Thrasher

5 Nov

Melody Hendrix

A Time to Live

A very vocal Thrasher enjoying the bird bath.

Image by F McDaniel from Pixabay

MelodyWelcome! I’m so glad you stopped in to visit. I am retired and enjoying life. My hobbies are my 5 grandchildren, son and daughter, and my loving husband. I am a photographer and extreme nature lover. I love spending time in my garden or in the wilderness connected to God my Creator.
What a beautiful world we live in. We all have that in common. Natural beauty is everywhere, but sometimes we are not connected until we see a picture, taken just right, that makes it really come into focus and be admired. My passion is to make a connection between the lens and your soul. Photography is my passion.
My photography passion began when my Father handed me his old Ricohflex box camera when I was 12.  It was love at first sight. I still have it. My hand was never empty of a camera since.
I am a native Floridian. I am so lucky to call it home. I was born in Orlando BF (before Disney). My family moved to the Winter Park area when I was very young. Central Florida was so simple and quaint at that time. I wandered the streets barefoot with my friends, never worrying that something bad could ever happen. My Mom used to pick the sand-spurs out of my feet. I still go barefoot. It grounds me to earth and connects me to nature.
I have extensively explored Florida and its diverse beauty. So much to see and so little time. I would love for you to join me in my travels through the images I have taken. I wish you could hear the sounds, smell the fragrance and feel the breath of it. But for now we must be content with exploring with our eyes and only imagine the rest.
Thank you for your interest.

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A New Baby-2

4 Nov

My Take

DiVoran Lites

As told to DiVoran Lites by Dora Bowers 

Canon City, Colorado, 1941

Description: https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2016/11/19/14/28/people-1839564_960_720.jpg

Photo credit Pixabay

It was almost time for my second child to be born. Back then, we didn’t have an ultrasound and so had no idea what gender the child crowding my womb would turn out to be. The doctor checked me out and said the baby seemed to be in a breech position. That was a bad thing, but fortunately, Dr. Perry had delivered hundreds of babies. I was listening to the song, “Chattanooga Choo-Choo,” on the radio when my water broke. It was time to go to the hospital, but because I didn’t want to spend as many hours there as I did with DiVoran’s birth, I put off the trip. Dr. Perry barely had time to turn the child so that he came out feet first. David Allen Bowers was born at St. Thomas Moore Hospital on June 14, 1941, in Canon City, Colorado. Flag Day. 

I remember the first time I kissed our baby’s cheek. His skin felt like silk velvet. It smelled clean and new and was such a wonderful experience that I never forgot it.

For a time my mother Mabel and Ivan’s mother Marie scheduled themselves to help with the two children and the household one at a time. Ivan, tired and dirty from working at the gas plant, had no energy to help. DiVoran, aged three did her part by patting David in his crib and singing to him over and over, “Baby go night-night.”

Just as I prayed he would, David “grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man”. (Luke 2:52) 

We four moved to Crowley where Dad got a job at a tomato factory keeping the machinery running. There, we lived in part of a section house with a small yard and a railroad track behind us. We raised chickens and had a nanny goat who had just had her baby too. The milk was good for all three of the kids. 

The house had a front door and a back door, but there were no doors on the inside. We had to go out one door and walk to the back or front of the house and go in the other door. In desperation, Ivan knocked a hole in the wall between our bedroom and the kids’ room so we could reach through to tend to baby David in his crib. Finally, Ivan decided to cut interior doors so we could go from room to room without going outside. That was a relief!

When David was big enough (or so I thought) we swam in the retaining pond near our house. I suspended David from an inner tube by his arms and he hung there kicking his tiny feet and enjoying the cool water. When I looked away for a second his inner tube had upended, and all I could see was his bottom and his feet sticking up. When I rescued him he coughed and spluttered but thank the Good Lord he was fine.

It was my job to feed the tomato harvesters three big meals a day. The oven leaked ashes that peppered the homemade pies, but the men were so hungry they never seemed to notice. The big boss came for his meals when they left for the field or if the workday was over going to their rooms in the section house, or maybe down to the bars if it was payday. 

Knowing it was important for children to have fresh air and sunshine, I put them outside in the small fenced playground their daddy made for them and they played happily in the sandbox and on the low swing. DiVoran was big enough by this time to look after her brother. Whenever a train went by they ran to the fence and waved to the conductor who always waved back from the caboose and sometimes the engineer blew the whistle for them. 

Author, Poet and Artist

DiVoran has been writing for most of her life. Her first attempt at a story was when she was seven years old and her mother got a new typewriter. DiVoran got to use it and when her dad saw her writing he asked what she was writing about. DiVoran answered that she was writing the story of her life. Her dad’s only comment was, “Well, it’s going to be a very short story.” After most of a lifetime of writing and helping other writers, DiVoran finally launched her own dream which was to write a novel of her own. She now has her Florida Springs trilogy and her novel, a Christian Western Romance, Go West available on Amazon. When speaking about her road to publication, she gives thanks to the Lord for all the people who helped her grow and learn.  She says, “I could never have done it by myself, but when I got going everything fell beautifully into place, and I was glad I had started on my dream.”

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On the Street Where You Live…Part 14

3 Nov

SUNDAY MEMORIES

Fred retired from the Air Force and from Langley AFB and we stayed in Virginia for another seven years in that house.

Both of our daughters had married, and we decided we didn’t want to live in snow anymore in the winters.

My only sibling – my brother, and his family, live in Florida and we had visited them many times, and liked it.

And so we came to Orlando, looking for a house.  We actually settled on a new house in Kissimmee, in a new subdivision.

It was a three-bedroom, two bath, split plan house, with the master suite being on one side of the house, and the other two bedrooms and bath on the other side.  I liked that idea – the separation was convenient when we had visitors staying with us.  The living room/dining room were sort of together, so that was something we had to arrange furniture around.  The kitchen and family room divided the master bedroom suite from the other bedrooms. 

The master bathroom was an interesting shape.  Along one wall were two sinks in a counter space, and a long mirror covering the entire area.  At the end was the glass-walled shower, and next to that was a garden tub.  There was a window over the tub with an “orange slice” at the top.  We eventually had that window filmed for privacy.  The toilet was in a room off the next wall, with a door.  Interesting and convenient.

This small chest of drawers is now in the guest bedroom

There was a small wall space between the bathroom and closet.  Only wide enough for a narrow chest of drawers.  We had one TV and some book cases in the bedroom with us, as well as a dresser.  The closet was a walk-in closet; small but efficient.

At the end of the hall leading to the other bedrooms and bath, was the space for the washer and dryer.  Along that hallway was a narrow pantry.

The second bathroom had a door in it, leading to the back yard.  Since so many houses in this area have pools, that door was for the purpose of coming in the house after getting out of the pool.  We didn’t have – nor did we want – a pool, so I covered each pane of clear glass in the door with “crystal” contact paper, so all things going on in the bathroom were private but still let in outside light.  It had a single sink, a toilet, and the tub/shower.  Small but quite efficient.

The ceilings in this house were modified cathedral ceilings, peaking over the kitchen.  They were finished with the popcorn finish.  There were many cabinets and cupboards, and the sink looked out into the family room.  There was the usual refrigerator and stove and dishwasher included.  It was a quite comfortable kitchen to work in.

There was door leading from the kitchen to the garage – a double-car garage.   There was an open doorway from the kitchen to the dining room/living room.

There was a patio in the back yard.  There were sliding glass doors in the master bedroom and the family room.  It was covered, and made of concrete.  We didn’t use it much.  I had thought of screening it in, and we might have used it more, but we never did.

When we began thinking of moving into Orlando, realtors kept telling us we needed to put in a pool, as no one would buy it without one.  We didn’t need or want the expense of adding a pool, and as it turned out, the lady who bought the house didn’t want a pool!  So it would have been a real waste of money to put one in.  It might have even negated a sale to have one.

~~~~~~~~~~To Be Continued~~~~~~~~~~

Judy is living in Central Florida with her retired U.S. Air Force husband of 50+ years. Born in Dallas, Texas, she grew up in the Southwestern United States.She met her husband at their church, where he was attending the university in her town. After college and seminary, he entered the Air Force, and their adventures began.They lived in eight of our United States, and spent six years in Europe, where their oldest daughter was born. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years .

  Judy has always been involved with music, both playing the piano and singing. Always interested in exercise, she was an aerobic dancing instructor, as well as a piano teacher for many years, and continues to faithfully exercise at home.

After moving to Central Florida, she served as a church secretary for nearly nine years.Her main hobby at this point in time is scanning pictures and 35mm slides into the computer. She also enjoys scrapbooking.She and her husband have two married daughters and four grandchildren, including grandtwins as well as a great-grandson. She and her husband enjoy the Disney parks as often as possible.

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Three Steps to Have Your Prayers Answered

2 Nov

Walking by Faith, Not by Sight

Janet Perez Eckles

Image by just4today from Pixabay

Reblogged November 1, 2019

Did anyone tell you there’s no right or wrong way to pray? They’re correct. But there is a wrong sense of conviction as we pray. When we ask God for blessings, we often use a mousy attitude. We request limited blessings. And imagine only what our human mind can hold.

But when we change the way we pray, the results are different. Putting pride aside, our prayers need to be bold, sure, and expectant.

I tried that. Recently, in my prayer time, I asked the Lord to grant me favor on this particular day. Not sure what that favor would be, I didn’t focus on the specific blessing. Instead, I asked, with an expectant spirit and an anticipating heart.

Later that day, my mom and I stopped at a Christian bookstore. We walked in and the woman behind the counter recognized me. And in an angelic voice said, “A group in my church is doing the Bible study in your book.”

My book? Among all those popular books by world-known authors, her church chose my book? I did a cartwheel in my head and thanked God for that sweet encouragement.

You may not be looking for your books to be read. But instead, you need huge solutions. No matter what the request, here are three steps to pray more effectively.

No. 1: We discard doubt and express the authority we have in Jesus.

The words can be few, but the faith has to be deep.

John and Peter show us the simplicity of a powerful prayer. They encountered a man crippled from birth who begged for money.

“Then Peter said, ‘Silver or gold I do not have, but what I have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk.’ Taking him by the right hand, he helped him up, and instantly the man’s feet and ankles became strong. He jumped to his feet and began to walk” (Acts 3:6-8).

No. 2: Never stop declaring what God will do.

Persistence and perseverance are the vehicle to answers. Keep on knocking, expectantly and the door will open.

The reason we never stop is because God said, “You don’t have because you do not ask God” (James 4:2b)

No. 3. Expect the best God has for you. 

Be prepared for a greater answer. And declare in advance praises for what God has prepared, thanking Him in advance for the gifts He has stored in the warehouse of His love. He’s willing, ready and longing to make the delivery according to His schedule.

Here’s His promise:

“Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him!” (Matthew 7:7-11).

God, who created the universes and who knit us together in our mother’s womb, knows what we need. He’s aware of we lack. He observes our desires and knows what we desire at this moment. He knows what your heart longs for as you read these lines. And He sees the tears that wet your pillow.

That’s why He repeats His promise, “When the time is right, I, the Lord, will make it happen” (Isaiah 60:22).

And as He prepares His answer, He’s curling His finger calling you to step into His will as you place your prayers before Him, with certainty of His answer and sure of His timing.

Let’s Pray

Father, thank you for the boldness you gave me to come before You and express my requests. With patience I will wait and with hope I will praise you. In Jesus name.

What changes do you need to make as you pray?

Janet

______________________________________

Did you know I wrote a book filled with words of encouragement, uplifting thoughts and illustrations of real-life triumph to empower you? Its title, Trials of Today, Treasures for Tomorrow: Overcoming Adversities in Life. You can get it HERE.

CLICK HERE for a one-minute inspirational video.

Looking for a speaker for your upcoming event? A great speaker makes the difference between a so-so event and one that shines with impact. I invite you to view one of my two-minute videos HERE.

Please share: Feel free to share Janet’s posts with your friends.

 


Janet Eckles Perez

Some say she should be the last person to be dancing. Her life is summarized in this 3-minute video: http://bit.ly/1a8wGJR

Janet Perez Eckles’ story of triumph is marked by her work as an international speaker, #1 best-selling author, radio host, personal success coach and master interpreter. Although blind since 31, her passion is to help you see the best of life.

www.janetperezeckles.com

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He Forgives, He Loves

1 Nov

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

During conversation with friends a couple of nights ago we were talking about how a small about of people in the church do most of the work. One friend shared that he had bad experiences with helping people. He was disturbed that some people who attend church accept help with a need then once their needs are met, they stop attending.

The conversation stayed with me. As I pondered on it, I realized that is exactly how I have treated God, drawing close to Him when I am in need and pushing Him to the back of my life when my need is met. I am truly sorry.

Thankfully I know He forgives and I am loved.

One of my happy places, Newfound Gap, GSMNP

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Fun With Family-Part 2

31 Oct

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

Our daughter returned to Florida on Monday and my aunt and cousin from the Raleigh area arrived on Thursday, October 17th. In between visits, I made meal plans for the next week.

We follow a strict Keto lifestyle and that requires a bit of planning.

I put two flavors of homemade ice cream in the freezer and made a Black Forest cheesecake, that covered desserts and aren’t they the most important part of the meal?

Our church holds a craft sale each fall and Friday the 18th was the first day. We were out early, eager to see what the talented ladies had to offer. I sighed over the beautiful quilts and settled for a Christmas throw that I love. To my delight, the crafters had put together $1.00 grab bags. I have always been a sucker for grab bags. My bag was worth far more than a dollar and I was thrilled with the contents. To be honest, I wanted to go back and buy all the grab bags.

The weather was a bit sketchy and the forecasts indicated that Sunday, the 20th would be sunny so we embarked on a Sunday drive.

I had been wanting to go on a waterfall hunt by typing waterfall into the GPS and following the directions. Scary, I know, especially after the way Bill’s Greta leads him astray.

On the way to the first waterfall we decided to stop at the Sky Valley Golf Club. in Sky Valley, Georgia. They decorate hay bales each Halloween so we oohed and ahhhed and snapped a few pictures.

  • My Favorite

Each summer I read on the local Facebook page of injuries at Bust-Your-Butt falls. On the GPS it appeared to be quite close to a waterfall we have enjoyed for years and now I was determined to locate it. And we did! Of course we had seen the cascades many times but didn’t know they had a name.

  • My cousin with my husband
  • Me and my husband
  • The Infamous Bust-Your-Butt falls

The Fall colors were gorgeous.

Our next stop was Bridal Veil Falls. In years past one could drive behind it, but falling rocks put a stop to it. The area is famous for rubies and when our children were small, they would “mine” for rubies at the bottom. One summer we even found some suspicious stones. Unfortunately, we put them in a Pringles chip can and I threw it away while cleaning out the car.

My aunt and cousin.

When we arrived, my cousin was sure she heard a kitten. I thought it was a bird. It turned out there was a kitten and we think its mom was killed by a predator. It just about killed my cousin to leave the kitten there and alone.

Our next stop on the GPS was Silver Run Falls in Cashiers, NC. This was our first time there and I was looking forward to seeing it. Here is the description from the website:

Silver Run Falls is a nice 25′ waterfall just south of Cashiers. It’s easy to get to, family friendly, and very popular. To get to this falls, head west on Hwy 64 from Lake Toxaway into Cashiers and take a left on Hwy 107. Parking is a little over 4 miles down on the left and is just a wide area on the shoulder with room enough for maybe 5 vehicles or so. The trail head is obvious – the trail is less than 1/4 mile and easy. On the way to the waterfall you’ll cross the Whitewater River. It’s not very wide at this point. Crossing used to be on a log, but a bridge has recently been built for safety reasons. There’s a nice swimming hole at the base of the falls and the area is usually crowded on a warm day

NCWaterfalls.com

My 86 year old aunt uses a wheeled walker and the path at the trailhead looked promising. Alas, as so often happens, the trailhead was deceptive. My aunt soldiered on and at the falls, my husband placed the walker on a large rock, locked the brakes and helped my aunt mount it. She scratched her leg in the process and the only thing I had in my purse was a peppermint tea bag. I was careful to not place the tea part over the wound for fear it would sting. On the way back to the car I walked behind her and each of her steps gave off a pleasant peppermint scent! She received many high fives and compliments for not letting a walker prevent her from enjoying the adventure.

We talked with an older gentleman at the falls. He said his family had been swimming there for fifty years, way before the park service had put in the trail and bridge. That must have been amazing. He looked nostalgic and I am sure he was recalling those days. He had with him a couple from Germany. He met them while doing volunteer work in Germany after the fall of the Berlin Wall. I don’t think they spoke a lot of English but they greeted us with nice to see you and I responded welcome to America.

Back at the car we were hungry and in need of the “facilities”. The thing about nature is it tends to not be close to conveniences. Cashiers is one of those towns that require businesses to have a uniform appearance and I was afraid we wouldn’t spot the Wendy’s I had seen as we passed through town. It took three pairs of eyes searching, but we found it!

Next week, Fun With Family Part 3

I'm a winnerAfter my retirement, I decided to re-learn the canning and preserving skills I learned from my mother but hadn’t practiced for twenty years. I titled the blog Old Things R New to chronicle my experience.  Since then I have been blessed to have six other bloggers join me, DiVoran Lites, Bill Lites,  Judy Wills, Louise Gibson, Janet Perez Eckles and Melody Hendrix

In addition to blogging, I work as the publicist/marketer/ amateur editor and general  “mom Friday” for my author daughter, Rebekah Lyn. I also manage her website, Rebekah Lyn Books  where we frequently host the best in up and coming authors.

My 2019 goal is to use my love of photographs and words to be an encourager on social media. You can visit Real Life Books and Media You Tube Channel if you would like to view some of the mini-videos I have created for our church, Gateway Community in Titusville, Fl.

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My 2019 Great Lakes Road Trip Part 6B

30 Oct

Day 6 – Sunday July 28 (Continued)

As I mentioned last week, when I was traveling south on I-41, I passed right by the RV parking area for the EAA Airshow, in Oshkosh, and it was jam-packed with RVs of every description.  The Military Veterans Museum, there in Oshkosh, was my next stop, and it was located just down the road from the EAA RV parking area.  This is a small museum displaying restored military vehicles, equipment, artifacts, and memorabilia from all branches of the American military services.

I continued another 20 miles south on I-41, around Lake Winnebago, to visit the Jim Baldauf Auto Collection located in Fond du Lac, WI.  This is a private car collection consisting of a showroom full of beautifully restored and modified cars.  I had called ahead for an appointment to view Jim’s collection.  I was especially excited about seeing his 1949 Olds 88 Convertible, which Jim says is, one of only five left in the U.S.  It is said that Jim has a very nice collection of vintage and classic cars, but he never did call me back, and I was disappointed to find this museum closed.

Now I headed another 35 miles south on I-41/SR-175/CR-P to visit the Wisconsin Automotive Museum located in Hartford, WI.   This is a very impressive museum that displays about 150 automobiles dating from the early 1900s to the present. Some cars are beautifully restored, while others are still in the condition they were in when discovered (in the barn or field) by the museum collectors.  There was also lots of early automobile displays, artifacts and memorabilia to examine.

Next I headed 40 miles southeast on I-41 to visit the Harley Davidson Museum located in Milwaukee, WI.  This was one of the most impressive collections of motorcycles I have ever seen. Beautifully restored Motorcycles dating from 1903 to the present are displayed on two levels of this large museum.  They had examples of each of the four Harley Davidson motorcycles that I had owned.  There was a 1943 (737cc) WWII US Army courier machine, a 1948 (125cc) Hummer, a 1954 (165cc) Hummer ST, and a 1955 (888cc) Sportster KH.  Boy-O-Boy did those motorcycles bring back a lot of memories from my riding days.

After that trip down memory lane, I headed 20 miles west on I-94 to try and find the Wisconsin Wing of the Commemorative Air Force located in Waukesha, WI.  As it turned out, here again neither Greta (my Garmin) nor I could find the airport hangers where the airplanes are stored.  The closest I could get was the small Waukesha Airport lobby, where the Waukesha Aviation Club had a few aviation related items on display.

Now I headed another 20 miles southwest on SR-164/I-43 to visit the East Troy Electric Railroad Museum located in East Troy, WI.  This museum displays many interesting exhibits, artifacts, and memorabilia from the Electric Train era in the eastern Wisconsin area dating from the early 1900s. Restored electric trains and trolleys still run on a section of the original Milwaukee Electric Railway System track between the East Troy Railroad Museum and the Elegant Farmer station in Mukwonago.  Visitors can buy tickets at the museum for the 14 mile (roundtrip) electric train/trolley ride, or for other special events such as Family Picnic Train and Wisconsin Cheesemakers’ & Wine Train.  The Dinner Train Service ride is one train ride I would like to have had the time to take.  Maybe one of these days I can take DiVoran there and we can enjoy a romantic Dinner Train Service trip.

I asked Greta to take me to the motel, there in East Troy, for the night.  After getting checked in, I asked the desk clerk for his restaurant recommendations, and he suggested the Ale Station Food & Brew just across the square.  Since most of the restaurants in town were closed on Sunday evening, I walked over to the Ale Station and had a delicious Garibaldi Sandwich which was just right for the occasion.

—–To Be Continued—–

Bill is a retired Mechanical engineer living with his wonderful artist/writer wife, DiVoran, of 61 years in Titusville, Florida. He was born and raised in the Southwest, did a tour of duty with the U.S. Navy, attended Northrop University in Southern California and ended up working on America’s Manned Space Program for 35 years. He currently is retired and spends most of his time building and flying R/C model airplanes, traveling, writing blogs about his travels for Word Press and supporting his wife’s hobbies with framing, editing and marketing.  He also volunteers with a local church Car Care Ministry and as a tour guide at the Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum there in Titusville.  Bill has two wonderful children, two outstanding grandchildren, and a loving sister and her husband, all of whom also live in Central Florida, so he and DiVoran are rewarded by having family close to spend lots of quality time with.  

Bill  

One of Bill’s favorite Scriptures is:  John 10:10

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I Have a Problem

29 Oct

On the Porch

Onisha Ellis

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Raccoons on the Move

29 Oct

A Time to Live

Melody Hendrix

A family of raccoons were captured on our cameras.

MelodyWelcome! I’m so glad you stopped in to visit. I am retired and enjoying life. My hobbies are my 5 grandchildren, son and daughter, and my loving husband. I am a photographer and extreme nature lover. I love spending time in my garden or in the wilderness connected to God my Creator.
What a beautiful world we live in. We all have that in common. Natural beauty is everywhere, but sometimes we are not connected until we see a picture, taken just right, that makes it really come into focus and be admired. My passion is to make a connection between the lens and your soul. Photography is my passion.
My photography passion began when my Father handed me his old Ricohflex box camera when I was 12.  It was love at first sight. I still have it. My hand was never empty of a camera since.
Rocoflex
I am a native Floridian. I am so lucky to call it home. I was born in Orlando BF (before Disney). My family moved to the Winter Park area when I was very young. Central Florida was so simple and quaint at that time. I wandered the streets barefoot with my friends, never worrying that something bad could ever happen. My Mom used to pick the sand-spurs out of my feet. I still go barefoot. It grounds me to earth and connects me to nature.
I have extensively explored Florida and its diverse beauty. So much to see and so little time. I would love for you to join me in my travels through the images I have taken. I wish you could hear the sounds, smell the fragrance and feel the breath of it. But for now we must be content with exploring with our eyes and only imagine the rest.
Thank you for your interest.

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A New Baby

28 Oct

My Take

DiVoran Lites

As told to DiVoran Lites by Her Mother, Dora Bowers

In May 1939, my father, Roger Bedell, died in our home town of Canon City, Colorado. Since Ivan, and I; and our baby DiVoran were living in Lovelock, Nevada, we headed home in our 1921 coup for the funeral. Because our trip took place on Decoration Day, every cemetery we passed had bouquets of flowers on the graves. I saw them through tears, knowing I would not see my Dad again this side of heaven.

Description: Flower, Peony, Blossom, Bloom, Plant, Nature, Flora

Photo credit Pixabay

Once home in Canon I dug in and didn’t want to leave, so Ivan drove back to Lovelock and packed up. Back in Canon City, he got a job with the gas company, where my Dad had worked.

In time with a loan of $100.00 from my grandmother Dora Bell Hunter, we were able to buy a house on River Street. The house cost $900.00 and our payments were $20.00 a month.

Description: Chicken, Hens, Pullet

Photo credit Pixabay

In those days, part of our income came from Ivan’s job and part of the old cars he fixed up and sold for $35.00 or so. We had a boarder and that helped. Also we raised chickens. We had many fusses about the chickens. I thought I knew more about taking care of poultry because I was raised on the farm. He thought he knew more because he’d helped his parents with the chickens in a pen out back of their apartment house on Greenwood Avenue.

Of course, our fusses were nothing compared with the big fight the whole world had fallen into in Europe. Before he died, my Dad said there would be another war. In December 1941, Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and the United States declared war. 

About that time, I kind of figured I was pregnant so I went to the doctor and he took a sample of my water then had the lab inject it into a young female mouse or rabbit. If her ovaries were enlarged that meant you were expecting. 

Those were turbulent times for all of us: but I was pleased to be adding to the small family I loved. Since we already had a girl, we prayed for the baby to be a boy.

In June it was hot and I was big. Everyone told me I was carrying a boy because my stomach stuck way out rather than filling in around me as stomachs were believed to do with girls.

I must have looked pretty pitiful, because when the man came to collect the last installment on the pots and pans he’d sold us, I told him I couldn’t pay him. I needed the last $3.00 for a magazine subscription I’d ordered. He took one look at my condition and then, to my surprise and delight, gave me a “paid” receipt and left. 

Author, Poet and Artist

DiVoran has been writing for most of her life. Her first attempt at a story was when she was seven years old and her mother got a new typewriter. DiVoran got to use it and when her dad saw her writing he asked what she was writing about. DiVoran answered that she was writing the story of her life. Her dad’s only comment was, “Well, it’s going to be a very short story.” After most of a lifetime of writing and helping other writers, DiVoran finally launched her own dream which was to write a novel of her own. She now has her Florida Springs trilogy and her novel, a Christian Western Romance, Go West available on Amazon. When speaking about her road to publication, she gives thanks to the Lord for all the people who helped her grow and learn.  She says, “I could never have done it by myself, but when I got going everything fell beautifully into place, and I was glad I had started on my dream.”

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