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Bridget from The Happy Quitter is knocking again today with her Knock, Knock Writing Challenge. Here’s what she has to challenge us with this week:

I would like you to take three pictures in or around your home of things that are special to you. Tell me the story about it. Why is it special?

I got this one, Bridget!

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Dad's bellsOne of my most favorite things is a BELL my folks picked up somewhere along their travels. For years and years it hung just by the kitchen door in their house. And the first thing the grandkids wanted to do when they’d get to Papa and Grandma’s was ring the bell. It got to be a ritual. They loved dad lifting them up high so they could reach it. They’d grab hold of the clacker and ring it for all they were worth. When my folks passed away, that bell was the very first thing I staked my claim to. Now it hangs at the top of our stairwell and my own grandkids get to ring it when they come for a visit. It’s funny how a thing that probably cost next to nothing has become such a treasure to me.

Stef's Leaves

As I moved through the house on my hunt I came across a picture my daughter Stef bought me for my birthday one year. She knows I love Maple Leaves, so had gone to a craft fair looking for that particular thing. She said she hit the jackpot. What she found was a mother/daughter picture, she told me. I was floored she’d put so much thought into something for my birthday. She was probably 16 at the time. Now it hangs in our bedroom, which is kind of zen, and everyday it reminds me of her. (‘Scuse the glare. Couldn’t make it go away!)

Arn's castle and unicornMy last treasure is one of my favorites of all. Or should I say TWO of my favorites. They kind of go together. Lord Drollery knows I live with one foot in the here and now and one in Middle-Earth. And since I fancy myself to be such a princess, he thought it was only fitting to buy me my own Castle. And what could be more important than a princess having her own Unicorn! The castle is an actual sand sculpture made in Canada. And the unicorn is made out of crushed pecan shells made into a paste and then sculpted. I’ve had them for so long I can’t remember. They sit on my desk to remind me that life is half fairy tales. And as G. K. Chesterton says:

Fairy tales are not told to teach children (and adults!) there are Dragons. Children already know there are Dragons. They are told to teach them that Dragons can be killed.

But what fear is a princess to have when she has her own castle and a unicorn? 😀 When Drollery bought the unicorn he was also thinking of one of my favorite books by Stephen Cosgrove and Robin James, Morgan and Yew from the Serendipity series for kids. It NEVER fails to make me cry like a baby! The moral of the story (which is noted on the bottom of the book cover) is: Love is the most important possession we can have.

Morgan and Yew`
Thanks, Bridget! This was fun!!!