Wordless Wednesday

A Jane Kirkpatrick Duet Blog Tour

Wrap yourself in a fantastic journey, a remarkable commitment, and a spare and splendid story

Master storyteller Jane Kirkpatrick extols the beautiful treasures, unknown to a wider public, rediscovered in the Old Aurora Colony of Oregon’s lush Willamette Valley. The people and legacy of Aurora, a utopian community founded in the mid-1800s, will stir your imagination, hopes, and dreams; and remind you that every life matters—that our lives are the stories other people read first.

~Featuring~
Unique and treasured quilt pattern variations
More than 100 photographs, many never-before published, from 1850 to today
Cherished stories from Aurora descendants
Rich images of fine crafts from the Aurora Colony and private collections
An introduction by renowned American artist John Houser

Aurora is about the difference every ordinary life can make—and a beautiful celebration of a time and place in which people expressed their most cherished beliefs through the work of their imagination and hands.

Returning to her Midwest roots, award-winning author Jane Kirkpatrick draws a page from her grandmother’s photo album to capture the interplay between shadow and light, temptation and faith that marks a woman’s pursuit of her dreams.

She took exquisite photographs, but her heart was the true image exposed.

Fifteen-year-old Jessie Ann Gaebele loves nothing more than capturing a gorgeous Minnesota landscape when the sunlight casts its most mesmerizing shadows. So when F.J. Bauer hires her in 1907 to assist in his studio and darkroom, her dreams for a career in photography appear to find root in reality.

With the infamous hazards of the explosive powder used for lighting and the toxic darkroom chemicals, photography is considered a man’s profession. Yet Jessie shows remarkable talent in both the artistry and business of running a studio. She proves less skillful, however, at managing her growing attraction to the very married Mr. Bauer.

This luminous coming-of-age tale deftly exposes the intricate shadows that play across every dream worth pursuing—and the irresistible light that beckons the dreamer on.



Jane Kirkpatrick is a best-selling, award-winning author whose previous historical novels include All Together in One Place and Christy Award finalist A Tendering in the Storm. An international keynote speaker, she has earned regional and national recognition for her stories based on the lives of actual people, including the prestigious Wrangler Award from the Western Heritage Hall of Fame. Jane is a Wisconsin native who since 1974 has lived in Eastern Oregon, where she and her husband, Jerry, ranch 160 rugged acres.


Angie here: I have read a few books by Jane Kirkpatrick and I've enjoyed each and every one. A Flickering Light is another winner. I enjoyed it even more knowing that it was about Jane Kirkpatrick's very own grandmother. It was a very interesting story and I look forward to the next book in the series. If you enjoy historical fiction then I highly recommend this book.

I haven't had time to really look at Aurora but I have flipped through it and I love the pictures and I'm looking forward to taking the time to read it and really look at it.

If you are interested in these books then you can check them out here: Aurora and A Flickering Light.

Friday's Fave Five

It's Friday so it's time for Friday's Fave Five. :) If you would like to join then go to Living to tell the Story for more info. This week I thought I would do something a little different. I picked five pictures that I took this week as my favorites for the week. So here they are:

This week my dad had to go out of town so to help my mom with the dogs I decided that I would take the dogs out for a walk both in the mornings and the evenings. We were heading back to the house in this picture.

This is Luke, aka Little Monkey, now I know that I shouldn't have any favorites when it comes to my cats but I do. I have three that are my "favorites" and Luke is one of them. He's soooo cute and such a character. He loves to climb on the drapes and I'm always peeling him off of them and telling him no but he doesn't listen. He always brings a smile to my face. :)

These are some Bluebonnets down my the lake me and the dogs walk to. They are starting to fade now but they are so pretty and I enjoy seeing them each and every time we go to the lake.

If you read my favorites for last week I mentioned my dog, Gracie, swimming. Well, I finally got a picture of it. She loves to go get that stick when you throw it in the water. It's so funny. She bounds into the water with a big splash and off she goes to get that stick. :)

Here is a picture of all three dogs in the water. From left to right you have Daisy, Gracie, and Doc. They all love going down to the lake and taking a dip to cool off.



So I hope you all enjoyed my pictures and I hope you all have a lovely weekend. :)

Friday's Fave Five

Today is Friday which means it is time for Friday's Fave Five hosted by Living to Tell the Story. Which in case you don't know means it's time to stop and count your blessings...at least five of 'em! :) So here are my five favorite things for this week:

1) I got the shawl in the mail for my cousin's wife and my mom was talking to my aunt (her sister) and was telling her about the shawl. When my mom told her what color it was (browns with a little pink and green in it) my aunt said, "How did she know what Tara's favorite color was?" Apparently, Tara likes browns and I had no idea but we all know who did..God. :) It never ceases to awe and amaze me how the good Lord works. If you would like to see a picture of the shawl check out this post.

2) Whenever I come home from work my cats are always at the door to greet me. It always makes me smile. Well, the other day I noticed that Luke wasn't there to greet me so I was a little worried. I looked in the house but didn't find him so then decided to check the yard (I have a cat fence so the cats can go out but still be safe) and anyway I step outside and I'm looking around and then up pops Luke. He was hiding in the grass and when he saw me he came running towards me. :) I love my little furry children.

3) I started knitting my first Cardigan! I've already finished the back and am working on the front left side now. It hasn't been as hard as I thought and I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out.

4) This week when I've gone to pick up my dog, Gracie, at doggy daycare (aka my parent's house) I've been walking down to the little lake near their house with Gracie and my parent's dogs. The weather has been lovely (except today I don't think we'll be going since it's pouring rain) and I've made myself walk pretty fast so I'm getting some exercise. But my favorite part is when we get to the lake I find a stick and throw it in the water and Gracie will jump in and swim after the stick and bring it back to me. Don't ask me why but it always cracks me up to see her swimming and she LOVES to swim. The other dogs will get in the water but none of them will swim after a stick.

5) Easter. We had a lovely Easter (hope you all did too). Me and my hubby and my brother and his wife went to my parent's house for lunch. We all had a nice visit. Also, my mom got me some Cadbury Eggs. I know some people don't like them but all I have to say is yummy! :D

Knitting News

I finished knitting the prayer shawl and I think it turned out really nice. I hope that my cousin's wife will like it. I knitted it using Lion Brand Homespun yarn in Sierra and you will notice that the yarn kind of self stripes. I love yarns that self stripe. :)

Now I have started on my very first sweater, well actually it's a cardigan. I finished knitting the back of it this weekend and have started on the front left panel. It looking pretty good but I'm afraid that the pieces aren't going to go together when I get it all knitted. But not going to let that stop me cause I figure this is going to be a learning experience so we shall see what happens.

10. Bookmarked for Death

Bookmarked for Death is the second book in the Booktown Mysteries series by Lorna Barrett. In Bookmarked For Death we find Tricia hosting a book signing at her bookstore. It's going great until she finds the author dead in the washroom. So of course that means only one thing...time to find out who killed the author.

I enjoyed this book but not as much as the first one but I think the problem was more me than the book itself. I thought I knew who did it early on so I think that was one reason I didn't enjoy it as much but it turned out I was wrong. The ending was really good and took me by surprised. So I'm giving Bookmarked for Death 3 1/2 stars out of five.

Friday's Fave Five

Today is Friday which means it is time for Friday's Fave Five hosted by Living to Tell the Story. I really enjoy stopping each week and looking back and finding the little things that made me smile during the week. So here are my five things for this past week:

1) A Wild Turkey. I live out in the country and I've seen a lot of wild turkeys BUT this week I saw one with it's feathers all out. He was facing another turkey so I'm guessing he was trying to impress the lady turkey. He was so pretty with all his feathers out so I'm sure he impressed his lady friend. ;)

2) I finished the shawl!! It really turned out nice, if I do say so myself. I took a picture of it but left my camera at home so I will have to share the picture of the shawl next Friday. My mom is making a stained glass heart for Tara (that's who I made the shawl for) and we will probably get them in the mail on Monday. Now this weekend I plan on starting my very first sweater. :D

3) Audible.com. I joined last month and the first book I got I didn't realize it but it was the third book in the series (ugh) sooo I've been waiting until I got my credit for this month so I could download Rekindled by Tamera Alexander. Today I got to download Rekindled!! Now I can't wait to start listening but I have told myself that I can only listen to it if I am either cleaning house or exercising. Hoping that will motivate me to do both things. We shall see how it goes...

4) Sleep. Last week was tough because I had a lot of trouble sleeping but thankfully this week I haven't had any trouble. Even the animals have been leaving me alone. Thank you, Lord! :)

5) Comments. I just wanted to take the time to say thank you for all the kind comments that were left last week. Very sweet. I enjoy getting them and try to comment back but since I don't have Internet at home I don't always get to spend the time doing that. So I just wanted to let everyone who does comment that I appreciate it and thank you all for the kind comments last week.

Well, I hope you all have a wonderful weekend and a very Happy Easter!

Wordless Wednesday

Friday's Fave Five

Today is Friday which means it is time for Friday's Fave Five hosted by Living to Tell the Story. This has been a tough week for me so looking back on the week and finding five bright spots will do me good.

1) The Lord. This has been a tough week and I know I couldn't have gotten through it without the Good Lord. It amazes me to think about how much He loves me when I know I don't deserve it but that doesn't matter He loves me more than I can imagine regardless.

2) My husband. I know I haven't been the easiest to be around this week and my hubby has been really great with putting up with me.

3) My animals. I'm a big animal lover and I love my dogs and cats. They can always make me smile no matter how low I may be feeling. This week I enjoyed taking my dog (Gracie) and her brother (Doc) and sister (Daisy) for a walk on my parent's land. They are so funny. It was nice to be outside (I'm so glad it's warmed up) and to watch the dogs ran around enjoying themselves.

This is my lovely Gracie. Need to get a picture of Doc and Daisy.

4) Books. I had ordered some books last week and they arrived the other day. I love books. :) I got Just Jane, Mozart's Sister, and Washington's Lady which are all by Nancy Moser. All these books are in here Ladies of History series and I'm really looking forward to reading them. You can check out here.

5) I'm knitting a prayer shawl for my cousin's wife, she found out she has cancer and is getting treatment. I'm really hoping to get it finished this weekend so I can mail it to her. It was a free pattern that I found on the Lionbrand site and I'm just really pleased with the way it is coming along. Very pretty. I hope she will like it.

9. A Vote of Confidence

A Vote of Confidence by Robin Lee Hatcher is the first book in The Sisters of Bethlehem Springs Series. Here's what the publisher's description says about the book:

Beautiful and single, Guinevere Arlington knows her “place” in the early twentieth century. She just refuses to stay there. Gwen loves her life in Idaho—the mountains, the town, her independence. But when she runs for mayor—and falls in love with her opponent—Gwen realizes winning may come at too high a price.

This is the first book that I have ever read by Robin Lee Hatcher and all I can say is that it won't be the last. I really enjoyed A Vote of Confidence. Ms. Hatcher writes in a way that makes you feel like you are right there in Bethlehem Springs along with the other characters. I'm really looking forward to the other books in the series.

So I'm giving A Vote of Confidence 4 out of 5 stars.