• blooms,  lilacs,  spring

    A to Z Challenge: “L”ilacs

    The fragrance and the complex, beautiful color of the flower clusters are two of my favorite things about lilacs (Syringa vulgaris). We had a lilac bush outside my bedroom window at the house where I grew up, in Denver. Since we didn’t have air conditioning, I’d get a sweet spring breeze when I opened up my windows during the day, to smell the intensely fragrant air. Between the lilacs and the snowball bush, it was heavenly! At our home in Indiana, we have a resident pink lilac bush that has a very subtle fragrance also near our bedroom window. And, we purchase an old fashioned, deeper purple lilac bush which…

  • Blogging from A to Z,  faith,  grace,  knee replacement

    A to Z Challenge: “An”-KNEE-versary

    April 8 will be one my one-year an-KNEE-versary since I had my right knee replaced. I was 52 which is young, although my doctor said that he is doing replacements for people in their forties. It amazes me how God worked out all the little details and “obstacles” that I put up, in order to not have the operation. The usual hospital stay for a knee replacement is 2-3 days and then the patient goes to rehab for up to four weeks, for physical therapy. My dog doesn’t eat without me (it’s my fault – I feed him with a fork) and I didn’t want to be away from my…

  • faith,  knee replacement

    Blogging A to Z: April showers

    Málaga airport by Bert Kaufmann, Creative Commons license. Flickr. “Caution, moving walkway is nearing its end.” April is a time to look forward. Sunshine stretches into longer days. Crocus and daffodils sprout and remind us that winter, as the moving walkway announcement at the airport warns, “is nearing its end.” I’m thinking about what flowers I’d like to plant, what festivals I’m looking forward to, and what photography possibilities await me. The birds are singing and the intermittent rain we receive is painting the grass green. Things are looking up! And, then I find out that in two and a half weeks, I am having knee replacement surgery. Whaaaat? I…

  • Indiana,  T.C. Steele

    Oh boy…!

    Life is a journey, not a destination. So is my blog. Road leading to T. C. Steele’s workshop in Brown County, Indiana. © 2013 by Diane Weidenbenner Life got the better of me and I did not finish the Blogging A to Z Challenge. There, I said it. It’s out there. I’m a loser with a capital “L”! I am also excited because the Blogging A to Z Challenge is offering a second chance, of sorts, to 1) continue visiting bloggers who participated in the original 2014 challenge and 2) finish my own challenge. Since life is a journey and not a destination, I have a second chance. So, I…

  • Australian Cattle Dog,  Blogging A to Z Challenge,  dog,  life after 50,  pets,  writing

    Blogging from A to Z: Oh, no, my dog ate my …

    Woke up this morning to Hershey eating a paper item that he had acquired off my bedside table which I soon discovered was my blog calendar for the Blogging A to Z Challenge. Hershey is our (now two-year-old) Australian Cattle Dog/Labrador dog. We love him to death but it’s always a mystery as to what he’s eating next. I also found another hole in our down comforter this morning. I’ve already spent enough time on him in my blog post entitled, Hershey, an apology and Down for the count among others. Suffice it to say I need an extra day to recreate my blog calendar. So, this is my blog…