Pulling weeds and telling stories
It’s a clear, warm morning, and I’m out pulling weeds as usual. This week’s note from Vanaprastha: another guest blog of mine that went live today on the Brevity Blog site. Many thanks to Brevity editor Dinty W. Moore for publishing my piece, “Pulling Weeds...
Looks awful, tastes good
I stepped back to see how it looked. Nothing like the picture on the package. No neat corners, just a mess of wrapping, as you can see. The gal at Customer Service told me to pick up the item I’d ordered from the bride’s online gift registry after I paid for my...
It’s never too late to get over myself
Yesterday, I had an opportunity to get over myself. The story behind this picture of me, reading Isaiah 55:10-13 at Bethany Lutheran Church, appears in a guest post on The Perennial Gen that went live last Thursday:...
Becoming Mother
Our new neighbors arrived late Saturday afternoon for a 4th of July picnic here at Vanaprastha. They brought fresh-cut veggies, dip, chips, and coleslaw. Keith grilled brats, and I made slow cooker baked beans, potato salad, and vanilla ice cream with strawberries...
One dessert, two spoons
Thursday evening, Keith and I walked into the Ivy Inn Restaurant, located in an old house in Charlottesville. Face masks in place, we greeted the hostess who checked our reservation and showed us to an outside table on the large covered patio. It was the first time...
How like our Heavenly Father
One afternoon last week, Cato puppy and I headed to the mailbox. Freya dog loves to run in the woods but doesn’t enjoy walking on the road—perhaps the gravel hurts her paw pads. And these days, Heathcliff dog is too old and arthritic to make the trip. So, it was...






