This week I turn 39 and I can already see the dreaded 40 creeping over the horizon. I am beginning to wonder if sitting on the cusp of this stigma-filled age is worse than actually being The Big 40. For the next year, that number will loom like a black cloud waiting to rain on...
In blew the cold breath of winter, earlier than expected. My fear for the garden dwellers, unwarranted. Instead of finding shriveled up messes, my garden friends seem happy with the candy-like crystals that cloak their grey, green and golden foliage — they are fit as fiddles. There is joy in...
My friend and I sit shoulder to shoulder staring out the window. The sun creeps over the horizon casting a soft glow on the day. A single white honeysuckle flower defiantly clings to the vine, refusing to accept that summer is over. From the plum tree swoops a small feathered beauty. She lands on the...
The ugliest sock found a home with my father-in-law Joe. Because he is so active, I don’t think “amputee” when I think of him. I see a fisherman, medal winning downhill skier and kick-butt basketball opponent for my teenage son. Consequently, I didn’t think of him when I wrote about my need to find a...
For those of you who remember, last June, our family was blessed with a quail’s nest full of fourteen tiny eggs. Unfortunately, the mama quail was killed by a cat and subsequently the eggs were raided. I took the eggs (including the punctured two) to Shasta Wildlife Rescue in hopes they could save the babies....
Drink wine, and you will sleep well. Sleep, and you will not sin. Avoid sin, and you will be saved. Ergo, drink wine and be saved. – Medieval German saying Peaceful, productive and pleasant are words that come to mind when I recall the wine tasting excursion my husband and I, along with our friends...
About an hour south of Redding, just west of Interstate 5, sits the small farming community of Gerber. Situated on prime agricultural land with a growing season of 274 days per year, Gerber produces an abundance of crops, with the majority being grown on family farms. A diversity of food comes from this blip on...
You guessed it — me. I have been knitting for a long while, but until about two years ago, I had never attempted knitting socks. Then one day I found the inspiration to try. I worked and worked at it, but the short rows at the heel stumped me and I failed. Frustrated, I hid...
The rainy weather broke long enough for me to get out in the garden today. My husband and I had some finishing to tend to on the chicken coop so we started there. Sunshine lit up the sky and warmed the air making it a perfect day for the chickens to take their first stroll...
Now, as always, the most automated appliance in a household is the mother. ~Beverly Jones If evolution really works, how come mothers only have two hands? ~Milton Berle The phrase “working mother” is redundant. ~Jane Sellman Sometimes I wonder if men and women really suit each other. Perhaps they should live next door and just...
