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  Christmas time is a time to look at gifts for those we love and for ourselves or just an acquaintance like a mailman. I looked at beautiful and whimsical tea sets this morning. All of a sudden I fell back in time. I remembered the china tea set given to me by cousins. Since I was a change of life baby, these cousins were much older than me. They were a married couple. The husband just married in our family. His wife carried my bloodline. I will never forget the golden edges of the saucers and cups. The rest of the pattern was pure white like snow. Finally, I was allowed to take tea set into the back yard. My friends came over, and we had a tea party without real tea. Gratitude must last longer than our lives. Because while Cousin_____ and Cousin____ are long gone I'm still grateful for their gift of love to me. I believe they knew how much I and my whole family cherished that gift.

What hope means within brings boundless wandered seas up to shores of sun's changed light. Nestled next to ruby breasts of birds in Niger skies.

August 15, 1864 Ooh, that Sarah Jane! Carrie Ann Bell stared at her youngest sister's sloppily scratched nose. How could that girl do such a scandalous thing? Running off with a lowlife peddler? Certainly Sarah had threatened to run away numerous times in the past, but who would have thought she'd actually do it? Mama would be heartbroken when she learned the news. http://bibliophilebythesea.blogspot.com

I certainly enjoyed reading Kwei Quartey's Wife of the Gods. It's a mystery. The setting is Africa, Accra and surroundings. The main detective or policemen is Dawson. He is searching for who murdered a woman named Gladys Mensha.Gladys' work  involved keeping  in touch with people who were HIV positive or had Aids. She also worked to educate the community about the illnesses. From the very beginning, I liked Gladys. I never had a doubt about her good character. So I really wanted to know who had hurt her so brutally. As the book went on I could never figure out who killed her. Well, I did guess the right person. I just couldn't come up with their motive or motives for murder. While Dawson hunts down Gladys Mensha's killer, he also contends with problems at home. His son has a hole in his heart and needs treatment. It is during this situation that Dawson's flaw in character shows up. When a medicine healer is careless while giving treatment to Christine a

This is a wonderful story about a lonely cow named Mariam. We meet Mariam in The Midnight Visitors by Juliet David Illustrated by Jo Parry. In the story, Mariam, the cow, lives with only one person, Dan, the farmer. One evening different visitors come to her door. They need a place to stay out of the cold. In the end, Mariam becomes happier with company and probably less boring. My favorite animals were Ron and Rita rabbit and their family of three. Lo and behold, I had trouble counting the number of rabbits in the family. Due to my unease with numbers I'm still not sure of the number in the family. While counting, I might have confused a fuzzy tail or two.  At first, I missed Ron, the father, altogether. I almost missed the ladybug on a page who unfortunately does not have a name. It is fun seeing which animal pets are in pictures but not given names or asked to stay over. The picture book is really good. It teaches children the importance of making friends.Th

Tell me the truth, please or let me die wondering who is next and when

http:adailyrhythm.com John and James' Christmas shoppe is open for business. Last year business was so bad, John Dipper decided never to stay open all year long again. He blamed himself for the poor morale of his employees. Since his twin brother, James, moved from Ohio all the way to Florida nothing seemed the same.  John sighed. He did it again and again. If he didn't sigh, he moaned. Then a picture popped in his head of James down on his knees praying under the carport. He remembered the very night because John spoke his prayer aloud. "Please God, help me find a wife. I am so lonely."