Linda Ford

I grew up in the boonies. We didn’t even have a bookstore. As far as I knew one got books at the library or in the mail. But every year we went to a conference at the Prairie Bible Instituted a couple hours drive away. (A long way in those long gone days.) Wonder of wonders, they had a book store. I loved to wander the store. Row after row of books and Bibles. Shelves of writing material–pens, pencils, notebooks. It was the highlight of the trip in my opinion. I particularly liked turning the pages on a Bible that had a concordance/dictionary in the back complete with illustrations. Fine black leather cover. India paper pages…gold trimmed. I wanted it.

I was twelve years old and babysat at 35c/hour. The Bible was, as nearly as I recall, $35. You do the math. I save my money from babysitting and bought the Bible.

It is still the King James Version that I use for Bible references when writing historical stories.

The cover is now worn until it is closer to brown than black.

The gold has long been gone from the edges of the pages.

There are a few loose pages and one or two pages taped together. There are notes in the margin. In fact, it is quite dog- eared. But in my affections this is a Bible full of memories of spiritual times growing up. I can trace my struggles and hopes and growth on its pages.

The other day as I was looking for a verse to use in the story I am working on, I found another treasure. It is a tiny clipping I cut out many years ago–soon after I got my Bible. I knew I had stuck it in the pages but haven’t been able to find it in year so assumed it had fallen out and was lost. I was thrilled to connect with this lesson from the past.

The clipping is a quote from Marcel Achard, a French playwright. “When I think of how little it takes every monrning to put me in a bad mood, I tell myself that is doesn’t eally take any more effort to be in a good mood.”

I remember reading that and thinking how true. How surprising to think it was that simple. I decided I might as well make the effort to be in a good mood. Of course, I haven’t always succeeded but I try.

I love finding the clipping that made me acknowledge this truth.

I’d love to hear stories about the first Bible that was meaningful for you and why. There might be a free book to at least one of those who respond.

I recently returned from another research trip aka taking client on a holiday. We went into Montana to look around. I got lots of pictures and would have gotten more… except for this:  a speed limit of 70mph on a narrow road.                                    

No, I didn’t have to maintain the speed and most times I didn’t but there was no place to pull over to take pictures. This is the result:

Many pictures taken out the window as we drive down the road. Of course, most of the pics don’t end up of a quality that can be saved in an album but provide research details nonetheless.

Speaking of albums… I tried a new program that creates photo albums from my pictures. http://www.photoinpress.ca/ It worked really well and I’ve ordered two books–one that is more scenic for my client and one that is more detailed and full of historical information for myself. When I get these books I will decide if it is how I want to do my pictures in the future.

By the way, do any of you save your pictures this way? If so, what program or site do you recommend?

My point about the speed limit is I missed so much because I had to concentrate on driving which is fine if your goal is to get from Point A to Point B. But it wasn’t until I parked the van and got out that I discovered some wonderful little things.

The flowers:

  Beautiful churches:                                                               

And behind the white church…a pretty little stream.                                                                           

At one stop, I discovered a little shop with all sorts of unique creations. I liked this one.

And only by slowing down and getting out of the vehicle to use my zoom did  I capture this beauty.

It make me wonder how much I miss every day by living too fast.

Gen. 1:31. God saw all that he had created and it was very good.

Let’s not forget to slow down and enjoy the beauty around us.

I’m presently doing research on Sitting Bull, the Battle of the Little Bighorn and the Indian Wars of the Great Plains.

I have visited the site of the Battle of Little Bighorn and saw the graves scattered across the prairie. (The white markers in the first photo indicate graves. In the second photo, Custer’s grave marker is the black one.)

It’s hard to find truly accurate information on the war over the western plains. Although many of the native tribes kept pictorial records they were mostly destroyed when their homes were burned. 

Yet some of the survivors gave us an account from their point of view. The picture to the left is a native depiction.

I found a book that did a fine job of showing the struggle for domination of the plains.  Sitting Bull and His World is written by Albert Marrin who has done his best to portray the events from both sides of the dispute. He especially looks at the life of Sitting Bull, the great Sioux chief. From a Lakota tribe of Hunkpapa, Sitting Bull lead is people wisely and bravely. He was a leader in out smarting General Custer at the Battle of the Little Bighorn. He escaped to Canada to save the remnants of his people. However, the systematic destruction of the buffalo left him watching his people die of starvation. He returned to America and submitted to living on a reservation. He toured with Buffalo Bill and they were good friends. Eventually, the government wanted Sitting Bull arrested and brought in dead or alvie. They blamed him for continued resistance from the natives. In a scrimmage with Metal Breasts (Indians with tin stars on their chest and authority to act as lawmen), Sitting Bull was killed in Dec., 1890. A short time later, the Indian Wars ended with the Battle of Wounded Knee.

It was a dark time in history especially for Native Americans.

My research has been interesting and full of fresh insights that I hope I can use in a future series. It also makes me think another trip to Montana for more research is in the future.

I have loved books all my life. I remember going to the old-fashioned library in our small town…oiled floors, big pot-bellied stove, musty-dusty smell. I loved roaming the rows and rows of books. Just seeing them filled me with excitement.
I haven’t changed much except now I visit modern, clean libraries. I laugh when I am traveling with a certain good friend. She knows where all the best women’s-wear shops are in all the towns around us. I know where the library is.
Blogs and pictures about books about books are equally fascinating. I thought I’d share a few.


A still life with books is so much better than a still life with fruit in my opinion. If I had room I would have still lifes with books all over my house
According to this interesting site there are more ways to shelve books than there are books.
http://weburbanist.com/2008/06/24/more-unique-creative-bookcases-and-bookshelves/
Here’s a sample of bookshelves that I like. There is something about seeing books, being surrounded by books that stirs my imagination.
Visiting Shakespeare and Co. in Paris was an overload to my book senses. Every little nook and cranny was crowded with books from floor to ceiling.

I love this idea for a book-reading and storage area. It is one of may featured on this blog.
http://theblogonthebookshelf.blogspot.com/
.
Here is an idea that appeals–a book-vending machine

It’s true. There’s can’t be too many books. Yes, people are now reading them on all sorts of hand-held devises but that will never replace the sheer impact and pleasure of shelved books.
So go enjoy your books. Read them, shelf them, surround yourself with them.

“A house without books is like a room without windows. No man has a right to bring up his children without surrounding them with books, if he has the means to buy them.” Horace Mann

On our trip to the Yukon we took a ferry from Skagway to Haines. I read in one of the guides that you can look any direction in Haines and have a beautiful view. I was skeptical. After all, this was a tourist brochure, meant to lure in visitors.

But it is absolutely true.

We arrived via ferry and stopped for a picnic lunch at this beautiful site. 

Thousands of bald eagles gather near Haines in the fall and winter. We were fortunate to see a pair nesting thanks to a  tour group who let us see them through their high-powered scopes.

Fort William H. Seward, the first American army post in Alaska, was built in 1902. The distinctive white buildings of the fort, now an arts and commerce community, makes for a stunning first view. And it’s true…the views are everywhere. 

From the Fort buildings to the harbor to the skyline to the   

museum  where we saw how the mild costal climate has benefited the area. The long days of summer have made for some fantastic crops. A Mr. Anway grew fruit and vegetables. Strawberries as big as eggs, a record-breaking 100 lb cabbage.

I have to say it is as beautiful a town as the brochures proclaim. I anticipate using this for a setting of a future story. In fact, I might have to return to do more research.

Anyone want to come with me and be my research assistant?