Sometimes the water looks so peaceful, you have no idea that an alligator is swimming underneath.
Sometimes the writer can be surprised by how their story goes, not knowing what lies around the corner.
Sometimes surprises from your sweetheart can make your heart melt!
I have another story for you today, but no its not a Part 2 to my story yesterday, Bridging the Gap . If you didn’t see Colin’s addition to it, make sure you read his comment in the comments left on the blog post yesterday. It is the first one. The jury is still out on whether or not the story will be continued. Feel free to leave your thoughts. 🙂
Today’s story is another story from “The Odessa Chronicles”, for more information on the book, just click on the book cover in the right hand margin. It’s a book for all ages about the fun adventures of 4 best friends, who are very different from each other. Get ready for your heart to be warmed by the bond of friendship they share and for your heart to be lightened by laughter.
Colin had shared this excerpt on his blog about a month ago. If anyone is feeling blue today hopefully this will help chase your blues away! The Moonbeam Farm Gang is pretty good at doing that! The gang consists of (Dewey) a cat, (Odessa) a Barn Owl, (Jaxon) a Jackalope, and (Joshua) who is fondly known as the man-servant. Enjoy the story and as always, would love to hear your thoughts about it.
The Dewey Farm Cat Blues
The man-servant came out of the kitchen. “Dewey, your breakfast is ready!” Then he went back to prepare his own breakfast. Once it was all set down on the table, he happened to look over to Dewey’s bowl, and there was no Dewey. He once again called out, “Dewey! Your breakfast is ready!”
Jaxon then came into the kitchen. “What’s wrong with Dewey?” he asked the man-servant.
The man-servant turned to Jaxon. “Nothing that I know about, but I’ve called him twice now for breakfast, so I guess something is up.”
“Well,” said Jaxon, “when I came into the farmhouse, he was still curled up asleep on his cushion near the fireplace.”
They both went into the living room, and there was Dewey. He was still on his cushion, but was certainly not asleep. The man-servant looked at him. “Did you not hear me call you? Your breakfast has been ready for a while now. What’s wrong?”
“Oh, I heard you. I’m not very hungry,” said Dewey.
The man-servant smiled. “You’re joking, right? You have never missed an opportunity to eat since I moved in here.”
Dewey smiled, but it was a rather weak smile. “I don’t feel hungry. I don’t feel very energetic, although that is normal for me, I suppose. I don’t feel … well … like me!”
While they had been talking, Jaxon had run over to the barn to get Odessa. When they both returned, Odessa flew down to right in front of Dewey. “Okay, Dewey,” she said. “With me being the closest thing around here to your species, as well as having a working brain … what’s up?”
The man-servant turned to Odessa. “It’s really simple, Odessa. Dewey doesn’t feel like himself today.”
Odessa stared at the man-servant. “Who does he feel like?” she asked.
“Well, I really don’t know,” said the man-servant. “I hadn’t thought to ask that.”
Odessa turned to Dewey and repeated, “With me being the closest thing around here to your species, as well as having a working brain … what’s up?”
Dewey looked at Odessa. “I don’t feel like me today.”
“Understandable, living here with the man-servant,” she said. “Confusion must be expected, but if you don’t feel like you, then who do you feel like?”
Dewey stretched and curled up again. “I don’t know, Odessa.”
Odessa jumped up and down. “Of course you know Odessa. That’s me. You’ve been living with humans for much too long. I think that what you need is an adventure.”
Dewey just stared at Odessa. “I think I’ve got the Dewey farm-cat blues!”
Odessa’s eyes were wide open. “You’ve got the what?”
Jaxon then interrupted. “He said he’s got the Dewey farm-cat blues.”
“I heard him,” said Odessa, “but I don’t understand him! Dewey, would you explain this ailment to me?”
Dewey looked at the three of them. “I don’t feel right. I feel sluggish. I want to sleep, even though I already slept a lot. I think I’ve got the Dewey farm-cat blues … oh yeah.”
Odessa once again looked confused. “What’s with the ‘Oh yeah’ business? I need more information if I am going to help here.”
Dewey looked at Odessa and then started what, to a cat, was singing. To anybody outside of Moonbeam Farm, it would have sounded something like “Meeeoooow … Meeeeeeeuw … Miiiiiiaeo … Meeoweeeo!” However, what Odessa, Jaxon, and the man-servant heard was this:
You know I live on this farm,
Listen to Odessa ramble on.
Have a Jackalope for a friend,
And the man-servant? Let’s not pretend.
He leaves a lot to be desired.
Probably should never have retired.
Have you heard the news?
I got the Dewey farm-cat blues.
***
It rained all yesterday.
I mean … what else can I say?
I wanted to stay in and eat.
I am simply surrounded by treats,
But they’re locked away, I wonder why.
I know where they are … but they’re up too high.
I got the Dewey farm-cat blues.
I got the Dewey, I’m putting on weight and feeling lazy, farm-cat blues.
***
Then Man-Servant asks, what is wrong with me;
Steps over my empty bowl. Why doesn’t he see?
There’s a hungry cat on the floor,
Who has emptied one bowl and wants more,
But I just get ignored.
I’ll lay here and be bored.
I got the Dewey farm-cat blues.
I really got the Dewey farm-cat blues … oh yeah!
The farmhouse went very quiet.
Jaxon eventually spoke. “Notwithstanding your singing shortcomings, Dewey, I really do think that you need an adventure, as Odessa suggested. I believe that I have the adventure that would work for you.”
Dewey looked at him. “Really? What kind of adventure would that be?”
Odessa was also looking interested now. “Yes, Jaxon, now I am curious. What do you have in mind?”
Jaxon was shuffling his feet, which he always did when excited. “I am not going to tell you, but I can guarantee that you will not only enjoy it … you will never ever forget it.”
The man-servant was also intrigued. “Can you give us a clue, Jaxon?”
Odessa jumped up and down. “Of course, he can, Man-Servant! Why can’t you humans ask logical questions? What you should be asking is, ‘Will you give us a clue?’”
*****
If you are curious about what Jaxon has in mind, you can read all about the unique adventure in “The Odessa Chronicles!” Or perhaps you have someone on your Christmas list who you think may be interested, books make awesome gifts. They take you on a grand adventure without you ever having to leave the comfort of your home.
Painting by Leonid Afremov (Pinterest)
Miranda was waiting. Waiting and wondering. Looking at the water below and admiring the myriad of colors mirrored back at her. She had already paced back and forth on the bridge for a little while and now she was taking a rest as she continued to wait.
Patience was never a strength of hers, so this was hard, but yet as eager as she was for the time to come, nervousness was also overcoming her as she waited. She rested her hands on the bridge in an attempt to stop them from shaking.
The chill in the air brushed over her as she slightly shook. She stared once more at the water as the ripples kept moving. She closed her eyes in an effort to go back in time and try to see her face. The face of the one she would soon meet. The face of the one who had always been in her heart, even though they had been torn apart.
It had been years, so she knew her face wouldn’t be the same, but she never would forget the way her big innocent amber eyes had gazed at her. The connection that she had instantly felt when her little one had been placed in her arms.
She glanced again at her watch, any minute now and she would be here. Her heart started fluttering inside of her as she remembered when she had heard her little one’s heartbeat for the very first time.
Emotion started to well up inside her, could she do this?
Taking a deep breath of courage she told herself she could. They had agreed to meet on the bridge and Miranda strongly hoped that perhaps this could be the beginning of them trying to bridge the gap that the years had made.
She breathed a prayer as some tears rolled down her cheek.
HI everyone! We are home again! Had a very nice time with loved ones. Wasn’t sure if I would get quotes posted today, but you can’t go a Tuesday without quotes, right? 🙂 And these are night thoughts for me but to some of my readers they may be morning thoughts! So whether you read them in the night or the morning, I hope that they warm your heart and possibly make you ponder as well.
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The clouds stood out to me this morning. Loved their pattern and how the light is still shining through them. How has your light shined for others this past week?
May the spirit of gratitude flavor your life with sweetness.
Cozy fire, cozy couch, cozy chat equals cozy heart.
The heart isn’t separated by miles when it comes to love!
Happy Tuesday! Only 2 more days til Thanksgiving, for those of us in the States. Tomorrow we plan on hitting the road again bright and early for our trip to Indiana, where my husband’s family lives. So if my posts are sporadic, this will be why. But next week I will be back to regular posts again.
If you are celebrating Thanksgiving, I hope you have a wonderful one and even if you aren’t I hope you take some time to be thankful for all your blessings, which we should do every day!
Sweet Laura from https://alltheshoesiwear.wordpress.com/2018/11/19/manic-mondays-3-way-prompt-heart/ had a prompt today about the word “Heart”. Feel free to join in on the prompt by a story or a song, however you want to do it.
Hearts are something so very precious! Our hearts can soar to the top of the sky and they also can fall very hard and shatter into a million pieces. An amazing thing about the heart though is that it can be so strong. Broken hearts can mend and though they have been hurt, it doesn’t mean they can’t soar again.
The heart may be very small in actual size, but I have known people with hearts whose size can’t be measured. Whose hearts overflow with kindness, compassion and love and ones who I am forever grateful for!
I am also very thankful for a healthy heart! Health is something I don’t want to take for granted for I know so many that would love to be in good health! Good health is something that is priceless and I know I need to remind myself of that at times. I want to treat my body right. One way of doing that is regular check ups and today just happened to be my heart check up.
I have tachycardia. A common problem, but mine is made more complicated due to myocardial bridging, which is not so common.
The most simple explanation is that in most hearts your artery runs over top your heart muscle. With myocardial bridging the muscle runs over top of the artery. Not really a problem, except when my pulse rate starts going too high which then makes my heart muscle clamp down on my artery. That in turn can create a blockage in my artery, stopping the blood flow, and we all know what can happen if the blood flow is stopped for too long.
To help prevent that from happening we just need to control my tachycardia. I am on a beta blocker which has been working very well. Have had to change the dose of it a couple times but that’s all.
The reason I brought this up is because I never had a tachycardia problem until 2012. Now I do. Things happen that we don’t expect. This is very minor compared to some health issues that strike people out of the blue but it does show how things can catch us by surprise.
I want a healthy body for as long as I can and there is a part of that I can’t control. Sicknesses and accidents happen! But for the things I can control I want to. I have so much to live for and you do too! We only get one body, be nice to it! Believe me, I am no expert as far as healthy living goes, but I am learning.
Hearts are a precious gift, treat them that way. They really are much more precious than your finest possession which you may polish and shine often, you make sure that you keep it safe from getting damaged. How are you protecting your heart?
Relaxing piano music is playing and my Sheltie has her head on my one foot as I rub her back with my other foot. The vanilla candle is burning and filling the house with its pleasant aroma.
I think back to growing up and hearing my Mom play the piano. It was a peaceful sound to me, made my heart smile. I remember hearing my Dad sing when we would go on road trips, which would again fill my heart with peace and happiness. I remember us singing around a campfire as a family and the contentment it would bring.
I remember my husband reading poetry to me when we were dating. Reading it as we sat in the woods. His voice filled me with joy and a peace that all was right with my world.
I remember the voice of my husband reciting his wedding vows to me and how it touched my heart so deeply that when it came time for me to speak, my words slipped down my cheeks. A lump was in my throat, but I did feel a heartwarming peace.
I remember many more years later, the sound of my husband’s heart beating as we held each other close when both our hearts were breaking. When we didn’t know what the next day would hold, but we knew that we would hold onto each other.
I remember after a scary C-section, due to the heart rate of my baby dropping dangerously low, the sound of my precious baby crying and the peace that immediately came to my heart, for my child was alive!
I remember the sound of laughter, something that my life has been full of since I been little. The sound of laughter that can bring happiness to the heart and just be plain fun!
The sound of birds singing and leaves crunching, the sound of the waves. So many sounds that can bring peace. What are some of your favorite and sentimental sounds?
When you were 40 and I was about 10, to me you were old. Today you are celebrating your last year of the 70’s and to me you are young! Happy Birthday MOM! I LOVE YOU!
The brightness of the pure, white snow sends beauty to the heart and you can’t help but smile!
Sometimes the answers lie amidst the noise, you just have to listen with your heart!
Bonus: I won’t make you wait any longer for the conclusion of my “Night of the Full Moon” story. Here is a link to yesterday’s post if you missed it. The Night of the Full Moon (Part 2)
Thanks again to those who offered their ideas of what may happen, they made me smile! You never know, you may be right.
That laughter…it was a distinct laugh, she knew she had heard it before. Oh yes, now she knew! She couldn’t believe it, her heart started skipping beats, could it really be him. Julia noticed his eyes change as he looked at her, he realized what had dawned on her and his warm smile melted her heart.
She smiled as she hugged her precious grandchildren. “Grandma, don’t stop yet, we want to hear more of your story, pleeeease! ”
Julia bent down to give a kiss to their sweet cheeks, ” You have heard the story many times my dears, now you must go to bed.”
“But we aren’t tired and Grandma when you tell the story your eyes light up so much.”
Julia patted their heads, “Goodnight my dears, sweet dreams!” She pulled their covers up to their necks and gave one more kiss to each of them and then headed out of their room turning off the light.
She walked down the stairs into the living room where she saw her love standing by the window. Walking over to him she laid her head on his shoulder, wrapping her arm around his waist. He took her hand and they said not a word, as their thoughts were drifting back to a time long ago. The warmth of their thoughts made them feel cozier than any fire as they spoke not a word, but just watched the falling snow.
Nuggets of Gold 