I like snorkeling, it’s the only thing I’m able to do that makes me think I can fly. ~ Luigina Sgarro Funny, that. The only time I attempted snorkeling, it made me think I could drown. More on that a few sections down. First, we’ll take a look at the folks who created this “sport”. It […]
Know Before You Go – Snorkeling Read More »
When the well’s dry, we know the worth of water. ~ Benjamin Franklin According to the EPA, about 43 million people have private wells on their property. I didn’t expect to see a number that large, but it’s probably because my head is stuck in the 60s and the type of well my grandmother used
Well, It’s a Deep Subject Read More »
“[My uncle] would pick me up in the driveway after I’d gotten off the bus and take me to the grapevines and put me on his shoulders,” she explains, “and I would pick the muscadines and fill up a shoebox and then just eat them until I got sick.” ~ Chef Vivian Howard The heady
Muscadines – a Fragrance with a Punch Read More »
Rice is great if you’re really hungry and want to eat two thousand of something. Mitch Helberg I personally think rice is always great, and this quote makes me want to see how many grains I can get on my next forkful. Not everyone agrees, and there are naysayers who wish we would change our
Rice & Its Undeserved Bad Rap Read More »
Head Vs Heart: A crowded mind leaves no space for a peaceful heart. ~ Christine Evangelou, Beating Hearts and Butterflies: Poetry of Wounds, Wishes and Wisdom Clearing our heads can be challenging, and we sometimes need to pursue environments that support our efforts in that direction. I’ve been forthcoming about what offers me that framework, but
Peace – Where’s Your Place? Read More »
When we developed written language, we significantly increased our functional memory and our ability to share insights and knowledge across time and space. The same thing happened with the invention of the printing press, the telegraph, and the radio. ~ Jamais Cascio One day, I’ll research the claim about functional memory, but not today. For
The Printing Press – History & Impact Read More »
You look like the Fourth of July! Makes me want a hot dog real bad! ~Jennifer Coolidge, as Paulette in Legally Blonde 2: Red, White, and Blue Americans of the U.S. variety have celebrated Independence Day with hot dogs since for over 50 years *, and we have two parties to thank for that. The
Everything happens for a reason, whether it’s something you’re excited about or hate. It’s all for a purpose in the big picture. Knowing this, relax. Enjoy the process, trusting that it will somehow be used to make you stronger in the long run. Sometimes, certain events are necessary for a grander opportunity to arise. ~
Seeing the Big Picture Read More »
Lean on me when you’re not strong, and I’ll be your friend;I’ll help you carry onFor it won’t be long ’til I’m gonna needSomebody to lean on. ~ Bill Withers Tell me you didn’t sing that. Seriously, I doubt you sang out loud, but you must be familiar with the lyrics. Have you ever thought about
Help in Times of Need – Friends & Others Read More »
If an architect makes a mistake, he grows ivy to cover it. If a doctor makes a mistake, he covers it with soil. If a cook makes a mistake, he covers it with some sauce and calls it a new recipe. ~ Paul Bocuse While I disagree with the quote on some points, it is true that
A1 and Other Sauces with Secrets Read More »
Unhappy the land that is in need of heroes. ~Bertolt Brecht We all know that television heroes aren’t the real deal. But when I was a kid, there were many characters who–at least on screen–represented the best in human behavior. This post is a salute to a few of my favorites. Yes, in my unplugged
Television Heroes from the ’50s & ’60s Read More »
“…to Junior’s mind, there had always been cicadas. But sometime, long before he could remember, he’d been on his father’s hip, looking up into a tree at a cicada for the first time—for the very first time; that buzzing saw had always been there, but to know where it came from—to see the frantic flutter
Cicadas — Menace or Manna? Read More »
From garden to jar, canning is a celebration of nature’s gifts. ~ Unknown Back in the 70s, I would do a little canning every summer, but it was almost always tomatoes, and the process was a choice, not a necessity. The situation was entirely different for my grandmothers, who were born more than seventy years
A Fading Practice – Home Canning Read More »
Shallow men believe in luck or in circumstance. Strong men believe in cause and effect. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson Put more succinctly by my brother, “You make your own luck.” All that said, I wouldn’t say that people who believe in luck are shallow. However, I do think that whether someone is encountering good fortune or
What’s Luck Got To Do With It? Read More »
There is a great deal of ambiguity in Merriam-Webster’s definition of the word reckless: marked by lack of property caution: careless of consequences. What I would consider a lack of caution, others might view as appropriate for the circumstances, as demonstrated in a previous blog post. In most scenarios, it’s a talking point, but when
Reckless enough to get noticed? It Depends. Read More »
Build good fences, make good friends, and keep your laundry indoors. ~ A.J. Hackwith, The Library of the Unwritten All good advice, though some might argue with the laundry bit. In any case, this post primarily focuses on fences, which humans have been building for much longer than you might think, and for reasons that transcend cultural
Fences – A Bit of Etymology, A Modicum History Read More »
Sculpture is something you bump into when you back up to look at a painting. ~Adolph “Ad” Reinhardt Guilty as charged. Bucolic scenes such as the Hudson River School paintings draw me in like flies to honey. I admit I haven’t always granted sculpture the respect it is owed. I have given it thought lately,
Sculpture – Creating the Essence of the Wild Read More »
You should write because you love the shape of stories and sentences and the creation of different words on a page. Writing comes from reading, and reading is the finest teacher of how to write. ~Annie Proulx It isn’t just the shape of stories that I love. It’s the shape of the letters. When the
Does it Matter How You Write It? Read More »
To me, there is nothing more soothing than the song of a mosquito that can’t get through the mesh to bite you. Madison Smartt Bell Spring has sprung and summer will be here before we know it. With the heat’s arrival, we will also hear more birds and more buzzing. Some of those buzzes are
That Bites! But Does It Bite You More Than Me? Read More »
The first scone is what I like to call the practice scone. It not until the third -nay fourth- that you develop any kind of scone-eating expertise. ~ Jennifer Lynn Barnes I have enjoyed scones many times, and while I don’t think I could consume four at one sitting, I wish I could. American Biscuits are
Scones – Better Than Sliced Bread Read More »
What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing. It also depends on what sort of person you are. ~ C.S. Lewis, The Magician’s Nephew I have observed that people of equal intelligence do not necessarily arrive at the same conclusions when given identical data. Yes, this was mentioned
Perception and Physiology Read More »
For my grandmother’s generation, the big invention was cake mix; for our moms, it was the microwave, and for me, it’s the iPhone. And that’s enabled us to do so many different things more efficiently at home. ~ Brit Morin A few weeks back, my brother suggested microwave ovens as a topic. This sounded good
Microwave Ovens – Blessing or Curse? Read More »
We receive our inheritance the day we learn a skill from a parent. How we use that skill will determine how far we go! ~Andrew-Knox B Kaniki Most of us have likely compared our physical characteristics to family members to determine where we got the shape of our eyes or the length of our fingers.
Your Inheritance – What’s in it for You? Read More »
Smiling, he smuggled me an extra-tender ear of buttery sweet corn, which I gnawed to cob in three seconds. Aware I no longer ate human. Rather like a homeless dog. ~ Robert Newton Peck, Cowboy Ghost I can relate. I do love corn on the cob, slathered in butter, lightly salted, heavily peppered. Makes my mouth water
For the Love of Corn – Food and Fuel Read More »