Category: A Quick Thought

I always told our children that they didn’t have to agree with me, but they needed to respect their parents. That you don’t have to agree with other people or even really like them, but you needed to show respect.

This is very lacking in our society today. I just saw it in action again yesterday. It used to be that even if you weren’t a Christian, you respected a pastor. Even if you disagreed with the President of the United States of America, you respected his position. If you disliked a teacher in school, you still respected them. Of course, there were and always will be exceptions, but generally this held true.

Other examples of respect: men taking off their hats in a public building or house, saluting the American flag, opening a door for someone, quiet when someone was talking, quiet in a movie theater, and proper attire for certain occasions. Examples of these would be funerals, weddings, church and your place of work or school.

Now it’s ‘anything goes’ attitude. I think that’s terrible. I also believe it has caused a lot of problems in our world today. It also shows a lack of knowledge, and usually an abundance of arrogance.

Come on, show a little R-E-S-P-E-C-T, and sing the song if it helps you remember. I’m sure Aretha Franklin would appreciate it! Have a great Monday!

What not to do!

Today I’m posting from Tim Horton’s in Dayton, Ohio…or at least a small suburb of that city. They all kind of run together while we are driving around and it’s hard to keep track of where you are. No, I don’t have a coffee, but after a bite of an apple fritter, one would be good. And I mean coffee…black and as strong as you can make it. My daughter purchased this cold stuff…watered down coffee with milk and ice cubes in it. It’s a real pretty color though. Maybe I will do my dining room in it. Just a thought.

So, we have been in Dayton for almost two weeks now. It has been enjoyable to see a state blushing with spring, that is a bit different from Kansas…but I do miss Kansas. I miss my roses starting to bloom as well as my poppies and lilacs. At least the roses will bloom many times over the summer, but not so with the lilacs, and I do adore lilacs!

The weather has been rather gloomy…overcast and humid, not unlike Kansas weather this time of year. So far no tornado watches or warnings that I have been aware of. Probably wouldn’t have mattered too much as we are on the top floor of an apartment, three sets of stairs up. The view from the balcony is wonderful. There is a large lake with a fountain and there are geese and ducks, and an occasional crane. The ducks and geese are caring for babies right now, so it’s been very fun to watch them growing up so quickly. But again, not a great place to be in case of a tornado!

The apartment is also near an air force base and at times there are very big planes flying overhead. One of these woke me up the other night. It was the night there had been storms. Waking suddenly to a very large plane flying very closely overhead when there has been a chance for tornadoes…well, let’s just say I took a moment to ponder the reality of quickly getting three people and a large dog down all those stairs…and I went back to sleep. Standing out in the rain in my night clothes didn’t seem very appealing at two in the morning.

So, as our time here in Ohio nears an end…I am anxious to get back home and to my routine. It’s been different to be someplace else for a while…drive in traffic again…everywhere you go, relate with people that are very different than in Kansas. It’s been wonderful to visit with our second oldest and meet a new member of the family…but home is beckoning me.

Life is all about changes, and experiences. I tend to get stuck in a rut, and I kind of get comfy there. But I jumped out of the puddle for a bit and now I’m ready to return. I’ve spent most of my life in cities, driving in traffic much of the time when I was younger. I really don’t want to go back. I relish my quite, little town and one stop light.

By the way…I really miss my washing machine! Laundromats have not become better over the years…just more expensive. Just a last thought! Enjoy your Friday! I will be…with a doughnut and a hot, black, cup of coffee.

I don’t have a cell phone, and most of the time that is perfectly acceptable to me. There is a huge part of me that loves to leave the house…and not be accessible to anyone. Of course, if my husband is with me, that is not the case. For a while I had a tracfone, which was great in case of an emergency, or to leave a simple message. Please get milk on the way home, Taco Bell for dinner sounds great, etc. If we are on a trip, I will use my husband’s phone to text, or talk to our children…until I get car sick. But generally, I’m not too attached to the cell phone idea.

But today, one would be nice. I’m in the midst of spring cleaning at our house. The first of April and the first of October our house gets a good go-through. Windows and curtains are washed, those awful mini-blinds that collect dust from nowhere are cleaned, bedding is switched from winter flannels and heavy blankets to cottons and light blankets. In the fall it is reversed. Ceiling fans are cleaned and switched to hot or cold weather settings. There is nothing worse than to turn on a ceiling fan that has not moved for several months. Those dust bunnies get the ride of their lives!

So today, I have been washing my kitchen dishes. No, not the ones in the cupboard, but the ones I use to decorate with. Our kitchen is an ivory color and I have blue and white dishes from Cracker Barrel that I have on the walls and shelves. I also have blue and white Currier and Ives dishes from my maternal grandparents. They are special to me because we had Sunday dinner on them. Now they adorn my kitchen. I love cobalt blue and I have several items to accentuate all the other items I just listed.  So, as all those dishes dry on the counter, I am posting this.

Now is when I wish I had a phone…not for the talking, texting aspect, but for the camera. Because who owns a camera anymore? And if you do, you are probably a photographer or a wannabe. Do they even develop film anymore? I would take a picture of my walls and shelves and share them with you. Because when all those dishes are just washed, sparkling, with the light shining through the cobalt…it’s really pretty!

When my husband gets home from work, I will have to borrow his phone. No, I don’t need to make a call, but next time…I will share the pictures with you! Happy Saturday everyone! Get out there and enjoy the day!

P.S. I actually have the above biscuit jar. This one is on Amazon.

One more day and it will be that time of year again! For me, April 1st marks the start of tornado season in Kansas. Yes, I understand that they are possible any time of year, and we have had a few surprises over the twenty plus years we have lived in this area. One night in particular comes to mind. We were eating supper on February 29, 2012 when the sirens began their loud and long howl…scaring us all into the pantry. No, probably not the best place to weather a tornado with flying cans of food, but our best interior room! This same tornado went on to Branson, Missouri and caused extensive damaged.

I’ve always heard that the general tornado period for this area is April through June. Those are the months of greatest activity. So, I watch with dread as the calendar creeps to April 1st each year, and sigh with relief when July 1st arrives. If we had a basement, maybe the stress level would go down a bit. If we ever move to another house, that will be a HUGE criteria for me!

We have been very blessed in this little town where we live. Tornadoes come in from the west, usually, and then take a more northern route just on the outskirts of our little place on the map. I have been very thankful for this, many times over the years.

So, as the season commences, I pray. I pray for those that will be involved, for those areas that will be hit, because every year there are so many. I pray for patience and peace…and for the ability to accept come what may. In the bigger picture beyond Kansas…that prayer applies as well.

Stay safe and enjoy this exciting time to come. It’s spring!

By now, most of the nation has heard of the wildfires in Oklahoma and Kansas. Yes, they were close to us…about an hour or so away. One day last week, the smoke was very bad from the fires, drifting northeast and blanketing many small towns. Thankfully, no fatal injuries have been reported, and with the snow on Easter Sunday, I think the fires are out.

Snow on Easter Sunday. Growing up in Colorado made this a possibility many times. But, it would always melt quickly and then we would be back on the road to spring. Yesterday morning brought more snow to our area than we had seen all winter. And it was beautiful! By the end of the day, it was all melted and back to the 50’s again, but it was wonderful and surprising while it lasted.

So, last  night after Easter dinner and all the candy, etc. we went on a walk. There is an area my husband likes to walk…mainly because it is more secluded, with trees lining the road and not so busy. I really do like those aspects of that route as well, but early in the morning, or close to dark is a bit nerve racking for me. You never know what may be lurking in the cover of the trees, be it animal or human. His preferred walking area is the rail trail about a block from our house. Again…not my choice for the above reasons. In the summer, the poison ivy is rampant and I only have to hear about it to start itching and break out in a rash.

These pictures were taken a week or so ago on our walk along the route my husband prefers. It was a beautiful spring morning, and I wanted to capture that. I love walking beside the lake. Each time we go, the lake is different, depending on the sun, time of day, and wind. Water is unique in that way.

And no, there was no candy for me. For three weeks now I have had no carbs or sugar and only non-fat dairy. Yes, the day was difficult…but I have felt so much better, it has been worth it. Now to just keep away from all the left-over stuff! Have a great Monday!

My stories usually come to me while I am sleeping. I wake up and frantically try to remember what I wanted to write down. If you are a writer, you know that when you get it down on paper/laptop/etc.,  it is almost never as good as your dream made it. Sometimes it’s better, but rarely.

Well, today I was vacuuming our bedroom, something I do almost every day. And there it was…the story for the third book in the Rubyville series. Yes, I have had an idea for a year now about where it was generally going, but today, it all fell into place. As I write, little turns and changes will happen, but the story is there! Maybe when I get stuck on a passage I should just go vacuum. My books and my house will thank me for it. Have a great Saturday!

You all should check this out so you can see who is currently at the top of my list on goodreads. It is located right here on your left, toward the bottom of that sidebar.

Goodreads is kind of a fun place to go. You can answer trivia questions…I had one correct and one wrong, and look for all kinds of books. I created a trivia question for To Thee I’m Wed, so for those of you that have read it, see if you know the correct answer. You may also create trivia questions and quizzes for my books. I would love to see if I can answer the trivia or questions you create! 😉