Category Archives: updates

The Rude and Uninvited Guest

1 Reply

Arizona

When you move to Arizona, you never think about crickets. Not at first, anyway.

Once in awhile, a bold cricket will barge into our house without permission.

This happened the other day. A rude and uninvited cricket ascended my bookshelf, which is a rather tall bookshelf that reaches almost to the ceiling. Once the cricket made it to the top, with the assistance of a harness and nylon rope, it yodeled oh-lay-dee-hooo and hollered “I’m king of the mountain” to see if it could hear an echo.

top of bookshelf

The cricket camped out and sang inside the shelf’s corbel.

Then he got down to business and began chirping his heart out. Chirr, chirr, chirr-pity-chirr, chirr, chirr….CHIRRR, CHIRRR… read more

What I Suddenly Realized Was Missing From My life

Leave a reply
The Thinking Chair

The Thinking Chair

I have a thinking chair. I got the name from the deliveryman who maneuvered my new chair into my office. “This is your thinking chair,” the deliveryman proclaimed, noticing its serene location facing a window view of our desert tree lit up in lemon-yellow blossoms.

I’ve never had a thinking chair. Or for that matter, a chair of my own. In the past, I’ve had to do my thinking in chairs other family members claimed as well. Community chairs, that’s what we had…dining room chairs, family room chairs, dusty patio chairs and uncomfortable wooden folding chairs. read more

Beaches & Bedrooms With Cats (And Other Things That Make Your Life Better)

1 Reply

When I asked “What makes your life better?”~no one gave the answer traffic congestion, touring a wastewater treatment facility, waiting in line at the post office during the Christmas season, or sitting barely dressed on top of a cold table in a proctologist’s office. The theme of what makes your life better, according to your answers, relates to moments of tranquility, inner peace, beauty, and love.

Here are your replies and some fun facts too.

Shianne: The BEACH

The beach is Shianne's happy place. photo: A Day at the Beach by Mircea Vasiliu

The beach is Shianne’s happy place.
photo: A Day at the Beach by Mircea Vasiliu

Beach Facts~A jellyfish has no heart or brain. A group of jellyfish swimming together is called a smack. I could find no reason in my research for the term smack. I recall getting stung by dead jellyfish washing ashore and feeling like I could smack anyone near me as I jumped and hollered and swung my arms around writhing in pain. But I don’t think that’s the reason for the term. Why do we call fish swimming together a school? Moving on to flower facts … read more

Eleven Things to Make Your Life Better

1 Reply

sponge holder1

Things to make your life better.

  1. Buy a sponge holder.

I got tired of the sponges dripping on the counter or floating in trays full of water, so Jerry and I bought a sponge holder. It comes with suction cups so you can stick it on the side of your sink and it clings there like Spiderman gripping the side of a skyscraper. Our sponge holder wouldn’t stick and it kept popping off like it wanted to escape. Jerry decided to fix the sponge holder once and for all and cemented it to the sink using silicone. Now the sponge holder never pops off. It’s there forever. And the great thing about this is no more puddles on our counter. Plus the sponge holder allows the sponge to air dry.  I wonder why songs aren’t dedicated to the sponge holder? read more