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Driving Miss Kerri
Never in a million years did I see myself writing about cars and driving, but recent events have had this topic in the forefront of my mind. You see, we are now the proud owners of a new van, not so exciting in and of itself, but the journey to get there was like nothing I ever expected. The Fun Bus Back when our first grandchild arrived we thought purchasing a van might be a good idea so that we would have room for all the grandchildren we thought were sure to come. So we did just that and over the next several years more grandchildren did arrive. As time…
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The Long and Short of It
We all face different challenges in our lives, but Big and Little Sis have one in common. That is the challenge of, well quite frankly being 5 ft and 5ft 3" respectively, in a world that is 5ft 5.” Even when we wear heels it doesn’t help, we still can’t reach the top shelf at the Grocery Store.
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Opening Up The Past
It is a generally accepted principle that Grandmothers are "the best." (Full Disclosure: I am a Grandmother) But this post isn't about me. It's about our Grandmother, Lena Matilda, better known as Tilly.
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Life With H.A.S.
Our Dad often signed business memos with his initials H.A.S., hence the title of this post. His handwriting was beautiful and somewhat embellished. In fact, a handwriting expert might predict a strong, decisive personality and that would sum up Dad perfectly. He was very intelligent and our family "Go To" for problem solving. We often said that he knew a little bit about a lot of things. He was also what we would describe as "quirky."
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Turning Tables
This is a story about a table, yes, a table- the one you see my grandchildren using for their chess game in the picture above. It is a beautiful solid wood table of the kind you don’t see much any more and that you certainly wouldn’t find at IKEA. It first belonged to our parents and after their passing now belongs to me. Before you start wondering what more one can say about a table, the real story here is about what that table represents and the memories that are attached to it. We Bought A House After many years with his company, dad received a promotion which involved a…
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Miss You Mom
Mom left us six years ago. Tomorrow would have been her 96th birthday and we are reminded that there are so many things we remember and celebrate about her. But most of all, she was quite simply a sweet, warm, friendly person, and her Starbucks story is one that personifies those qualities. So, in her honor, we offer a reprint of one of our original posts, "BettyBucks."
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Trials and Tribulations of the Oldest Child
Its not easy being the oldest child. The burden is heavy and I am too short and delicate to be tasked with such a massive load. The stress is unrelenting, but I do my best. Unfortunately, almost immediately after birth the pressure was on. Mom entered me in some kind of a "Baby Royalty" contest. I was only able to achieve the status of "Duchess," and all I got was a lousy pink ribbon. What a letdown! Even though I was eventually joined by 4 siblings who were able to share some of the spotlight, the expectations were still high and to this day, I feel an unresolved trauma when…
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On The Road Again
Biscuit here. It feels like forever since we went on a road trip and the time has finally come. I am so excited I can hardly stand it! We’re going to Oregon and I can’t wait to run on the beach, chase seagulls, and roll in stuff that smells good to me, but not everybody else. Time To Get Ready We were a lot more organized this year than we have been in the last several years, so the car was packed the night before our departure. The biggest concern I heard Little Sis and her hubby talking about was the possible long wait at the border because of the…
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Make No Bones About It
Mom was a few months short of 90 when she passed, and she enjoyed relatively good health well into her mid 80's. She was a very social person, happy to participate in many of the activities at her care facility. She walked every day (even though it was only a few blocks to get her Starbucks☺️) and took her medications as prescribed.
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Three Ring Circus
Haven’t we all at one time or another felt like our life was a three ring circus? Well, in our house we recently had a three ring circus of a different kind when raccoons decided to set up house in our attic. Yep, that’s right – literally raccoons in the attic, and figuratively too as we tried to figure out what to do. Spring Has Sprung One morning as I was sitting at my desk enjoying the sunshine, I heard a kind of a scratching on the roof and sounds that I thought might be baby birds. I quickly chalked it up to a bird nest on our roof. Kind…
