Living in a rural, wooded area, we share space in our neighborhood with lots of critters. It’s not unusual for a possum – and sometimes an armadillo – to stroll across our back deck at night, and we often see deer in the front yard, nibbling on my rosebush, or in the back yard, nibbling in my herb garden. Deer sightings along the side of the road – or running across the road, right in front of us – are almost a daily occurrence, especially [...]
I had another blog post written and ready to go, but I had a change of heart after watching all the news about the devastating tornadoes that wreaked havoc throughout the Midwest over the weekend. It didn’t feel right to post a light-hearted, holiday-themed message when there are so many people who lost their homes, their businesses, or their lives in these unprecedented storms. As someone who grew up in a “Tornado Alley,” and has been in the direct path of a tornado on several [...]
We’re apparently developing a new Thanksgiving tradition, although it’s not one of our own choosing. Our power went out yesterday, just as it did last year on Thanksgiving Day. On that day, it happened early in the morning, and didn’t disrupt our plans too badly. Because of COVID, it was the first year ever that my husband and I were spending Thanksgiving at home, with just the two of us. I still wanted to have a traditional dinner, so we cooked a turkey – a [...]
I don’t know where or when he heard it and got it stuck in his head, but my husband was singing and humming a line from an old Irving Berlin song all weekend. The line is, “And you’ll fall asleep counting your blessings.” With Thanksgiving just a few days away, ‘tis the season for counting our blessings. Which we should do all year long – and many of us do, of course – but it’s more on our minds, and talked about out in the [...]
There were 14 of us in the class. Some, especially those who grew up in this area, already knew a few of the others, but I was among those who knew no one else before beginning the class. By the end of the first class and the weekend retreat, however, we were all well acquainted, and more excited than ever about what we were going to accomplish. I wrote about this class a few weeks ago. It’s a Leadership program sponsored by the Chamber of [...]
Our daughter-in-law gave birth on Friday night to their third child – and our third grandchild. We’re planning a trip to see them soon, and I’m hoping there won’t be any foul weather, new COVID variances or restrictions, or other issues that could get in the way of our plans. It wouldn’t be the first time. Their first child was born almost three years ago, in the middle of January. We gave them a bit of time to get settled into their new family dynamic [...]
Our last Toastmasters meeting had a theme of “Trick-or-Treat.” As the Table Topics Master at the meeting, I decided to have a costume party as the focus of my questions. The purpose of Table Topics is to help people learn to think on their feet and organize their thoughts quickly. The Table Topics Master will ask an open-ended, no-right-or-wrong-answer type of question, and then call on a member to respond. They have to talk for one to two minutes, and responses can range from serious [...]
“What world events have played defining roles in your life? What memories do you have of them? How have they influenced you?” These were among the discussion questions at my last Book Club meeting. The book we read was When We Left Cuba, an historical novel set in the early ’60s. Among the events in the novel were the Cuban Revolution, the Bay of Pigs Invasion, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the assassination of JFK – events that many members of our Book Club remembered [...]
I don’t know if it has anything to do with the students I worked with and wrote about in my last blog, or the college students I – along with several other members of my Toastmasters club – recently helped prepare for a career-oriented Elevator Pitch competition. But I’m getting ready to go back to school – sort of. And I’m really excited about it. Also, just a little bit nervous. Like many people, I consider myself a lifelong learner, and have always enjoyed the [...]