I'm attempting to do two things here.... blog for the first time using the block editor (so forgive me if it comes out all goofy), and add a nugget of wisdom to an old blog I've thought a million times recently of re-doing. Turns out - It doesn't need to be re-done. I actually just needed to re-read it ;) And it's funny, because the nugget of wisdom I wanted to add to it, came from the very friend I mentioned below. I know some smart people, and when they tell me something good, I like to write it down! - and share it, too!  Claudette once told me "people only know what you tell them!" And I have shared that with so many over the years. Be careful. Even those you think are the ones closest to you, can brutishly take all of your junk you have vulnerably shared with them, and use it ... View Post

Recently some friends and I sat around my little round kitchen table, in what still feels like my new little dining area, and shared some pizza and laughs.  On the wooden shelf that hangs on the wall behind us is a little metal mouse, and my Dad's hat - always, always a couple of conversation pieces. My Dad never liked to draw attention to himself.  He didn't like being made a big deal of, and in any conversation, he was more likely to let someone go on and on about themselves, than to ever talk about himself.  And it wasn't as if he didn't have interesting things about himself to share, because he certainly did!  He'd tell a joke (often times over and over), before he'd ever brag about himself.  I'm not sure if he realized it or not, but he didn't have to talk about himself - his life ... View Post

Pood Noun Definition of Pood A friend who sticks closer than a brother.  Proverbs 18:24 A friend who refreshes your soul.  Proverbs 27:9 Friends who encourage and build one another up.  1 Thessalonians 5:11 Friends who help each other out, should one of them fall.  Ecclesiastes 4:10 Friends who share heartfelt advice.  Proverbs 27:9 Someone who makes a pinky promise and 15 years later, has renewed said pinky promise several times. Someone who welcomes your family members into their home when they're moving across country, and makes them feel right. at. home.  (Basically, they take care of your kid when you can't.) Someone you can just call and go, "Pood..." and they reply...  "I know." A Pood is someone who doesn't laugh at you, when you ... View Post

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Often lately I go to a local restaurant in the mornings to have coffee with whatever book I'm enjoying.  The waitress knows I like the corner booth - the one tucked behind a tall plant where I can remain unseen for an hour.  I like to read, and I like it quiet - but not too, too quiet....    Just enough noise to enjoy being among people, and that corner booth is just right. During my most recent visit to this local neighborhood diner, I couldn't help but overhear a conversation from a table close by.  A woman had visited her friend in a nearby hospital.  Apparently, that hospital is the worse one in town.  She spent the better part of two of my chapters hammering the place for what I have no idea were legitimate complaints and concerns or not, but I did wonder if she had anything ... View Post

Right now I'm sitting alone on my porch listening to the birds in the trees singing away without a care in the world.  I still miss my old neighborhood, the friends who were close by, and the hustle and bustle outside, but I have really come to love sitting out here listening to these chirping melodies!  It's nice to leave the phone in the house, and just sit here and listen.  And think.  And with all of the recent twists and turns in my life, I've really been thinking about so many different things lately - some that I wish I didn't have to think of, and others that I'm curious why I'd never thought about before!  But I do love to sit and think about some crazy stuff.  (Just ask my sister!  When I pull out the list of questions to think about, I think she wants to pretend that she's ... View Post