1000 Grandmas Standing Strong: Wordless Wednesday
School of the Americas poster, circa 2001 Carolyn Phanstiel archives
Carolyn’s Treasures: Gifts that Keep on Giving
Early in the morning on my birthday three Mondays ago, my friend Carolyn sang me the birthday song on my iPhone. I heard her warble the notes to “Happy Birthday to Yooooo” with heart and soul. As always, the notes struck a chord with me. We have exchanged the familiar...
An Old Mistress, a Seasoned Wife Muse on Marriage: Anniversary #56
Would you trust marital advice from a long-time mistress? Would you have confidence in a woman who has carried on a clandestine affair with a married man for nearly thirty years? Yet, the Mistress in this book believes she has wisdom to offer, Advice to...
Crista’s Cats, Ruthie’s Fritzie and the Dog Days of Summer
Crista’s Cats Our daughter with husband and their daughter are visiting Florida State University in preparation for our grand-daughter’s first year of college. Gone for nearly three days, they have charged the grandparents—us—with the care of their cats, a menagerie...
Fantasy Fireworks and a Special Offer
Roz Chast’s June 19 magazine cover is explosive! She imagines shopping for novelty fireworks in a store of her own wild imagination: Friendship Ender Lawsuit Huge Rent Increase Pointless Rage Shingles Root Canal Sense of Doom Red Tape Guilt Bomb ...
Book Trailer Goes Live! Scenes from My Checkered Life
https://youtu.be/hHEa87Rl_ww Find Book Here Thank you! Book Trailer Credits Design and Editing in Première Pro Clifford Beaman American Art Assemblies LLC Music Adobe Tutorial “Ovens of Cappoquin” Jolly Irish Tune_100126393-jolly-irish-tune.wav...
Four Months, Four Gifts, My Father’s Day Reflection
A young mother, my mom had her little, black box camera handy to capture photos of me growing up. From infant to teen, my image appears alone, with sisters, and sometimes with my daddy. This week, before Father’s Day, I’m reviewing photos encased in albums from...
A Dozen Random Photos from My iPhone
12 Random Photos from My iPhone “We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone.” ~ Katie Thurmes "A good snapshot keeps a moment from running away." ~ Eudora Welty Pinterest image Sisters Sisters Jan and Jean sharing...
Finding Treasures in Night of Miracles
I read to relax, to be entertained, and to learn something new. Learning something new is what happened recently as I turned the pages of Mary Pipher’s Writing to Change the World, a book chock-full of scholarly references and bunches of quotable lines, ending with...
Stressed, Exhausted, or Calm? Check out your Mood
What’s Your Mood? “I often felt blue when my children were younger and my husband and I were beginning our careers. Hormones could have also played a role in my emotional roller-coaster rides. I thought then too that a kick to our household finances and help from a...
You as a Superhero: Wordless Wednesday
If I were a superhero, I’d be known as Typo Man [Woman], the writer of wrongs What would your Super "name" be? Your special power, large or small? Stressed? Exhausted? Calm? Check this out May 17, 2023!
What Happened When I Tidied Up My Studio
Oh, my word! What a royal mess my writing studio had become. My space looked a fright at the end of March, just before my memoir launch party April 1. On that day friends and family would descend on our home to inspect my second memoir. They'd head for the refreshment...
Purple Balloon Announces Launch
https://youtu.be/H3lIVaUqzYk Launch Day! Find new book online through Amazon, IndieBound, Barnes & Noble or your favorite bookstore: Check out the "My Books" tab on this website. Or click HERE! Thank you! Blurb: Expect to laugh and cry and experience many...
My Fair Lady Advises Mennonite Daughter
Remember Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison facing off in the movie My Fair Lady, the famous adaption of George Bernard Shaw’s stage play Pygmalion? Spunky girl, Eliza Doolittle, the living, breathing language experiment of Henry Higgins, screams in exasperation when her...
A Ring of Shining Faces
What have you heard about ring lights? How are these lights used? Why are ring lights so popular? What are the benefits of using one? According to Mr. Google, dentists first used the ring “flash” light in 1952 for dental photography. Dental clinics now use new...
Patric, Grandma Fannie, and the Irish Washerwoman say, “Wash Your Dirty Laundry!”
Patric Richardson entertains in a book about LAUNDRY, with info both whimsical and informative. Patric finds joy in a common chore because he knows some tricks of the trade. He admits to being a little weird and eccentric: Asked for the book Dress for Success...
Magic in a Colorful Swirl
https://youtu.be/O4XD7rVJiOE Pre-Order My Checkered Life: A Marriage Memoir HERE Thank You!
Do You Nap? Nine Notes about Napping
Do you ever nap? Do you take a morning or afternoon snooze? I can easily summon an image of Grandma Fannie Longenecker flopping down in a lounge chair with her feet elevated usually after her noon meal. When her feet, laced up in black heels had a...