Happy Holidays!

Franklin Roosevelt Fern Obituary 1976-2012

Franklin in his prime

Franklin Roosevelt Fern was born of good stock on 1976 in Beaverton, Oregon. He was adopted at age twelve by loving parents and given a good stable home during his youth and thereafter. He grew tall and vibrant and received many accolades for his handsome and stellar looks. His adoptive parents moved many times during his lifetime, always making sure he had the best room in the house in which to thrive and interact with the grandkids. 

Franklin at Christmas

Franklin grew at an accelerated rate during his teens and twenties from the loving nurturing of his mother. His favorite holiday was Christmas as he enjoyed the decorations and festivities along with the family.

Franklin during pre-op

Franklin declined rapidly in the last several years of his life. Books were consulted and opinions gathered as to what ailed him. His healthy exuberance was subdued and he became less and less vigorous. 

 

Franklin during surgery

 

A last ditch transplant endeavor was undertaken, but alas, it was too late, and he lost his battle to survive.

Franklin immediately post-op, however he failed to thrive and soon lost  all fronds.

We will miss your magnificent presence in our lives and appreciate the beauty you brought to our home these past 27 years.

You've got the "Look" challenge

Here’s the challenge: search the word LOOK in your current WIP (work in progress), pick your favorite, and post three paragraphs around the word.

From my time travel romance novel, "Anna in the Portrait"

Nate held the drawings to his chest and closed his eyes. A feeling of intense joy ran through his body, causing his heart to expand in his chest and beat wildly. In his mind a vision appeared of the Sunken Garden as it looked in the early 1900’s. Climbing Rose bushes on arbors, iris in tall clumps thriving in the background, dahlias with their blooms of different colors and shapes, and pastel colored tulips standing tall at the front of each section. Between bushes of lavender, peonies grew with their full pink blossoms. He could smell the fragrance of the flowers and feel the warm breeze of the early afternoon.

         In his vision, a girl with long dark hair walked up the stone steps from the garden. She held a  bouquet of freshly cut flowers and turned to talk with the man coming up behind her. The expression on her face was of pure elation, echoing the feeling he just experienced when he held the drawings  close to his heart.

When he saw the face of the man he sucked in a huge breath. The man looked just like him. Nate knew immediately it was his great-granddad Nathaniel. Nathaniel's gaze locked on Nate standing in the dormer window and at that instant Nate sensed their souls connect. He felt what Nathaniel felt, the wild tumble of his heart for the girl.

 

Wheels and Waves Award Winner

Our1927 Model T Ford Roadster took home an award this last weekend at Wheels and Waves 2012 in Seaside, Oregon. Yeah!! Proud hubby is at the wheel and friend Chip is in the passenger seat.

Gullible Grandma

Ann's writing challenge:

It is 10:30 at night on a warm May evening.  A woman has found a place to sit in a small architectural alcove on the outside of a church a block away from her residence.  She chose this spot not for any religious significance but because it faces a grassy area and the backs of other buildings.  In the darkness, it is unlikely anyone will see her there.  She weeps.

Why is she weeping?


She was so stupid. How had she not seen it for what it was? She couldn’t go home to face her husband yet; he’d be furious. She would sit outside in the darkness of the church alcove for a while longer. She looked out to the buildings in the distance, their lights burning brightly, and wiped the shredded Kleenex she gripped in her hand over her swollen eyes. She hadn’t been able to stop crying since she figured it out. Maybe if the door to the church was open she’d go inside and pray. She needed all the help she could get.

“Grandma, I’m in Canada and I’ve been arrested. I need you to wire money to me for bail. But please don’t tell Dad.”

The telephone connection crackled. “Grandma, will you help me?” His voice was high and panicked.

“What have you been arrested for, Josh?” Her only grandson lived with his dad across the country in Oregon. She hadn’t seen him since he started college two years ago.

“They said they found drugs in the trunk of my car when they stopped me for going too fast. Grandma, I don’t do drugs and it was just 5 miles over the speed limit. I wasn’t paying attention.”

She’d gone to the bank and wired $30,000 to her grandson in Canada. It was almost all they had in savings, but she had to help him. He promised she’d get it all back because the lawyer who was representing him told him he’d be able to get the charges dropped.

After she had wired the money, she had second thoughts. Something just didn’t feel right. She called her son in Oregon and Josh answered the phone. “Canada? No Grandma. I’m home this weekend from college staying with dad.”

She called the police and then Western Union. They took her information, but told her what she had already figured out. She’d given her money to a scam artist.

Now she had to face her husband to tell him she had wired almost all of their savings to someone in Canada, and it was gone forever.

She stood and walked to the door of the church. She’d go inside first and pray for some of that divine intervention.