The bold face of the sun was turned away today but his presence was still known because the morning day brightened as it always does.
The weather forecast is stormy. I can’t wait. I like stormy days. It adds excitement and I like to hear the bold thunder rumblings and then listen as the rain, at any unexpected moment, will begin to pour itself out of the sky.
I went and looked outside. There are big clouds completely filling the distant sky and thin see-through clouds hang low and more near. The dark cloud-filled sky makes me imagine there’s a big bucket, heavy and full of water and about ready to spill out over the earth.
Last night the weatherman said there would be storms in the morning. So it’ll probably rain in a few hours and then be cloudy with no rain for the rest of the day.

I like the innocence of Becky who has an unselfish and not jealous attitude toward her fellow competitors at her piano recital
At Becky’s Piano Recital
~Carl Dennis
New and Selected Poems 1974–2004. ©
Penguin Poets, 2004 from The Writer’s Almanac
She screws her face up as she nears the hard parts,
Then beams with relief as she makes it through,
Just as she did listening on the edge of her chair
To the children who played before her,
Wincing and smiling for them
As if she doesn’t regard them as competitors
And is free of the need to be first
That vexes many all their lives.
I hope she stays like this,

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Here is a reading site for children that gives important biographical information about the composer Mozart. I found it on a storytelling link site on Webgrammar.com.

Do you know on which day of the week you were born? I found a site called 10,000 year calendar that will tell you. You can also learn about all the many occurences that occurred on your birthday on the encyclopedia page.

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Today at the Back to the Bible website, I read a devotion by Elizabeth Elliot in which she discusses a Christian’s attitude toward fear. Here is a few quotes:
Courage is not the absence of fear but the willingness to do the thing we fear. ~Elizabeth Elliot
Fear is faithlessness…. A perfect faith would lift us absolutely above fear. It is in the cracks, crannies, and gulfy faults of our belief, the gaps that are not faith, that the snow of apprehension settles and the ice of unkindness forms.” ~George McDonald from his book, Sir Gibbie.
Joshua 1:9~
9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” (NIV)

O. Henry is one of the most famous short story writers. His real name is William Sidney Porter. (1862-1910). He is considered a master of the surprise ending. After working as a bankteller for a time in his life, he was convicted of embezzlement and sent to prison for three years! There he wrote many short stories.
Last night I read the (short) short story After Twenty Years. Its about two friends meeting together 20 years after the night they parted to “seek their fortunes”.
Here’s a quote from the story:

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I think all thrift stores should only play old songs over their radio. I was at one today and I heard a favorite song from the ’80’s. It’s called Crazy Love by Poco. I love the harmony and the acoustic guitar.
Live Version

Original radio version

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I found an excellent website called LitQuotes.com
‘It was, as I have said, a fine autumnal day; the sky was clear and serene, and nature wore that rich and golden livery which we always associate with the idea of abundance. The forests had put on their sober brown and yellow, while some trees of the tenderer kind had been nipped by the frosts into brilliant dyes of orange, purple, and scarlet.”
~Washington Irving
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
LitQuotes is part of a greater website with tons of informational links that will help people to do better in grammar and writing. It is called WebGrammar.com

Several years ago I lived in a part of Tulsa called Brookside. I used to shop at a Homeland nearby. One night right after Halloween I drove by. There right behind the store was the dumpster filled with all their unsold pumpkins. I could see them piled high. That image will never leave my mind. Every year I say to myself when Halloween is over I want to buy some pumpkins that are greatly discounted and cook them and then freeze them. Today I found a bunch of easy recipes that you could make with pumpkin.
Pumpkin popovers
Healthy Pumpkin Soup
Pumpkin Flan
Healthy Pumpkin Cookies
Baked Miniature Pumpkins
Baked Pumpkin Puree Recipe
Cream Cheese and Pumpkin Muffins
Creamy Pumpkin Polenta
Spiced Pumpkin Butter
Pumpkin Squares Recipe
Pumpkin Sauce over Pasta
Pumpkin Pie Bars
Pumpkin Nutmeg Dinner Rolls
Pumpkin Apricot Muffins
See Below

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I thought of a poem I used to read many times over because of its convenience. My Mom had a plaque by the kitchen sink that thanked God for dirty dishes. When I was a teenager I was always the one to wash dishes. Here’s it is:
Thanks
Thank God for dirty dishes.
They have a tale to tell.
While others may go hungry,
We’re eating very well.
With health and home and happiness
We shouldn’t want to fuss.
For by the stack of evidence
God’s been very good to us.
I found it on a website, Out of the Nest and Beyond
that also offered interesting tidbits and advice on a page called In the Kitchen about cooking and around the house details.