Bird's Words

I just received my eleventh, self-published book in the mail. At the end of every year, I have that year's blog posts made into a hardcover book. 

This last book should have been published about a year ago. It was not published because I ran into some issues with the self-publishing platform. I had successfully used Lulu.com for books one through ten. When it came time to create book eleven, Lulu.com had made some changes that were not compatible with my Word document/PDF. These changes caused me to put off the publishing of my book for a while. I occasionally would go back and try to work with Lulu.com but to no avail. Thoroughly disgruntled with Lulu.com, I sought out another self-publishing platform. I settled on Blog2print.com.

I was thrilled about how easy it was to turn my blog posts into a book (kind of wish I had been using them long before now). 

This is my first self-published book...

This is my eleventh self-published book...

Here are all of my self-published books together...

Now that I have found Blog2print.com, my twelfth book will be published shortly after the new year (not a year form now). 

Lord and Lady

Highland Titles Tartan-www.highlandtitles.com

Not usually one to fall prey to the advertisements on Facebook, I did succumb to the one for Highland Titles. 

Through Ancestry.com, The Colonel and I learned how much Scottish DNA we possess. I have 30% and The Colonel has 14%. With that knowledge in hand, we both thought it would be fun and interesting to become a Scottish Lord and Lady and help to conserve Scotland one square-foot at a time.

On November 8th, 2020, we officially became a Lord and a Lady of Glencoe and Lochaber. 

On that day, for $165, we purchased our plots (small Highland Estates) in Mountainview, Lochaber (2-10 square-foot, side-by-side plots) and we received two free plots in Glencoe Wood (2-one square-foot, side-by-side plots). Our plots are located in two nature reserves. We were given the two plots in Glencoe Wood because the Mountainview Reserve is a newer, less established reserve and does not have the facilities that Glencoe Wood does. We Lords and Ladies of Glencoe can visit our plots, and most visit their Glencoe Wood plots over the Mountainview plots. The free plots are an incentive to visit Scotland. When one owns land in Scotland, one can become a Lord (Laird in Scottish) or a Lady.

Our Lord and Lady packet came in the mail last week.

The packet included: Our official title and plot ownership document, Lord and Lady stickers, Highland Titles stickers, two post cards with photos of the reserves on them, two note pads with the crest on them, our new Lord and Lady ID cards, a DVD about the Highland Titles story and two official tickets that we can use to visit our plots and get a guided tour. I additionally purchased the mugs, a crest pin and two scarves made with the Highland Titles' official tartan pattern (the scarves will arrive at a latter date).

Our new titles of Lord and Lady, as well as our ownership of land in Scotland, can be passed down to our children. This action must be included in our wills. Lady Yam and Lord Spud...sounds nice. Lord The Colonel and Lady Bird does too (just as long as I am not confused with Lady Bird Johnson, the wife of President Lyndon B. Johnson).

Now that I am a Lady, I will have to wear my tiara more often (Lord The Colonel gave it to me for my birthday a few years ago).

Thanksgiving 2020 Style

In keeping with the changes we have all had to make since the pandemic began, The Colonel and I have made some modifications to our Thanksgiving meal this year.

In the past, our dining room table would have been surrounded by family members. With the passing of The Colonel's parents and sister, that just leaves The Colonel, Yam, Spud and myself. Yam was unable to join us this year, as she is in quarantine for a few more days. Spud is not with us either, he is celebrating Thanksgiving with his girlfriend and friends in Jacksonville. So, it was just The Colonel and I during our Thanksgiving meal.

In the past, we would have a whole turkey (cooked by my Darling-Sister-In-Law), pounds of mashed potatoes (made by The Colonel), sugar-free sweet potato casserole (made by me for my hypoglycemic, Favorite-Father-In-Law but Spud and I loved it too), Reams Noodles, homemade dressing, homemade gravy, rolls, ham, green bean casserole (Yam's favorite), cranberry jelly and pumpkin pie with whipped cream. 

This Thanksgiving, we bought a small amount of pre-cooked, Boar's Head turkey breast, jarred turkey gravy (The Colonel heated both in the oven), Bob Evans mashed potatoes (microwavable), Stove Top Cornbread stuffing, Ocean Spray cranberry jelly (it wouldn't be Thanksgiving without the round slices of cranberry jelly and their iconic ring markings from the can) and I made the green bean casserole. We chose not to have a pumpkin pie this year. To keep some tradition alive, we used The Colonel's grandmother's dish for the cranberry jelly. The jelly fits perfectly in her glass dish.

The Colonel and I did not feel like sitting at the dinning room table this year, so we had our meal at the coffee table in the living room and watched the television. We added a little glass of German white wine to our meal (to give eating from the coffee table a little bit more gravitas...and because it is delicious).

It may not have looked very pretty or festive, but the meal was delicious and the clean up was quick and easy. 

In this upside down world and trying year, we are evermore thankful for the many blessings God has bestowed upon us.

Wordless Wednesday

 

Doppelganger?

A Doppelganger (German for "double-walker") is a look-alike or double, of a person.

One of my sisters shared the following photograph. It is a photograph of my Uncle Jim (the blonde), my Uncle Chris (in the middle) and an unknown, younger boy in a bathtub. 

I do not know where this photo was taken (the tub and wall do not look familiar to me) and I think (based on the apparent ages of my uncles) that it may have been taken sometime in the very late 50s or very early 60s.

When I first saw this photograph, I immediately thought the unknown little boy looked a bit like my son. I shared the photograph with The Colonel, Yam and Spud and asked their opinions. They all agreed that the little boy looked similar to Spud at around that same age (I am guessing the little boy is around 4 years old).

Spud

I just wish I knew who that little boy was. I would think he is a relative (one does not usually bathe one's children with strangers. I have bathed Yam and Spud with one of their cousins when they were very young). Maybe he is a cousin of my uncles. My large family tree certainly could substantiate that belief. If he is a relative, that could lend genetic credence to the "Doppelganger-ness" of the little boy and Spud. 

NOTE: One of my sisters has informed me that this picture was taken at my Aunt Dode's house and that the little boy with my uncles is a cousin of ours. Thanks Kit!

Throwback Thursday

The photo above was taken in the fall of 2006...I cannot believe it has been 14 years since it was taken. 

The Colonel, Yam, Spud and I are standing on the empty lot that would become the site of our home, Tradewinds. You can read the hand-painted sign I made..."Future Site of Tradewinds".

In the 14 years that have passed, both kids have graduated high school and college. Spud is now taller than The Colonel and I. He is an Ensign in the U.S. Navy and sports an impressive mustache. Yam is a bit taller than she was here and she has been the county's graphic artist for four years now. The Colonel is a little grayer and I am now a brunette (closer to the natural hair color of my youth). 

This is what now sits on what used to be an empty lot sprinkled with palm oak and pine trees...our beautiful home, Tradewinds.

 

Birds of a Feather

Henri Matisse (French, 1869-1954) was a famous painter who had a series of blue paintings. These blue paintings were primarily nudes.

I have been creating a series of art pieces that are bird-centric (unlike Matisse, I am using more than just blue but my birds are "nekked as a Jay-bird", as the saying goes). I have even designed my headstone with a couple of birds...a post about that to come at a later date. 

I do not know why I am drawn (no pun intended) to birds as of late, maybe part of it has to do with my nickname I suppose. 

I have created some of my bird art in the past too. The photos below constitute some of my earlier work.

 

My recent art work has incorporated the quilling technique I learned from a fellow DAR member. For a few years, I've had a small, wooden, cutting board in the shape of Indiana. I had been wanting to do something with it, so I decided to paint it in the likeness of the Indiana state flag and then put a quilled Cardinal (the Indiana state bird) onto it. Here it is.

The Colonel and I were going through some drawers at his mother's house the other day (yes, we are still going through things even after she has been gone for 10 months) and I found a pretty card with a colorful bird on it. I decided to do some quilling on the bird, put him in a shadow box frame and decorate the frame with some quilling too.

A dear friend of mine gave me some beautiful notecards as a gift. I added a little bit of quilling to a couple of the notecards and I hope to put them in a frame some day soon.

I have some sea glass that I am itching to make into a little birds...if they turn out as I hope they will, I will have to share them with you...They turned out as I had hoped and below you can see my sea glass birds. I used colored pencil to draw the tree limb and used some quilled leaves I had made earlier. Now I just have to find the perfect frame for them.

I do not know how long this bird series will run...I just know that John James Audubon has nothing to fear from me.