Big Sky Country HNT

You know, I complained a bit yesterday about the fact that November is now here, and it's certainly not October. Well it is, but then a FB friend made the comment on my status that I live in Montana. And it's November. And you know what? It's still a pretty good place to be living! And could be SO much worse... (gotta work on that whole exposure thing on the iPhone)

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"The amorous evening star is rose,
Why then should not our amorous star inclose
Herself in her wish'd bed? Release your strings,
Musicians; and dancers take some truce
With these your pleasing labours, for great use
As much weariness as perfection brings.
You, and not only you, but all toil'd beasts
Rest duly; at night all their toils are dispensed;
But in their beds commenced
Are other labours, and more dainty feasts.
She goes a maid, who, lest she turn the same,
To-night puts on perfection, and a woman's name."

Epithalamion Made At Lincoln's Inn
John Donne (1572-1631)

This week's Mystery Guest should be well-known to most of you, even though she's not doing HNT anymore. She'll be revealed on Thursday afternoon, so be sure to check back!
I shouldn't have to reveal her here, since you either already knew, or you would have found out when you clicked on the Toys for Tots link below! This is, of course, Ashly Star. Now click the link and go contribute!

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Another good selection of pics over at "...the Other HNT" this week! Stop by and check out your fellow HNTers. Leave some comments too--they like comments! And it's the least you could do... Don't forget, it's definitely NSFW!

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Since it's now November, I guess I can use the "C" word (note--the capital "C", not the lower case!). Especially when using it for a good cause. And this is one of those good causes.

For a number of years now, and getting her Christmas spirit started early, Ashly Star has been donating to the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve's Toys for Tots program. Below is their mission statement:

"The mission of the U. S. Marine Corps Reserve Toys for Tots Program is to collect new, unwrapped toys during October, November and December each year, and distribute those toys as Christmas gifts to needy children in the community in which the campaign is conducted."

In 2009, Ashly decided to ask her fellow bloggers to join in and help her. And help her they have! She has a PayPal account set up to take monetary donations, which she then cashes out and goes on a toy-buying spree! And the glory of it is that it doesn't take huge amounts of dollars on your part! Any amount-- $5, $10, $ 13.79, $20 --every little bit helps, and you wouldn't believe how far a dollar will go!

If you have a question as to whether or not it's a scam...it definitely isn't! She even takes pics as she's shopping, and then a final "this is what we bought" picture. Though it's not really easy to see, the button at the top of this story is last year's loot! All money donated is spent on toys, as well as quite a few bucks of her own. There's no "administrative" costs taken by her or anything like that.

This is the third year that she's inviting the blogger world to join her. Do something good. Do it now before the stress of the holidays start to pile up. It's easy to do--just click on the button above, which will take you to her site, and click on the PayPal button at the top of her sidebar to send money. I've already done it--won't you?