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Garage Sales
Twice a year, the small community where we live hosts a community-wide garage sale. It’s advertised in all the local papers and draws people from miles and miles away. It’s a big deal. The second one is always on the first Friday and Saturday in October. The first one was cancelled this year due to…
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Weird Words, Part 13
Wackadoodle Just the other day I had this clue in a crossword puzzle: “not completely whack-a-doodle.” The answer they wanted was “sane.” Until that moment, I’d never heard that word before. I know, you are probably thinking I’ve led a sheltered life. In some ways, I probably have. I checked out the definition online and…
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Losing Bonfire
Bonfire was the sweetest, kindest, gentlest, most generous soul I have ever known. When my mother died, she wanted to get rid of Dad’s stuff. She said it was too painful to keep because it reminded her of him and her loss. But I think it’s the other way around. It’s the absence of all…
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Anniversaries
Some anniversaries are cause for celebration. Some are cause for regret. Some are unremarkable and pass by without notice. Birthdays are great. Wedding anniversaries can go either way. I’m just saying. I don’t really know why we put such stock in the passage of one year. Or why we have to commemorate in some way…
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Jerrold George Walter Edward Aldrich
Jerry, to his friends, was born on July 23, 1920 and died on August 4, 1969. If he were still alive today, he would be 100 years old. He was born in Wesley, Iowa at a time when it was common for young boys to wear knickers and knee socks and lace-up ankle-high boots. He…
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Creativity
I don’t just write. I have a number of other outlets for my creative spirit. I like to crochet. I just finished making a new leash for Maddie. My sister doesn’t know it yet, but I am making an afghan for her. Well, I suppose she knows it now. She likes greens and browns together.…
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Would the World be a Better Place without Mosquitoes?
In a poll of one, me, the answer would be a resounding “yes.” At least on the surface. But when I think about it for a moment, maybe not. Mosquitoes are flies. They belong to the order Diptera; DI (two) plus PTERA (wing). They are distinguished from most other insects by the number of wings…
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Weird Words, Part 12
Bumfuzzle I like the way this word sounds. I can’t recall ever using it in a conversation, but one day I might. You never know. Apparently, I’d be in good company. Read on. I looked for it in my 1972 edition of The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, but it was not listed.…
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Ask versus Request
When did that happen? Am I the only one who thinks it’s odd? How did a very solid verb seemingly suddenly become a noun? And why? Especially when we’ve always had a perfectly fine noun for that very thing. I’m talking about two words: ask and request. Being the kind of person that I am,…
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Bonfire’s Mom Writes
The Maddie in the title of my blog is our dog. But we also have a cat named Bonfire. He came with that name. We couldn’t seem to change it. We tried. But nothing else would stick. We got him in late November of 2012 shortly after we had to put our previous cat, Winnie,…
Maddie's Mom Writes 