“You’d think solving mysteries would bring you closure, that closing the loop would comfort and quiet your mind. But it never does. The truth always disappoints.” ~John Green in Turtles All the Way Down
Finally, finally, I have gotten brave enough to try a new Mystery Photo Game. Do you hear a drumroll? I’ve been dragging my feet about getting this done because I’m not sure that I haven’t already used all the mysterious things out there. Of course, that’s not true. The world is full of mysteries that many of us hardly notice.
“The world, even the smallest parts of it, is filled with things you don’t know.” ~Sherman Alexie
That’s not to say that I will be able to find some things you don’t know to post as mystery photos.
Many of my books have just a hint of mystery threaded into the whole of the story. A pinch of this (mystery) and a pinch of that (romance.) Maybe more than a pinch of romance.
Old time recipes often used those descriptions in the instructions. A pinch of salt, a handful of flour. A dab of shortening. Sometimes a cook doesn’t know how to tell someone exactly how he or she makes something. An example is when my son-in-law and daughter wanted to know how I make pie crusts.
I’ve never thought about measurements for the ingredients. Mom didn’t say anything about cups and tablespoons when she showed me how to make it. My this and that recipe wasn’t helpful for my daughter. They watched me make a pie crust, measuring what I did. Talk about pressure. I wasn’t sure I was putting together the flour, etc. anything like I would normally do. All at once, my own recipe was a kind of mystery even to me.
That’s how the mystery photos that I’ve used in the past can be too. I looked at some of those I had saved in my photo files. A few of those pictures were mysteries to me now. Some I figured out because I had the original picture right there too.
Now I’ll try to share some new mysteries with you – like the picture up at the top of this post. Share your thoughts about what it might be and you will get an entry into a book giveaway. I will be looking around for more mystery photos to share in the next couple of weeks to try to keep you guessing. At the end of the game at midnight EST on June 22, 2024 (which is when I’m having a Hometown Book Party to celebrate The Song of Sourwood Mountain here in Lawrenceburg at our public library – more info to come), I will pick three winners who will win their choice of one of my books. To enter, you must be at least 18 years old.
Each time you try to guess on a new mystery photo, you will get an extra entry. You don’t have to come up with the right answer. I sort of hope some of you don’t. LOL. But if you can’t come up with any guesses at all, a simple “I have no idea” will also get you an entry.
All right. Ready, set, go. What are you seeing in the picture I’ve posted tonight?
Before you start guessing, if you’d like to know a little more about how I came up with my new book, The Song of Sourwood Mountain, you can check out my interview on Family Fiction. One of the questions was why I always set my stories in Kentucky.
Comments 40
Mystery looks like a flower in a blanket
Mystery looks like a flower in a carpet.
Author
A great second round of guesses. Thank you all so much for making this game so much fun. And being such great sports about your guesses, right or wrong.
Pamela, Megan, that crocheted blanket is a popular guess. If it’s right, it will be some other person’s crocheting. I don’t know how to crochet.
Ann, love that Grannie Annie. I told someone on FB the other day that I should have been that to my grandkids. I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed reading some of my books. Glad you gave a guess before you let yourself be influenced by other guesses. Not saying either is right, however. You’ll have to wait for Sunday’s post to see the rest of the picture. I hope I have the rest of the picture!
Becky N, a bird’s eye would fit right in with my bluebird theme in my new book, The Song of Sourwood Mountain.
Una, the same with crocheting, if it’s a picture of something knitted, I didn’t do it.
Angie J, that moth’s wing but some butterflies I’ve seen do have that eye on the wing. Maybe it makes them look like a predator waiting to snap at whatever is ready to snap at it.
Pam P, I like your guess of a sweater’s buttonhole. Not saying you are right or wrong, but that is a fabulous guess.
Ola, eyes of some sort or another seem to be a guess that people are liking.
Joanne, what a neat guess. Using my great grandfather’s picture. If you’re right, I’m getting better at these games.
Lucy, it could be a rug as others have also guessed. Could be. Could not be.
Texas Momma, thanks for stopping by to play my mystery photo game. Hope you think it’s fun. Cookie is a great guess and now I’m hungry too!
Lisa H, I remember those couches. In fact I may have one. I have no idea how long ago I got my couch, but it still looks pretty good.
Nancy, butterfly wing has been a guessed by others. A great guess. I do like to catch a great butterfly photo.
Connie Lee, several people have gone with a design on a cloth or a towel. Several people, including you, could be right. Several people, including you, could be wrong.
Becky, I do use potholders to take my bread out of the over.
You all will know soon if you are right or wrong. All of you won’t be right since we had a great variety of guesses. Love it.
Author
Loving all the great guesses so far. I told you to exercise your imaginations and you certainly are doing that. I’m not saying whether you are imagining realistically or not. Well, realistic and imagination don’t always go together, do that?
Lisa & Linda – I like your guess of Frankie’s eye. He does have a handsome eye.
Lee – Do you think I would be brave enough to get close enough to the front of a snapping turtle to snap a picture of its eye? Hmm. Who knows? Maybe. Glad you enjoy the game. I’ve got a new picture ready for Sunday night’s post.
Mary, it could be a bottle cap. I was at an art display a couple of weeks ago where someone had made the most amazing art out of bottle caps and pieces of cans.
Jeanne, love how you were worried you might have insulted my carpet if your guess turned out to be right. LOL. If you turn out to right, I promise not to take offense.
Dana, you were with Jeanne on that rug design without making judgement on the carpet’s beauty or lack thereof. 🙂
Lana and Donna Jean, a crocheted hot plate or some kind of trivet could be right.
Susan, love that bit of regional knowledge. Seems I remember some around here calling them eyes too. Guess that was before the smooth tops are changing the look of stoves. I’m thinking the eye for the burner might have gone back to the wood cookstoves. I’m glad you like the game, and who knows? Maybe it will be a stove “eye.”
Lavon, I like how you cover the bases. No sense just making one guess. And of course, you think of fabric first, being the busy seamstress you are.
Hope, you are there with Lavon. No need limiting your imagination. I like that bottom of a sneaker guess. Maybe I could be that sneaky. Or managed to send out a drone to take a picture from above. You went from ground to air there.
Suzanne, I like the idea of a logo on clothes. If you aren’t right this time, I might save that idea for the future.
Marji, I do love taking pictures of butterflies. That’s for sure.
Diana, a design on a blanket is a great guess. Not saying it’s right or not, but a great guess.
Connie, I am so glad you have enjoyed my stories. That makes me smile. I like your guess of an eye on material. They do have some pretty wild prints these days.
Mary, your guess has me laughing. If you happen to turn out to be right, you can be sure I ate the rest of that pie. Yum.
Deborah, love your guess. Very imaginative. I do have a cast iron skillet and I have made pineapple upside down cakes in it in the past. Could I have made another cake?
Judy S., your no idea gets you an entry in the giveaway the same if you got the guess exactly right. I have no idea what you mean when you say you used Google lens. Can Google tell you what a picture is now? Google knows everything. Except maybe this mystery photo.
Close up of knitted potholder?
It looks like a design on a piece of cloth or a towel, sorta?
A butterfly wing maybe ?
Looks like the print on upholstery of a couch from 70’s or 80’s
I think it looks like a cookie…but that might just be because I’m hungry 😆
A pattern on a rug. I have no idea. 🤷♀️ Blessings
Hmmm….you zoomed in on an old photo graph of your great grandfather that you posted earlier today?
Looks like an eye but not sure what kind of eye. Love guessing tho!
A button hole on a sweater.
I’m going to guess you’ve zoomed in on a moth’s wing….I can’t remember its name, but there is one who has “eyes” to scare away predators. Thank you for having this….like trying to figure them out!!
I’m not sure. Looks like something knitted.
A symbol on a crocheted blanket, maybe?
Perhaps a birds eye. Not sure at all.
I also thought an eye, but with the material around it I changed my mind. Then I read Pamela’s guess about it being on a blanket or a child’s toy and that makes sense. I have been looking forward to having you do this game again. It is really fun even though I am not good at guessing. Thanks Ann, for the fun, and for your excellent books.
I have no idea actually but I am guessing an eye, possibly on a crocheted blanket or a child’s toy. Love the game and love your books!!