I've been told I have a heavy Northeastern accent almost everytime I open my mouth down here.  You know, like the Kennedy's?   I don't think so.  In fact, I know some who have it way worse than I do up North, but down here with not as many examples to draw from, I'm it.  I think it's most usually noticeable when I say the word "car."  I don't pronounce my r's in certain instances.  It's too much work to do so so I just naturally say "cah" instead......

My husband, the ultimate hardworker, took an unusual few days off around the 4th of July holiday.  Usually the only time we take a vacation it seems is to go see one of the kids.  The last three years or so that included scheduling their weddings into our vacation time.  One got married in Maine, one in Wisconsin and another in Kentucky.  And then with the arrival of grandkids that will have to be scheduled in as well.  We've had two with another on the...

"Save your fork."  Our Pastor friend said those are the sweetest three little words in the English language especially for those who love to eat.  Not only does he know when he hears these three little words that he can keep on eating, there's sure to be something sweet coming his way.  This may be the best part of the meal, he said, especially for those with a sweet tooth.  So he gladly hangs onto that fork.  Now along those lines dealing wit...

You've heard the saying, "there but the grace of God go I."  Well I'm saying that today on my son's behalf.  He was on the same train that crashed in DC yesterday except that he was on it over the weekend.  He was the best man at a wedding there on Saturday.  He's feeling the near miss and is glad he didn't take the train yesterday or that this crash happened just a day or so earlier.  I thank God for the protection of my son and pray for the families who w...

Well it's happened.  If I didn't see it with my own eyes, I'd still believe it.  So I guess seeing isn't always believing, but I already knew that, LOL.    You can actually feel it.  What am I talking about?    The temperature.  I saw the temperature reach 101 today as I stared at the thermometer!  Yesterday we had been told we would reach 100.  But as far as we could see, checking it hourly we only got up to 99 and never ...

My husband and I were fortunate to be walking by a new, anticipated to be opened soon, BBQ restaurant near our home the other night.   It just so happened to be opened for business.  It was their opening night.   We couldn't believe our fortune.  Never happened to us before.  There was nothing in the newspaper announcing this opening like they usually do with the other openings.  So we sauntered right in questioning whether they we...

What comes to your mind?   "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex...it takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction."    Albert Einstein (1879-1955)

I couldn't believe my eyes and my ears the other night.  It was about 6 pm three days ago.  My husband and I set out for our usual six miler.  We needed to get this run over with fairly quickly because an impending storm was headed our way.  It was a nice early evening despite the threatening skies.  It was humid and warm but not overbearing and we were having a nice run keeping watch which way the clouds were heading.  We were just ahead of the storm it was l...

Gah!  Why didn't I check before making my decision first?  I should have known.  Liberty always has great speakers.  I could kick myself now.....*Kick* there I did.  Still don't feel much better. Next Saturday is graduation day at LU and I could have been there sitting near the front.  Turns out I'm going to be there anyway but not until early evening and by then graduation is over.  I finished my two year course I was taking for LU in February. ...

I love this time of year.  I love to dig in the dirt and put in the little seedlings and seeds in the rich black dirt knowing it won't be long until I'll be reaping what I've sown. In this case, there will be tomatoes, yellow squash, zucchini and greenbeans and it wasn't rich, dark dirt but mostly sand with a mixture of the good stuff for good measure.  I can taste that chocolate zucchini cake now.  I haven't had a real garden for a few years now.  The best I'...

I'm not a big risk taker.  I like to make up my mind and be done with it.  And be happy with it.  I'm talking about painting the interior of my new home.  I've lived here a year and it's time.  It's time to pick the colors.  The problem is, I keep changing my mind and worrying I'm going to wish I did something different.  I do not want to repaint.  I want to be done with it once I do it the first time.  It wouldn't be so hard if I didn't ha...

Thanks Tonya for your gracious hospitality.  It was fun getting to know you a bit better and getting to finally meet your family.  Thanks for showing me around and making me an awesome roast beef sandwich and delectable brownies.  I can vouch for you to our JU friends that you are a woman of many talents!  You have a lovely home and family.  I'm sure you know you're blessed even if Gavin still plays at your feet at a whopping six years old!  He's adorab...

There's head knowledge and then there's heart knowledge.  Sometimes you know something just because you know it.  But then when you go thru the experience of it, it really strikes home.  Have you ever had that happen to you?  You know, when you think you know something but after experiencing it  then you realize you really didn't know what you thought you knew?  Does this even make sense?   Well to me recently I really came to the realization of some...

When I was in Maine I used to listen to a preacher, now deceased, named Adrian Rogers.  I loved him.   He had some pretty good wisdom and pithy sayings to dispense on a daily basis.  He always kept me smiling.  Anyhow I recently read something he said and thought I'd share.  I can hear his booming voice now.  "You cannot legislate the poor into freedom by legislating the wealthy out of freedom.  What one person receives without working for, another...

  There's been alot of talk about the plane going down in the Hudson lately. It was a great heartwarming story of survival.  I've seen the pictures going around the web of this plane in the hands of the Almighty placing the plane safely in the water.   Of course, being a Christian I believe that to be true.  Immediately after hearing about it I couldn't help but think maybe there was somebody or sombodies who God especially was saying "their...