Inspiration with an Attitude

My biological mother was a fabulous 1960’s stay-at-home suburban homemaker.  (My beautiful stepmother was also, I just hadn’t met her yet!)  Now, granted, Mom didn’t waltz around in a dress, heels, and pearls like the old black and white reruns.  But she could clean and cook with the best of them. And, wow could she sew!  She made play clothes for me, and she even made beautiful formal gowns for…

            I just got back from several fun filled days in New York with two of our daughters.  It was such a treat to see Robin since she was unable to visit with the rest of the family this past summer due to a broken leg. Thankfully, she has been progressing very well…until right before Jessie and I showed up, that is.  For our visit, she was back on her crutches but still able to drive and…

I’m trying to do the morning dog walk thing to give both this aging woman and her aging canine a few more steps during the day.  Yesterday’s excursion was a bit more interesting than usual.  Strolling down one residential street on that quiet Sunday morning, Buckley and I came upon a boy of about ten years obviously having a good time flying his new drone, and doing a good job of it, too!  Now,…

            I’m writing this on tail end of Memorial Day Weekend, a big deal in the United States complete with the traditional backyard bar-b-que and all that.  I’ve never had a true propane-fueled patio grill.  I’m just a charcoal gal myself, mostly because it was less expensive, but boy is it more work!  This summer, however, all the kids and grandkids are descending on our home from global…

            It’s been said that one of the things that sets humans apart from the rest of the animal kingdom is our ability to create.  G.K. Chesterton explains that birds create nests, but it’s always the same nest, the kind of nest they are programmed to make.  A bird can’t just decide to create the Taj Mahal. It’s also been said that people with OCD tend to be highly analytical as well as…

            At this writing, my husband, Bob, continues to improve beautifully.  Yesterday, we took a two-mile walk, which was one of his mental checkmarks.  That’s a big deal for someone who, just six weeks ago, could pop off ten or twenty miles on a bike without too much effort!  Of course, he used his cane, but he’s using it less and less, and he hasn’t worn his arm brace for a week.  We have…

My husband, Bob, and I like cycling; between the two of us we own five bicycles: two sleek road bikes, two Trek off-roadies, and I have a “town” bike for errands and groceries (and the occasional trip to the park with our 60-pound canine in the child carrier.)  We also like hiking, but cycling is easier on old people’s knees, like ours.             Until last month, that is…             Bob was…

Do Marvel Comics tell us anything about scrupulosity? Hmmm...

            Bob and I went on a Marvel Universe jag for a while.  We’re old-timers, so we grew up with comic books, which are now sophisticatedly referred to as graphic novels.  That’s alright.  Back in the day, there were probably those who snubbed Wodehouse and Bradbury because they weren’t Dickens and Austin, or Dickens and Austin because they weren’t Shakespeare and Aristole, etc, etc…  So,…

I think I’ve finally identified that silly bird who keeps attacking her own image in my kitchen window.  She’s a cowbird.  Bummer!  Why do I think that?  Here are some fun facts from the website Under My Apple Tree: This is a juvenile Brown-headed Cowbird who was raised by a pair of cardinals. Yes, cardinals. They adopted this little guy, but not intentionally. Although the Brown-headed Cowbird…

            My daughters sent me an unusual Mothers’ Day gift: a custom-made T-shirt that reads on the front: Just keep peckin’ at it.                   A little explanation: this is a quote from my great-grandmother, words which have become part of our family legacy. As a young girl, Granny Van travelled from Kansas to Indiana in a covered wagon; as an older adult she flew several times in an…

My husband, the retired biology professor, says the brain of a bird is basically a visual cortex.  Bob’s brother condensed that thought to “see bug, eat bug”.  Thus, the age old insult, bird-brain. Regardless of their I.Q, I do love birds.  So when I saw one perched right outside my kitchen window where I could observe her up close and personal, I called Bob over to enjoy the sight.  But over…

Hey, I think I’ll fire up my blog again. It’s not everyday one thinks that to one’s self. Hey, I’ll go to the grocery store, or hey, I’ll ride my bike, or some such thing, but write and publish soul-ish words that someone else might read? That’s got to be at least a distant cousin to public speaking phobia. Which I clearly don’t have. I have had other fears, though. And for way too long. I…

Ever heard of a tibial tubercle transfer?  Yeah.  Neither had I until our middle daughter needed one.  It isn’t fun either.  Layman’s version: the leg bone connected to the knee bone doesn’t move properly and has worn away all the cartilage; therefore, the surgeon goes in and moves one of the lower leg bones and screws it into place so it works better.  (That, plus they pasted in some cartilage…

But it's dirty! What looks #dirty to begin with my be the very thing #God is using in my life!

Happy birthday to me!!

Thought you could get rid of me, right?  Uh, huh, I’m like that bad penny that keeps coming around.

Actually, my dad warned me about being busier after retirement than before.  My gracious!  Right now I’m sitting on daughter #1’s back porch in California as her daughter #2 is getting ready to make her world debut…the sooner the better as far as mom is concerned.  (Remember…

Bigger boat for bigger teeth #spiritualwarfare is a part of normal #Christianlife

As I begin to compose this, I hear a raptor behind me.

No, I’m not imagining yet another Jurassic Park spin off.  In the pre-dawn hours here on my patio, there is an owl perhaps not less than fifteen feet in the trees at my back.  My dog, Buckley, seemed to be a tad unnerved by the sound.  I assured him he was too big to tempt the creature toward an attack, and I made some big human noise to…

More than Deet Anything of #value is worth its #sacrifice, including #relationships

I’ve had one or two people comment on the “number of mosquitoes” in our immediate vicinity, such as my back yard.  Well, my patio is circumscribed by English Ivy, and the border to my next door neighbor to the south is a combo of flowering myrtle and forsythia amid an old sycamore.  Then I have a variety of flora embedded directly to my north which is shaded by one of two colorful maples.  In…

What’s in a name?

I was just visiting with my brother this past week.  He mentioned the show “American Pickers”, which I thought was maybe something about guitar and banjo players.  I mean, that’s what the name sounds like, right?

Wrong.  Evidently, the show is about people who find treasures in junk shops. 

Ahhhhh!!  A show after my own heart! (more…)