As the season slips away: 6 summery somethings I still want to do

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summer sunset

Kids are back in school. Pumpkin-flavored coffees pour forth from the coffee shops. Halloween candy and costumes line the shelves at the stores.

It seems fall has arrived full force despite the calendar still showing summer on the schedule.

As September 21 — the official final day of summer despite what the retailers profess — creeps closer, I'm mulling over the summer sorts of stuff I meant to do and didn't. A few stand out that I still want to do, still hope to do, before I can no longer...

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Friday briefs: Squash, cinnamon rolls, and Instagram weirdos

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SQUASH
Many successful gardeners — my daughter Brianna included — recently began seeing the bountiful fruits (and veggies) of their spring and summer labors, picking, pulling and happily harvesting this and that from their yards.

I'm not a successful gardener. I am, though, happily awaiting the right size and right time to pull and prepare the two — count 'em, two! — squash I did manage to grow in my woebegone garden of sorts.

zucchini and summer squash

Woot! I'm celebrating the wee bit of success for this black-thumbed gardener wannabe. (Truth be told: I'm pretty sure they grew only because Brianna started them for me at her house then passed along pots with the babies for me to plant and finish the job.)

 

CINNAMON ROLLS

It has never resonated with me when friends (and strangers and social media connections) mention eating entire containers of ice cream or cookies or bags and boxes of chocolates all on their own, being literally unable to stop themselves. Because I'm not all that in love with sweets. I've never really gotten...

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My (uneventful) week in photos

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I haven't done much of anything worth writing home about about on my blog this past week. Which, in all honesty, is okay with me. Sometimes busyness and booked calendars are highly overrated (not to mention exhausting).

Even with nothing much on the agenda, though, I did manage to take — and in one case, appropriate from my daughter's Facebook page — photos of the nothing much marking my days. Following are a few such markings from my past week.

bear yard art
A chainsaw-crafted set o' friendly bears a neighbor recently...

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Here and now: July 6, 2017

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My life, here and now...

here and now 

On my mind...

July? How the heck can it be July already?

Even how-the-heckier: How can the first week of July already be nearly over?

Reading...

I'm about halfway through Emma in the Night by Wendy Walker. I can't say I love it at this point, but I am intrigued and will continue reading.

Emma in the Night by Wendy Walker

Check it out on Goodreads. And hey, if you're on Goodreads...

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On firsts and embracing new experiences

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My grandsons had "a day of firsts" on Monday, Megan shared on social media that day.

Brayden embarked on his first overnight church camp experience...

boy going to camp

And Declan attended Vacation Bible School for the very first time...

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Reflections on the cost of freedom

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Memorial Day

I typically kick off the weekly GRAND Social link party on Mondays. Today is Monday but more importantly it's Memorial Day.

In honor of the holiday, rather than provide the opportunity to share links from grandparent bloggers today, I'd like to express my gratitude and appreciation for those who have given their all in fighting for what's good and right and so very much worth protecting about our nation — and often for the...

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Thoughts on my walk: Confirmation

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 Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.
Jeremiah 33:3

My dog Mickey and I have walked the same route most weekday mornings — barring snow, sickness, and super cold days — for the past nine-point-something years. First my collie-black lab Moses accompanied us, then my shepherd-black lab Lyla came along. Since early 2016, though, it's been just Mickey and me trekking along streets and turns and corners we've traversed countless times before.

Last week as Mickey and I walked, I was deep in thought and prayer regarding a situation one of my daughters faces. A tough spot for her and her heart as well as the hearts of her parents who simply want the best for their girl.

Mid-walk and mid-prayer I was astounded to see the following shadow on a corner. A corner I'd turned hundreds (thousands?) of times before without ever seeing the comforting image.

shadow cross 

Confirmation my...

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My MS anniversary

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My MS anniversary

Twenty-five years ago today, on April 24, 1992, my daughters' elementary school held its annual school carnival. While the girls — Brianna in fourth grade, Megan second, and Andrea first — visited booths with their friends, Jim and I manned the cake walk.

It was a good night…

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