A Toilet Tissue Tale, Ukraine Style
Toilet paper and lecturer’s chalk, these were two essential items, which preceded our arrival in Kiev, Ukraine, nine years ago in April 2011. Dozens of toilet paper rolls cushioned the fragile sticks of chalk, needed for the nineteen art & music performances...
Secrets from the Game Girl Vault
I like to play games! Check all that apply: ___ Board games ___Solitaire ___Sudoku ___Crossword puzzles ___Other (__________________) I hate playing games! Check all that apply: ___Games are pointless, a waste of time. ___I never win. ___I’d rather talk to...
Cherry Ames and Curious George, What Do They Have in Common?
Do You Remember the Bobbsey Twins Books? Recently I read Jennifer Weiner’s novel, Mrs. Everything, which alluded to iconic books and products of the 1950s, like the Bobbsey Twins, Almay soap, Prell shampoo and Ship ‘n Shore blouses. Overall, her book is not a...
Mennonite Daughter: Creating a Book Trailer
What happens after a festive book launch and a fruitful book tour? Mennonite Daughter is still peddling. The Story of a Plain Girl is still logging “book-mobile” miles. But now she has a book trailer! A book trailer helps build hype for your book. It interjects...
Picturing Beauty through a 2020 Lens
I chose B-E-A-U-T-Y as my focus word for 2020. Even if dozens of leviathans had dropped from the sky from Mars, never would I have imagined the impact world events would have on our collective experience in the first 5 months of this year. Wow, oh, wow! Below, you can...
Martin and Suie Kraybill, Pillars of Faith: Post 505
With strands of black and gray hair combed obediently over the curve of his head, my pastor saw the world and his place in it clearly through wire-rimmed glasses, a fixture on his nose. Even now, I cannot imagine he took many sideways...
Simple Snack or Supper for this Season
Avocado Toast is yummy! Have you tried it? Great for mid-morning snack, 4 o'clock tea, or simple supper Assemble your ingredients: 2 small or l large avocado; seasonings, salt and red pepper flakes; tomato slices (optional). Avocado, nature's butter, is...
Flash in the Pan: A Sunday Morning Argument
We should have been in church We would have been in church this Sunday Except for the Corona Virus Sunday morning started off well but seemed rather strange since usually we would be in church where Marian taught her two-year olds in Sunday School. But...
Birds, Bees, and the Bubonic Plague
Sheltering in Place Shielding masks Social distancing SOAP – and plenty of it! These are expressions seldom heard before mid-March 2020 when I noticed the Covid-19 virus had spread to became a pandemic. Scientists speculate that a 55-year old person from Hubei...
Tips from Two Quaker Oats Boxes
Two Quaker Oats boxes sit side by side, both cylindrical, cardboard boxes. One (on the left) is labeled “Quick” Oats and the other “Steel Cut.” One takes one minute to cook, the other 25-30 minutes. Both varieties have similar taste and texture, but they are not...
April Hosts Mennonite Daughter in April!
April Yamasaki is hosting Mennonite Daughter: The Story of a Plain Girl this week. April, a Mennonite pastor and editor of Purpose magazine, is author of more than a dozen books, including Sacred Pauses and Four Gifts, a book I have reviewed. We’ve been online friends...
My Brother Mark and the Easter Miracle
Death and Resurrection Dead plant comes to life Rain falls and within seconds dried-up moss that's been virtually dead for decades unfurls in an explosion of green. The microscopic creatures living in the moss come out to feed. Quotes and photos above...
A Cat Tale: How do you Accommodate?
Crista: Will you come over and feed the kitties while we are gone for a few days? I have a cat sitter coming in during the day for the wet food, but it would help if you did the night feeding. We are taking the kids to Savannah during spring break. Mom (me): Why sure!...
Do You Have 2020 Vision?
Do you have 20/20 Vision? I hope so, but if not, maybe you get by with a little help from your friends, as I do: Eyeglasses help So does my ophthalmologist Artist Monet suffered from cataracts in both eyes, but still produced lovely impressionistic...
A Lesson from Aunt Ruthie’s Grandfather Clock
Someone has said, "Grandfather clocks come with two simple instructions" First, don't let it run down Second, don't wind it too tight Aunt Ruthie's grandfather clock sat in a corner of the sitting room, a fixture during most of my childhood. Actually, at...
Cherries in the Snow
March weather in many parts of the world is temperamental, alternating between tempestuous and tranquil, hence the saying, March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb! A. E. Housman alludes to ambivalent March weather in his poem, Loveliest of trees,...
The Seven-Year Itch: a Blogiversary
With this blog post, edging toward # 500 posts, I celebrate 7 years of blogging. Yes, SEVEN, my perfect number! One of my faithful blog readers, L. Marie in El Space has just celebrated her 7th blogiversary with her clever memes Harry and Kitten. Her blog is...
80-Year-Old Publishes Steamy Saga
Writers don’t usually get recognition beginning at age 80. And often they don’t write steamy sagas at that age either. Yet Roberta George, a Valdosta, Georgia author, has been nominated for a Townsend Prize, so says a review of her novel, The Day’s Heat,...