There was much in the news last week to spark outrage, no matter which side of the political divide you’re on. And, of course, that divide got deeper and wider as time went on. Which is all the more reason an unrelated incident in the news was so welcome and heartwarming. I’m referring to the Little League Regional Championship game in which a batter got knocked down by a wild pitch that hit him in the helmet. That, of course, wasn’t the heartwarming part. It [...]
I know I’m a little late coming to the sourdough party. Bread-baking got really popular during the pandemic, when most of us were locked down and looking for things to do at home. Banana bread and sourdough bread seemed to be at the top of the list. I never got into bread-baking then, although I really like sourdough bread. I remember one time – long ago, during a vacation in San Francisco – buying a packet of sourdough starter from a little shop on Fisherman’s [...]
“What doesn’t kill me makes me stronger.” There are many times in my life when that quote, by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, has rung true, both literally and figuratively – such as when I had breast cancer, followed by severe heart damage from chemotherapy. And when my kids were teenagers. It happened again recently, when my email address went bananas. The first I knew of a problem was when I got a phone call from a friend who said she had tried responding to an [...]
We’re back home now after almost a month on the road. The first trip was to visit our daughter in California. Then, after a few days at home – just enough time to unpack, do laundry, repack, and celebrate the 4th of July – we headed back out again to visit our son, daughter-in-law, and grandkids in Minnesota. It goes without saying that we had a wonderful time visiting with family, and I could write a dozen posts just on that. But there were also [...]
I’m taking the next three weeks off from writing – other than the journal I’ll be keeping during some traveling and exploring I’ll be doing over the next few weeks. You’ll hear about some of it when I return and settle down again in July. In the meantime, I hope you are enjoying the summer. Please stay safe, cool, and well-hydrated in this dangerously hot weather we’ve been having. Have a wonderful Father’s Day, 4th of July, and anything else you will be doing or [...]
Our son was seven years old when Jurassic Park – the first one – came out in 1993. Like many seven-year-old boys – and girls, too, probably – he was fascinated by anything to do with dinosaurs, and of course wanted to go see the movie. We weren’t sure that was a good idea, so my husband and I decided to see the movie ourselves first, and then decide if it was okay for our son to see it. I still remember sitting in the [...]
We’ve been having some plumbing problems in our house that my husband was not able to fix, so it was time to call a plumber. Our appointment was for this morning, and since the water would be shut off for at least a few hours while he was working, we had some prep work to do. I got up a bit earlier than usual to make sure I was showered and dressed before he showed up. I had an early breakfast, too, so I could [...]
Over the Memorial Day weekend, it has never seemed right to write about anything but, well, Memorial Day. To remind everyone – myself included – that the holiday is not about barbecues and fireworks and the unofficial start of summer. It’s about remembering and honoring those who gave their lives in service to our country. Every year, I’ve taken part of the day to sit back and reflect on this, as well as to call or text my son – a former Marine who served [...]