Hoping to go see the Cherry Blossoms this week … Where my daughter wants to go for her birthday …
Breathing a big sigh of relief when a dispute with Verizon has finally been settled after spending hours fighting it …. Turned it over to BBB and within two days it was settled!
There’s a new “kid”on the block … My adopted sister … She is already wrapped around my parent’s hearts.
When my sister gives me a book, “The Bride Collector”, and tells me NOT to read it at night, if I want to sleep! But now my curious mind wants to read it.
When you are given a lot of blackberries … Time to make sweet, blackberry cobbler.
When you fall in love at first sight … Held my great-niece today….Welcome to the world Aurora Paige!
Its time for Christmas movies, and no, I am not talking about the Hallmark ones. What Christmas movie is a must see for you each year? The classic, animated How the Grinch Stole Christmas is one of ours. Next week I will share the next one.
When you spend time with cousins who you haven’t seen in a long time and we all agree that we are aging gracefully. Thankful for the love of family.
I saw this on Clive’s blog and had to share it. Visit his blog for Christmas songs every day, and not your common ones. He is a music encylcopedia. https://cliveblogs.wordpress.com/2022/12/05/advent-calendar-2022-day-5-%f0%9f%8e%8a/
Albert and Anna were thrilled to have received a letter from their grandson, Elwood. It two months since they had seen him last.
“What does it say, what does it say?”
“You are reading over my shoulder, you can see what it says.”
“But you read so much faster than I do. Is he coming home?”
Anna didn’t reply at first, then she let out a squeal. “He will be home at the end of the week!”
Albert clapped his hands together with glee. His boy was coming home. Elwood was so close to them, he was the only grandchild they had and sadly his parent’s weren’t alive anymore. All they had were each other. Elwood had gone away on business, but now was coming home. He lived right down the road from them.
Anna rose from her chair and gave Albert a big hug. “I have to start baking, you know how he loves my snickerdoodle cookies. ”
Albert grinned, “I love them too! Why is it that you haven’t made any for me lately?”
Anna gave his stomach a lttle pinch. “Why do you think?” she said with a wink. “You seem to have grown some extra padding around the middle.”
“Oh, there is nothing wrong with being well insulated. Keeps me warm against the cold.”
“You are all ferhoodled, we live in the South, silly.”
Anna got busy baking while Albert stretched out on the couch to take a nap.
Elwood was more than ready to get home to his quiet place in the country. City life had been fun for awhile, but he had grown tired of the bustling crowds after awhile. People everywhere he looked. He was beginning to to feel that he might suffocate. He needed to be able to see the stars on a clear night and hear the crickets chirping. See the lightning bugs fly around lighting up the sky. Yes, he was a country boy at heart.
He worried about his grandparent’s when he was gone. That was the biggest reason he wanted to get home. There was no one to look after him, he was the only family they had. He adored them with all his heart. Who knew how or if he would have survived his parent’s death if it hadn’t been for them. They held him up when their hearts were breaking as well. They bonded even closer in their shared sorrow. Elwood would never leave his grandparent’s, he had made himself that promise years ago. As long as they were alive he would continue living right down the road.
Sighing, he took some more sips of his black coffee. He didn’t think that his heart could ever be any more confused. Rosella had caught his eye in more ways than one. They had clicked from the beginning. It seemed like one big fairytale, except … the fairytale was falling apart right in front of his eyes.
Rosella had a thriving business. A job that she didn’t want to let go of. She was an easygoing person, but as far as where they would live was concerned, she insisted that she was not moving. The ball was in his court. If their relationship would continue, he would have to be the one to move. When he tried to share with her about his grandparent’s, she seemed disinterested. Had he read her right, was she really that uncaring? If so, he should know before moving ahead in the relationship.
Tonight they were going out on a date. He would try to bring up his grandparent’s again, so he could have a firm picture of where she stood.
“Albert stop pacing.”
“I am getting exercise.”
Anna rolled her eyes, she knew he was as anxious for Elwood to come through the door as she was. The sun rose and set on that boy.
“He is here!” Albert yelled, he saw him out the window.
Anna flung open the door and soon Elwood’s strong arms were around his dear, sweet grandmother once more.
The day was as close to perfect as one could be. They talked, laughed and ate and ate and ate some more.
“Grandma you went all out. You baked a feast! You shouldn’t have!”
“Anything for my boy, there is till more food on the table. Help yourself to thirds!”
“We need more days like this.” Albert said. “Boy, when you aren’t here, I about starve.”
Anna smacked him with the wooden spoon in her hand. “Starving? That extra cushion you carry around tells a different story, my dear.”
Elwood chuckled, his grandparent’s have never stopped their bantering through the years.
After the savory meal of biscuits, chicken and gravy, eggs and sausage, Albert got out the cards. “You haven’t forgotten how to play poker, have you?”
“Not one bit, you taught me well!”
“Darn! I taught you too well, I can never win any money!” Albert grumbled, with a smile on his face.
“We don’t play with real money anyway.”
“Welll that’s because you don’t let me win, if I won, maybe I would start insisting that we use real money, he said with a smirk.
Grandma sat down at the piano and the game began.
Elwood had missed her piano playing. it was relaxing and he had grown use to it.
Later that night, when he was back at his house, Elwood stood outside looking up into the sky. He was still able to remember the constellations. His grandpa had taught them to him when he was only a young boy of 10.
Elwood thought of all the leftovers that his sweet grandma had sent home with him. it was so good to be back home again. Yes, he had made the right choice. It hadn’t been easy, but it was the right choice. Amidst the pain of losing Rosella, he had peace. Things with Rosella were fine, she wasn’t uncaring, she just didn’t feel like she could start her business all over again somewhere else and Elwood understood.
Maybe someday he would meet a girl at the right place and it would be the right time. But there was no hurry, right now he would savour the times he had with the sweetest grandparent’s of all. The stars twinkled down at him, the crickets chirped and he heard the bullfrogs croaking from the neighbor’s pond. All was right with his world.
“Build it and they will come.” Well its built now, so they can come and they sure better come soon, thought Bethany. She was looking at the bank statement and it was looking pretty sad right now. Building the skywalk had stretched them, they pulled it off, but Bethany was holding her breath. If it didn’t create the higher numbers of guests like they were counting on she was afraid that the business would be sunk.
Thinking about that made her stomach twist into knots. It would be awful to lose her Dad’s business. She took it over when he died, for she couldn’t bear the thought of selling it. But did she need to face reality? The resort had not been doing well for a couple years before her Dad died, it was in the red. Could Bethany really save it? Her Dad had built this resort. It had been a lot of work for her parents, but it was his dream and now his legacy. Bethany couldn’t let it fail! She reassured her Mom that they would not sell the resort.
Bethany dove into it headfirst and at times it had felt like she was diving into a cement pond that was all dried up.
She managed to keep it running but it was hanging by a thread, something big was needed. Something that made their resort in the mountains stand apart from other ones. When the secretary had told Bethany about how she used to dream about walking in the treetops as a child, that gave Bethany an idea. “Build it and they would come”, she remembered the movie she had watched several times as a child with her Dad and it gave her the inspiration she needed to build the Treetop skywalk.
Last night she took a walk on it around midnight, she couldn’t sleep. The grand re-opening was 3 weeks away. Lots of other updates had been made to the resort and Bethany prayed that it would be enough. Reservations were trickling in, but Bethany and all of her employees were hoping for a flood.
Time was passing too quickly, Bethany had the date circled in red on her calendar and it was like it was mocking her now. One week to go and no flood in sight. She and her faithful employees had worked so hard. “Breathe in breathe out,” she told herself. Her Dad was a man of patience and slow to worry. Often throughout his life he would say, “Its going to be OK.” Bethany tried to be like him in that area, but it got hard at times, especially now.
Once again she found herself walking the skywalk late at night under the shining moonlit sky. It was so peaceful with the night sounds of the woods. She had grown up here and she couldn’t imagine losing the resort. Her parent’s had thrown all their energy into it and there was a time it had been a grand success. Bethany was determined to make it a grand success once again.
Phones were ringing off the hook and their website was seeing the most action it had seen in a long while! Bethany hoped it wouldn’t crash. She couldn’t believe what she was seeing and hearing! The flood had come, reservations were pouring in. Soon they would reach full capacity. How grateful Bethany was for the decision they had made to add another building for lodging. It had felt risky being that the company was in the red, but sometimes you just had to take the chance!
The Grand Re-opening was an amazing success! Bethany was beaming and her Mom was so proud. Bethany had called a special meeting, giving bonuses to all the employees for their hard work.
“Thank you all from the bottom of my heart for helping me to keep my Dad’s dream alive! There are no words to say how much your hard work has meant to my Mom and I! Looking forward to many more years to come!”
There was clapping, cheering and even some tears. Some of the employees had worked at the resort for many years and were like family. For the first night in awhile Bethany fell asleep with a heart full of peace.
It had been a couple weeks since the big celebration and the resort was still staying full. Bethany and her Mom kept shaking their heads in disbelief. It was simply incredible. Miracles do happen.
There was supposed to be a full moon tonight , Bethany wanted to enjoy it and found herself on the skywalk again. It was quickly becoming one of her favorite places to be at the resort. When she looked up into the sky, prayers of thanksgiving were on her heart for how things had worked out.
“Build it and they will come.” She did and they came. At times she felt like she needed to pinch herself, feeling like she was in the middle of a fairy tale. A tale of dreams, and inspiration. It may not have had any obvious magic like Cinderella’s “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo” … what was that? Bethany bent down and picked up something shiny. What was a cowbell doing on a Treetop skywalk?
Somewhere in the distance there may have been a brown cow with deep brown eyes watching Bethany and smiling. Who needs a magic wand and magic words like “Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo” when one had a magical cowbell.
The following story is the conclusion to Monday’s post, Secrets of the Night
Image from Pinterest
Sitting on the bank watching the elephants play, Alisha couldn’t help but smile. These were such amazing animals that she was falling in love with! She had been on the Elephant Reserve for a week now and had been overwhelmed with all that she had learned and seen. so far. Not to mention being overwhelmed due to the emotions of her heart, when she saw Camille for the first time.
Camille still didn’t know Alisha’s secret. All the words that she had planned to say, the speech she had recited over and over in her mind just left her. There was only a jumble of letters in her brain now. The emotions that were running through her she couldn’t find words for. When she met Camille, a lump grew in her throat, at the realization that she was gazing at her sister. A sister that she had only recently found out that she had.
A sister that she missed sharing secrets with as children, someone to play with and someone to annoy, the way sisters do. One to confide in about her love crush, and get advice from when it came to love and one to share a chocolate and ice cream with when boys broke their hearts.
Pulling her knees to her chest, she thought of all the times that they had missed out on. They couldn’t be brought back, those times were gone, but they still were young and had many moments that they still could share together. Somehow Alisha had to get up the courage to tell Camille. Alisha had been grateful that Camille seemed so warm and friendly. They had hit it off quite well, but how did she tell Camille such big news, it wasn’t something one just blurts out. For a few more moments she watched the elephants and then stood up to go, her lunch break was over, and she had been so lost in thought that she had hardly ate anything. She would be quite hungry by supper time!
Later that afternoon when she was helping to care for one of the baby elephants, Gavin came walking over to her. “When you have a moment Camille would like to see you in her office. There is paperwork she needs you to sign.” he said.
Alisha thanked him, saying she would go there soon. Watching him walk away, she thought of how Camille sure did pick a nice looking guy to fall in love with.
Knocking on Camille’s door, Alisha heard her say, “Come In!”
“HI!” Alisha said as she opened the door and walked in. “Gavin said you wanted me to sign some paperwork.”
“Yes, I was filling out paperwork for the new elephant that we got, “Sparkles” and since you have been taking care of her, I need your signature as well.” Camille said, handing her the form.
Alisha sat down at the desk to sign it and when she went to hand back the form to Camille, a picture on the desk caught her eye. A older woman was standing with Camille. Alisha noticed her deep blue eyes, just like her and Camille’s eyes. She caught her breath, was that her Mom?
Camille noticed her looking at the picture intently. “That was one of the last pictures I took of my Mom. I miss her a lot!”
Alisha couldn’t speak, the words caught in her throat as she stared. Tears started brimming in her eyes.
Looking at her with concern Camille asked, “Is something wrong?”
Shaking her head Alisha could barely talk. “That is my Mom, I have her eyes.” Then she clapped her hand over her mouth running out of the room.
Camille sat at the desk in shock, did she hear what she thought she heard? That was Alisha’s Mom, how?? She had to be confused, Camille was an only child! She had always longed for a sister. While sitting at her desk wondering what just happened some flashbacks from the past came played in her mind. Seeing her Mom get emotional on Feb 1st every year. Her Mom never explained why when Camille would notice tears on her cheek. She would only brush them away and hold Camille close to her in a tight embrace. As she got older Camille remembers seeing a baby picture in her Mom’s cedar chest and it wasn’t of Camille. She had been curious about it, and asked her Mom, but never got an answer.
Goosebumps broke out over Camille while opening a drawer and puling out the folder with Alisha’s application. She trembled as she read her birthdate , February 1st.
Gavin came in to the office just then. “Hey, do you know what is wrong with Alisha? She almost knocked me down when she came running outside. I called out to her but she only kept running.”
Seeing Camille’s face and a tear running down her cheek, he walked over to her, putting his arm around her. “What is wrong? What happened?” he said with concern.
Camille squeezed his hand and got up out of her chair. “I have to go … ”
“Go where?” Gavin asked, feeling confused.
“I have to find my sister!” and Camille ran out of the office, leaving Gavin staring after her.
“Her sister??” thought Gavin. Since when did she have a sister? Words of his Dad came back to him. “If there is one thing about women that I can tell you son, it is this. You will never understand them!”
Alisha was sitting on the riverbank sobbing. The picture had undone her, the lady who had given her life, her Mom, who she had never met! She didn’t hear Camille coming up to her and she shook a little when Camille put her hand on her shoulder.
Camille sat with her in the grass, letting her cry as tears ran down Camille’s cheeks too. They sat in silence realizing that a secret of their past had come to light and it was lifechanging for both of them! Slowly they began talking amidst their tears, trying to make sense of everything. There were so many questions that they would never know the answers too, but sometimes you didn’t need to know all the answers to all the questions. Sometimes all you needed to do was embrace the moment.
Night had fallen out on the African savanna, another day had come to an end. Some animals were stirring around , like the pangolin, arrdvark and bat-eared fox, but they were quiet. The genet was watching everything from its perch in the tree.
There might be peace among the animals on the savanna, but Alisha couldn’t sleep. She had given up lying in her bed and got up to make some hot milk, hoping that might help her to sleep. Tomorrow she would begin her internship, working with the elephants. She would be working at one of the biggest reserves in Africa. Excitement coursed through her to be working with elephants, but her nerves were getting the best of her tonight. She wasn’t nervous about working with the elephants, she was nervous about meeting the Directors.
Alisha had researched and read all she could about the Elephant reserve and the new Directors, Camille and Gavin. She had been on a mission and she had to make sure she was absolutely correct with her suspicions. After a few months, there was no denying it, the truth was staring her in the face as she stared at the picture of Camille in the most recent newsletter. She had subscribed to the newsletter after donating money to the reserve. Loving elephants she really did care about the work on the reserve, but she also read the newsletter to learn as much about Camille, as she could.
Camille had come for a summer to volunteer and she ended up never leaving. She fell in love with Gavin, who was working there that summer too and they both took over the reserve when Derek the director had decided to step down. He was ready for a break and knew he was leaving the elephants in very capable hands.
Staring out into the night, Alisha wondered if she had done the right thing by making this trip. Did Camille have any inkling about who Alisha really was or was the news going to bowl her over with shock? Would she be glad to meet Alisha?
Alisha had known the truth for a little while now and she was still overwhelmed at times. Why had her parents waited so long to tell her that she had been adopted? She loved her parents and had a great childhood, but often missed not having a sibling to share life with. She had never imagined that she did have a sister, growing up far away from her.
She would never forget the day that her Mom had told her about being adopted, all the emotions that had washed over her! There were so many questions she wanted to ask her birth mother. That was not to be though. Sadly in doing her research she found out that her birth mother had died. That hit her hard, and it made her all the more determined to find her sister, and so she had persisted.
Now for the first time ever, she was going to meet her sister face to face! Her heart was full, as she laid back down in her bed, trying to get some sleep. She wanted to be well rested for what would most likely turn out to be an extremely, emotional day! Closing her eyes, sleep overtook her and soon she was in a peaceful slumber.
Camille was in the office, making final preparations for tomorrow. A new intern would be coming. She looked at Alisha’s picture again that she had sent her with her application. There was something about her eyes that drew Camille in. She began getting goosebumps, but didn’t know why. Shaking her head, she decided that she needed sleep, it had been a long day. As she got up from her chair her eyes landed on the picture of her parents that she had on her desk. Oh how she missed them! Her Mom’s face was bright and cheerful, you could see the light shining through her eyes. She was happy that she had her Mom’s eyes, they were such a deep and vivid shade of blue. Everyone always commented on them. Goosebumps rose on Camille’s arms again. That’s what it was! Now, she knew. Alisha’s eyes shone in her picture too, they were also a very deep and vivid blue.
Night had fallen, as the fox scurried after the mouse, and the honey badger was digging its burrow. Meanwhile the genet continued its watch over the peaceful African savanna.
The following story is the 2nd part to my The Inheritance! post.
Jacob was sitting on the burgundy couch across from Lady Tatiana. He had spent 3 days at the castle talking with Lady Tatiana and her husband, collecting as much information as he could on their daughter and granddaughter. Now it was soon time for him to head back home. He had several photographs , they were old, for over 10 years had passed, but they were better than nothing.
Lady Tatiana spoke softly. “I have tried my best to continue on with life without them, but there’s always been a hole in my heart.” Her eyes had a sadness to them that touched Jacob’s heart. He tried to not let his emotions get involved in his cases, but sometimes it could be hard to do.
Sir Nicholas wrapped his arm around his wife and pulled her close, as his own eyes moistened. The years had been long, as he kept replaying things in his mind and trying to figure out where they had gone wrong. All families have arguments, he knew Gwen had been mad when she stormed out of the castle that fateful day, but he never would have imagined that she would have taken Amanda and left without a trace! She knew the special bond that he had shared with Amanda. She loved going on excursions with him. Did she remember him, he wondered. She had only been 7years old the last time he saw her.
Finishing his cup of raspberry tea, Jacob spoke. “Thank you for all you have shared with me. I know it wasn’t easy to delve back into the past. I truly hope that I can find them, I won’t leave no stone unturned.” Putting down his cup of tea, rose to say goodbye.
Sir Nicholas spoke, as he took Jacob’s hand. “I speak for my wife and I when I say we are confident that we hired the right person for the job. I am trusting you.” his handshake was firm as he looked into Jacob’s eyes. Jacob’s stomach quavered some. What had he got himself into? This was going to be a big job.
While flying back home, he went through the information that he had gathered. There wasn’t a whole lot to go on. Gwen had left the castle in an angry huff, and 2 days later when she was supposed to show up for their Wednesday supper together she hadn’t come. They had thought she was still mad and decided to not bother her, giving her space. When 3 more days had passed and they still hadn’t heard from her, they started feeling concerned. She didn’t respond to their phone calls, so they drove to her place. That’s when they found her house totally cleaned out and saw a For Sale sign in the yard! They were devastated!
There had been times before that she had threatened to move away, but they really had never thought she would. Yes, they had disagreements, but they had a lot of good times too. What seemed to bother her the most is whenever they would try to give advice about taking care of Amanda. She would tell them to stop trying to take over raising Amanda, that she was her daughter, not theirs. Her words hurt, for they were only trying to give her wise counsel. She was young, and she never had been a parent before.
Jacob remembered how Lady Tatiana had choked back a sob, saying that over the years, they now have had to admit to themselves that there were times they tried to be controlling of how Gwen raised Amanda.
Looking out the window at the puffy clouds in the sky, Jacob realized that his biggest worry wasn’t on not being able to find Gwen and Amanda. It was more on whether Gwen and Amanda wanted to be found. Did Gwen want to see her parents again? If she wasn’t still carrying a grudge then why had she let so much time go by without contacting them?
These questions and more hung in the air, as Jacob closed his eyes for the remainder of the flight home.
Rachel was fully enjoying herself at the Inn. Amanda and Lisette were so pleasant, they had all hit it off so well. Rachel was sad that today was her last day. Her vacation had come to an end and she had to get back to work. She had taken many strolls in the woods trying to clear her brain and think about her future. Did she want to still make movies? For now she would continue on but when her contract came up for renewal again she didn’t know if she would sign.
With this being Rachel’s last day they had all decided to spend a fun day in town, eating out and shopping. They all bought some nice clothes from Miss. Jill’s lovely shop. Amanda had to replace the dress she had bought the other week. It got all clawed up when Mason and Mr. Tippner had turned into cats.
After shopping she had a mid afternoon snack at the Fluffer Nutter shop. Shared some laughs with Mr. Fluff and Mr. Nutter. Rachel played Chess with them and had fun beating them and seeing their astonished faces. Their cream filled donuts were the best. So plump with cream!
When they arrived back at the Inn, Amanda yelled. “Lisette! Look! Why is there a cow in your yard?” It was standing there contently chewing on the grass.
Lisette shook her head. “That’s Luke’s cow, he lives out of town, and he doesn’t seem to be able to have any control over her. She has a mind of her own. At times she has been gone for long periods and he thinks that she is gone for good. Then the next thing he knows she is back on his farm.”
“A cow with a mind of her own. Hmm… wonder what she is doing when she disappears for awhile at a time. Almost sounds like it could be the plot to a movie. Throw the magical cowbell into it yet and who knows what could happen.” said Rachel.
“Add to that the adventures of 2 men who were cats for a day.” Lisette said with a smile, and they all were laughing as they headed into the Inn.
(to be continued… next Saturday)
Nuggets of Gold 