Happy...Happy!!!

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you who celebrate that this week....

And Happy Hanukkah, also, to those who will be celebrating that holiday this week!

The winning photos.....

Here is the update we've awaited...and MY guess as to which of my daughter's photos would be chosen was wrong.  Each year, the calendar includes images of two of the main buildings at Colonial Williamsburg.....the governor's palace and the capitol.....so many folks submit photos of those places.  My daughter's photo of the capitol was selected for this year....it will be the May 2015 photo....and is the first one in the second row in the Facebook album of the winning photos.  If you click HERE, you will see all 12 winning photos. Thanks to those of you who voted.  Even though my favorite of hers wasn't selected, I am still very proud of her for achieving this honor! 

Quick Update....

As a follow up to my previous post, I am delighted to report that my daughter will have a photo in the 2015 Colonial Williamsburg calendar.  We don't know yet which of her 4 photos was chosen by the judges....but I will post info about that here when we are told which one it is.  The 12 winning photos will be enlarged and displayed in the Visitors' Center in Colonial Williamsburg starting in May.  THANKS to those who spoke such kind words and voted in the contest!

PLEASE go and vote.....

My daughter does photography as a hobby and has 4 photos in contention for the 2015 calendar at Colonial Williamsburg (in Virginia).  Voting is taking place now until November 11.  Only ONE vote per day (and no using of multiple email addresses by the same person is permitted).  It seems the judges then look at all the photos submitted by the top-vote-getting "photographers" and they then choose one from each of them.   SO.....please consider clicking HERE and then clicking on "Vote Now" just once per day until November 11....and tell your friends to vote, also. THANKS!!!

A strange reading experience.....

Recently I received an electronic version of the Untamed Heart by Lauraine Snelling for my Kindle for free from Bethany House in exchange for an honest review. I did not give this 5 stars in my Amazon review because, for some reason, the version I received had an error throughout the entire book (except for ONE time) in which any word with a double "f" in it had both the f's eliminated. Here are some examples: coffee was coee, different became dierent, bluffed became blued, etc. When a double f word had an i after it, the i was also eliminated, so sufficient became sucient and office became oce. I checked the "look inside" feature on Amazon and this mistake was not present there, so maybe it was realized and corrected after I got my copy? At any rate, this was quite a distraction for about the first quarter of the book until I became accustomed to the error. As for the story itself, it was a very pleasant one and I enjoyed learning about the culture of that country (Norway) at that time period....especially the families who had summer places in the mountains where animals were tended and cheese was made. I felt the ending came rather abruptly and felt a bit rushed. There will be other books to read in the series and I might read at least one more. Overall, it was an entertaining read. If not for the double "f" problem I mentioned, I would have enjoyed it a lot more.

Comment Moderation

Sadly, I have found the need to implement comment moderation on my blog.  I thought having the word verification feature would help prevent the comments that have nothing to do with my blog postings, but it didn't work.  While it kept away "robotic" commenters, it did not keep away others who are not wanted here because they are not at all interested in the topics posted here and their comments have nothing to do with the topics posted here.  Muhammed Assim and Waqas Farroq are just two of the pests who have posted on my blog with advertisements for their various interests and I am sick of it. (I guess they don't realize that even if I was interested in their products, I'd never deal with them because of the intrusive way in which they presented themselves to me!!!)  It appears the only way I can keep from having their comments appear on my blog is to submit every comment to moderation, so that is what I am going to do now.  This means that if you post a comment, it will not appear on my blog until I have had a chance to read it and approve it.....so if you are one of my loyal, valued blog followers, please be patient.  It is a shame a few folks spoil it for others...but...for now, this is what I need to do and I appreciate your understanding.

Another book review....

I have been very lucky to get review copies of several Amish fiction books (which I really enjoy) and have just finished reading another one.....a new one by Beverly Lewis called The Secret Keeper.  It is the story of a young woman who has desired for many years to leave her "English" world and become Amish and how she fares while trying to accomplish that goal.  While this book is part of a series written by Ms. Lewis, it can be read independently of the earlier books in that series.  It was a very enjoyable read and I was sorry to see the book end.  I think anyone who enjoys Amish fiction will like this book.