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Victrola
My brother calls me right before my birthday in November and says, “You’ll never guess what I have.” He was right. I couldn’t guess. He told me he’d gotten a turntable and was able to play some of his old records. He asked if I had kept my records and I said, “They are somewhere around here.” I had a feeling they were in the garage and if the mice hadn’t eaten them (or sold them to their music-savvy relatives), then I still had them. For my birthday, he gave me a turntable. After doing a little sleuthing, I found out that my brother, Gary, had given me his turntable…
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Instant Pot craze
In December, I broke down and purchased an Instant Pot with a gift card bonus from work. I’ve been hearing about how well, and how quickly it cooks everything from a whole chicken to hard boiling the perfect eggs. It makes yogurt (I had no idea that one could make her own yogurt). It makes perfect rice. Apparently it does almost everything. Does it do windows, I asked? No, it doesn’t do windows. In purchasing my incredible new machine, I did research. I had no idea that it was introduced in 2010. It took me almost 10 years to buy in to this important cooking wonder. I was told by…
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Hope for better times ahead
Three guesses as to what this is? It’s not a kitty hairball. It’s not a photo of my hair in the morning. Okay. You guessed it. It’s an up-close photo of a bird’s nest found on the ground at a local park by a friend. This little nest gives me hope for the future. If a tiny bird can have the innate intelligence and the patience of Job to find specific materials and build such a beautiful, sturdy nest that survives beyond several seasons, I can learn a few lessons from these crafty creatures. I imagine it can take days for the bird to first find a safe spot, and…
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Good to take a new perspective
As we get ready to celebrate Easter, take a few minutes to watch this beautiful outdoor walk through the Stations of the Cross on the motherhouse grounds of the Sisters of Providence. It’s a unique perspective because of our “shelter in place” state order yet still so encouraging to us at this time. It’s also a unique perspective because it talks about Mary’s view, as the mother of Jesus, on his crucifixion, death and resurrection. Sister Mary Montgomery leads us on the walk and you can hear the birds and almost feel the cool breeze on your face. Happy Easter Week!
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Flora photos for spring
I took these photos last week when I visited the Woods. I usually work there but because we’re sheltering in place, I work from home. I took these photos, uploaded them and forgot about them. Several staff took photos for our website and several of them were almost exactly the same. I guess we all know the beautiful spots in the spring! I did have a few that others did not, and vice versa.
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Environment
I’ve always enjoyed the environment and all the gifts that it has to offer. Right now, as I work at my kitchen table, I spy this hardworking pileated woodpecker hopping up and down this poor tree, looking for lunch. Were I to show you the entire tree, it would be a sad photo, as groundhogs, woodpeckers and other animals have ravaged it. It has many holes and missing bark. It’s also lost many of its limbs from storms. It’s a very high tree but my husband and I know that sometime soon, it will fall to earth. Even so, its roots must be deep because it’s holding its own this…
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Delight!
Did you know that the Lord God delights in those who fear him, who put their hope in His unfailing love? Psalm 147:11 says so! If I’m asked what gives me joy, I’d have to say that creative writing delights me! When I write, something amazing happens. I receive inexplicable joy. Don’t think for a minute that it’s because I am a great writer. I’m not. It’s just joyful for me to create something, from an inspirational well inside of me, and it’s delightful and liberating. No one person’s writing is like another’s. It as individual as our DNA. According to Holley Gerth, and her book “Coffee for Your Heart,”…
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Community is important
Merriam-Webster defines community as “a unified body of individuals: such as the people with common interests living in a particular area … a social state or condition … or society at large. In this current time, I’d like to talk about the “people with common interests …”. Sheltering in place due to the spread of the coronavirus has been going on now for two weeks but it seems like months. My husband and I always wished we had more time to spend together, as our familial community, so you’d think we’d be in heaven. He suffers from depression and being able to swim almost every day really helps him physically…
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Big question?
I saw this little dish at a novelty store in town and, although I couldn’t spend the novelty price for it, I liked the saying so I snapped a photo. I ran across this quote today and I thought it was odd. I’d love to “say a hearty yes to (my) adventure.” It is a big question these days, isn’t it? It feels like we start every conversation with “When the quarantine is lifted …” or “When things go back to normal …” or “When this is over …” However, I want to be living my life now too. I used to say that I’d write more if I had…
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At this time …
IWSG and Blogging from A to Z: At this time, how are things in your world? Three weeks ago, I wouldn’t have imagined working from home, from my kitchen table, enjoying the view from my kitchen window (see photo above). I am a marketing director for a nonprofit who is struggling to survive (both physically and from a business standpoint). Writing for the A to Z Challenge and the Insecure Writer’s Support Group takes on a whole new feel. My professional writing usually consists of advertising and promotional copy, blog posts and lots of editing AP-style. Recently, my writing/editing has included Covid-19 updates. Quite the change. My personal creative writing…
