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I am the happy current possessor of my late grandmother's journals.  They were passed around the family for ten years or so before they got to me.  But now i have them.  And i love them.  Journals are neat to read because you get to know that person's individual writing style/thinking style while you're reading.  Grandma's journals start in the late 70s.  She's not a big talker.  She doesn't go on and on about her thoughts.  She mostly makes a record of the weather, where she went that day, who she saw, and sometimes gives a one or two word commentary about how she enjoyed that day.  Grandma's entries are so short that a 5x7 inch page usually has 4 days worth of entries on it - and sometimes as many as 8!   I noticed something interesting in Grandma's writing that i later realized i recognized from the familial jargon of her children (my aunts, uncles and dad).  It's has to do with identifying a married couple by one name. ...

The last time my gun-slingin' super hero had to go out of town for work, i was displaced from my home because of having only 1/4 or so of a bathroom in my house--and none of the important parts. This time is better.  My beloved hero spouse left just one day after the one-year anniversary of the fire that destroyed our former bathroom.  This time, i have Über cool new bathroom, comfy home, and air conditioned vehicle.  And still, it gets awfully lonely around here in the evening. I miss him.  And i'm grateful. We're pretty stuck on each other, the hubby and me.  I am blessed beyond measure. And i am really looking forward to Friday. Until then, i'll be the substitute gunslinger around here. Absolutely cannot get enough of that. This has been a short, excuse of a blog, all about feeling lonely and missing my man.

We had a couple of little farm advancements this week. 1.  We successfully doubled the size of the bee hive without getting stung.  Hopefully they'll love us better next time. 2.  We bought a barn.  See? Well, it's more of a big shed, but since the manufacturer calls it a "side lofted barn," and because i'm a wannabefarmer, i'm sticking with barn.   The barn is still empty, though it did recently aid in getting my additional bee hive body painted, in spite of the constant rain.  We bought this pre-owned barn (did you know you could buy a pre-owned barn?) with the intention of expanding our chicken and duck situation.   Did i tell you that all my ducks flew away? But we're still mulling it over and taking things one step at a time. 3.  We are growing tomatoes without a garden.  Nice. Can you see them?  Right in front of our door, and a couple of feet from our compost heap, a rogue tomato seed has root...

There's a small city near my home, or rather on my commute, that has been accused in years past, of setting up speed traps and writing unnecessary tickets, just for the sake of raising money. It has long been my view that if a city government feels the need to resort to such measures to raise money to support itself, then the size to which it has grown, is too much. What i mean is that a city's government should be easily supported by its legitimate work load. Which brings me to an unusual rant.  I don't usually rant on this here blog, but tonight i will.  Just a bit. The evening news reported that a third Californian city has decided to declare bankruptcy because it finds itself so many million (or may billion - i stopped listening when i started yelling at the t.v.) dollars in debt, that it must declare bankruptcy in order to come out from under these obligations. Is this absurd to anyone but me? It is my opinion, unsolicited and bold, that there is no gove...

I had a light bulb moment the other day. You know how you can read the same thing 100 times and never see some particular angle? I was enjoying my audio Bible on the way to work.  A passage i've read many many times.  And something jumped out at me in a brand new way.  It's what Jesus said to His chosen disciples right before they all left Him completely alone is His most difficult life-on-earth moment.  You know what He said? I'll tell you in a minute. Have you ever been driving down the road in your car or maybe your bike, and you notice something off on the side of the road?  Did you take a little too long a look and turn to see that you and your vehicle are heading head-long toward someone's mailbox?  Or worse, oncoming traffic? There's a very popular scripture that is usually quoted with a real stern and decided voice.   "No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God."  It has sadly and m...

A few firsts for me tonight, which have inspired me to break the proverbial (i'm not sure which proverb, exactly) radio silence around here. Back in April, you read and, if you're a real glutton for fine entertainment, watched a video , about our first experience with bees.  We're becoming farmers by the try-it-and-see-if-you-live-through-it method, so our experiences are wrought with silliness and partial success. Which brings me to this evening.  I have imagined myself a potential bee charmer, and in my last couple of visits to the bees, declined to don the hot and sweaty and overprotective bee suit for visiting the bees.  And i've done so with no ill repercussions.  The bees have been wonderfully docile and non-sting-y with me, so i've had very little fear of them. Tonight i put on the silly bee bonnet and the gloves, but again declined the space suit as we went out to open the lid of our bee hive and check on the state of the honey making. I am happy...