It’s mid-October . . . Do You Know What That Means?
The 1/2-way point of October 2018 passed just two days ago.That means we are half-way through pumpkin spice everything.We are also just 13 days away from adorable little costume-clad children and pre-teens wearing a football jersey or their mom's housecoat...
Best-Laid Plans and All That
This past spring, once I decided I was going to retire, I began contemplating what I was going to do with all the newly-freed time available to me after the end of May.I bought a black-and-white marbled composition book -- a long-time, very inexpensive guilty...
Birthday Musings
This past Saturday, July 21, marked 9 years since my husband was told he had stage 4, inoperable cancer. He was only 47; he had exhibited absolutely no symptoms; there was no family history at all; he had just carried, along with my son, a couch up 12 flights of...
Thank You for Asking, Facebook!
"What's on your mind?"When I first joined the biggest time-sucker of all time Facebook and saw that question, I wasn't quite sure how to respond.I'm a very literal person, and I am (contrary to a few, albeit infamous spectacular incidents) an...
Decisions, Decisions
I think I hold the record for the longest time taken to choose a new couch.If you don't believe me, take my picture to any furniture store in the southeast quarter of the great state of Missouri. Sales associates in every one will no doubt remember me.On the other...
Sharing the Hair-Brush Microphone
I've always loved road trips. As a child, I looked forward to our family's annual vacation as much for the long car ride that would take us to our destination as I did the destination itself.In the weeks and months leading up to the trip, I would envision the...
A Tale of Two Guys
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times . . . Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two CitiesMy local big box pet supply store cannot by any stretch of the imagination be compared to France. But the French Revolution, or at least the famous opening lines...
Plantsing Along
Novel-writers tend to fall into one of two camps.Some writers have a germ of an idea and simply sit down and start writing. They allow the characters to reveal themselves and the story to unfold. Because they write by the seat of their pants, so to speak, they are...
One for the Books
Despite the fact that I'm not and never have been Catholic, I've been giving up something for Lent for most of my life.When I was in grade school, I gave up things like candy, bothering my older sister, and biting my nails. One year during high school I gave up...
Wrinkles and Time
Last week, when washing my face before going to bed, I was surprised to see that somehow, when I wasn't paying attention, one of my formerly-slight crow's feet had become much more distinct.It reminded me of the afternoon last summer when I looked at my face in my...
