Well, September has rushed in, tossing summer over its shoulder as it came—and before we can catch our breath, Christmas, with all its attending chaos and busyness will be here! But somewhere between Labor Day and Christmas Day, autumn will come and go, and it deserves attention. And we deserve those moments of beauty that will slip past like billboards on the freeway if we don’t stop and take a moment to notice. So, in order to live a little more deliberately, I’ve created a list of things I’m going to do between now and the first of December—twelve…
Summertime, and the Living is Easy?
Remember those long, lazy summer afternoons that never seemed to end? You know, when the cotton was high and the livin’ was easy? Well, I want to know where they went. I’m not talking about this summer, although, heaven knows, it shot by while I was still shopping for an Easter dress, but summer in general. I think about it all through the rainy winters. I say, “Next summer, I’m really going to use the pool. I tell myself that wet hair easily becomes dry hair, even curled hair, in just a few minutes with the help of a hairdryer….
Floribundas and Tea Roses
I love roses. My house is rarely without a bowl of the fragrant blossoms somewhere, and from early to spring to late fall, they bloom in my garden. I know. Roses are considered by some to be way overdone. And there’s some truth to that. God created an infinite variety of flowers, from the shy violet to the brash, platter-sized sunflower. And roses have claimed far more than their share of the limelight. But what can I say? I still love them. Right outside my front door is a huge rose bush, maybe fifteen feet high, which puts…
Living Every Day
Our Town, by Thornton Wilder is a mainstay of high school drama departments and community theater, It tells the story of one woman, Emily Webb who died young and is given the opportunity to pick one day of her life to relive. She returns to her twelfth birthday and is at once elated to be back in the shelter of her childhood home and heartbroken at the easy way they take each other for granted, not realizing how very precious each moment, each day of their lives are. All too often, though, just like Emily, we don’t remember to live…
Searching for Real Mexican Food
When I was growing up, going out to eat usually meant going out for Mexican food. Probably a lot of that had to do with the fact that that was what was available, but it also just tasted wonderful. And it was hot. I really got those cartoon pictures of people eating something hot and having steam shoot out their ears. I could feel it, even if no one could actually see the steam. The yolk of a fried egg on top of the enchiladas tempered the heat a bit, and so did the honey squeezed into the interior of…