Fate, TX (May 15, 2025) – A pleasant May morning and I am out in the dayspring, listening to birdsong. The feathered kids are cheerfully feisty this morning. Mama Cardinal has been sipping at the hollowed-out watering stone near the Kitty Memorial Garden, and Papa chipped his clipped lingo at the end of the wall […]
Fate, TX (March 5, 2025) – I have been in accomplish and purge mode since January. I hope the urge is over soon, because I am tired. Stuff has been flying around this house, bags filled for donating, closets reorganized. The pantry had been driving me nuts and had evaded conquering. It happened on a […]
Fate, TX (January 13, 2025) – The first snow event of 2025 has passed through North Texas. How did we survive an extra two days in the house? We opened and closed the back door four hundred sixty-two (or so) times for Bob Kilgore. Bob Kilgore is an inside kitty, with a strong desire for […]
Fate, TX (December 4, 2024) – Tucked within every perfect looking life, every beautiful family, everything that looks just so ideal on social media, is the reality of dysfunction. I don’t know a family without it. Mine is no exception. I am as guilty as any of showing all the pretty things, delighting in all […]
Fate, TX (October 28, 2024) – It was a quiet pleasure to wake up to a foggy morning here. The slow start appreciated, as I was up during the night having one of those sleepless times. Not wanting to sit and look at my iPad, I went to the guest room to putter a little […]
Fate, TX (September 9, 2024) – I had lunch with a dear friend the other day. I’ve been kind of absent lately. I know some of y’all have missed me, you’ve told me so. Some weeks the words seem to well up and pour out. Sometimes, as is happening now, the words are hard to […]
Fate, TX (July 26, 2024) – I am drinking coffee from my Finnish cup. Espresso really, with a thick mound of foamed half and half crowning the hot, strong brew. Just one cup. This is not an indication of any resolute self-discipline, it’s just that the double shot satisfies me for the day. This cup […]
Rockwall, TX (April 25, 2024) – I can see no way that we will get through the season without me writing about the garden, so let’s do this now. The Mildscape is in glorious full bloom in the third week of April. How can I neglect mentioning vibrant Roses, sweet Dianthus, Cat Mint tipped in […]
Rockwall, TX (March 27, 2024) – Happiness is a place between too much and too little. – Finnish Proverb Happiness is continuing to desire what we already have. – Saint Augustine The above quotes are favorites of mine. The first, a Finnish Proverb, is one that has rolled around in my spirit for years. Not […]
Rockwall, TX (February 8, 2024) – As I began to consider this column, I was sitting in front of the Christmas tree. No, I do not leave the tree up until February! The tree came down during the first week of January. Our tree, as for many of you, is filled with memories. Most years […]