Advice: Do not become a dog, if you can help it. I like to read our dog food bag—it’s great amusement. “Better Health. Better Nutrition. “Nutritionally Balanced and Naturally Preserved with the Finest Ingredients “Quality Animal Proteins, Fats, and Wholesome Carbohydrates “A 100% Complete and Balanced Nutrition for Dogs of All Life Stages” Sounds great! […]
Dog food for thought Read More »
Confession: This picture Regan colored for me provokes a wry grin on the outside, and shrieks of unspeakable mirth on the inside. It has nothing to do with the purple hair. Though there is nothing wrong with the image (or the text), the longer you look at it the funnier it gets. It reminds me
High heels, sweet expression Read More »
Today I introduce to you a new friend of mine, Marlene Stoltzfus. I enjoyed reading her comments on Christmas, and asked her to write them into a guest post to share with the rest of you. Marlene lives locally and thinks globally in Guys Mills, PA. She’s wife to Kyle and mother to 4 1/2-month-old
Christmas messiness Read More »
Confession: I do love Christmas candy. Yesterday and today found me cooking it. Today I spent the morning at my friend Cynthia’s house, learning the ropes of a teach-me-in-person kind of recipe that’s been in her husband’s family for generations. It’s a sweet, creamy stick with tri-colored layers: fresh coconut candy! That one you’ll have to
Read her blog here. ***** All her life I have taken care of her. When we were children, she looked to me. A timid child of fear, she looked to me. I was there in her vulnerable times, the times when Dad and Mom had tucked us in, said prayers, kissed goodnight—and left. I was
Happiness comes in odd packages. Tonight I feel surprised by happiness. I feel happy about choosing my own Christmas. Maybe I could like it after all…? I feel happy about the room I decorated—just one room, at the suggestion of my friend Amy. I feel happy about real evergreen and hemlock, real pine cones and
Confession: Sometimes I lean on the words of others when I can package none for myself. Today I share two poems that give me parameters and hope. You do not need to read them if you are not interested. But they help me. The first is Snowdrops, by Louise Gluck. Snowdrops–as in the flower. Do
Two weeks ago when I turned thirty, I opened a card from my artistic friend Yvonne, and got a lappful [sic] of intricately cut paper… which turned out to be handmade snowflakes, some of the prettiest I’ve seen. Last night I hung them on my windowpanes, thinking warm and happy thoughts. Beautiful! Her creativity got
Snowflakes and shards Read More »
Confession: There are a couple of must-have treats at the Zooks’ house come December. One is party mix. We love the salty crunch, the variable ingredients, and the touch of sweet. We like making a ginormous batch, perfect to share and enjoy all season. Observe: 1 box Cheerios 1 box Corn Chex 1 box Rice
Confession: Last year we practically skipped Christmas. With mere weeks till moving day number three, we spent our December in the throes of packing, renovating, and shuttling back and forth between our two homes. I knew I could not do a traditional advent calendar, so I devised an Advent of Quiet: 30 gentle preparations of
An advent of quiet Read More »