Things on Friday

 I made two of these when I was doing ceramics, one for our grandson and this one for me.  Mine has a hole in its dorsal fin so I can hang it up and plant something in it.  Only, when I hung it on the back porch almost four years ago, I thought that maybe a bird would use it for a nest.  Maybe....What do you think?  Should I buy a plant? I mean, four years, and nothing yet!

It's time for Willy Nilly Friday Five! Tanya's awesome meme can be reached by clicking HERE.

Before I give you the next five in Bethany's list (I will save that for the end), let me share five other things with you:

1.  Last week I took a detour to the grocery store to get a photo of a church I had seen and happened upon a spot where several cars were parked on the side of the road.  A man had a tripod and camera, pointed into the desert.  I immediately stopped, hoping for a hawk sighting, but when I asked the man what he was photographing, he informed me that someone had driven off the road into the desert and committed suicide there, and they had just taken the body away and now a tow truck was coming for the man's car. WHAT!?  Well, I said how sorry I was, and left immediately.  Sometimes when you think life is handing you a pleasant opportunity, there is an unpleasant surprise!  Such a tragic thing to happen upon!

2.  Two books I read recently that I highly recommend:  Navajos Wear Nikes by Jim Kristofic (an excellent memoir about a young Caucasian boy growing up on the Navajo Reservation ) and Unbroken,  A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption By Laura Hillebrand (about which they recently made an excellent motion picture.)  I won't review either here, as I will be doing so in the coming weeks on the Book Club site.  But I wanted to mention them...

3.  And mention a book I would NOT recommend-- Outlander, by Diana Gabaldon.  I realize this book is extremely popular, but it was just not for me.  Besides being disjointed, and written with sequels in mind (there are apparently five of these books), it also goes into way too much sexual detail for my taste.  And, there are witchcraft elements that bothered me.  I don't mind something like that in its historic context, but the way the sex and the witchcraft were brought about in the book were just "too much."  I read the entire long book, as I kept trying to give it a chance, but found the entire experience very disappointing.  It isn't one I would review for the Book Club because it's too long, so I thought I would mention my reservations here.

4. My series shows have almost all come to an end, with their season finales all watched (some of which were awesome!) and now I must wait for their return in four to six months.  But, the reason I bring it up is because there is a new series coming out that I very much look forward to right now (and it should greatly ease my wait!)-- Texas Rising!  It will premiere on May 31st I think.  I am such a history fanatic, that I really enjoy shows based on actual historic events.

5.  And, I just thought I would mention that my daughter suggested that our mysterious night visitor might have been a raccoon.  I suppose that makes the most sense.  We do have raccoons here, though they are rarely seen.  I can't think of a better idea.  At any rate, if we do get a critter cam and I capture any visits on film, I will definitely let you all see the results!

Now for the next five on Bethany's List:

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 What is the most encouraging thing anyone has ever told you/or that you've ever read?

When I was in the sixth grade my teacher loved a story that I had written and told me I could become a writer.  She suggested I submit something to a children's literary magazine.  It gave me so much confidence.

**

 What is your go-to meal for when you need to cook something quickly?

I guess, hamburgers.  It's just so easy to make a hamburger patty, brown it, and slap it in a bun served with some potato salad, coleslaw, tater tots or chips and maybe baked beans.

***

 Do you have a favorite word?

alliterative

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 What is your favorite tv series?

Wow....I think this one's been covered! :-)  

*****

If you could have a gift card to any clothing store, including online, what would it be for?

Clothes generally don't excite me.  I just don't have a favorite store, though I have some favorite styles of clothing but I rarely spend the money it would take to indulge in the styles I like.

Well, next time there will be five more (four that I will have come up with on my own).  This is an easy list if any of you wish to also borrow it from Bethany and add your own answers.  Have a great weekend!