Share Five Favorite blogs

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This is the subject for today’s post. I can’t really do this because there are more than five blogs I like to visit. Each one is unique because every person is unique. It would be impossible to pick out five because it wouldn’t be fair to the others I like as much.


The blogs I list today wouldn’t necessarily be the same five that I would list tomorrow. It all depends on the mood I’m in that day. I read all kinds of things on different blogs. Some educate me on things that I didn’t know, while others contain funny stories and have a down-home feel, which is just what I need at times.

I’m thankful for all of you and your particular style of writing.

If you want to participate in this May challenge, please go here for more info:
Story of My Life: Blog every day in May: a challenge

The Haircut

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When we were kids, Houston Mamaw (Mama’s mother) would always come every summer to visit.


On these summer trips, she would drag all of us girls out for a haircut. I always hated those visits because, I decided at a very early age, I wanted my hair long. Everything else about her visits were doable, even if we were thrown totally out of our normal routine.

When I was six-years-old, Mama and Rosenberg Mamaw (Daddy's mother) decided I should have a haircut and a perm for the first grade. They took me to Mamaw’s house, down the road, and had me sit in a chair in the kitchen.

Mamaw then proceeded to cut my hair to about three-inches long all over my head. After my haircut, assisted by Mama, she gave me a home pemanent. I absolutely hated that and I protested the whole time, but the complaints of a child of six fell on deaf ears. Needless to say, after this experience, nobody ever touched my hair again. I was determined and would do whatever it took to keep myself from encountering that scenario for a second time.

I remember telling them that was the last time someone was getting me in a chair and cutting my hair unless I wanted it done, which I didn't. I learned you just couldn’t trust adults, and after that I managed to evade the scissors.

When Houston Mamaw came to take us all to the salon every summer, I would hide and refuse to come out. I advised my sisters to do the same, but that’s one time they didn't listen to me. Mamaw even told me I could just go along with everyone and sit in a chair and wait while they all got their hair cut. I knew this was a trick and once they got me in the car and in the salon, I would have to get a haircut as well, so I decided to stay home.

I tried to tell my sisters not to get in the car, but they wouldn't listen. I think they were afraid to assert themselves when they knew the adults were in charge of our lives. So when they all came back, later in the day,with those sad, tearful faces and those pixie haircuts, all I could say was, I told you so.

Naturally, they would be very upset at having their hair cut an inch long all over their heads. “How could that even be possible?” they exclaimed!

They wanted to hide until it grew out some, but of course that wasn’t going to happen. We had to work in the fields and go about all the other adventures we had as kids and then, of course, there was school to think about, once fall arrrived.

This happened every year and I suppose, being the oldest, I should have raised more of a fuss and made more of an effort to keep them from being shuffled off to the salon. But of course adults have their own ideas about things and you can only do so much while still being respectful.

I told my sisters they just had to put their foot down, on that kind of thing, unless they really wanted the haircut. Mama sympathized with me and I never had to go. She knew how bad I hated that home permanent and even she had to admit it wasn’t the best job around. I was pretty sad looking until it grew out.

Those poor girls came back looking so pathetic every time with sad, puppy dog faces. They may as well have been the little elves from my stories. They never seemed to learn, or muster the courage to protest.

Mama tried to talk her mother out of it, but Mamaw had a mind of her own and Mama knew it was no use to argue, so, in the end, she would just say, “yes ma’am,” and let the girls be put into the car for the trip.

As the years passed by, they got used to the dreaded trip to the beauty parlor and I don't think they minded as much. I do think they would have preferred to pick their own hairstyle instead of getting that pixie haircut, which went on until they became teens.

This is re-blogged from 9-26-2012

A Favorite Photo and Why

This is me

Today’s prompt is to post a favorite photo of myself. This is a favorite photo because nothing everything seems to be in place for a change. Usually I’m not very satisfied with pics taken of me. I guess that’s the reason why I use this one on book covers, social media sites, and places like that.

If you want to participate in this challenge, click here for the details:
Story of My Life: Blog every day in May: a challenge

A Difficult Thing about my “Lot in Life”

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Well that is today’s prompt. We are supposed to write about the difficulty of our “lot in life,” and what we’re doing to overcome it. I think everyone has difficulties to some degree, except for maybe the very rich, but then, even they may have difficulties that the rest of us will never realize.


I had a difficult childhood being raised on a farm and living in a sharecropper’s shack until I was about fourteen. There were seven of us, if you count all my siblings. We made the best of things, as children will do, and still had some very happy times. We had to be industrious in our thinking. I think that benefits all of is today, if times aren’t the best they can be.

Because of the circumstances of my childhood, I have done very well for myself. I definitely don’t take the finer things in life for granted and I know I can do without and survive if I have to, although I would never go back to those days. I’m still glad to have the experience of it all and glad it is behind me. I don’t think any of us could be as appreciative as we are today, if the situation would have been different back then. Most of today’s kids are very spoiled.

Most of us, on the other hand, can think for ourselves and work out a solution to a current problem without being overwhelmed. We are not quitters because things are tough.

If you want to participate in this challenge, find the daily prompts here:
Story of My Life: Blog every day in May: a challenge

A Day in My Life

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My life consists of writing and more writing after I get my act together in the morning. As I’m a night owl, this isn’t always busy. I usually hit the computer early with a cup of coffee and go downstairs later to get dressed and have breakfast. Besides drinking coffee and writing, I cook dinner and wash dishes a couple of times a day. I usually just snack for lunch, or graze as my husband calls it.

 This is Comet

This is Koki

Generally, I have at least one cat sitting on my desk or computer during the day and evening. I have to deal with this from time to time when they begin playing footsies with my keyboard and mouse. Or give them some extra attention when they start giving me those lover eyes.

These two cats are the most frequent visitors to my office.

In the evenings, before or after dinner, I like to sit out on the patio. We have a nice bench that allows me to look at the desert and listen to all the birds as they gather their families for the night. It’s quiet and tranquil out there and I’m all about peacefulness.

 Desert Walk - Sunni's Photo's

Sometimes I’ll take a walk back there where I am totally alone on the dirt trails that meander through the sagebrush and cactus.  Sunsets are also spectacular.

Desert Sunset - Sunni's Photo's



At night is usually more writing, or reading, unless I watch something I recorded on the DVR. My husband and I have different likes in TV, although we do watch international homes frequently before I come back upstairs to get back to it.

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The last thing I usually do up here is check my email and then head downstairs to do all the night time chores, like scooping the litter boxes, and setting up the coffee for tomorrow morning.

About once or twice a month, I’ll go out and spend the day shopping or meandering through some stores to see what’s new and to get out amongst people.

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So there you have it – the boring life of a writer. I am never bored with my routine though, which is a good thing. I do a lot of searching on the internet and there is always something new to learn that I didn’t know.

Ten Things that make me Happy

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My Cats

Warm Weather

Sunshine

Peace and Quiet

My Own space

Having enough Time and Money for everything

Writing

Reading

Playing in my Craft and Sewing room

Chocolate

All these things and not necessarily in this order

Disturbing Animal Abuse

Raven from Bards and Druids Website



Okay, I felt compelled to write this extra post because I don’t like any type of animal abuse and this includes birds. Today we discovered a dead raven in our backyard. Upon inspection, its demise was due to a gunshot wound in the right chest. This was very upsetting to me. As we were looking at it, two ravens were circling overhead squawking loudly in their guttural voices. They were probably its family. They are usually in groups of three back there, flying and riding the wind currents in unbelievable acrobatic displays.


I felt very sorry for this bird. We have ravens everywhere and they are so majestic and beautiful, even if they do bring bad omens, according to Indian legend.

Raven from Bards and Druids Website

Naturally, I wanted to do right by this bird and bury it, as I’ve done a hundred times with other birds that hit the windows of our house. My husband wouldn’t let me and hauled it out into the desert. When he left, I wanted to take a shovel out there and find it and bury it, but I didn’t. It’s almost 100 degrees today, but that is not what deterred me. He would be very upset with me I’m sure, and would probably be back here before I finished the job anyway.

We are sure that some boys who’ve been hunting behind the house killed it, although we didn’t see them do it. We caught them back there with guns a couple of days ago and my husband ran them off, telling them to stop hunting the wildlife back there. He followed them home where they took the guns inside and got on their bicycles instead.

He did call the local PD today and they came over, took a report, and looked at the dead bird, but I doubt they will do anything. But you can be sure I’ll be on the lookout for those boys. These kids, probably about 13 or 14, are always shooting at the quail back there. The birds come to drink in our yard because we put water out everywhere. This is the desert and they have to get water from somewhere.

I’m just so very disgusted right now. If I could wish a learning pox on the boys, I would do it. I really don’t care if we have hundreds of ravens and other creatures. It’s not right to kill them. They are only trying to live in this harsh environment.

Okay, I’ll get off the soapbox now.