A Daily Life

One of my goals this year has been to write more diligently in my daily journal.  One thing that helps me to do this is to get up early and go to Cracker Barrel for a quick breakfast and then sit there to write for a while.    I love to start my Saturday mornings by […]

I love tea – love it love it love it.  I drink it mostly iced, even in the dead of winter.  Several years ago, one of the blogs I followed talked about doing mason jar sun tea.  I loved the idea and have been making it ever since, especially on the weekends.  I am very simple […]

Our daughter came to visit this weekend.  Since we got the miniature pinscher over three years ago, he has hated her with a passion.  There was no particular reason other than the fact she was not me.  And he wasn’t afraid to let her know that if he was only a bit bigger. . . […]

One of the hardest things in life is when your  beloved pet  goes into a final decline at the end of their life.  This picture here is one of my Dad’s hunting dogs who was also a much loved house dog, much to his dismay.  She followed my sister and I everywhere, was housebroken and not destructive […]

My great-aunt & great-uncle lived in the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York, near a small town called Sherburne (which still does exist).  My great-uncle was a farmer with both crops and dairy cows.  My great-aunt worked as a line supervisor for Norwich Pharmaceuticals.  From the time my mother was a small girl to the […]

My daughter graduated college in four years, having worked hard to get out so quickly.  She was happy to no longer be a pupil and get on with her life.  We were so proud of her – good grades, good looks, and a good job.  So much has happened since then of course, life doesn’t […]

My father-in-law loved putting together Easter baskets for the kids & grandkids each Easter.  At that time, Fannie May was the best candy you could buy in the Chicago area.  It was utterly superb chocolate, especially the chocolate marshmallow eggs.  Every year, found him saving the best chocolate for Easter.  My father-in-law was not a rich […]

This is the best picture ever – or at least for this week. Yes, it is a pick-up truck in our driveway with Georgia plates.  The child is here for the weekend and we are having fun!  It is so nice to see her for a few days before she starts her new job.  Now […]

I look back at some of the old photos and think back at the faith that my sister and I had in Dad’s abilities to feed us when we were on vacation.  When we were on the road, we always wanted to go to Howard Johnson’s to eat.  We’d fall asleep and next thing we know, […]

It’s a neverending source of amusement to watch the animals interact with a sunbeam.  I think they have built-in solar panels that automatically know which way to face to maximize their usage of natural warmth for maximum doziness.  I was surprised to find out that the dogs do this also, although it is not quite as high an […]

This is the only crepe myrtle in our yard.  We planted it a few months after moving in, replacing a rather ugly weeping cherry tree that was shaped and growing poorly.  Crepe myrtles are common in Virginia and when they bloom, they are gorgeous.  The colors vary from bright pink to light pink to white to a […]

I am always amazed at the stuff that I accumulate in my kitchen drawer!  In doesn’t get used frequently, but when I need it, I need it – from my tape measure to tape for freezer containers to the shredder and little felt dots.  Word for tomorrow – INTERACT.  If you prefer to work ahead, see the […]

In 2003, an overnight fire in Omaha gutted the old Butternut Coffee Factory that was being converted into high-end condominiums.  The condos were only weeks away from occupancy and no one died.  The fire went up fast – as it turned out, the contractors doing the work had smelled something burning off and on for a […]

The book publishers love readers like me.  As a child I loved to read – when Scholastic did their orders in school, classmates might order 1 or 2 books.  I ordered one of each.  And I read them all too. As an adult, I still love to read.  I buy a fair amount of books […]

I posted over on my other blog today about the rain coming down.  Click here to see it. Thanks!

After the rain, the James River was high and fast, the water an even darker brown than usual.  I took this from a short bridge during my lunch walk.  And yes, I took the umbrella with for my walk.  Those clouds looked like more rain would come soon.  Word for tomorrow – PUBLISHER.  If you […]

Grab –  to grip the attention; to enthrall. One sure way to grab the beagle’s attention is to hand out some cuddles.  He loves his treats too, but cuddles work as well. Word for tomorrow – AFTER.  If you prefer to work ahead, see the list for the week under “A Word A Day”.  To see […]

Fool – A jester; a person whose role was to entertain a sovereign and the court. The cats were surprisingly sensitive to being laughed at.  They did not like to be the fool for us.  You can tell the kitten is still young in this one – the last of my three babies – when he got […]

Clip – An unspecified but normally understood as rapid speed or pace. Even in the middle of the day, drivers move at a good clip on the expressway. Word for tomorrow – FOOL.  If you prefer to work ahead, see the list for the week under “A Word A Day”.  To see how others might […]

Supreme -At the greatest, most excellent, extreme, most superior, highest, or utmost. My uncle was only eight years older than me, being a late in life baby.  Family joke:  my grandmothers lived next to each other.  Apparently my paternal grandmother said to my maternal grandmother, “I just don’t know how that happened”.  My maternal grandmother told […]