It was a beautiful spring afternoon in early May when our Protector and Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, came along with my friend and I for a walk. Of course, we were unaware of His presence, but God watches over us 24/7. Frances, my … Read more

Earl, my kitten, is interested in everything I am doing, everywhere that I am. He silently perches on a shelf above my baking counter and watches me avidly as I prepare meals and baked goods. He quietly sits high atop the bathroom door so … Read more

Sharon Lundquist and I married brothers and have been dear friends for most of our adult lives. I sometimes say that we are sisters-in-love as well as sisters-in-law. For many years, we have lived in the same greater metropolitan area, but … Read more

When I was very young, I would feel threatened when meeting new people or being in a new situation, so I would resort to an escape technique. Elbow up, I would put my whole arm in front of my face. Under the cover of my arm, I could hide; … Read more

Our grandchildren come in all shapes and sizes, each with a distinct personality. While some are quiet and rather soft-spoken, others are bigger than life. We know that love has come to visit whenever they eagerly tap on our door. They … Read more

I helped my husband write his resumé when he applied for a job — and he got it, over 100 other applicants! I thought that I could do the same for others, so I advertised. My first client said that she was a teacher and needed a resumé … Read more

"One, two, three, eyes on me!" I would sing to my Grade One class. I needed to get their attention at the beginning of the lesson to give them instructions and to start teaching them. If they were noisy or if they had wandered from the … Read more

Recently, I received a commission for a piece of stained glass. At a friend's home, a gentleman had seen a glass that I had created a number of years previously, and he contacted me to see if I would consider doing a similar scene for … Read more

"I'm supposed to bring a plate to the hockey banquet next week," my young son announced. "Bring a plate? What do you mean, Stephen?" I asked him, perplexed. "That's what the coach said." I wasn't familiar with the idiom "bring a plate", … Read more

At some point, it is likely that we have all heard this sentence: "My conscience is clear." We may have even said it ourselves. While we need to have a clear conscience, the sensitivity and integrity of individual consciences are very … Read more

Back in the early 1960s, I often took on odd jobs in Portland, Oregon, USA, where I was a student. One day, my assignment was at an address in an affluent suburb. The door would be unlocked — those were innocent days. I was to tidy the … Read more

These days, there are few daylight hours. Here in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada, at latitude 52 degrees, 16 minutes north, on the winter solstice, December 21st, the shortest day of the year, there were 7 hours and 41 minutes of daylight. That … Read more

"You have a very short frenum," the dentist announced as she removed her hands from my mouth. "A what?" "A frenum. It's the piece of soft tissue that runs in a thin vertical line between the lips and the gums. I have a long one, which … Read more

As I have written before, I am not a quilter, but I can derive pleasure by proxy as I admire the finished products of expert quilters. As I was admiring a favourite quilt the other day, I began … Read more

I grew up in a small town, and even though I have lived in a big city most of my life, I still claim Mossyrock, Washington, USA, as my hometown. There were 32 of us in my high school graduating class, and none of us would be too … Read more

At the start of the pandemic, much caught us by surprise. The stores ran out of any and every kind of sanitizer; there was no PPE to be found. Did we even know what PPE was? We were told not to "speak moistly", to wear a mask, and to … Read more

Dee, our 56-year-old daughter, entered the COVID-19 situation already in crisis because her husband of 31 years had died in September 2019, just before the virus began to spread devastation around the world. When COVID-19 lockdowns began, … Read more

In our area of Canada, we have been inundated with bugs this summer. Having received record levels of snow during the winter and torrential rains amidst the spring, there was standing water and flowing creeks, rivers, and ditches … Read more

For the first two weeks of my life, I was not called Alice, my present name. My parents were trying out the name Helen. They must not have been sure about it, because there was no definite mention of a name in the early letters to my … Read more

Fortunately for me, the lock on the outside of the laundry room door is high enough that my two little granddaughters can't yet reach it, because if they could lock it, I couldn't get out! They love nothing better than to run and shut the … Read more

Hurricane Zeta was less than 24 hours away from the small Mississippi town of Lucedale. The people didn't know it yet, but Zeta would bring Katrina-like destruction in the next few days. The town's population rushed to secure their … Read more

The fence was there for a purpose — not just for looks. The first house that I lived in on my own was situated on two acres of land just outside of town. Gardening and farming had always been in my blood — I suppose because both of my … Read more

My older brother and I shared a common bit of philosophy. We agreed that any years granted us beyond a certain given age would simply be icing on the cake, and death at any point thereafter should not be viewed as a great tragedy. We felt … Read more

Our congregation consists of fifteen to eighteen worshippers, the majority seventy years and older. Two of our members, however, are only one and three years of age. They can be loud at times and somewhat disruptive, yet no one seems to … Read more

I have an artist friend who paints glorious landscapes in amazing detail. His depictions of the Atlantic waves breaking themselves on the rocky shores of Newfoundland, or the gentle slap of fresh water on the burnished, burnt rocks of … Read more

My barely school-aged children decided to become independent in a big city when we had to ride a streetcar home. Instead of standing beside me, they spread out, taking whatever seats were available. So, they weren't paying attention at … Read more

Last fall, my brother, Jim, got such a good laugh. He was outside and witnessed three of the dogs playing tag. Denver was in the lead, with Sunny and Kayley trying to catch him. As he is much larger, stronger, and faster than the two … Read more

In early February, I had just left an art store with supplies to make earrings when I saw a city parking officer put an extra coin in an expired meter rather than write a ticket for a battered old car. Her small kindness made me … Read more

Back in the day, a housewife doing her weekly laundry the good old-fashioned way knew when her clothes were clean. Through various iterations of laundry methods — from washing clothes on the riverbank, to using a washtub and scrub board, … Read more

Regardless of how many times that I explained the concept, some continued to misunderstand and make mistakes. Correctly punctuating compound sentences — or independent clauses — was one of the simplest yet most difficult concepts that … Read more

Have you ever been handed counterfeit money? Some photocopied counterfeits are easy to spot, but others are really well crafted and hard to detect. Law enforcement officers and banking staff know what counterfeit money looks like. They … Read more

In the six years since we bought a home built in 1901, I have spent quite a bit of time stripping paint off doors, trim, and walls. The accretions of the ages had become ugly and needed to come off so that repairs could be made and fresh … 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