Welcome, Friends!
Gardening & Housekeeping
I love gardening – especially in an autumn garden – my enthusiasm is not matched by ability. Both are excellent tutors . . . and here are the lessons I am learning.
painting & writing
I may not yet be a Grandma Moses, or a Eudora Welty, but while there’s life, there’s HOPE. And every day I can paint or write is a good day!
understanding the times
The men of Issachar understood the times — understanding ours is no less crucial. (1 Chronicles 12:32)

Paintings From the Porch
In March of 2020, our sun porch became my favorite room in our home as Doug and I began a new season in our marriage — the COVID pandemic season. The season continues and so do the challenges. And, the porch is a place where we both “do” art.
Painting on the porch is my sanity saver! There, painting helps me find designs and colors that say how I feel: hopeful and nervous, and old. (Cute, though) I have a spirit that says, YES! Alas, the old body says . . . maybe not.
In the words of Vincent van Gogh: “In painting I want to say something comforting in the way that music is comforting.”
Communication matters in these uncertain times. And I hope the messages I have painted brighten your day!
Often in styles inspired by other artists, here are some of my creations I am offering. In order to keep painting, I need to clear some room and keep my supplies full. So I’m offering some paintings for sale.
From the Blog
Appliances and What They Teach Me
Appliances are a mixed blessing; they teach me over and over the limitations of my knowledge. But where would I be...
What Am I Wired For?
These are times that make me wonder what I am wired for. It certainly is NOT the twenty-four hour news cycle! We just...
A Shadow over the Rape of Ukraine
Daily, I feel like I am watching a slow-motion rape of an independent nation by another -- even as news reports the...
Sunflowers and Ukraine
Sunflowers and Ukraine are big topics, I love to plant sunflowers and enjoy painting them; I did not know their...
Bible Study in a New Watershed Moment
The serendipitous course of our small Bible study delights and disturbs me. The readings have been surprisingly...
Update on the Exercise Bike
The exercise bike’s missing piece — actually the stabilizing front bar- arrived and have been secured! Of course it...
The Best Laid Plans
The best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. * A plan in this first quarter of a new year was to get an...
The Great Influenza, Me and Wonderland
Finally, I finished The Great Influenza: The Story of the Deadliest Pandemic in History, learning dimensions of WWI...
What is Serenity?
I know it when I have it: serenity — and I know when I am losing it. And everybody around me knows when I have lost...
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Who am I? I am a wife, mother, mother-in-law, and grandmother, aunt, sister and cousin, and friend. And I am a recovering English major. I enjoy writing, painting, and reading – which when combined with all the wonderful people God has permitted in my life, I have much for which I am thankful. And I am grateful for the freedom to express my thanks.