Friday's Odds and Ends - Short and Sweet

For the sweet part, why don't we all have a cup of coffee and a piece of this yummy coffee cake?

The cake is really easy to prepare, and I used to make a lot when the kids were young, and it was a family favorite, especially on Christmas and Easter mornings. The recipe used to be on the back of the Bisquick box, but it is no longer there. I found a recipe on Food.com if you want to try it.

We need the comfort food as we think about yet another mass shooting that occurred last Friday in California.  Elliot O. Rodger killed six college students and himself near the campus of the University of California, Santa Barbara. Apparently there had been warnings from his family and mental health professionals that he was unstable and had the potential for violence, yet he was able to purchase three guns and carry out this terrible act. 

Now California lawmakers are proposing legislation that would allow for restraining orders from a judge to keep people like Elliot from buying or owning a gun. According to the news report in The New York Times, "The process would be similar to the one currently used for restraining orders in cases of domestic violence."

That might be a good step. What do you think?

Totally switching gears now because we need something positive to focus on, I want to mention the Children's Miracle Network in Tyler, TX, just one of many hospitals across the country that serve children with special needs and their families. Today a local radio station, KMOO, hosted a radiothon, and I went over to the live broadcast booth to make a donation. At first that was all I was going to do, but then I got the idea to pledge 50% of my royalties from book sales on Amazon this month to that worthy cause. I will include sales that have already occurred this month, as well as any over the next two days. So if you have been considering one of my books, this is a good time to grab one and help a good cause. This offer is for any of my books in paper or as e-books. I will track sales and make the donation on Monday. On behalf of all the families this might help in East Texas, I thank you. 100 percent of the money raised goes to the kids here in East Texas, so I am thrilled to support the effort. Here is a link to my Author Page on Amazon for easy shopping.- 
 
You don't have to be a horse lover to appreciate this next offering. A friend sent me a link to this video of the amazing Friesian horses and I just had to share it here. These are such beautiful, majestic horses and would love to ride one some day.




It's been a while since I've posted a Literary Lesson here on the blog, and I just read this in Bone by Bone by Carol O'Connell. It's an interesting commentary by an older man to his grown son, and does make one stop and think:

"The way I see it--it doesn't matter if God invented man or man invented GOd. It's a done deal, and you might as well try to uninvent the isosceles triangel. But a bona fide miracle defires logic in both camps. A man-made god precludes miraculous acts. And a true god wouldn't allow them. Why shake man's faith is sweet reason?"

And now a joke to end our week. This one may not make you laugh out loud, but I thought it was cute.

A young boy is pulling his wagon up a hill when one of the back wheels falls off and rolls down the hill. The young boy says, "I'll be darned." A local pastor heard him and said, "You should not say that. Next time your wheel falls off say, 'Praise the Lord.'" So the next day the young boy is pulling his wagon up the hill and the wheel falls off and rolls down the hill. The young boy says, "Praise the Lord." The wheel stops rolling, turns around, rolls back up the hill and puts itself back on the wagon. The young boy being very surprised by this exclaims, "I'll be darned!"