Blog

Wagging Tongues

ellenparkerwrites

Shocking! Scandalous! Salacious!

The entire neighborhood — the whole city — was stunned when the statue was unveiled.

Then again, should they have been surprised? The intent was to honor newspaper editors. This occupation is centered on revealing the truth, the entire truth, the Naked Truth.

Evidently, the St. Louis public in 1914 was not quite ready to see this artist’s interpretation of the topic. However, by the time I took this photo, a century later, the figure is accepted.

You’ll find the lady at Compton Hills Water Tower Park. The park’s ornate water tower is a local landmark and historic feature. The entire park is worthy of an afternoon visit – to stroll and admire the flowers. Or perhaps watch tennis, playground, or dog park activities. And discover “The Naked Truth.”

Fine art in a different medium gives a police detective relaxation in the later-in-life romance, Fine Lines. His days are full with work and art — no need to attempt more. Until…

Check out details at the link: https://bit.ly/49FtvjF

Blog

Hi There!

ellenparkerwrites

Farmer Fred welcomes you to the market. What’s on your shopping list today?

We have all sorts of salad fixings. Local fruits. Veggies. Honey.

Do sure how to prepare some of the items? Ask the vendor. Farmers know how to do more than plant, weed, and harvest. You’ll be able to get tips and perhaps recipes at your local farmer’s market.

Surprise your family with a new type of produce — or a familiar item prepared in a new way.

No, this is not an accurate representation of my appearance. (I’m actually more handsome.) Really, I’m just your average person with an above average amount of ambition and an enjoyment of outdoor work. I love the feel of good soil sifting through my hands. The smell of fresh-turned earth makes me take deep breaths. And please — don’t call me a hay-seed. I’m nothing of the sort. Farmers need to be educated — there’s more to growing a crop than tossing seed into the ground and saying a prayer.

The later-in-life romance, Fine Lines, is set in an urban area. The professionals in the story don’t have the time (or desire) to garden — but still enjoy fresh-from-the-land produce. Picture them walking the aisles and selecting items for a salad to accompany grilled meat for a quiet supper on the patio. Follow the link for more book information: https://bit.ly/49FtvjF

Blog

Pardon me, did you…?

ellenparkerwrites

A person, or other mammal, should not leave body parts just lying on the ground.

Missing a portion of yourself from battle or accident? Yes, creep off, recover a bit…then please, pick up your pieces and dispose of them properly. Persuade a friend to help if needed.

Now — who’s responsible for this?

Not a human — our eyeballs are measured in millimeters, or perhaps inches. This one set out for everyone to see is perched in a park. Who is missing an eyeball measured in meters, yards, or feet?

Will a monster bear come to reclaim in at dusk? Or perhaps not a mammal. Is the aquarium missing a giant squid?

Who started the rumor that fine art needs to be serious? This playful piece can start all sorts of conversations — with children from three to one-hundred-and-three. (You’re 104? Sorry, out of luck.)

Fine art in a different medium runs through the later-in-life romance, Fine Lines. Everyone, including serious professionals, needs a hobby — and if it happens to earn a little side money???? Check out the book at the link: https://bit.ly/49FtvjF

Blog

Group Hug

ellenparkerwrites

Go ahead. Admit it. Some days a hug feels good. And at times a group hug lifts the spirits more than we want to admit.

But…have you been hugged by a cat?

In St. Louis County, you can find a special cat. This one is willing to hug you — or a group.

Welcome. No claws. No teeth. Only interesting patterns and textures will surround you and yours. Visitors of all sizes and ages will receive the same kind treatment. All I request is a little respect on the side of humans (or dogs).

Public art and sculpture improves the quality of life. At least that’s the opinion of many — including the characters of Fine Lines, a later-in-life romance. Professionals with stressful occupations need a way to unwind and reset between work events.

What about you? How do you relax? Music? Nature? Art?

Check out the book at the link: https://bit.ly/49FtvjF

Blog

Breezy Music

ellenparkerwrites

Pause. Listen. The wind is flowing — moving the grass, playing in the trees, making music.

For centuries, man has enhanced the sound of a breeze. Sometimes the object is shaped like a bell. Or a tube. Or a mythical creature.

The material may be metal, or wood, or ceramic. However, this musical “instrument” is the broad category of “windchime.”

Large artwork intended to be viewed by the public in a garden. When the wind is right, you can hear them call you from the path to a bench. Stay and enjoy the various tones.

Do you have one or more sets of windchimes? My metal tube and wooden disc design is simple and classic. It certainly lets me know when I bump against the support pole while pulling weeds.

Public art can sooth the nerves and feed the soul. Soothing is a bonus for people with high tension occupations — like attorneys or police detectives. Check out the later-in life romance, Fine Lines, to discover how art works into the life of two busy professionals. Click on the link for more information. https://bit.ly/49FtvjF

Blog

Faces of Patriotism

ellenparkerwrites

Four men. Each elected to lead their nation. Men with flaws threaded through their greatness.

Did you know their lives overlapped to form a continuous line from 1732 until 1919?

Washington and Jefferson were contemporaries. During the years of revolution and formation of a new nation they worked for the same goal in different capacities. Perhaps we should remember them as soldier and diplomat.

Jefferson, the younger of the pair by nine years, lived until the year 1826. (Yes, tomorrow is two centuries since the deaths of both John Adams & Thomas Jefferson.)

When Jefferson died, Lincoln was age seventeen — a strong, tall boy facing manhood.

Lincoln’s life was cut short in 1865. At the time of that event, Theodore Roosevelt was a lad of six. He carried the thread of this quartet into the 20th century with both his administration and later life.

Two and one-half centuries since John Hancock and others signed the Declaration of Independence. Have you read the document recently? Perhaps you have a copy in your home — in a seldom read book or pamphlet. Take a little time today to read and think on these men and their words. They risked their fortunes, lives, and future of their families for an idea. What would you risk?

Blog

Chugging into the Future

ellenparkerwrites

When does something become history? Fifty years? Seventy-five? More?

Is an item antique if it was part of everyday life in your childhood? Does that make a person old? Antique people?

This tractor was photographed in recent years at a greenhouse/nursery where I have every reason to believe it was still used. It’s also the same as one a friend learned to drive when she was a child.

Farmers replaced teams of horses with tractors. Each brand wore their own color — gray, red, orange, or green were the most popular. Gasoline replaced hay as fuel. Tires instead of horseshoes. Headlights were real progress. Reins and shouts yielded to clutch and brake pedals.

In the years since this model was new, tractors have gotten larger, more powerful, and full of safety features. Progress — expense — specialized.

At first glance, farming has changed a lot during the 250 years since the Declaration of Independence was signed. However, farmers still feed the world. It does not matter if they raise animals, grains, or vegetables. They are a vital link between the earth and your supper plate. Thank a farmer — or two or three — as you enjoy bread, salad, fruit, or meat.

Blog

Standing Tall & Firm

ellenparkerwrites

The most famous of the early meetings was in 1848. They gathered in Seneca Falls, NY to discuss the situation and make plans.

Only a few became widely known. But each participant planted one or more seeds. Seeds which took decades, the children of these women (only a few men supported the early movement) were grandmothers of adults before the law was broadened to include women in the voting population.

A century has passed since the first women legally voted in every state. Yes, the West led the way and granted women the vote before the “settled” East opened the polling places to the ladies.

Voting rights were “over the horizon” for the characters in the wholesome romance, Stitching a Dream. Polly the seamstress stands up for rights close to her heart — the right to refuse marriage to a man she does not like. She’s the “talk of the town” for a few days — an uncomfortable position for her son and true friends. Check out this 1851 tale at the link. https://amzn.to/3VwoeFh

Blog

Lighting the Way

ellenparkerwrites

During the time of the new moon, the night sky furnishes only starlight. While beautiful, the stars do not often supply enough light to guide a person’s path.

Perhaps a torch. Yes, rushes or other material dipped in pitch and lit provides light. Set into a bracket, these same torches provided light in castles and stone houses. (I hate to think of the result if you had a cottage with a thatch roof.)

Candles became common and many types of holders were designed to turn them into lanterns and lamps.

This model is located in a reproduction of an 1830’s Illinois village. With one glass panel hinged, candle replacement was quick and easy. The design protected the flame from wind and rain when in the hand of an experienced person.

Candles gave way to lanterns with other fuel, such as lard oil and kerosene. With the development of electric bulbs and batteries, flashlights became the standard way to light your way on a dark night.

In fictional Elm Ridge, Illinois, the residents use a mixture of candles and lard oil lamps and lanterns. Check out the sweet romance, Stitching a Dream, to learn some of the other things happening in 1851.

Here’s a link with book details: https://amzn.to/3VwoeFh

Blog

Supper’s on the Fire

ellenparkerwrites

A home’s fireplace, or multiple in larger buildings, supplied a portion of the light and heat for both cooking and comfort. This situation predominated in one form, or size, or another for centuries.

Imagine a colonial or early American cook. Year round, regardless of the weather, the kitchen fireplace burned. Meals were often prepared and set to cook in cast iron pots like those below.

In some homes, the kettles were hung on hooks able to move from over the hearth to over the fire. In others, the three-legged pots were set deep into the fireplace or on a trivet.

Always, the hazard of fire, either to the kitchen or the cook, remained. Imagine for a moment moving in the kitchen, wearing a skirt that hovers mere inches from the floor, and positioning the kettle containing today’s primary meal. No wonder that childbirth and fire were the most common causes of death among women.

But technology sped forward in the 19th century. In the 1820’s the first cast iron cookstoves appeared. They gained in popularity at a steady pace — I like to think in much of the new construction — and by 1850 even the White House boasted one. Was the man of the house reluctant to change? Convince him that a stove used less wood than a fireplace. Less wood to cut – or purchase. Saves time and money — and perhaps a life.

By 1851, in fictional Elm Ridge, Illinois, many of the homes have one or more cast iron stoves. Think of one in the kitchen for heat and cooking and perhaps another (if the home is large) in the parlor for heat. The town also is the site of a foundry where stoves are manufactured and shipped — as far as St. Joseph, Missouri.

The stove, and more important, a large oven is the center of the bakery’s workroom. In the clean & wholesome romance, New Dreams, a newly arrived young woman is lucky enough to be hired by the baker — first as a chore girl, and later with increasing responsibilities with the bread and other baked goods. Check the details at the link: https://amzn.to/3vWydWE