“I’ve never been without a pet,” he said. Honey was so depressed. He had secretly emailed the breeder where we bought Dixie to see if she was still in business. She was and had a new litter due this month. We could have the pick of the litter and in 8 short weeks our new pup would be ready to bring home. In spite of my reservations, I finally caved and said okay. He could get another dog. We considered getting a shelter dog. There are so many dogs out there needing homes. But you don’t know the background of a rescue dog. It could be from a puppy mill, sickly, a product of over-breeding, a pr ..read more

“I don’t want a dog,” I told Honey. Our dog has died after a difficult episode of seizures. She was 14 years old, living with us since she was 8 weeks old. It broke my heart when she passed. Those big ShihTzu eyes looked at me in pain, begging for help, but there was nothing we could do except relieve her suffering by having her put down. I cried for weeks. Dixie was the best little dog ever – so cute, so smart. She knew all the basic obedience commands, but also did other tricks, like “Sit Pretty” where she sat up on her hind legs, “High Five” where she stood up on her hind legs and gave you ..read more

The Fried Turkey Tale ..read more

Amazon, world’s largest online retailer, has this thing called Prime, which is some sort of video club like Netflix.  I’m not sure exactly what it is as I’m not really interested in paying to shop. That being said, why is that this week I became a Prime member? When you buy from Amazon, this Prime membership thing jumps out in front of you. It turns cartwheels across your computer and twerks in your face attempting to seduce you with promises of good things to come. The hook is Free Shipping.  Sign up for Prime and get FREE shipping on your orders and a FREE Prime membership for a m ..read more

When I retired from my job, I became a virtual whirlwind of activity. I don’t know why I was in a hurry. After all, as Honey kept reminding me, ”You can do it tomorrow.”  I think in my many years of hurry and stress it became a habit and carried over to my home life. I didn’t know how to slow down. I started in the kitchen by pulling everything out of the cabinets. Stuff surfaced that I thought I had thrown away years ago. “Oh my, gosh, I didn’t know I still had that deviled egg dish and that old food grinder from the dark ages.”  Well, I didn’t need them now, so I might as well get ..read more

Oh, no! Frost warning for tonight says the weather report on my computer. It’s time to drag all the plants in containers inside. I don’t want to them to freeze outside.  (Plant thinks: I’m not ready either. Guess my vacation is over.)  I was especially ambitious this spring and put all my tropical house plants outside for the summer. They really get a boost of energy when you put them outside and grow like crazy. It is best to have a shady spot, such as a covered porch, so they do not get sunburned. Unfortunately, I do not have such a place as my patio gets shade part of the time an ..read more

“Why, why,” I ask. “Why can’t I sleep like any normal person?” It’s natural. I’m tired. I need some good old restful sleep. Like 40 million other people, I have been cursed with insomnia. I either cannot go to sleep or I wake up after a few hours and cannot go back to sleep. I don’t get it. I avoid caffeine drinks. I avoid napping during the day regardless of how tired I am. I do all the things the books say to do. Still, as soon as I hit the mattress, my eyelids go “ding” and spring open like a Jack-in-the-box. It isn’t for lack of trying, but the harder I try, the tenser I become. I am cold ..read more

Last year I decided I was tired of my old garden hose that leaked and had been repaired several times.  I went to the hardware store and bought a fancy new hose, 100 feet long and heavy duty. I also got a new nozzle, the metal kind that does not break all the time and squirt water in your face. I was in hose heaven for a while. I could water my flowers, clean the patio and wash the fallen crabapples off the driveway. The hose was so heavy it didn’t get kinks in it. It was a beautiful hose, just what I needed – until today. I was working on my “to do” list this week. I was going to wash th ..read more

This is a piece I wrote about a Writer’s Workshop I attended. While the conference itself was enjoyable, I was most impressed by observing the antics of conference attendees at the hotel. If you have ever been to a large convention, you may have noticed some of the silliness that goes on at these events when a bunch of people are away from home and let their hair down. We appreciate the business you gave us with your recent Writers’ Workshop; however, there are still a few unfinished items regarding your stay that need to be attended to: We would like to request that all the gu ..read more

You know when your doctor refers you to an orthopedic surgeon it is only for one thing. I must have been mentally blocking out the word. I put it off as long as I could but my arm and neck were hurting, and so I finally relented and made the appointment.  “You need to see an arm specialist,” said the appointment clerk, who apparently had a medical degree. “This doctor only does necks and backs.” “I think the pain is coming from my neck,” I said, and then I played my trump, “I was referred to him by my medical doctor.” I guess she didn’t want to match her degree against that of a real doc ..read more