As we get to the holidays, this is definitely applicable…
If you use candles during the holidays, PLEASE be aware of the issues surrounding them if there is a fire!!!
Stay safe out there folks!
As we get to the holidays, this is definitely applicable…
If you use candles during the holidays, PLEASE be aware of the issues surrounding them if there is a fire!!!
Stay safe out there folks!

On Dec 7, 1941, Japan performed a sneak attack on the US at Pearl Harbor, the attack sank four U.S. Navy battleships (two of which were raised and returned to service later in the war) and damaged four more; other damages included three destroyers, three cruisers, 188 aircraft with 2,402 killed and 1,282 wounded.
This day does live in infamy…
The oldest attendee this year, the 80th anniversary will be 101 years old. I don’t know if there will be another ceremony where an actual WWII survivor will be able to attend.
Around the sun.
Glad I made it this far, and I am thankful for the friends and family that have supported me on the trip.
Daughters, ex-FIL, and me.
And, as is typical with my family, the kids are standing in front of their aunt rather than their mother… LOL
And, having spent a week in Kommiefornia, I have to agree with Ramirez on this one…
A long time favorite small restaurant I used to take the kids to for breakfast and lunch when they were little, up through 2 years ago is now closed. There was almost always a line for either meal, as the place had maybe 10 tables. The portions were large, the food was excellent if simple, and the waitresses friendly (and liked the girls and later the grandkids).
A victim of the WuFlu crisis and Kommiefornia regulations, they’ve closed after forty years and two generations in the same location.
Of course the local ‘chain’ restaurants and Mickey D’s is still open, because they could do drive through and were off the major roads… Grrr…
I wonder how many thousands of good little local restaurants we’ve lost due to this BS? And how many family run businesses of other types?
Koda and Karl at it again…
Koda is faster than Karl, grabs the tennis ball first. And then ‘waits’ for Karl to come fight her for it… LOL
Sometimes she lets him win… Like this one. Women… LOL 🙂
Some photos from back in the day…
Negative bonus points if you recognize either one of them… 🙂
Answers below the fold…
First up is Monalisa Foster’s second in the Ravages of Honor series- Ascension
As always click on the cover for the Amazon link!
The blurb-
Would you embrace darkness to save your child?
House Dobromil has stood against the emperor since the beginning. For generations, they have defied tyrannical edicts and stood up for donai and humans.
For decades, war has crept ever closer and now, Syteria, a rebellious human woman Darien has chosen to be his future queen may be the spark that sets the Imperium to flame.
When Syteria crosses paths with the emperor’s agents, the unthinkable happens.
With the survival of both races in peril, with the future of House Dobromil on the line, the stakes for Darien and Syteria are higher than ever.
Driven by death and betrayal, victory and defeat, tragedy and secrets, can Syteria and Darien ascend to fulfill their destinies?
Ravages of Honor: Ascension picks up right after the end of Ravages of Honor: Conquest. While it can be read as a standalone (it is a complete story with its own beginning, middle, and end), it was meant to be read in sequence.
Next up is Peter Grant with the fifth book in the Ames Archives- Silver in the stones
The blurb-
What comes with a silver boom? Backstabbers, claim-jumpers and con men – and that’s just the start.
Walt Ames is working hard to keep his horse ranch afloat and his transport business in motion when silver is discovered on his property. It’s going to take cunning, determination and more than a little luck to investigate the claim while others are trying to kill him for it.
Can he keep his business and integrity intact, or is everything Walt loves going to fall prey to the perils of a silver rush?
Last but not least, a new short story from Laura Montgomery in the Marth’s Sons series- Transport and Deliver
The blurb-
When escape on a boat jeopardizes all a family has worked for, can an errant son risk his life to save their future?
The Luwenthals—second generation settlers on the lost planet Not What We Were Looking For—confront the destruction of their past life, and are forced to flee. As the boat containing the family’s prized linotype crosses a river lit by the flames of the printshop they had to abandon, fifteen-year-old Tobias Luwenthal must face his father’s ire over what he sees as his son’s betrayal. Disaster strikes, but will Tobias seize the chance to redeem himself at the cost of his own life? Will his father learn from his son as Tobias has learned from him?
A short story that picks up right at the end of The Gear Engages.
If you’ve enjoyed the Martha’s Sons series, start reading now for a glimpse into what happens next in this dystopian lost world!
And I would personally like to thank those who have left reviews of the two latest anthologies I have stories in It Came from the Trailer Park, and Can’t Go Home Again.
Our little Texas writers anthology, Tales Around the Supper Table, Vol 2 will be out in a couple of weeks. I hope you will take a look at it!
This is rather ‘interesting’…
Note the date circled on this graphic and what it refers to!
So the ‘latest’ variant supposedly found ‘just weeks ago’ has been around for a year.
Of note, this very carefully worded release does NOT indicate the date it was found…
The World Health Organization on Friday assigned the Greek letter omicron to a newly identified Covid variant in South Africa.
The U.N. health agency recognized the strain, first referred to as lineage B.1.1.529, as a variant of concern.