The Harper Chronicles: Harper’s Easter Treat Hunt

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This past weekend was Easter weekend, and Mom and Dad planned for us to go up to Grandma’s house for Easter dinner after they attended Sunday School and church.

There are several children in our neighborhood who love me, and earlier in the week, Mom was walking me around our neighborhood one day, and Carter, a little boy in our neighborhood, stopped us to say “hi” to me and pet me. Then he told Mom she should have an “egg hunt” for me. I didn’t know what he was talking about, but I do like eggs!

I didn’t get any eggs, but after all the people had enjoyed their dinner, Mom went outside for awhile. I was wondering what she was doing because she didn’t take me outside with her. After a while, she returned and put my prong collar and leash on me to take me outside. In the first picture at the top of the page, you can see a treat, just above my head in the picture. I caught a scent of it and soon after the photo was snapped, I gobbled that treat down.

Mom walked me all over Grandma’s deck, just below the deck, and in the front flower bed. She had hidden some of my treats all over that area and I sniffed them out and enjoyed eating them! In the second picture at the top of the page, I had found a treat on the edge of the driveway and those green weeds to the left of me and was eating it. And, in case you’re wondering if the two tan/brown things you see to the left of me in the photo and near the wooden railing are treats, they’re not. They’re dead leaves.

I sure enjoyed my Treat Hunt, and Grandma said it was fun to watch me have a treat hunt! Dad said it was another way for Mom to spoil me. That might be true, but maybe it was an idea for something for me to share here. 😀

For Adora — Part 7

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Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash

Melisande laid Adora on a blanket on the living room floor, then pulled a small, stuffed green dinosaur out of the diaper bag and placed it on the blanket within Adora’s reach so that if the baby awakened, she could grab it. Finnegan came over and sniffed at Adora.

“Scat, cat!”

“Melisande, Finnegan won’t hurt Adora.”

Melisande eyed Griffin. “How do you know? You’ve never had a baby here with that cat before, have you?”

Griffin frowned. “No, but he’s a very gentle cat.”

“I’m not comfortable leaving Adora sleeping on the floor alone in a room with your cat. Maybe I should just take her upstairs.”

“If you and Adora are going to live here, you have to be able to trust Finnegan … and me.”

Melisande scowled at him. “Trust isn’t something people just give away. It has to be earned.”

Griffin sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “Melisande, if there’s any chance for this to work, we have to talk, and we need to give each other the benefit of the doubt. I know I haven’t been around to be a father to Adora, but, you have to believe me when I say, I wouldn’t place her in danger. I can promise you that Finnegan won’t hurt her.”

Melisande wrapped her arms around her middle and looked down at her sleeping baby, then she eyed Finnegan, who blinked up at her, meowed, then wove himself through her legs. She glared down at him. “You better prove yourself, cat.”

“His name is Finnegan.”

“Whatever.”

Griffin gritted his teeth and inhaled deeply, then let it out in a slow whistle between his teeth. If he was going to rebuild what he’d walked away from when he left Melisande, he had his work cut out for him. Every action … every word she spoke made it clear just how much he’d hurt her and how much that had affected her trust in him. And, apparently, anything connected with him, like Finnegan.

He reached for her hand. “Please, Melisande. Dinner’s getting cold. Let’s go eat and have a talk.”

She looked at his outstretched hand, then brushed past him and through the doorway to the kitchen.

Her rejection of his hand was like a knife to his heart and the backs of his eyes stung with threatening tears. God, please give me strength to handle things calmly and wisdom in every word that comes out of my mouth. Show me how to make things right between Melisande and me again. I know I messed up but I’m ready to fix things … to be the man you want me to be, and I believe that means being the responsible father, and, hopefully, husband, that I should’ve been from the start.

A New Book by a New Author

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I want to introduce you to:

Marilyn K Blair is a new author and this is her first book. Watch this video to see more about it.

Then keep visiting here at my blog because I will post a review of Iris and Mo, as well as an author interview with Marilyn K Blair in the near future.

The Harper Chronicles — Three Harpers?

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Like most dogs, I have to take heartworm and flea and tick medicines once a month. Well, Mom gave me the last doses she had in February, so last Thursday we went to my veterinarian’s office to get more. Mom called and told them how much she wanted before we left.

When we pulled into the parking lot, I got excited because I like to meet other dogs and I know I usually see several at the veterinarian’s office. Sure enough, when we walked in, there was a man sitting in a chair with a black Labrador Retriever sitting in front of him. I met the dog on our way to the desk.

When Mom told the lady at the desk what we were there for, the lady asked Mom her dog’s name. She said, “Harper.”

The lady looked at her and said, “Are you setting me up?”

Mom looked at the lady in confusion and turned to look at the man with the Labrador Retriever. He said, “This is Harper.”

Yes, his black Labrador Retriever’s name was Harper too!

So, anyway, the lady got my medicine and began ringing the purchase up for mom, when an older gentleman came into the office with a smaller black dog. It was obvious it was still a puppy, but not a real young pup. Anyway, he stopped with the lady at the first desk because he was there to drop off his puppy. Mom thinks it was to be spayed.

Okay, so here’s the shocker — Mom heard the man tell the lady his puppy’s name, but she couldn’t believe it. She looked at the gentleman with the black Labrador Retriever and he had a big grin on his face. Mom said, “Did he say…?” And the gentleman nodded.

So Mom says, “Harper! She’s another Harper? So, we have three Harpers here!”

The older gentleman then brought his puppy to meet me, then took her to meet the Labrador Retriever. Mom asked him what kind of dog his puppy was, and he said, “She’s 53% Boxer, 43% Pitbull, and the rest is a hodgepodge of several different things.”

After mom paid for my medicines and we turned to leave, she stopped to talk to the gentleman with the black Labrador Retriever. She said, “So, how did you decide on Harper for her?”

He said, “Well, my wife and I are Harper Lee fans.”

Mom said, “Me too!”

Then he said, “My wife already has a cat named Atticus. So we decided to call her Harper. And friends of ours have a dog named Scout.”

Mom said, “I was planning on getting a male and naming it Atticus, but a friend offered her to me, and I wasn’t going to turn down a free dog. That’s how she became ‘Harper’.”

Mom really wanted to ask the other man how he decided on Harper for his dog too, but he was too busy with the receptionist and getting his puppy taken care of.

The lady who waited on Mom at the check-out desk couldn’t believe it when the third Harper came in. She stood up so she could see over the desk, and she said, “And all three of them are black! This won’t happen again today.”

Meeting two other black Harpers was fun!

The Harper Chronicles: Laundry Thief

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Hi Everyone! In the picture above, the yellowish-tan thing to the right under my face was one of my favorite chew toys. I say “was” because Mom had to take it and throw it away about a month ago because I had chewed it down so small, she was afraid I’d choke on it. It was made of bamboo and in the shape of a “T”.

Now you might be asking yourself what does that have to do with this post’s title. Well, I’m sure I’ve told you before that I love to chew things A LOT! Though Mom keeps me well-stocked in chew toys and chewy treats, I don’t always only chew the things Mom gives me for that purpose.

For instance, Monday is laundry day and I follow Mom up and down the stairs and watch as she throws clothing into the washer and dryer several times on that day. I stand very close so I can see everything and sniff some things, and I wait for an opportunity — an opportunity to snatch something and run off to play with it and chew it! My favorite things to grab are socks, and Mom chases me up the steps to retrieve a sock from me. Another thing I like to try to grab and run off with are the white fluffy balls she throws in the dryer. I don’t know why she puts them in the dryer and why she doesn’t want me to play with them. Balls are a great doggy toy! Do any of you put balls in your clothes dryers? If so, do you let your dog play with them or chew on them?

Tattered Banners by Karim Soliman

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Tattered Banners is the second book in Karim Soliman’s “War of the Last Day” series. It is an Epic Fantasy novel. As a Book Reviewer, I received a free ebook copy of this book and this is my honest review.

Following the fall of Paril, the Cursed Army moves to invade the rest of Gorania. Tattered Banners begins with runaways from all six kingdoms trekking north through the Frozen Forest in an attempt to get to Karun’s Cave, the only place they believe they will be safe from the Cursed Army. However, to survive, they believe they need a special kind of suit, and these suits are in limited supply. The Goranians are ready to fight to the death for a place in Karun’s Cave.

The story follows Nardine and her mother, who believe there may still be a chance to end the Cursed Invasion. But the Skandivians stand in their way because the Skandivians believe the Bermanians are the biggest threat. Following the trouble with the Skandivians, Nardine becomes Queen, but is she ready for this position? Is she ready to be a leader?

Halgrim, another important character in the story, travels with a friend, hoping to catch up with his family as they flee north. They face danger and his friend needs to be taken to see “the Lady”, who is the only one who can save his friend’s life.

And Leila is stuck in the middle of a war she did not want. She has a unique ability that the leader of the seers take advantage of, and she is suddenly thrust into making a decision she is unsure of.

Tattered Banners is a story filled with action, adventure, danger, and suspense. This story includes good, evil, battles, and magic. It will keep you turning pages and hoping your favorite characters will survive. The one thing I didn’t care for was that some of the characters use some profane words, but thankfully, these words were used sporadically and not throughout the entire story.

Karim Soliman is a talented writer. He is skilled at world building and creating characters from so many places. He flawlessly connects the characters and engages the reader in their lives and in the detailed, complex story.

I give Tattered Banners 5 stars.

For Adora — Part 6

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Photo by Karolina Kołodziejczak on Unsplash

Griffin preheated the oven, cut up chicken tenders, sprinkled them with oil and seasonings and put them in the oven. Next he put rice to cook on the stove, then began cutting up broccoli and slicing carrots, all the while taking deep breaths to release his anger.

Why had Melisande felt the need to take Adora off his lap? Adora had seemed comfortable and content with him. She seemed to enjoy watching Finnegan. She hadn’t made any fuss or acted like she wanted to go to Melisande.

He enjoyed holding Adora on his lap. He hoped to be able to hold her, talk to her, and interact with her more, but Melisande seemed to want to keep Adora to herself.

_________________________________________________________________________

Melisande sat in the living room holding Adora in her arms. For six months she had been Adora’s sole caretaker, except for the occasional times she let her mom help her out. Adora is her responsibility and she is bonded with her baby.

I know I probably hurt Griffin’s feelings. He seems genuinely interested in Adora. But what if things don’t work out? What if after a couple weeks or months he decides he really doesn’t want a family — doesn’t want us? I don’t want Adora to get attached to him just to have him kick us out. He said he left because he didn’t want to be tied down, and he sure traveled far to keep from being tied down. He hadn’t even been back to visit his parents. What if he really did prefer being alone?

Her head pounded and a wave of nausea washed through her at the thought that she shouldn’t have brought Adora here — should’ve just left things the way they were.

_________________________________________________________________________

Griffin strode into the living room to announce dinner was ready, but before he could say a word the look on Melisande’s face stopped him. She appeared both frightened and ill as she sat clutching Adora to her chest. The baby had fallen asleep. He cleared his throat, then spoke in a low tone, “Melisande, are you okay?”

She flinched, then turned toward him, her eyes wide. After a moment, she shook her head and stood up. “I was just thinking it was a mistake for me to come here. To bring Adora.”

“What? Why?”

“Griffin, you seem to be perfectly happy living alone.” Finnegan walked into the room and meowed. Melisande sneered. “With your cat.”

Griffin took a step closer to her and brushed the backs of the fingers of one hand down her face. “Melisande, when I left you in Pennsylvania, I was a stupid eighteen-year-old boy. I didn’t realize how much I would miss you until I was here in Wyoming for a while, especially during the long, cold winter.”

She cocked her head and studied his face. “Didn’t you miss your parents either?”

Griffin blew out a long sigh. “I think about my parents and sure, I want to go visit them this year, but I needed to have time to myself to figure out what I was going to do with my life.”

Melisande lowered her brow. “And what have you decided?

Griffin ran a hand through his hair, his mouth in a tight, thin line. “Can we eat dinner before the food gets cold, then have this conversation?”

“As long as you’re not using dinner to avoid this topic. We need to have this conversation.”

“I know. And we will. I promise.”

The Harper Chronicles: My Favorite Treat

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Hi Everyone! Today I’d like to tell you about my favorite treat. Can you tell what it is in the photo above? It’s peanut butter! In the above photo, Mom emptied a large jar of peanut butter the best she could, then let me have a try. As you can see, my tongue isn’t long enough to reach the bottom of the jar, so I couldn’t get it all.

This is me with one of my brothers. He’s holding one of my Kongs — that’s the best way for me to get peanut butter, so, of course, I’m trying to get it from him! A Kong is a hard rubber toy with a hole in the center that has a wider end and a narrower end. Mom puts peanut butter into the middle and freezes it, then she gives one to me a couple times a month. I have 6 Kongs! Mom puts plain peanut butter in 2 of them, peanut butter mixed with banana in 2 of them, and peanut butter mixed with pumpkin and kibble in the last 2. She rotates the ones she gives me. YUM! I’m not sure which one’s my favorite. They’re all delicious!

For Adora — Part 5

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Melisande followed Griffin into the living room. He walked across the room and sat on a chair, placing Adora on his lap, facing him.

Melisande took the chair across the room from them. She watched as Griffin talked to Adora and the baby giggled and babbled at him. Her heart lurched and she wrapped her arms around her middle trying to quell the emptiness of not having Adora in her arms.

A fawn colored cat strode into the room and proceeded to rub against Melisande’s legs. She’d never seen a cat this color. She reached down and scratched behind its ears. It meowed.

“That’s Finnegan. He’s a Somali cat. The neighbors up the road, Chad and Willow Stone. The property you passed on your way here. They breed them. Finnegan came from the litter they had just before I moved here. Willow thought if I was going to live alone, I, at least, needed a companion, so she brought Finnegan to me when I was settled. Gave me everything I needed to get started keeping a cat. He’s grown on me.”

“His coat’s so soft. I’ve never seen a cat this color.”

Griffin’s gaze met Melisande’s. “Yeah, kind of like your eyes.” He smiled at her.

“Where did you get his name?”

“It’s an Irish name. Willow said it means fair-haired, and since he’s fawn colored, it fit. Besides, I like the name and I think it suits him. See that little red ball on the floor to your left?”

Melisande looked to her left, reached, and picked up the ball.

“Give it a throw.”

Melisande raised an eyebrow at Griffin.

“Go ahead, and watch what he does.” Griffin turned Adora so she could see the cat and she gave a squeal.

Melisande tossed the ball across the floor and Finnegan ran after it. He batted it back and forth between his front paws a couple times, then grabbed the ball in his mouth and trotted back to Melisande, depositing it on the floor in front of her. “He plays ball?”

Adora bounced on Griffin’s lap and waved her arms up and down.

Griffin chuckled, the warm rumbly sound, sending chills up Melisande’s arms. “Yeah. He’s a Somali. Though they like to be around people, they don’t like to sit still very long, so he won’t lie in your lap. He likes to be active.”

Melisande got up, strode to Griffin and took Adora. When the baby was in her arms, her insides settled their churning.

“Did I do something wrong?” Griffin stood up.

“No. What makes you think that?”

“You took Adora from me.”

“I … uh … I’m not used to being without her.”

Griffin looked at her, his brow wrinkled. “You aren’t without her. She was just across the room.”

Melisande shrugged her shoulders, turned, and returned to the chair across the room, holding Adora close against her.

Griffin turned toward the kitchen. “I’ll go make dinner.”

The Harper Chronicles: Harper on the Road

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The above photo is another photo of me before I was a year old, but as you can see, I’m in a car — Mommy’s car. Mommy has been taking me for rides in the car every since I live with her. Since this photo was taken, Mommy got me a new harness that was specifically designed and tested to keep me safe in the car. Also, instead of sitting on a towel, like in the photo, Mommy got a seat cover for me that I sit on now.

I love going places with Mommy. She used to take me along when she had to take the youngest son of the family to work or to pick him up from work, but now he can drive himself to work and back, and other places too. I’ve even gone on some longer trips when Mommy, Daddy, and the youngest son went on vacation two years in a row, and this past year, Mommy and Daddy took me along when they went away for a few days for their anniversary.

Now Mommy will be home with me more because she won’t have to take the youngest son to the places he needs to go, but she’ll still take me places she goes as much as she can. I love riding in the car with Mommy. I see lots of interesting things like other dogs and cows!

However, when I ride with Mommy in the rain or after the rain, I get scared when Mommy drives through a puddle because I think it sounds like the rain’s trying to get inside the car. Sometimes the big trucks scare me when they go past us or stop next to us. I don’t really like big things or lots of noises, but I sure am glad that Mommy’s right there with me when those things happen.

Do you like riding in the car?