Tag: memoir

Categories
Family

A Very Special Birthday Dinner With Mushrooms

Birthday Dinner

Birthday Dinner

A Special Birthday Dinner

It was my mother’s birthday.

She’s been gone a long time now.

Every year I make her a special birthday dinner.

We always have chicken tetrazzini.

It’s a pasta dish with chicken and mushrooms in a cream and wine sauce.

It’s delicious.

Mom loved it.

Every year, The Grown Sons complain bitterly about the mushrooms.

Every year I tell them that I don’t care if they don’t like it.

Grandma liked it.

That’s all that counts.

Every year, they come up with new and innovative ways to insult the mushrooms.

I guess we’re creating new family traditions.

Not, perhaps, the traditions that I had in mind.

But still.

Mom loved a well-placed insult.

She would have been greatly entertained by The Grown Sons’ vulgar descriptions of the mushrooms.

But soon she would have shut them down.

She had a terrific sense of humor.

But not a whole lot of patience.

Happy birthday, Mom, I miss you every day.

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Categories
Lifestyle

The Moral Of The Story Is Care!

The Moral of the Story

The Moral of the Story

The Moral Of The Story

I glanced through Prince Harry’s autobiography, Spare.

I couldn’t bring myself to actually read it.

The news headlines have told me more than enough.

But I did notice that his father calls him Darling Boy.

I immediately thought of Pierre.

You know, from the children’s picture book by Maurice Sendak

Pierre is a spoiled, miserable child with a horrible attitude.

He had such a nasty disposition that when he got swallowed by a lion, he made the lion sick.

Pierre’s mother called him Darling Boy.

Was Charles being affectionate or was he being sarcastic when he called his son Darling Boy?

Either way, that story must now and forever be read with a royal British accent.

The moral of Pierre is – Care!

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Categories
Lifestyle

What In The World Is Going On Today? I Don’t Know

I Don't Know

I Don't Know

I Don’t Know

Here we go again, changing the clocks for Daylight Savings.

Or is it Standard Time?

I don’t know.

I know it’s Spring Forward and Fall Back.

But which season is Daylight Savings and which season is Standard?

I don’t even know anymore.

But I do know that I hate changing the time.

Don’t get me wrong, I love the longer days.

I just can’t get over that lost hour.

Also, it’s winter again.

We had spring last week, with 80-degree days.

Today is in the 50s.

Why is it that a 55-degree day after an 80-degree day is so freaking cold?

On any other winter day, 55 would be balmy and pleasant.

Is it winter?

Is it spring?

Is it morning?

Is it evening?

I don’t know.

I can’t tell.

I’m disoriented and tired and cranky.

I’m going to go curl up in a big blanket, drink hot tea, and read a book.

And I’m going to stay there until I can figure out what time it is.

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Categories
Work

Grima! I Will Make Great Use Of This New Word

Grima

Grima

Grima!

Today is National Proofreading Day.

I was going to discuss the misuse of apostrophes.

It drives me stark, raving crazy.

I wanted to say that the abuse of this particular punctuation mark is, to me, like nails on a chalkboard.

But I realized that this phrase is dated.

No one uses chalkboards anymore.

I researched a more modern way to say it.

And I learned the word “grima.”

It’s of Spanish origin, and it means, “that terrible feeling you get when you hear nails on a chalkboard.”

Who knew there was a word for it?

Where has this word been all my life?

I absolutely could have used this word back in the day.

At any rate, I am no longer so annoyed at apostrophes.

Go ahead and misuse them.

It will give me the opportunity to use my new word.

“Grima!”

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Categories
Lifestyle

CJ Box Signed My Book, And He Gave Some Excellent Advice

CJ Box

CJ Box

CJ Box Signed My Book

CJ Box held a book signing event at the local library.

It was so much fun!

I thought, on a weekday afternoon, that it wouldn’t be crowded.

I was wrong.

It was packed.

He gave some great advice to prospective writers.

Read.

Read everything.

Read outside your normal taste.

I couldn’t agree more.

I read mysteries, memoir, classics, biography, poetry, screenplays, children’s lit, nonfiction, anything I can get my hands on.

Except horror.

I won’t read horror.

I’ve read The Exorcist.

And The Shining.

That’s more than enough horror for me.

I can’t wait to start reading Storm Watch.

Thanks, CJ Box, it was a great afternoon.

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Categories
Lifestyle

How I Survived The First Spring Storm Of The Year

Spring Storm

Spring Storm

The First Spring Storm

Wow, what a spring storm!

I hate tornadoes.

I was a nervous wreck all day, checking the news constantly.

Finally, at 6:00 pm, the sirens went off.

Supposedly.

I live in the back of the neighborhood, and I can never hear them unless I’m outside and it’s a clear, quiet day.

In other words, I can hear the sirens perfectly on testing day but never in an actual storm.

I subscribed for a phone alert, though, so it’s all good.

We sheltered in the closet.

The storm was so loud it was like a train was going through the house.

At that moment, when it appeared that the roof was going to blow off and it may, perhaps, be the end of times…I got a call from a telemarketer.

I wonder what Rob Anspach would have done.

At any rate, the storm passed without any real damage, just a mess of leaves and debris.

Whew!

I survived the first spring storm of the year.

And another telemarketing scam.

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Categories
Family

I’m An Avid Reader, And Now They Are Too!

Avid Reader

Avid Reader

Now We’re All Avid Readers

I’ve always been an avid reader.

There are usually three or four books going at the same time.

I used to be the only person in my family using the online library system.

That changed during the quarantine.

The whole family started using my account.

Today, three years later, they’re still using my account.

I couldn’t be happier.

My guys are reading books!

Today there was an argument.

Someone messed up someone else’s bookmark and lost their place.

Oh, my heart!

They’re arguing.

About books.

I have lived my entire life for this moment.

When my boys were little, I read to them religiously.

I thought that reading to your kids would make them avid readers.

It did not.

Until it finally did.

My next goal is to get them to discuss the books with me.

I know, I know, I shouldn’t get too greedy, but I can still hope, can’t I?

Covid was good for something – my guys turned into avid readers.

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Categories
Lifestyle

Fake Spring? Second Winter? Every Day Is A Surprise

Fake Spring

Fake Spring

Every Day Is A Suprise!

We had Fake Spring last week.

Then we had Second Winter.

Now they’re predicting another Fake Spring.

Or is it Real Spring this time?

It’s too early to get my hopes up.

I know, soon enough, that I’ll be complaining about the heat.

I’ll enjoy this cool weather while I can.

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Categories
Lifestyle

I Found It! Hello, Old Friend, It’s Great To See You

I Found It

I Found It

I Found it!

I found it!

I thought it was lost, and I was very sad.

It’s an old, beat-up, once-red-but-now-pink travel mug.

It belonged to my mother.

I’ve had my breakfast coffee out of it every day since she passed away.

It’s been over a dozen years.

And then, one day recently, that cup just up and disappeared.

I’ve tried several alternate coffee cups.

None have been quite right.

Today my prodigal cup has returned.

I made a special pot of coffee to celebrate.

Hello, old friend, it’s great to see you!

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Categories
Dog

Whew – That Was One Disasterous Problem Solved!

Problem Solved

Problem Solved

Problem Solved!

We have a new neighbor.

They have three large, territorial dogs.

Those dogs have taken strongly against Blue.

They fling themselves against the wooden fence, barking wildly.

I swear, one of these days, they’re going to break through that barrier.

Since they’re a pack and Blue is solo, guess who will lose that fight?

I discussed all of this with Bob who poo-pooed my concerns.

He told me that we don’t even own the fence, it’s on their property.

I hope that thought brings him comfort after Blue and I are slaughtered.

The time came, however, when Bob saw for himself that the wooden slats practically bubbled out into an angry dog shape.

He went right outside to shore the fence up.

I’m still not confident that it’s secure.

So I bought an ultrasonic device that emits several different terrible sounds that only dogs can hear.

It’s supposed to stop them in their tracks.

And … it worked!

They barked, I pressed the button, and I obviously couldn’t hear a thing.

But all the dogs, including Blue, jumped away from the fence.

Whew – problem solved!

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