Daring Greatly Archives ~ Word Quilt

I’m reading a great book right now. It is one I had not heard of before a colleague started a book club. It’s called Daring Greatly: How the Courage to be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead. We have our meeting on Chapter One tonight, but I’m indulging in reading Chapter […]

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My Aunt Anne’s Wonderful Posts

England 40 Years Ago — November 23, 1980

Lisa says of her brother, “He’s a clever little freak.” The uninitiated would wonder why the toilet brushes are on the backs of the toilets, the bathroom waste basket is on the hamper, and the bed crowned with a clock, hand lotion and a tissue box. Things on tables recede inch by inch, as if […]

Family Fun in the Mountains

On her first full day here, daughter Lise asked the mountain to pose with her. It was pleased to comply. We also took the ritual photo of us at the creek, although I cheated the creek of its rightful space. In Walmart, I noticed sweatshirts with masks pinned to them, and Lise found one she […]

I Dusted the Tub

How do you define a mother’s love? Among other things, I always cooked for my children to show my love for them. This time I went far beyond that for daughter Lise. I performed a household chore that I despise – dusting. She is the only one who has ever taken a bath more than […]

England 40 Years Ago — November 16, 1980

A week ago on Sunday was Remembrance Day here, and we found it so meaningful. Lisa and I were impressed with the trumpet in church, and when we saw a replay of the morning’s activities when the Queen and lots of others laid poppy wreaths at the tomb of the unknown soldier, we heard the […]

Anne Flips her Lid

It was my fault the sun was so high in the sky. I lay in bed reading comments and blog posts that had come in during the night instead of getting up when the alarm rang. The sun was welcome to warm our backs at the creek. When we turned to walk home, it was […]

Logan’s Chocolate Punishment

The way I’ve written about neighbor Logan, you’d think he walked on water and never did anything wrong. He is a normal ten-year-old, and he succumbed to chocolate temptation. This is how I knew about it. A couple of hours after Shawn said they would come for lunch to celebrate her birthday, she asked if […]

Logan Makes Coffeecake

Impromptu happenings work well in our neighborhood. It was the day before Shawn’s birthday, and I found out that Bob and his brother were in Georgia for a construction job. Logan (10) had a day off from school for Veteran’s Day, so it seemed a perfect time to get together for an early dinner. You’d […]

England 40 Years Ago — November 9, 1980

Early last week Gillian H came over to watch me make bread. I thought most recipes for bread were fairly standard, but evidently the English ones differ in several respects. They (Caroline was with her, being out of school for mid-term) exclaimed over the greasing of the dough before the first rising. Maybe that’s why […]

Birthday Waffles

I had two dates on the calendar for neighbor Bob’s birthday. I entered both at different times and didn’t know which was correct. Shawn texted that they were going to their son’s home for dinner that evening, the day before the birthday. I removed the wrong date and decided to make waffles for their breakfast. […]

A Pair of Nonpolitical Hawks

As I walked over the hill, I saw two big blobs on the road making noises back and forth. As my feet stopped, the camera came out of my pocket. I didn’t know what I was seeing or hearing, but I wanted to photograph the scene. The blobs were large birds, probably hawks. Their wings […]