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Sunday Snippet: The Musing about Mom and Food Edition
Dear Mom, I was thinking about you today…that’s not new. I think about you almost every day. Seems like there’s something to remind me of you everywhere I look—violets in the grass, lilies of the valley in my garden, a book you once read to us, a woman wearing a flowy skirt and a teal blue T-shirt who passes by me in the tuna aisle at the Kroger. Believe it or not, it was the tuna aisle that made me think of you today. Remember when you started Weight Watchers back in the sixties—not sure when, except that it was when Jean Neidich first started the program? It was restrictive…
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Sunday Snippet: The Let Freedom Ring Edition
It’s a holiday weekend–which means a three-day weekend for a lot of folks. We’re at the lake and although this is sort of the official start of summer, the park isn’t hopping like it usually is every year at this time. Oh, it’s busy. Folks are here opening up their cottages and getting boats in the water, but somehow it seems more subdued. Even the amusement park, which has been a part of the lake community since 1928 isn’t as crowded as usual (that’s according to Son, who took his family there yesterday. I avoid the amusement park except to go by it in the boat when we’re cruising the…
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Sunday Snippet: The Remembering to Be Truly Grateful Edition
I know that I post a paragraph of weekly gratitude each Sunday, but sometimes it’s hard to find reasons to be grateful. I write every morning in my gratitude journal–five things from the day before that I’m thankful for, but I find myself repeating–home, Husband, family, friends–all things I am truly grateful for. But these days are harder than most and only appear to be getting harder. Gratitude is a struggle when the news of the nation and the world is bad. So today, I’m going to focus on all the good in my life and how very blessed I am. (I promise not to be sappy–I’m probably lying about…
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Sunday Snippet: The Opening Weekend Edition with Chicks and Ducklings and Turkeys…Oh My!
There’s a particular scent that always pervades the first weekend of being at the lake–it’s a mixture of citronella and watermelon candles, mothballs (to keep the critters away) and pink antifreeze, bleach, and a slight mustiness that means you’re at the lake. This year, it hit us as soon as we opened the front door. We both inhaled deeply and grinned at each other and said, in unison, “We’re at the lake!” Pic is Husband in his happy place–the lake! We’ve been working most of the past two days getting the cottage ready for another summer. Husband turned on the water (which involves more than turning a knob–he has to…
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Sunday Snippet: The Easter Memories Edition (Redux)
I’m doing a rerun today, although it will be new to Substack readers. Easter memories abound, and today we will make more as the family gathers here at our house today for food and fellowship. So if you remember this one from a couple of years ago, go ahead and read it again anyway and Happy Easter to you! The night before Easter, we colored hardboiled eggs with the Paas Easter egg dye kits. Remember those? After we kids went to bed, Mom, who was probably already exhausted from working at the grocery store all day and studying whatever courses she was taking for her nursing degree, hid them around…
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Sunday Snippet: The Author Event Edition
Did you really write all these books? How long have you been writing? How long does it take you to write a book? Where do you get your ideas? and interestingly, Do you like doing this? Do you like writing? Those questions and others came up from readers at the author event I participated in yesterday and the last one was the only one I hadn’t heard before. Yes, I did write all these books. I’ve been writing since I could hold a pencil; I wrote my first book at age 10, but I’ve been published since 2012. It takes me about four to six months to write a book.…
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Sunday Snippet: The Wildflowers and Memories Edition
Neighbor and pal Mary and I have been walking in between raindrops this week, admiring all the spring flowers in folks yards and the magnolia trees and other flowering trees that are blooming. Some wildflowers are showing up in yards as well because we live in a neighborhood with lots of huge old trees. Wildflowers like delicate spring beauties, violets, and the little white blooms that look like stars. They’re so beautiful and they reminded me of when PJ and Kate and I used to go out into the woods behind our church when we were kids and hunt for wild flowers. The woods there was gorgeous and full of…
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Sunday Snippet: The March Memos Edition
It’s that time again, mes amis. March memos. March has been an incredibly busy month so far–finishing a book, starting a new one, editing gigs to do, April book events to prepare for, plus housework and laundry and keeping fit. Thus, I do have a few things I need to get off my chest. Dear Spring, WTAH? Twenty degrees and frost on the ground one day, eighty degrees the next? And what’s with all the rain? Oh, wait, it’s spring in the Midwest… of course each day is a new weather adventure, but FYI, I’m ready for real spring. Warm days, cool nights, sunshine… you know… Confusingly, Nan ~*~*~*~*~ And…
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Sunday Snippet: The Here’s a Fun Story Edition
This is an incident that happened several years before my beloved friend Dee passed away, and I’m sharing it with you because I’ve been thinking of her so much lately. Dee would have a lot to say about what’s happening in our country right now and we’d be commiserating for sure. I remember Dee liked nothing better than a good embarrassment story particularly if it wasn’t hers, and this silly story was hands-down her favorite about me. She loved telling it to anyone we met up with and would laugh her butt off when she recounted my humiliation. So because I need to laugh right now and if she were…
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Sunday Snippet: The I Might Need a Break from Technology Edition
Do you ever wonder how we survived before computers and cell phones and social media? I can’t remember when I last dialed (literally dialed) a telephone or got up from the sofa to change the TV station. Or took a picture with an actual camera. When I last typed something on a typewriter or used a paper roadmap to figure out where I was going or opened a recipe book to find a new way to cook chicken. I google every thing now. Texting is second nature now, too, as is taking pictures with my phone, and FaceTiming with my sister. Life has changed so much in the last twenty-five…