Girls Write Out
Friday, November 24, 2006

CAROL COX
I'm thrilled to introduce Carol Cox to you today. Carol has been a good friend to all of us for a lot of years. I first met her at the one and only Barbour Homecoming and at that time we'd both had our first books out. And we'd liked one another books so it was like a mutual admiration party. Very fun! We always try to connect when I'm in Arizona, which is where I am right now.

And just as an aside, I arrived her to find out my Mother had had another incident and they'd had to call 9-1-1. She's in the hospital again so I'd sooo appreciate it if you'd pray!

Now here's our friend Carol.



I was thrilled when I was invited to be a guest blogger today, even after the truth sank in and I realized that having someone else blog the day after Thanksgiving means Colleen, Kris, Diann, and Denise can relax in their turkey-induced comas just that much longer without having to come up with something pithy to say.

Never having done a guest blogging stint before, I asked Colleen what she wanted me to talk about. She suggested something about life in “the wilds of Arizona,” as she put it. Seeing as how she plans to join the ranks of rural Arizonans one of these days, maybe this is a way of doing research ahead of time to find out if she’s up to the challenge.

But life in the country isn’t hard to get used to. Especially for a writer. Imagine sitting on your front porch with your laptop, watching a mama quail lead her babies across the drive while you’re typing the next chapter of your novel. Or drawing inspiration from one of those glorious 360-degree sunsets.

On the other hand, maybe Colleen is thinking about the stories of the time a javelina appeared in our back yard.

Or the time we found a skunk in our sunroom.

I don’t think she’s even heard about the day I got locked inside a chicken coop.

But things like that aren’t the norm—at least for people who don’t happen to be me. Life around here is peaceful most of the time. Really.

Like today, when I can look out our front window and see dozens of bluebirds filling our front yard and watch a herd of antelope grazing along our road. It’s a scene of absolute peace, a perfect follow-up to yesterday’s celebration filled with love, laughter, and family traditions. One of our long-standing traditions is baking homemade pumpkin pies. This year, we even went the extra mile and used a homegrown pumpkin instead of the canned variety. That was an interesting experience in itself.

It started last summer when we decided to plant a garden. Okay, I decided to plant a garden, and my long-suffering family agreed to go along with another of my more creative ideas. It made perfect sense to me, though. Life had gotten way too busy over the past few years, and I wanted to do something to help us slow the pace a bit and spend some time making memories with our 10-year-old daughter. So we bought starter plants and set out the mandatory tomatoes, green peppers, and zucchini, then thought it would be fun to branch out a little and try growing some pumpkins. We tucked the seeds into the dirt, then watched as the little seedlings pushed their way above the ground. We watered and weeded and waited to see what would happen next.

What happened next was that those tiny seedlings rapidly grew into vines. Lots of vines. Vines that went everywhere. We are talking fast growth here. I mean, if those things had grown vertically instead of launching themselves across our yard, they would have given Jack’s beanstalk some stiff competition. Within a short time, that end of our yard looked like one of the scenes from Larry-Boy and the Rumor Weed, or maybe something out of Jumanji.

At first, it was fun to measure the growth from one day to the next. Then I caught myself keeping an eye on those little tendrils at the end of the vines when I went out to work in the yard. There was always the uneasy feeling that if I turned my back at the wrong moment, one of them might reach out and grab me by the ankle. You just never know about these things.

Then came the day the pumpkin vine went on the attack. In only a few hours it wound its furtive way from the garden area over to the pyracantha bush that stands at the edge of my flower bed and twined partway up the trunk. What next? The possibilities swam before my eyes. I could see it was only a matter of time before it took over my flower and then the house itself, like a Southwestern version of kudzu.

I charged into the front yard wielding my clippers while my daughter looked on from the living room window yelling, “Go, Mom! Get it before it gets us!” Minutes later, the vines had been trimmed into submission. Apparently recognizing a counter-threat when they saw it, they settled down and proceeded to produce a nice crop of pumpkins, one of which graced our Thanksgiving table as one of the best pies we’ve ever made.

But the tenacious vines may have had the last word after all. Last week, I noticed a splash of color against the house and went to investigate. Despite my vigilance, one lone vine must have escaped my watchful eye. There is a bright orange pumpkin dangling from the center of my pyracantha bush.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled bloggers. I hope this day after Thanksgiving finds you filled with warm memories of a special time shared with special people—and most of all, the awareness of the blessings the Lord has bestowed upon us.

Forever grateful to be His,
Carol Cox
www.CarolCoxBooks.com
Colleen Coble  
posted at 9:11 AM  
  Comments (8)
 
 
Delicious Delicious
8 Comments:
At 9:41 AM, Blogger Diann Hunt said...

Oh my goodness, Carol, that is hilarious!!! We have a honeysuckle vine out in our courtyard that's the same way. It's choked off petunias, day lillies and rose bushes. I'm careful not to let our dog out there. We'd never see her again.

I have nightmares about that vine. Once I found a leaf under our front door and heard music to The Shining. I raced outside and whacked that puppy (the vine not our dog) into shape in two seconds flat.

Happy Thanksgiving, Carol! Thanks for visiting our blog!!

 
At 10:57 AM, Blogger Southern-fried Fiction said...

Okay, I'm trying to catch my breath and dry my tears from laughing. I'm not sure which is worse: the skunk, being locked in the chicken coop (phew) or the attack vine. :o)

My husband bought a teeny tiny ivy plant from a boyscout a few years ago. It has nearly wiped out my backyard. One single plant.

These things need to come with a disclaimer!

 
At 12:20 AM, Blogger Unknown said...

Oh, Carol, that was funnier than the javelina story. So glad you see you here and to read another one of your stories.

 
At 12:48 AM, Blogger Pam Sanderlin said...

What'a a javelina? Is it a type of snake or a small, (female?) javeline?

Funny post! Thanks!

 
At 12:51 AM, Blogger Pam Sanderlin said...

Oops. I mean "javelin." Sorry to ask, but I looked it up in the dictionary and didn't find it.

 
At 12:05 PM, Blogger Jenny said...

Carol,
Oh man, my fellow Maryvale Hawk, reading your post was almost like sitting and talking with you again--too funny!
This vine growing phenom must be due to something in the AZ dirt though because I remember my sister planting watermelons one year and then getting bored with it. They must have been perennials of some kind because our dog kept finding watermelons and dragging them out for several summers after.

Plus! our middle daughter decided to plant tomatoes one year in our side yard. They were her responsibility (mainly because I have the black thumbs of death with plants) so I didn't pay much attention. Apparently she didn't either because one day we noticed the vines were covering about half the side yard. Couldn't eat any of the tomatoes since they'd grown being dragged along the ground but I wasn't in a mood to see Attack of the Killer Tomatoes for a long time after!
Great to hear from you!

Abundant blessings,
Jenny Cary

 
At 11:33 PM, Blogger Colleen Coble said...

What I want to know is if you ate that pumpkin in the bush. LOL

 
At 10:34 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wooo Hoooo Carol! You did it girl, you made them laugh, you made them cry. What a mighty writer you are!! Laughing, I too loved the story. You are a hoot my friend. Good to see you visiting here.

 

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The Authors
Kristin Billerbeck
Kristin Billerbeck is a proud Californian, wife, mother of four, and connoisseur of the irrelevant. She writes Christian Chick Lit; where she finds need for most of the useless facts lulling about in her head.

www.KristinBillerbeck.com

Colleen Coble

Colleen Coble writes romantic suspense with a strong atmospheric element. A lovable animal of some kind--usually a dog--always populates her novels. She can be bribed with DeBrand mocha truffles.

www.ColleenCoble.com

Denise Hunter

Denise Hunter writes women's fiction and love stories with a strong emotional element. Her husband says he provides her with all her romantic material, but Denise insists a good imagination helps too.

www.DeniseHunterBooks.com

Diann Hunt

Diann Hunt writes romantic comedy and humorous women's fiction. She has been happily married forever, loves her family, chocolate, her friends, chocolate, her dog, and well, chocolate.

www.DiannHunt.com

Hannah Alexander

Cheryl Hodde writes romantic medical suspense under the pen name of Hannah Alexander, using all the input she can get from her husband, Mel, for the medical expertise. For fun she hikes and reads. Out of guilt, she rescues discarded cats. She and Mel are presently taking orders from four pampered strays.

www.HannahAlexander.com

 
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