Even a brand new S.O.S. pad can have trouble scrubbing off certain greebage (a wonderful word coined by my beloved) from oven racks. The baked-on crud doesn't want to give up. I am woman though. Hear me roar. In classic early morning style, as I bent over the kitchen sink at 4:45 a.m. doing chores … Continue reading All the Apple Pies
Trees of Life
To plant a tree is to begin a memory. I'm a big believer in the power of growing plants along with growing the family. A measure of a kid or two or three or four can be marked right along with the rings of a tree I've left here and there across our pathway. And … Continue reading Trees of Life
Turbulence, T-Shirt Tags, and Trains
International air travel. An acquired taste. The few places I've ventured to out of my home country can be counted on one hand -- at least I think they can. Let's see. England, Scotland, France, Monaco, Italy, Ukraine, and Ecuador. Oh, wait. Mexico and Canada. And I did not fly to those two. And clearly … Continue reading Turbulence, T-Shirt Tags, and Trains
Hot Tea with Cream and Sugar
During my childhood in times of distress, illness, worry, or just general agitation I could count on two things from my mother -- a warm washcloth to the face and a steaming cup of tea with cream and sugar. You have your stuff. I have mine. To this day my blood pressure lowers a dozen … Continue reading Hot Tea with Cream and Sugar
Donkey Kong New Year
Back when social media was more fun and frolic than politics and pandemic, there were a few words written by a younger me (subtract 10 from what you think I am now) on straight-up Facebook, not buried in a blog. I'll put them here just for fun but you're excused to skip over and go … Continue reading Donkey Kong New Year
O Christmas Tree
It's easy to blame 2020 for many a habit or "quirk" as I like to call them, but if we're honest, a few of those tendencies were already firmly established before this year rolled around and we'd best just own up to it. Yes, I speak of myself. You're off the hook. I have a … Continue reading O Christmas Tree
This Is Now
Around the time that first memories were becoming solid and not just fleeting images of grandmas and old houses and smells and scenes, I can remember a Thanksgiving in Houston, Texas at my Great Uncle Clyde and Aunt Juanita's house. We'd traveled there from Colorado and when I crawled into my lovingly prepared cot at … Continue reading This Is Now
‘Til It’s Gone
I appreciate a good 2020 joke as much as the next guy. My kids and I zing 'em back and forth within text and messenger threads--“Say, did you hear this one?"-- most every day. And 2020 is no longer just the name of a year. It's an outright adjective for whatever's run amok. "That's so … Continue reading ‘Til It’s Gone
What Makes Them Tropical?
Several years ago, before COVID temporarily wrecked summer camp for kids, I was the Snack Shack Lady at junior camp in the woods of western Oregon. In case you've never been in contention for that job, it is a highly coveted position, especially if your husband is the camp R.N. and you get to sleep … Continue reading What Makes Them Tropical?
Francie’s Chicken Salad
She was a tiny little old white-haired lady from New Jersey whose energy defied her age despite her occasional smoking and addiction to daytime television. And she was my first best friend in Arkansas. The memory of how I came to meet Francie is murky but it feels like it was somewhere on the upstairs … Continue reading Francie’s Chicken Salad
