We were just south of Chattanooga when we stopped at a rest stop for a quick break. We had been watching dark clouds forming around us, and saw several thick, jagged lightning bolts in the distance. It started to drizzle just as we were walking into the rest stop, and in a few minutes the drizzle had grown to a torrential downpour, with wind to match. The staff at the rest stop locked the door, and herded us all to a sheltered hallway, then pulled [...]
A few weeks ago, I wrote about the importance of looking ahead toward tomorrow, rather than back at yesterday. But now I’m reminded of how pleasant it can be to look back, too. On Saturday, my husband and I attended the 2023 Putnam County Dairy Festival. It’s a big-deal annual event in the town where we live, although this is the first time in the six years we’ve lived here that we’ve gone. In our defense, we’ve been out of town during some of the [...]
A new bar & grill opened up near us recently, and they hold trivia contests on Wednesday nights. Along with a few friends from our neighborhood, we’ve gone a few times, and even won first place once. We went last week, and although they don’t officially have themes for the games, a number of the questions had to do with Memorial Day. I learned a few things about Memorial Day that I didn’t know, and was reminded about some that I’d forgotten. In honor of [...]
I had a doctor’s appointment Friday afternoon, and it was starting to rain just as I was leaving the doctor’s office. I looked at the time as I got in my car. It was a little after 2:00. This immediately took me back to when I was young, and we spent a fair amount of time in church during the Easter Triduum – the period of time between Holy Thursday and Easter Sunday. The hours between noon and 3 o’clock on Good Friday were especially [...]
I’ve decided that 2023 is going to be the Year of the Book. This is no relation to the Year of the Tiger, Rabbit, Ox, Dragon, Snake, or any other animal celebrated in the Chinese New Year. Instead, it’s related to my New Year’s Resolutions. I’ve realized for a while now that I’m not spending enough time, on a regular basis, on any of the books I’m writing. I have four that are in various stages of completion, from great-idea-and-outline-done to basically-finished-but-needs-a-bit-of-tweaking. And none of [...]
After a mid-December trip to California to spend a few days with our daughter as she recovered from surgery, we were home packing our bags again, this time for a trip to Minnesota – with an overnight stop in Chicago – to spend Christmas with our son, daughter-in-law, and three grandchildren. The night before we were scheduled to leave, however, we decided to cancel our trip. Although we had already dug through our closets for any cold-weather clothing we still owned – in anticipation of [...]
I heard some church bells ringing the other day, and – perhaps because it’s the Christmas season – it made me think of a column I wrote long ago. I dug it out of my files and reread it, and realized it was just as appropriate today as it was then. I hope it inspires some fond memories for you. Christmas bells bring music, memories, and peace “Christmas bells, those Christmas bells, ringing through the land. Bringing peace to all the world. And good will [...]
“Something they want, something they need, something to wear, and something to read.” This reminds me of the traditional bride’s wedding-day advice to have something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. But this one isn’t about brides or weddings, it’s about buying children’s gifts at Christmastime – or any gift-giving occasion, for that matter. I first heard this saying from my hairdresser, whose son is close in age to my grandchildren. We were talking about buying gifts for kids, and she recited the rhyme [...]