"Here comes the sun, and I say, it's all right…." – George Harrison "Here Comes the Sun" is one of the few major hits George Harrison contributed to the Beatles, but the song showed what a marvellous songwriter he is. … Read more

I got up this morning with a craving to clear out the girls' dressers and closets and to send a bunch of clothing to the Salvation Army. Only Alyson was witness to this, and she shed a few tears to see some clothes go the way of the black … Read more

My summer home is both small and old — 30 years old this year. The appliances have all been updated, but the kitchen sink is original and sometimes hard to get clean. The other day, I scrubbed it with my favourite cleanser, but there were … Read more

Young children can hide in the craziest places. "Levi, do you want to play hide-and-seek with Pop?" "Okay." "You hide, and Pop will find you." I sat in my recliner. He scampered off for the kitchen. "Ready or not, here I come," I … Read more

I caught my breath just a little as I pulled out of my mailbox an envelope with a Portland Bureau of Transportation return address. Opening the letter, I was chagrined to find a citation for speeding. Over my many years of driving, I have … Read more

Back in the days when my daddy was still alive, he ordered from Amazon an 18-pack of super-bright LED flashlights featuring a compact design, constructed of high impact ABS casing in an assortment of colours. Each flashlight had a … Read more

Recently, I experienced a problem with my computer and a tech person was helping me. After some searching, he discovered the problem. He looked at me and said, "You have PEBKAC." My first thought was that my computer had a virus, because … Read more

We all make mistakes in our lives, and there are things in our past that we often regret. Sometimes, it's about something that we've neglected to do or say, and other times, it could be something that we've said or done. For me, it was my … Read more

When I sleep, I always dream, even if I am just nodding off. I can't help myself from doing it, and I have tried to understand why my brain won't shut off at night! I often dream that I am either in the twilight or walking in darkness. … Read more

Have you ever been tagged as part of a group of people? When I was in high school, the athletic guys and girls were known as the "jocks", the academically minded quiet ones were known as "the brains", and some of the tags weren't as … Read more

When Larry and I were younger, we used to go canoeing on the Current River. Usually, we had others to enjoy the ride with us. On one of our trips, we came upon a cave with a spring of water that fed the river. Several of us went in to take … Read more

When I was eleven years old, I attended children's Bible camp where I committed my life to Jesus Christ. At thirteen years of age, a friend of our family gave me a copy of John Bunyan's novel, The Pilgrim's Progress, written in 1678. I … Read more

Every Monday, six months of the year, I bake desserts for upwards of thirty or more people who receive meals from our local Meals on Wheels program. One woman, who knows where I live, once asked me how this was possible when I have such … Read more

I've just returned from the gas station, where I filled up the gas tank in my car for just under $20. Gas prices in the USA have been rising almost daily to the point where they're more than double what they were two years ago, so you may … Read more

I bought a new-to-me summer home a few months ago. It has fourteen Venetian blinds! I love being able to look out all those windows, but cleaning the blinds has become a bigger job than I had anticipated. I don't think that they've been … Read more

I love living in Arizona, but there is one notable downside: dry skin, particularly on my feet. Many of us wear sandals year-round, so it is an ongoing problem. But I think that I've finally conquered it with daily applications of lotion, … Read more

During this time of COVID-19, we are all being reminded to wash our hands well. This pleading by those who are trying to keep the general population safe reminds me of an experiment we Registered Nurse students had to do when I was in … Read more

It should have been easy to back the Ford Escape out of the garage. After all, it's half the size of our former Ford Expedition. With that big vehicle, I had figured out when to start and stop turning in the eight-metre space between the … Read more

Several years ago, when our praise team was practicing Christmas songs, I was challenged to write words to fit one of the songs that we were learning, "Emmanuel Has Come" by Don Moen, because … Read more

My four-year-old granddaughter was at my house, eating her breakfast, when she decided that she didn't want the regular spoon that she was using. She wanted her Disney "Frozen" spoon with Princess Elsa on it. So, she reached under the … Read more

The Mask. The ubiquitous mask! Everywhere, we see them, worn by almost everyone. You probably wear one yourself, as I do. Even Queen Elizabeth was shown worldwide wearing one at the funeral of Prince Philip. In a recent conversation with … Read more

In half an hour, I have an appointment at the dentist's office. The hygienist is going to clean my teeth. I immediately think to myself, My teeth feel really grungy from eating my porridge at breakfast. I'd better go and brush and floss. … Read more

I recently had a colonoscopy, as many others have had. It's described as a medical test that is used to detect changes or abnormalities in the colon or large intestine. During the procedure, a tiny video camera allows the doctor to view … Read more

Coming home from sorting at the Thrift Shop, I carried with me several pieces of very tarnished silver. It had been agreed that these lovely showpieces would sell so much better if someone polished them. I volunteered, and the job became … Read more

The morning was chaotic, not much different than any other 1940s morning, having many interruptions. My sister-in-law quickly reached for her second apron before her neighbour arrived for coffee. She tied it securely at the waist over the … Read more

During the 1960s and 1970s while John and I farmed, we also had a heating business servicing all of Manitoulin Island. We were located in the centre of the island, so the distance was pretty well the same for service calls going east or … Read more

When John and I were married in 1963, we moved into the little house on the farm known as Grandma's house. Grandma had moved into the big house with John's parents a number of years before. One morning, I was surprised to see a small pile … Read more

"I do not like this time of year," I declare as I close the window shades at 5:30 p.m. "The days are too short and the nights too long." In Arizona, that means less than 10 hours of daylight, and for those of you further north, even … Read more

My friend was dropping by one morning for a short visit, so I spent a few minutes beforehand tidying up things in preparation. Okay, I may have just been moving a little stack of books and papers from one place to another out of sight, … Read more

While I was using a bar of my homemade goat soap, I was once again amazed at how such a lovely, gentle cleansing agent comes forth from using the caustic substance, lye, to produce it. To make the soap, I add a considerable amount of lye … Read more

I think that I'm a good housekeeper. My house is always neat; cabinet tops aren't cluttered; I vacuum and mop on a more-or-less regular basis. But in November, I was seized by the urge to do what is usually called "spring cleaning". I … Read more

A week or so ago, I went to the bank on my way to work to take out some cash using the automatic teller. I wanted to take out $280. I'd done so on numerous occasions before, so I wasn't paying a lot of attention to what I was doing. This … Read more

I have a good friend, someone whom I can call in the middle of the night, but someone whom I was giving up on, due to her habit of interrupting me when I was trying to talk and talking far too much about herself. I thought about following … Read more