Seattle's 12th Man - Saturday Snapshots

I'm not a football fanatic, but a person would have to be blind to avoid the 12th Man Fever* that has hit the Seattle area! So on a sunshiny Thursday afternoon I thought it would be fun to drive around my part of King County, Washington, to capture images of fan support for the Seattle Seahawks team. I found boosters in some unlikely places! Whether you're rooting for the Hawks or the Patriots (or completely indifferent), I hope you'll appreciate the community spirit I found and that you enjoy the game.

*From Wikipedia: The 12th man or 12th player is a term for fans of teams playing American football or association football. As most football leagues allow a maximum of eleven players per team on the playing field at a time, referring to a team's fans as the 12th man implies that they have a potentially helpful role in the game.

Enumclaw, WA

Small Shops

Some places are even closing on Super Bowl Sunday

This one made me smile.

Even the animals are getting into the spirit

And so is a nearby casino

My neighborhood fabric store has what you need
for your Seahawks fan wardrobe

I'm sure divine intervention would
be welcomed too!

Saturday Snapshots is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads.

To enjoy a variety of beautiful pictures from around the world, 

click HERE or on the box below. 

To participate in Saturday Snapshots: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) 

have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky on the host blogsite. 

Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate 

for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. 

Please don’t post random photos that you find online.

A Dark & Stormy Knight - Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56

I'm not very far into A DARK & STORMY KNIGHT (21% on my Kindle) but I'm enjoying the story and the characters. Part of the attraction is that the book takes place in Texas where I was born and raised. I love this author's voice! The hero of this story is a bull rider and since I once had a roommate who was a barrel racer, I've been to more than a few rodeos. I've got to tell you that bull riders are a crazy bunch of cowboys!

A DARK & STORMY KNIGHT is #3 in the McKnight Romance Series.

Book Beginning:
     "Promise me."
     "I promise." Even though her sister couldn't see it, Georgia shifted the phone to her other hand, so she could sketch an X over her left breast. "We're leaving in the morning." Then she hedged. If the past eleven years of motherhood had taught her nothing else, life was never one hundred percent predictable. "Nothing short of a trip to the hospital for broken bones or copious bleeding will keep us inside Houston city limits one minute past eight o'clock. Eight thirty at the latest." 

Friday 56 (at 56% on my Kindle):
(FYI: Colonel Mustard is a bull)
Colonel Mustard, nearly one ton of muscle, bone, and attitude covered by a hide the color of Grey Poupon, passed through a railed alley and into a nine-foot-long, three-foot-wide chute. When the gate clanged shut behind him, he rammed a shoulder into the heavy metal of the arena gate on his left, testing it for weaknesses. Ornery bastard.

Genre: Contemporary Western Romance
Book Length: 450 Pages
Amazon Link: A DARK & STORMY KNIGHT
More Books by This Author: Suzie Quint Website

Synopsis (Goodreads):
      Young and stupid go together like peanut butter and jelly.
      Sol McKnight, rancher and rodeo bull rider, married Georgia Carston, the love of his life, at eighteen. So maybe they were too young and maybe he was stupid to believe it would last forever because six weeks later, she left him. Now she’s back in Hero Creek for the summer. This is his chance to win her back. Little does he know, this may be his last chance because Georgia has her eye on the divorced father of their daughter’s best friend. If Sol ever wants to feel whole again, he’s going to have to figure out what went wrong so many years ago and fix it. If he doesn’t, he’ll lose her forever.

                            

Anyone can participate in Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56.
Click HERE to connect to other Book Beginnings posts (sponsored by Rose City Reader)
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Three Lakes Trail, Colorado - Saturday Snapshots

I'm looking through old photo albums again and came across these pictures from Colorado. In August, 1989, my son and I spent a week camping with my parents near Crested Butte/Gunnison, CO, and one of our day trips was to Lost Lake Slough. Here are pictures from that excursion. (Click on photos to enlarge.)

"Easy" is a relative term.
(Note the switchbacks in red.)

Wildflowers blooming along the shores of
Lost Lake Slough

Aspen lined portions of the trail

Other areas were shaded by evergreens

Occasionally we'd come to a clearing and get a glimpse of
Lost Lake Slough below

We stopped for a rest at Dollar Lake,
then began our trek back to the slough

Someday I'll post about the time my mom and I got lost and encountered a bear on this trail. But that's another story!

To see a brochure (PDF file) about this trail from the U.S. Forest Service (including directions), click HERE.

Saturday Snapshots is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads.

To enjoy a variety of beautiful pictures from around the world, 

click HERE or on the box below. 

To participate in Saturday Snapshots: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) 

have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky on the host blogsite. 

Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate 

for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. 

Please don’t post random photos that you find online.

Finding Southern Comfort - Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56

Harper Kirkpatrick, the heroine of FINDING SOUTHERN COMFORT, is one of those characters that I immediately liked. She plows ahead as if she knows what she's doing, even when she clearly doesn't, and I hoped she'd succeed as a nanny to a child with an eating disorder. There were times when I wanted to shake her and tell her to get her act together, but then I remembered that she's in her early twenties and is trying to be independent. I enjoyed the book's characters, plot, and humor, and loved the Savannah setting of this Southern romance. (I've been to that lovely city and seen the Forsyth Park Fountain pictured on the book's cover.)

FYI: FINDING SOUTHERN COMFORT is FREE on Amazon right now! 

Book Beginning:
[FYI: As the book opens, Harper works as an entertainer at children's parties, but her boss has scheduled her for something quite different. This is a sweet romance, so nothing naughty is going on with the whip. ]
Harper Kirkpatrick shoved her Catwoman mask into place and rang the doorbell. Hard to look casual with a whip under her arm. A late evening breeze ruffled the Spanish moss overhead. Didn't matter. She was sweating big time under the black spandex costume. Savannah in February was a lot warmer than Chicago.

Friday 56 (from 56% on my Kindle):
McKenna's eyebrows rose, but she didn't make a comment. Harper loved that about her sister. She took life as it came.

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Book Length: 316 Pages
Amazon Link:
FINDING SOUTHERN COMFORT: A Heartwarming Prequel (Windy City Romance Series)

                            

Anyone can participate in Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56.
Click HERE to connect to other Book Beginnings posts (sponsored by Rose City Reader)
Click HERE to join other Friday 56 bloggers (sponsored by Freda's Voice)

Smart Girls Read Romance - And Play Dress-Up!

Just a note to let you know that I've been invited to join the wonderful writers on the Smart Girls Read Romance blog. In my first post (today!) I write about how much fun it is to "dress" characters when writing fiction. 

I hope you'll stop by and say "hi!" Here's the link: Playing Dress-Up

Yosemite National Park - Saturday Snapshots

While looking through photo albums a couple of days ago, I came across pictures from our trip to Lake Tahoe and Yosemite National Park (California) in July, 1990. The area is breathtakingly beautiful, so I decided to scan a few Yosemite photos and share with you. These pictures were taken with a 35mm film camera. (FYI: The park will celebrate its 125th anniversary on October 1, 2015.)

Rising more than 3,000 feet above the
valley floor, El Capitan is the largest
monolith of granite in the world.

Half Dome is perhaps the most recognized
symbol of Yosemite, rising nearly 5,000 feet
above the valley floor.

Here's another view of Half Dome,
taken from the valley floor.

Yosemite Falls (2,425 ft) flows approximately from
November through July. Since we were there in July,
the water flow was lighter but still impressive.

At the base of the lower portion
of Yosemite Falls, just one of many
beautiful waterfalls in the park.

You'll find more information about this magnificent national park here: Yosemite National Park

You should be able to zoom in and out on this map.

Saturday Snapshots is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads.

To enjoy a variety of beautiful pictures from around the world, 

click HERE or on the box below. 

To participate in Saturday Snapshots: post a photo that you (or a friend or family member) 

have taken then leave a direct link to your post in the Mister Linky on the host blogsite. 

Photos can be old or new, and be of any subject as long as they are clean and appropriate 

for all eyes to see. How much detail you give in the caption is entirely up to you. 

Please don’t post random photos that you find online.

A Love Beyond - First Paragraph / First Chapter and Teaser Tuesday

In A Love Beyond (contemporary romantic suspense) AJ Owens vows to retrieve the horse stolen from her family by Mike Towers. Chance Landin wants to prove that Powers destroyed several thoroughbreds for the insurance money, a crime for which Chance's uncle has been falsely imprisoned. Both AJ and Chance are pretending to be what they're not, but neither one knows the other's agenda. Their lives intertwine as they work to bring down Mike Towers in this romantic thriller that spans the Texas-Mexico border at Laredo. 

This book is beautifully written and nicely edited, and the plot kept me turning pages from the opening sentences until the very last word.
I'm giving it five stars. 

First Paragraph:
On the banks of the Rio Grande, Laredo, Texas
      The river, black and barely visible, slid silently past. Trees pressed close to the bank, leaving only a narrow strip along the water's edge, and AJ Owens set one foot in front of the other cautiously. She was unafraid of the water, but not eager to be found out, whether by one of the law enforcement agencies screening the river for illegal activity, or by any of the criminal agents plying their trade alongside the fabled Rio Grande. Unconsciously she tightened her hold on the worn leather reins in her hands. Slight rustling in the brush startled her, making her stiffen and stifle a gasp. Alongside her, the chestnut Thoroughbred balked, throwing his head up in alarm. His snort echoed through the still night, sending some unseen smaller animal scurrying off into deeper cover.

Teaser Tuesday (from 64% on my Kindle):
She'd accepted a strange man's invitation to spend "a while" at his ranch in a foreign place. An invitation that came with the implied understanding that she wouldn't come and go, but stay there as tradition dictated. Even her friends would claim that was inviting disaster.

Genre:  Contemporary Romantic Suspense
Length of Book: 214 Pages
Amazon Link: A Love Beyond
Author's Website/Blog: Leslie P. Garcia Blog "Return to Rio"

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reading. Link up here:
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Garbage Pail Kids - Saturday Snapshots

Does anyone remember Garbage Pail Kids? These trading cards were originally released in 1985 and meant to parody the Cabbage Patch Dolls that were popular back then. Each one had a picture on the front (it's a removable sticker) and a "Wanted Poster" on the back. When I was looking for something in my storage closet the other day (okay, junk closet), I came across a photo album where my son kept his treasured Garbage Pail Kids. So, of course, I had to share a few of them with you! 

If the group decides to ban me from future Saturday Snapshots postings after seeing these, I'll understand. A little strange, aren't they? 

How sweet! A literary reference!

Inexplicably, this was on the back of
the Charlotte Web card!

And this was on the back of
Fishy Phyllis!

My son is 40 years old now, and I bet
he'll get a laugh out of these cards. Maybe
I'll wrap them up for him for Valentine's Day!

Saturday Snapshots is hosted by West Metro Mommy Reads.

To enjoy a variety of beautiful pictures from around the world, 

click HERE or on the box below. 

Fetching Love - Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56

 

I was entertained and charmed by Fetching Love, a quick light read. The characters are likable, the story is sweet with some steamy parts, and Laddie (Megan's yellow Lab) adds a lot of interest and fun to the story. I'm a sucker for plots where the hero and heroine rediscover each other, and that's what Megan and Chad do in this book. Fetching Love is the third book in the Circle R Ranch series, and I'm sure I'll read the others.

Book Beginning:
Prologue
Seven years ago...
   You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, her dad always said. Unfortunately, he was right. Meg rarely wore makeup, she was more of a tomboy, but today she wanted to look special. Chad and his brothers would be at the dance, and it was probably the last time she would see him before he left for college. He couldn't leave for college still thinking of her as little Megs. God, she hated that nickname.

Friday 56 (from 56% on my Kindle): 
(Megan's dad having a man-to-man talk with Chad.)
   "I may be old but I'm not stupid. I know that Megan had a major crush on you when she was a teenager. I'm not sure she's ever gotten over it. So if you are just playing with her, you can walk right back out that door."

Genre: Contemporary Western Romance
Book Length: 92 Pages
Amazon Link: Fetching Love (Circle R Ranch Book 3)
Author's Website/Blog: Smile, Somebody Loves You
Just Released: Hers to Bear

                            

Anyone can participate in Book Beginnings on Friday and The Friday 56.
Click HERE to connect to other Book Beginnings posts (sponsored by Rose City Reader)
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Learnin' The Ropes - Teaser Tuesday and First Paragraph / First Chapter

If you enjoy contemporary Western romance, then you'll love Learnin' The Ropes by Shanna Hatfield. It was fun to experience the hero's transition from city guy to cowboy, especially in the Oregon setting. I also liked the fact that the hero is an out-of-work mechanic--a nice change from the wealthy super-suave hero type. By the way, the book also includes a gigantic dog (named Baby) as an important character and for comic relief. 
I recommend Learnin' The Ropes as a fun light-hearted escape (rated G).


First Paragraph - Each chapter starts with a lesson and a quote:
Lesson One
Location, Location, Location
"Git yerself out of that durn city and into God's country."
     Tyler Lewis read through the classified ad a third time, trying to decide if he was desperate enough to apply for the open position.
     Leaning against his truck door with the paper propped on the steering wheel, cold seeping into his back from the rain-splattered window and hunger gnawing at his insides, he concluded he was, in fact, that desperate.

Teaser (from 6% on my Kindle):
"...Baby's a Kuvasz. A Hungarian dog bred to guard livestock. Baby weighs purt near a hundred and twenty-five pounds. She can take down a grown man if she's of a mind to...."

Genre: Sweet Contemporary Romance
Book's Length: 350 Pages
Amazon Link: Learnin' The Ropes
Author's Website: ShannaHatfield.com

Synopsis from Goodreads:
     Out of work mechanic Ty Lewis is homeless and desperate to find work. Answering a classified ad for a job in Harney County, Oregon, Ty accepts when he is offered the position. Saying goodbye to his sister and his life in Portland, he heads off to the tiny community of Riley to begin a new adventure, unsure about his boss Lex Ryan, a man he has yet to speak with or meet. 
     Lexi Ryan, known to her ranch hands and neighbors as Lex Jr., leaves a successful career in Portland to keep the Rockin’ R Ranch running smoothly after the untimely death of her father. It doesn’t take long to discover her father did a lot of crazy things during the last few months of his battle with cancer, including hiding half a million dollars that Lexi can’t find. 
     Ty and Lexi are both in for a multitude of surprises as he arrives at the Rockin’ R Ranch and begins learnin’ the ropes. 

Share the first paragraph (or
a few) from a book you are
reading. Link up here:
Bibliophile By The Sea

  

Post two sentences from
somewhere in a book you're
reading. No spoilers, please!
Link up here:
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