Making Lists

This morning, the sun out competed the clouds and burned off pockets of fog. A cool breeze rustled the lush vegetation surrounding our house. I checked our rain gauge. Three inches. Good day to pull weeds, I thought, scrub floors, wash the dogs, do laundry, and walk...

The Cherry Tree—a Mystery Tale

Once upon a time, in a far-away land, there lived a man and his wife. They lived together in a city townhouse large enough for a family. In the small, fenced-in backyard covered by a deck grew a cherry tree. Every April, the tree produced a profusion of beautiful,...

Taming the shrew

Springtime brings flowers and critters back to Vanaprastha. Keith and I are seeing creeping phlox, bluebells and fothergilla, skinks, tiger swallowtails and hummingbirds. But no shrews except Katherina, the Shrew in Shakespeare’s so-named play, which Keith and I saw...

A little Kumbaya

In last week’s post, I wrote, “We are all in this together.” Sunday. Trying to get home, to work, to somewhere other than where we are, Grand Rapids. Then Monday. No one sang Kumbaya. I stood in line at the airline check-in counter for an hour, checked my bag, cleared...