Big families, big turkeys, big memories
Here’s the thing about Thanksgiving. If you grow up with a sizable extended family, you figure it’s just expected to have a huge deal with more food than anyone can eat, lots of kids running underfoot,...
View ArticleAt 4 to 1, they outnumber me, but they’re still my favorite guys
A friend recently described how her older son teases his little brother. We both remembered our older brothers teasing us — sometimes to the point of tears — but now, years later, we still love them....
View ArticleSix inches of melting snow + warmer weather + 3 inches of rain = December flood
Well. Let’s just say it’s been a pretty weird week, given that we’re just a few days from Christmas. The deluge began on Friday, the day before the first day of winter. Except for a few moments, it...
View ArticleLetting go: Saying goodbye to an old friend
Two days before Christmas we said a sad goodbye to an old friend. Truthfully, it was really just me who was sad. No one else seemed even mildly perturbed. But really. She’d been a part of our family...
View ArticleWhether from the Atlantic or Sea of Galilee, shells produce sense of tranquility
Long before cell phones, there was my dad’s conch shell. He knew how to blow through the hole at the end to produce a very loud, distinct sound that would call us home from wherever we were playing....
View ArticleBaking to beat the cold and stress
In many ways, yesterday was a typical January day in northwest Ohio. Sort of. There was nearly one foot of snow on the ground, and extremely high winds had created large drifts up the sides of houses...
View ArticleDownton Abbey’s crumpets have nothing on these English muffins
Here’s the thing. It’s January. It’s Ohio. It’s cold. And snowy. And windy. All anyone can talk about is the weather. The truth is, we’re all pretty tired of talking about it. And hearing about it. In...
View ArticleChanging direction and setting off on a new adventure
I’m pretty sure that Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu had me in mind when he said, “If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading.” Here’s the thing. I didn’t know where I was...
View ArticleBring on the (new) bread machine
Well. We’ve managed to destroy yet another bread machine. Here’s the thing. Some people eat cold cereal for breakfast. Some eat eggs. Some eat nothing. I eat cinnamon raisin bread — NOT the...
View ArticleWhat a beautiful hand
This hand is 91 years old. It’s a beautiful hand, don’t you think? Sure it has wrinkles and age spots, but it has earned those. Those represent character. It represents long, hard hours spent working...
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