It's finally summer. Hurrah! Like many, I brought out my brand-new sandals bought last year at a closeout. How I rejoiced in cool comfort! Then, "flip flopping" along, out to the garden I went. How good it felt to dig my fingers into the … Read more

Summer has hit! It sizzles. It scorches. It bakes. It fries eggs on asphalt! It's summer! That's why I've been out in the garden digging and weeding. That's why I've been walking behind my power mower, pushing it up and down the lawn. … Read more

On May 9, 2009, Lauretta Balderston described her mother's bread-making techniques. In her devotional, Just A Pinch , she wrote: God takes our efforts, even when all we have is a pinch of faith, and uses them for His glory, in His time … Read more

Last Wednesday, I went to a feed store to buy some seeds. By this time in the summer, most garden shops are out of seeds, so I was delighted to get some for a second planting to replenish my salad garden. The next evening, one mean … Read more

I like to garden — but I don't like pulling weeds. I especially don't like pulling up weed trees that are growing in the middle of a flower bed or vegetable garden. Even more, I detest uprooting volunteer trees that shoot off roots of a … Read more

Bright sunshine flooded the fields as I drove to church. In one, a Holstein calf caught my attention as it gambolled around, testing its legs. Meanwhile, its mother contentedly chewed her cud. In another dandelion-dotted meadow, two … Read more

I am struggling (for the first time in my life) with overweight. I console myself by saying that I am not obese, but if the truth be told, I am getting there! All my life, I was a skinny mini (98 pounds "soaking wet" at my wedding) who … Read more

Every winter, I have struggled with a cold home. I put up plastic to break the wind blowing across my front porch, and also over the inside of leaky windows. I bought heavy liners for my window curtains. I blocked a drafty door with … Read more

Today, I picked up my hand-held mirror to check the back of my hairdo to see if it would pass inspection. What I beheld in the glass was marred by splotches of dried toothpaste, water spots, and other minute detritus which I had failed to … Read more

My dog, Princess, really loves her walks. When we go up the road to a nearby pond, her nose is to the ground the whole way. She sniffs the most interesting smells in her environment. She can tell which rabbit has passed our way. She can … Read more