This and That – Maddie's Mom Writes

Safe Winter Driving

In actuality, the safest thing to do when the snow is falling and the temperatures are below freezing is to just stay home. That was advice that I gave myself and planned on heeding in the future no matter what my husband, Bernd, might have to say. Because we had everything set up for ourContinue reading “Safe Winter Driving”

Sam, or Not Sam

I like squirrels and we have a lot of squirrels where we live. Our neighbors have named some of them. One of them is named Sam. He’s a cheeky fellow who will take peanuts from their hands, but hasn’t yet let me get that close. We have a line of juniper trees in our backyard.Continue reading “Sam, or Not Sam”

I Remember Feeling Adult

It was coming up on Christmas. I was in my first year at college and I needed to do some Christmas shopping. I drove myself to the Whittwood Mall in Whittier, California. I figured they had enough different kinds of stores that I could find everything on my list. In the middle of all theContinue reading “I Remember Feeling Adult”

Fourth of July in Our Front Yard

Every year, Dad would put on a real show. He would visit all the fireworks stands (yes you could actually buy them openly in California at that time and did not have to go to Mexico for them). He would select only the best rockets and fountains and whirligigs. There were fire crackers (how heContinue reading “Fourth of July in Our Front Yard”

Fear In Advertising

I recently read a post by a very perspicacious WordPress blogger. It was about the power of curiosity to motivate. It got me to thinking. Really good writing and really good posts do that to me. My husband and I haven’t watched broadcast television in a very long time. We don’t stream either. We getContinue reading “Fear In Advertising”

Thunderstorms

There is so much to love about our home here in Wyoming. But there are a few things I miss about our previous home in Arizona. Thunderstorms are one of them. In our previous house, the nook off of our kitchen faced mainly east. During the summer, most of the weather came at us fromContinue reading “Thunderstorms”

Winter Food: Chili

What could be better on a cold winter day than chili? Okay, maybe there is also beef stew and chicken soup. But chili sort of says it all … hot, hearty and spicy. Just the right thing to warm you up from the inside. So, yes, the calendar says that we are very close toContinue reading “Winter Food: Chili”

Things I Just don’t Understand, Part Four

Car Bras Seriously. I have no idea why those things some people put on the front ends of their cars are called bras. They don’t hold anything up. They don’t give a better shape to the front end of the car. They don’t make the front of the car look larger than it is inContinue reading “Things I Just don’t Understand, Part Four”

Orange Kitty: An Update

I wrote about the stray cat we adopted in a post titled, “Orange Kitty.” He’s been our cat for a while now and we are all getting along fine … for the most part. Our dog, Maddie, is still not one hundred percent comfortable with OK. He makes her a bit nervous now and then.Continue reading “Orange Kitty: An Update”

Home

We’ve lived in our current house for over a year now. Sometimes it still seems foreign to me … as if I am living in someone else’s home. It all looks familiar to me now. But every so often, it also looks wrong. It’s a strange feeling. Like I am totally out of place. WeContinue reading “Home”