Booker pounces, stuffs his face into tufts of gold and brown grasses, and waggles his butt in the air. I wait in respect, for a mouse may have met its judgement day. It’s hard to tell because Booker quickly loses interest and moves on. Up ahead the chocolate Labrador named Bob waits to snarl and growl and bristle as we… Read More

She bites. She hisses. She arches her back and poofs her tail. That is my Pudgy. I never take her naughty actions seriously, even when she’s sinking her mouse-scaring needle teeth into my hand. Somehow I know she’s just exploring her cat-nature and doesn’t’ mean to hurt me. Much. As proof I offer the fact that she rarely breaks the… Read More

With the promise of summer floating like dandelion fluff on a soft breeze, I get gardening fever around April each year. By the end of May I’ve usually planted our vegetable garden, our assorted pots and planters, and thrown in a few new species of perennials for fun. I water those plant babies, feed them, and hack back any threatening… Read More

The paper rustled and waved in the whoosh of the door’s opening. Is that what made me look? I don’t know. Tacked to the workout facility’s community cork board, a humble sheet of paper commanded my attention and sweetened my heart. The 8 1/2 by 11 inch day changer was nestled in amongst business cards, objects for sale, and other… Read More

There is an old saying that I love— “It is the little things that do you in. You can sit on the head of a mountain, but you can’t sit on the head of a pin.” How often do we over-react to pet-peeves that are merely simple, little, non-consequential repetitive irritations?  In my case, fairly often. I seriously try to… Read More

  A woman wandered by in a midriff baring outfit circa, well, the Renaissance. She was sucking on a bottle of water and chatting with a young man also in period dress. So what, you say? Well, she was obviously pregnant and I’m thinking that was not the normal way of announcing one’s good news back in ye old Renaissance…. Read More

I saw an interesting article on MSN today. (http://m.now.msn.com/cats-photobomb-people-and-pets-in-gallery-of-photos) The article referred to a trending term called photo bombing.  It went on to say that cats love to have their photograph taken and will often sneak into pictures on the sly.  While I don’t want to dispute the experts, Pudgy does not like her picture taken. In fact, whenever I… Read More

“I just got word that we won’t be able to start cleaning until 10:30 p.m., so find something to do until then.”  Those weren’t the words my husband and I wanted to hear, but then again, we weren’t surprised either. For the past ten years or so my husband and I have volunteered, along with other members of our church,… Read More

The red web spread across the floor like lacey blood.  “Booker! NO!”  He stopped ripping at the plastic mesh long enough to see if I was serious.       Last Christmas our tree came bundled in a stretchy mass of red plastic.  After we unleashed the tree in our living room my husband was going to toss the netting,… Read More

  My spiffy Audi TT is in the shop today. Some weird electrical disruptions were causing my baby to malfunction in humorous and vexing ways. It was getting to the point that I’d do a happy dance if the trunk opened on command. Note to self: standing in the grocery store parking lot with four bags of food makes the… Read More

Those of us lucky enough to love animals have wealth. How else can I describe the relationships and memories of the special pets we have known, and who have loved us back? As a child we had a calico cat that managed life just fine with only three legs. She not only raised her kittens, but was a great mouser…. Read More

My daughter’s significant other is a swell guy. She did a good job in selecting a partner who is not only intelligent, but fun too. He has a way of explaining ideas, rules, theories, and stories that make them not only easy to understand, but enjoyable to boot. For instance, I’d rather eat raw liver than dabble in college math… Read More

  I don’t mean to pick on my husband. Much. He’s perfect for me. Those little deviations from pure-perfection are just additional things to ponder and love. Right? Right? One of our, um, ongoing discussions revolves around the way he drives my car. Let’s just say he takes on a persona of abandon garnished with a bit of Steve McQueen… Read More

  The phone rang just as I was half out of my pants. Should I let the phone ring, or hop over? I opted to hop while Pudgy followed behind trying to pounce on my flapping fabric.  The call was worth the effort. A dear friend of mine has been going through some transitional relationship stuff that I won’t go… Read More

With a shaking bang and crash, thunder shattered the stillness of the night and caused me to roll into the listless, yet comforting, arms of my sleeping husband. A short while later rain danced on the roof and splashed against our bedroom windows. My heart rejoiced.   What’s the big deal you wonder? I’ll tell you, but here’s the thing–most… Read More

Okay! Confession time. I recently purchased a Mac laptop. For years I’ve teased my husband about his snobbish Mac ways while proudly clinging to my PC. Even now I have only high regards for PC users and deeply understand the comfort of being compatible with most of the world. My walk towards the logo of the sinful fruit that took… Read More

Dream on… While it must seem that my husband is a favorite muse for my writing, I must confess he makes it so darn easy. His sweetness and foibles are just too good to ignore as I consider the best parts of my days, nights, weeks, months, and years together with him. He knows that I’ve been an Aerosmith fan… Read More

Just as I thrust my hands into the sudsy fluff of dishwater, my husband comes from behind and embraces me. He nuzzles my neck and whispers naughty things. While this should be a romantic moment, I sigh and squirm to face him. “Why do you always feel amorous in the kitchen?” I ask.  He simply smirks and pulls me tighter…. Read More

My friend Claudia recently underwent her regular six month post-cancer testing. Some of her numbers came back a slight bit elevated which was enough of a concern to warrant additional tests. The results of the subsequent tests still indicated elevated numbers, so she was scheduled for a PET scan—a more accurate and definitive means of knowing what is truly going… Read More

The huge pile of wood chips has been sitting in our driveway looking like Paul Bunyan’s ugly cheese log from two Christmas’s past. Because of the stack’s location backing out of the garage has been challenging, and each rain sends a wooden river of chips meandering down the asphalt as if seeking the ocean. Considering we live in Minnesota,  the chips have a… Read More

It was a gray morning and I fought getting out of bed. Pudgy pushed her face into mine with the not so subtle message that she was hungry and wanted breakfast. Okay, okay. I stretched and yawned and shuffled into the bathroom. Looking out the window I noticed our dog Booker sitting in the backyard like the RCA Victor dog…. Read More

  The early spring storm forcefully exhaled stale winter air over a greening landscape. The damage was minimal, but tufts of leaf buds clinging to broken branches unwilling to bend littered the back yard. Among the debris I spotted my string of Tibetan prayer flags sprawling on the ground wilted and spent. It was a sad sight. For nearly a… Read More

  Three flower girls, clad in beautiful dresses, sprinkled pastel-shaded flower petals along the path the bride was about to take. A six year old girl sitting behind my husband and I watched the girls with a smidge of envy. “Why couldn’t I be a flower girl?” she whispered to her mom. Her mom shushed her and said to get… Read More

  The two railing planters—rectangle-shaped wire lined with cocoa matting—looked like half smirks. Part of the matting had drooped and part remained where it was supposed to be. I wasn’t sure if I could salvage the matting, but had nothing to lose, so I tried to bolster and adjust. As I propped up the drooping sides I’d rearrange the dirt…. Read More

  Last week as I struggled though my final papers for the college semester, I felt exhausted. Driving home from a workout, I eased my car to a halt at a red light. To my right a car was signaling to turn onto the freeway.  For just a moment a feeling of flight washed over me. In those brief moments… Read More

Patterns are hard to break. My husband has made significant changes to his eating habits and as a result has lost ten pounds. While I completely support his dietary changes, I haven’t opted to eradicate certain foods that I still love but he chooses no longer to eat. It’s kinda-sorta mean, but not meant to be. As an example, he… Read More

First robin sighting. Check. First scent of skunk odor. Not yet. First hyacinth bulb poking from the frigid earth. Check. First motorcyclist roaring down the highway with a smile as frozen as the rest of his/her body. Check. The preceding items are part of my mental checklist harkening spring. Today I watched an eagle attacked by two smaller crows. The… Read More

Huck….huck…huck. My sleeping brain said the sound was incongruous with my dream. I don’t recall what the dream was per se, but something was wrong…sorta like pulling on pantyhose while wearing sandpaper gloves…the mix wasn’t right. I listened for a short while longer and heard only normal house sounds like a furnace kicking on or birds chirping outside our window…. Read More

I have a cow in Wisconsin named after me. While this might seem like a questionable honor, perhaps one bordering on insult, I am so dang proud. My daughter’s best friend, Amanda, the young gypsy traveling and working in New Zealand for a year, calls a farm in Wisconsin home. A number of years ago Amanda’s family named one of… Read More

Lately I’ve been feeling mired. My life is great, but the intense attention to college homework and writing has me gasping for air. In fact, I feel I’m so buried in deadlines that there are imaginary rope burns on my wrists, ankles, and brain if such a thing is possible. What the heck, it’s my fantasy so it is possible…. Read More