, and everybody else is in soft focus.  The shadows on the wall are the icing on the cake.

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

4.  Kylie's graduation roses.  So pretty!

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

5.  We went to the beach and stayed at The Quinalt Resort and Casino.  We were on the second floor, and I was throwing out pieces of a bagel to try and get the seagulls to fly around.  They came swarming in for the treat, but were lazy and waited for the bagels to drop to the ground.  Still, they did give me some shadow shots in the process.

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

6.  I can't find any shadows on this one, but decided to sneak it in anyway, since it is one of the best pictures that I took on the whole trip.  I didn't think that you would mind.

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

7.  I took this one and the next one 

in the pool hall at Edgefield.

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

8.  Shuffleboard Table

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

9.  This is a building in downtown Seattle.  There are shadows and reflections both, and I like the clean, sharp lines in this photo.

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

10.  This is a chandelier at Safeco Field.  The lights are made to look like baseball bats.  The next three photos are also of Safeco Field Stadium.

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

"11"

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

"12"

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

"13"

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

14.  This was taken at Edgefield.  I like the soft shadow along the bottom of the balcony rail.  Now, which ones are your favorites?

To read about where we stayed and related posts, here is some more information:

* My First Mariners Game

* Where We Stayed On Our Trip

* The Beach at Ocean Shores, Washington

* Kylie's Graduation


* Downtown Seattle, Washington
This is a Shadow Shot Sunday post.  Please join us over at Tracy's "Hey Harriet" for more beautiful shadow pictures from around the world by "CLICKING HERE".  Thanks!

At Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy, if you miss a day, you miss a lot!  All material on this post is copyrighted and not for use without my permission ...Please click here to go to my home page and see what is happening in Mayberry today.