Food, Family, Friends and Fellowship

My brother called last Thursday morning to wish me a happy Thanksgiving and inquire if I had plans. More on the plans in a few paragraphs, but we somehow got on the subject of foods eaten during our childhood. The not-good-for-us foods. My brother didn’t remember the Velveeta macaroni and cheese mom and dad made from scratch during lent and his better half bellowed a big “Ewww” when I recounted how dad made fried-in-butter bologna sandwiches on Wonder cardboard whiteRead more

Beholden

Sitting here, wondering, what do I praise? In a week filled with stuffing and turkey Surrounding self, I fix a knowing gaze Faithful gratitude is never murky A bike, a home, gray and white purring cats Family, friends, community feels right I step on the earthen beholden mats And wipe away thanklessness with delight Upright and breathing is who I am now Fed with food and love and blue butterflies Embracing what matters like sacred cow Receiving life’s blessings isRead more

#WATWB: The End is not the End

“Ends are not bad things, they just mean that something else is about to begin. And there are many things that don’t really end, anyway, they just begin again in a new way. Ends are not bad and many ends aren’t really an ending; some things are never-ending.” ― C. JoyBell C. In early 2017, two women – Damyanti Biswas and Belinda McGrath Witzenhausen – came up with an idea for a monthly blogfest that would promote positivity and light inRead more

Be Who You Are

Cheers to being who you are! The title of this post comes from a Sunday sermon, but I’m not here to impose Jesus upon you – although, what I’m about to say not only comes from who I am, but also from my spiritual heart. Many of you know who I am to some degree – Biker chick (both Harley and bicycle); cat lover; animal lover; beer and chocolate taste-tester; lover of outdoors and all things Star Trek and NCIS;Read more

Are you Annoyed?

“We need to give serious consideration to the fragility of democracy and less to our annoyances (like gas prices and masks).” ~Pam, on Facebook~ I don’t know who Pam is, but she put into words what I have been feeling long before Russia invaded Ukraine. As citizens who live in democracies with many freedoms and opportunities, we sure do whine a lot about our inconveniences. About masks and vaccines; rising gas prices; the cost of living; the lack of customerRead more

#WATWB: Fox Cities Trail System

For this month’s We Are the World Blogfest, I’m going to share the Fox Cities trail system in the Appleton, Wisconsin area. These are some of the biking/walking trails that I utilize throughout the year, but most often in spring, summer and autumn. I may have gushed about our trails before, but the community that also includes Neenah, Menasha, Fox Crossing, Kimberly, Kaukauna, Combined Locks and other surrounding townships, provide many miles of natural landscape, rivers, lakes and farmland. FromRead more

#WATWB: Knit the Rainbow

Knit the Rainbow (KtR) was created in 2020 after the founder, Austin Rivers, discovered the housing disparities facing LGBTQ+ youth in New York City. KtR provides knitted clothing for this population, to help them survive the NYC winters. “Austin learned to knit while performing on a tour in Japan and felt he could use these skills to provide warm protective winter garments for LGBTQ+ youth facing homelessness. KtR hopes to educate people across the country about the housing crisis theseRead more

#SoCS: Icing on the Cake

Mmmmm…cake. Chocolate cake, lemon cake, carrot cake, any cake. Icing is a great part of cake, but please don’t give me the sicky-sweet stuff. I prefer fluffy not-so-sweet icing that enhances the cake rather than overpowers it. But I digress. For now, I have to stay away from cake and lose the pounds that it and all of the holiday treats added to my waistline. Instead, I’ll focus on a different kind of icing…the type that makes life a littleRead more

Blessings and Boxing Day

“Hey buddy, what are you doing?” “What do you mean what am I doing?” Can’t you see I’m requesting a belly rub through trust and the lure of cuteness.” “Well, you certainly are adorable, Gibbs. A lover, not a fighter.” “I don’t fight, I play. And sleep. And kindly request food. And let you loudly know when I left something in the litter box.” “Yeah, that last one. You are a blessing to me, buddy, but I don’t need thatRead more

#WATWB: Blessing Bags

Having volunteered in the past at homeless shelters in the Appleton area, this news story hit close to my heart. From WBAY Channel 2 in Green Bay: Help for the homeless in Appleton came as members of the United Steelworkers in town for a conference dropped off blessing bags at a local shelter, with many bags expected to go to kids. That drop-off site was at the Pillars shelter, near the city’s downtown. Five hundred blessing bags filled with personalRead more

#SoCS: Deja Vu in a Least Favorite Word

For today’s Stream of Consciousness submission, Linda G. Hill asks us to write a post with our least favorite word or one that bugs the heck out of our sensibilities. I first thought of the following unlikeable words: Liver, Algebra, Covid, Hate and Death. However, some of my readers already know I hate liver and algegra; I find Covid to be tiring and overwhelming; and both hate and death are not what I want to write about today. I foundRead more

#WATWB: Goats in Service

During this past week, starting on June 21st, goats were hired to combat invasive plant species at the 1000 Islands Nature Center in Kaukauna, Wisconsin. You can watch a video and read more HERE. Thousand Islands first used goats to eat invasive plants in 2018, when nine goats from Mulberry Lane Farm arrived at the center. Ridding the grounds of the invasive species allows the native plants to grow and thrive. Read additional information from the 1000 Islands website HERE.Read more