-
A Texas Story
The second day of our virtual road trip takes us west from Louisiana to Texas. The summer I was 8 Dad accepted a call to pastor a church in Lufkin, Texas. How exciting to be moving again. We lived in Arkansas at the time. We had never been to Texas before. It sounded so exotic. It would be really hot there,…
-
A Louisiana Story + My Gumbo Recipe
Today kicks off the Write 31 Days blog challenge which runs through the month of October. You may remember that I participated last year without a set topic. I planned ahead a little better this year, and decided to share Stories of 31 States as a “virtual road trip.” I hope you’ll come along! My series begins in Louisiana, because…
-
One Sentence a Day – September
A recap of September in one sentence a day… and a few pictures. Thursday, September 1. Lyle and I went to Home Depot to buy lumber for our trailer repairs. Friday, September 2. Went grocery shopping in the rain. Saturday, September 3. We worked on the floor in the trailer. Sunday, September 4. “Ask where the good way is, and walk…
-
Review: Tenzi Game
In the midst of our moves over the past few years, I’ve whittled down our table game collection to just our very favorites. We like to play games as a family when we’re camping and during the holidays. The girls play games with each other and with their friends on winter evenings. And so we enjoy a wide assortment of…
-
The Birthday Fairy
Rebecca is our official mail carrier. She (and her willing assistant, Cookie-the-dog) walk down the street every day to collect the mail from our mailbox and the print shop’s mailbox. When she gets back she sorts it into boxes on the shelf in my office… one for the shop, one for Dad, and one for Laura. Recently I added a box…
-
First Day of Fall
To be honest, the weather around here has felt like fall for several weeks now. It’s definitely been cooler. Crisp mornings. A few rainy days. Even some of the trees in our neighborhood have started changing colors. But I have this thing about not rushing the seasons, so I don’t usually get out my fall decor until the official first…
-
First Camping Trip
We made plans to go camping at the nearby state park this past weekend. Every evening last week was taken up with finishing a few things on our “new” vintage trailer before Lyle felt comfortable taking her out. The major project was the water tank. It wanted to leak every time we filled it past a certain point. Lyle had…
-
Remembering 75 Years Ago
My Mother was born 75 years ago today. She has a very good memory, but strangely enough, she doesn’t remember that day. Several years ago I asked my Grandmother to tell me the story of the day my Mother was born. Here’s what she told me [with my notes in brackets]… The Story of Pallie Sue’s Birth As told by…
-
Guest Post: The One-on-One Challenge
Have you noticed how much I’ve enjoyed the front porch this summer? It’s been fun to fix it up to be inviting and comfortable. I like to sit out there and watch the trains go by, listen to the cicadas in the evenings, and speculate about the traffic on Gray Street. More than that, though, I treasure the opportunity I’ve…
-
Blackberry Cobbler
I remember going out into the woods to pick blackberries when I was growing up in the south. Summers were hot and humid then. I guess they still are down there, but I don’t live there any more, so I really can’t say for sure. The blackberry bushes were covered in briars–“stickers” we called them–so we would inevitably get scratched…
