Kimberly A. Cook

Military Romance Author

Kimberly A Cook

It’s Time To Find Dory!

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by Kimberly A. Cook                  (Twitter@  WarriorTales)

It’s been another wacky week in the world. Seems the United Kingdom is divorcing Europe, but Scotland doesn’t want to go along. The ultimate family feud is brewing. The markets are upset, politicians are clueless, so what do the rest of us do?

When the going gets tough, the tough go to the movies! Especially if they’re animated. So let’s catch up on what Dory is up to, let’s enjoy “Finding Dory!” There are three trailers in one in this video.

Have a great weekend and Happy Quirky Friday!

https://youtu.be/6k69UcUB68Q

Got Projects For The Fourth Of July?

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by Kimberly A. Cook                 (Twitter@ WarriorTales)

With the long weekend fast approaching, I love to plan projects I am going to get done with all that available time. What this means is I create a list of things to do I couldn’t complete in a month of time off, then with unrealistic high hopes if I manage to get one accomplished it’s a celebration. We all know life, laziness and must-see movies happen.

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Ahoy bark booty! A cache of hidden wood gold on the shoreline. 

 

So one project I will fess up to do next month is to actually get creative with at least one piece of bark I’ve collected. On the May trip to Suttle Lake for bark gathering the official orange bark bucket got filled to the brim.

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My Mom, bark gathering assistant extraordinaire, helped me fill the bark bucket in no time flat. Somehow the pieces seemed to get bigger as we went along. The brisk wind off the lake might have had something to do with that too. 

 

So then I had to dry the pieces out and buy a bigger glass container to store the bark, and before I am overrun, make something.

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My fancy new-fangled bark drying apparatus; paper and banker box lids on the patio table. Check out some of those amazing specimens. Living the dream!

 

In addition, I need to plant the fuchsia starts my Mom gave me since they now have roots. Bought special potting soil, have baby pots to plant them in, but need to actually put them in the dirt. So the project list grows.

But for now I wanted to share some of the latest official bark gathering photos so you can think about your coming projects for the Fourth of July. Got a holiday to do list?

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And this is where my special bark pieces come from girls and boys; tree logs fall into the lake, the bark gets soaked off and washes ashore and voila! Naked logs!

 

 

 

Up For Guinea Pig Hoops?

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by Kimberly A. Cook              (Twitter@  WarriorTales)

So the NBA Finals are going to a seventh game on Sunday. Since the Blazers were shut out in the second round I’d rather watch these guineas pigs play hoops right now. Check out these cute little guys who seem to have a pretty good handle on the rules of the game. Well most of the time.

Have a great weekend and Happy Quirky Friday!

Back To The Rock Shop?

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by Kimberly A. Cook                     (Twitter@  WarriorTales)

A great joy of my recent vacation was sharing the Richardson Rock Shop and Ranch with my Mom. She’d heard the stories and seen some pictures, but it’s not the same as being there. It was our second stop after driving over Mt. Hood; had to fuel up with pancakes at the Black Bear Diner in Madras first, before heading to the rock shop. Another excuse to carbo load!

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Enough to make a girl swoon, the geode rock pile!

 

Upon arrival at the rock shop what to my wondering eyes appeared ? A virtual mountain of Moroccan geodes, mine for the picking. Before there had been a small pile of these uncut beauties at the end of the rock slab shopping table. Now it was a virtual mountain. Be still my little geode lov’in heart.

After a tour of the premises to show Mom all the great rock areas, it was time to get on with the geode shopping. Ever helpful handsome cutter guy told me the best geodes were lightweight. With his help I then proceeded to hand weigh and compare about half that rock pile. Almost. My Mom enjoyed the serious nature of this geode picking business from the shop.

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Cutter Guy with the pick of the pile. 

 

Cutter guy tried to get me to break protocol by peeking into some of the geodes which had small broken holes so you could look inside. Told him there were no peeking guidelines when it came to picking the perfect geode. Finally decided on three to try for cutting after deciding only one would not do.

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Fabulous geodes on the half shell! And now for the rock glue geode puzzle to put together. 

 

Ended up with three great specimens, except when the largest one was cut in half, part of the geode broke on the final cut. Sweet sea biscuits! I gathered up the pieces anyway so now I have TWO geode halves to try and piece back together with the special rock glue. Which means when Gate Girl and I head back this Fall to do some serious digging, I’m going to have to go for another large geode to cut. Good thing we’re taking her truck next time. I may need to load up the back with geodes.

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Guard rooster defending the petrified wood block. Notice the committed look in his eye.   

 

Orlando: Hugs and prayers to all the families, friends, law enforcement personnel, emergency responders and medical staff in Orlando, Florida and across the United States affected by this tragedy. Let’s all hug our families and friends and make memories today.

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Making rock shopping memories with Mom. Priceless. And she puts up with me!

 

 

Do You Make Toys For Your Lion?

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by Kimberly A. Cook                      (Twitter@  WarriorTales)

Time to check in with the Oregon Zoo and see what’s up. Appears to be the lions! Everybody needs exercise and that includes the big cats. Watch this fabulous behind the scenes video of how zookeepers keep the big guys in shape with toys dangled from the roof. Here kitty, kitty…

I buy tons of toys for Spec Ops Cat, but his favorites are the twist ties off the new power cords and the paper bags and boxes. Just like the big cats.

Have a great weekend and Happy Quirky Friday!

Real Books Are Still Way Cool

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by Kimberly A. Cook                 (Twitter@  WarriorTales)

The planets aligned correctly last Friday and I combined a visit to my hairdresser and the 10th Annual Rose City Book and Paper Fair. Truly miraculous. Before I knew it I had wandered for three hours among the booths snapping up must have books and getting creative ideas and inspirations. These were my peeps!

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Original Dr. Seuss? Can you see the number of zeros behind the $? www.burnsiderarebooks.com

While I could not afford the high priced books, I could see them and be impressed. In one booth a guy practically climbed over me to get to a signed framed photo of Muhammad Ali. In another booth I noticed a first edition Ali biography bound in leather and signed by the Champ. When I learned of his passing Friday night, it touched me to have seen things he had signed. The greatest of all time.

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Speaking of greats, how about this display of book authors? www.pacificcoastbooks.net

The variety was astounding and I had a blast. The event is put on by the Cascade Booksellers Association and featured 55 booths. Vendors from Oregon, Washington and California displayed their goods. I scampered away with four books; a biography of Hans Christian Andersen from the $3 table, a $5 copy of Hardtack and Coffee, Women Marines; The World War II Era and U.S. Submarine Losses of World War II.

 

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How is this for an amazing display? Makes you want to pick them up doesn’t it? Zephyr Used & Rare Books

 

It does my heart good to see folks preserving and cherishing these books and items produced by other artists and writers. There were even relief maps built for the World War II invasion in the Pacific, including the mapmakers memories. You never know what you might find.

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Building 14 items from World War II. About $3,000.00 for the package of relief maps. www.monographbookwerks.com

Elvis was in the building and so were cookbooks and some very cool collectibles.

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Elvis is always in the building as far as I’m concerned.

I need more walls to hang art on and store books. What better past time for an adventure than to hunt for books this summer?

What’s on your book wish list?