A Good Story

Still in my coat and hat, I sank onto the stair to read the letter. ( I never read without making sure I am in a secure position. I have been like this ever since the age of seven when, sitting on a high wall and reading The Water Babies, I was so seduced by the descriptions of underwater life that I unconsciously relaxed my muscles. Instead of being held buoyant by the water that so vividly surrounded me in my mind, I plummeted to the ground and knocked myself out. I can still feel the scar under my fringe now. Reading can be dangerous.)

This is a paragraph from the second page of The Thirteenth Tale, a book I just finished. It was passed on to me from my daughter and to her from her friend Rachel, both love to read almost as much as I do! I had picked this book up and looked at it, read the jacket and decided I would not care for it. Now remember, you should never judge a book by its cover!
The Thirteenth Tale will suck you into the story, take you on a journey full of twists and turns and end in a way that you never suspected. That's all I'm going to say. Find a copy for yourself!

The Thirtenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

The "elkpedition" Part 1

Okay, so Misty has this great elk picture she shot and she has seen it up close several times and I wanted to enjoy it too! So, Peanut and I set off for Faix in search of the elk in his truck. I got to the end of the driveway when I realized my camera did not have a card, so we went back, just in case! After I retrieved the card, I said, "Maybe we should have left it that would assure us of finding him since we could not prove it."
We picked up Misty and her boys and off we went in search, binoculars and camera ready. We certainly enjoyed the views searching back roads for the elk, but he did not make an appearance so we started back to Misty's, when we spotted our fellow hunters Miss Veda and Lola. We stopped and discussed where we had each been and decided to give up because it was almost dark.
The "elkpediton" was going to be over for the night and we had all left the truck and were playing with the puppies at Misty's when Veda came back!
She found the elk on her way home! We all jumped into the truck and headed for the place it was last spotted. When we were near, Keyton and Garrison popped open their windows and began making what we thought might be elk noises in hopes of calling him to us! Just ahead we spied Veda's tail lights. She had slowed and we thought she might have him in her sights!
Sure enough, there in an open grassy field was the giant! He was munching away on the grass and when we stopped on the side of the road, the three boys in the truck made some more noise to get his attention. He looked right at us and I snapped this photo.
I know, if National Geographic calls it's Misty that is going to be the photographer. But can you see him? All I got was the reflection of the flash in his eyes. I had to work on the exposure just to get that showing. It was almost dark, we were too far away, I didn't have my good camera!
I'm going back in the daylight, with a good camera and I will get the shot, but I will need to learn how to make elk noises to get him to look at me like he did last night! It's a good thing I have witnesses or you might not believe my photo.
Stay tuned--more elk hunting in the future!

Our "Little" Friend...

So, I guess you all remember *THIS* post last year when Dana spotted the ELK in front of our house. Well, I guess it likes our neighborhood so much, it can't stand to leave because we are still seeing it. The boys and I were in for a HUGE prank on April Fool's morning when it jumped out in front of the vehicle on the way to school. We were pretty shaken up by it because we came so close to hitting it! Ever since then, we have seen it almost every few days somewhere close to our house. Most of the times, I have not had my camera with me and have only been able to get it on my cell phone. This morning...I was prepared for it!!! It did not disappoint us either...enjoy the pics of what the boys are now calling "Our LITTLE Friend."

Who Doesn't Love Mac & Cheese?

Gooseberry Patch is offering a free download from their Circle of Friends Cookbook. It is 25 Mac & Cheese recipes. Click here to get a copy.
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Photo Book for Ten Bucks

I have used a company called Snapfish many times to order digital prints. This morning I received an e-mail from them announcing their 10th anniversary. To celebrate this for the next ten days Snapfish is offering customers a special deal. Today's deal is a classic photo book for $10.00. That's half price. Use the coupon code APR1BD when you check out. And visit Snapfish to check their next offers.
*The coupon code for the classic photo book is good until April 7th. What a great way to print your Easter photos.

Mother's Day Gift Idea

Hi Guys! I wanted to pass along a deal Pampered Chef has right now, You can get their Trifle Bowl for $29 + tax & Shipping. And if you'd like I will vinyl it for free and bring it back to you before Mother's Day. If you'd like one let my Mom know ( Sherrie Brown @ Special Ed) and I will get a receipt back to you as soon as possible! THANKS!

Overton County Jr. Pro Champs

Four Pickett County K-8 students were on the championship team in the Overton County Jr. Pro tournament on Feb. 27. They are Sarah Jo Pendergrass, Savannah Hammock, Emily Anderson and Courtney Pritchett. Congratulations girls!

A Chance for More Free Books

There's another book give away on the K-8 computer lab blog! Hurry on over and enter.

I've Been Waiting For This!

I've been waiting for this! A company called Blog2Print will allow you download your blog and create a book. They have very reasonable prices and free shipping. There is also a nice cover selection. The only thing stopping me was the fact that if you had placed pictures in your blog and text under the pictures the site did not separate the text and pictures on a page. It looked like this:
But this morning I received an e-mail announcing that now they offer a choice called snapshot which is exactly what I wanted to do. It looks like this:
It takes more space, but your pictures and text remain together! And not only can you choose this option you can get a discount! I love you Blog2Print!

There's the info:
We're giving you a 15% discount on your next blog book! This discount will be valid until March 31st. Enter code newb2p to receive 15% off your order. And pass it around to all your friends - let everyone know about the new features and the coupon code.

Where is spring?

I know it doesn't look much like spring outside the windows today, but here's a great idea I received in an e-mail from the girls at Gooseberry Patch! Check out their blog.
Looking for a centerpiece to go with a picnic or garden-fresh meal? Slice a watermelon in half and use half as a vase...don't even bother to hollow it out! Simply tuck flower stems right in the melon, and the water inside will help keep them vibrant.