Category: A Quick Thought

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! 😉

Have you been there? The great, black hole we call the world wide web. It holds great fascination, hours of enjoyment, and you can find just about anything. And that is where the problem resides.

I just went to YouTube, to find a song I wanted to post about. Now, almost an hour later, I have seen that song and about 50 others. One loads, you watch about a minute of it and then the side bar calls you with pictures and titles of another song that looks just as good. You repeat that process for an hour, (hopefully you can keep it to that) and then you get on with your day, feeling really lazy and like you haven’t accomplished a thing.

The song I was looking for was ‘Get Happy’ and it was sung by Judy Garland and others. The tune was running through my head and I wanted to hear the actual words. It wasn’t what I was really looking for, but I did stumble upon…well actually ‘click upon’ several other songs. Most were from the old movies, the musicals with the brightly colored dresses and wonderful dancing. You watch one of those movies and you cannot be sad for long.

So while the world wide web can be a huge time waster, it can also be very useful in many ways. I use it everyday for various things, and it is very much appreciated…most of the time. So now that I have several jingles bouncing through my mind, and visions of swirling dresses, I will climb out of that hole and… get to work. If you read one of my books and I break into song during the dialog…you will know why.

That moment when you end up with your breakfast down the front of your clean clothes…ready to start the day. Each morning, I try to make a smoothie for my husband and I, and our youngest daughter. I have been surprised about the merits of it. I sleep through the night now, no getting up several times or laying awake for hours. I generally go to sleep fairly quickly as well. So, those items alone have kept me drinking this in the morning for about three months now. Surprisingly, the two people mentioned above also enjoy it.

But, this it not a post about smoothies. This post is about all those frustrations in our lives, the little things that shouldn’t seem like much, but are. They are common to all of us.

So…that moment when you have slimy, green gunk splattered all over your clean clothes for the day. A new pair of hose shredded on the way out the door by an excited puppy, kitten or toddler. A baby spitting up or leaking on your outfit just as you are about to walk out the door for church or work. Rushing out to your car, late for church or work and seeing a flat tire. Again, late for those two activities mentioned several times…it’s winter and it snowed over night…no garage. And don’t think you can clear off everything but the top of a mini-van. The laws of physics prove that all that snow, some 200 pounds of it, will slide forward at your first stop…and bury you.

How about that time you were eating with friends or fellow workers? (Yes, they could be one and the same.) You managed to have that rather large bite of food land in your lap? Please let me re-word that. The time when that large bite of food slid off your fork, plopped on your chest and dripped bit by bit down your front until it landed in a soppy pile on your lap. Just going straight to the lap would have been way to convenient because you could have discreetly laid your napkin over it and pretended it didn’t happen. Icy weather is always a joy. You never fall by yourself…it is always in front of people. Yes, they do rush over to help, ask if you are alright. But wouldn’t you prefer to hurriedly crawl to a support of some sort and stand by yourself…again, pretend as though it didn’t happen? We will go out with a bang…something I know you all have experienced. That little bit of food, stuck between your teeth. It could be lettuce, spinach, a peppercorn…let your imagination run wild. You will always feel the incredible urge to smile, when this happens.

Now that I am older, the above scenarios don’t frighten me as they used to. And yes, I have experienced them all…more than once. Maybe I now understand that I will not die if I have food on the front of me or if someone sees me being stupid. I will survive and live another day to do the same. Isn’t life wonderful? Enjoy your day, food-covered shirt and all!