A Harvest of Years

A Harvest of Years

Yesterday was one of those rare, golden days, a day when I reaped the bounty of years gone by. Dad planted some grape vines a long time ago; I don’t even remember how many years ago. Yesterday, I gathered what he had painstakingly planted. His great-grandchildren will be beneficiaries of those lovely grapes made into jelly. That’s, let […]

Old-Fashioned Girl

I know I’m old fashioned But I don’t mind it That’s how I want to be As long as you agree To stay old fashioned with me So sang Ella Fitzgerald a few years back. And, do you remember Teresa Brewer singing, “Sweet Old Fashioned Girl”? Anyway, sometimes I feel terribly old-fashioned and out of […]

Starting Points

Starting Points

Sometimes I think back to Etta Bend, to the middle child in a family of three girls and one boy who grew up there, as the starting point for my family, at least for my mother’s branch. Then, of course Dad’s side had another starting point in Mena, Arkansas. From those beginnings came (so far) five, six, […]

Campfires and Tree Frogs

Campfires and Tree Frogs

It was a perfect summer evening. Smoke from the fire pit curled up through the maples. Hot dogs sizzled, marshmallows melted, and the lightning bugs blinked in a friendly way. Tree frogs celebrated the summer evening with their enthusiastic voices. We stayed out until the sun’s last rays gilded the tops of the trees and twilight […]

A Wonderful Chill

A Wonderful Chill

A wonderful crispness greeted me as I opened the door this morning. There’s a chill in the air. A new feeling. Is it because school is starting next week? Is it because summer is winding down? I haven’t read a cozy mystery this morning, so it can’t be that. When school starts, I am ready […]

A Morning Celebration

A Morning Celebration

Each morning when I get out of bed, I feel like celebrating! It’s great to be alive, to have a new day before me, to visit with family and friends, to be able to write again! Wonderful. And, I’m enjoying my first cup of Folgers. Some of my instructions from the hospital said to beware […]