Learning New Things Among the Evergreens

So, the tree is up! Most of the decorations are in their new home for the next 40 days or so. I’m still in need of about 600 batteries and 72 hours of sleep, but it’s beginning to look, and smell, a lot like Christmas!

On the 14th Day of Christmas

Why does time speed up after Halloween? Seriously, why? Is it just me or are the days flying by? Maybe it’s because there are fewer daylight hours? It’s colder? All I want to do is sleep? I don’t know, but I can’t believe Thanksgiving is Thursday and then – like the day after that – is Christmas.

Leftovers

Meal planning is oft times challenging. Trying to come up with something for dinner for your family night after night can be a chore. I enjoy cooking but not necessarily every single day. I already fix breakfast for inn guests most mornings so a lot of times, by late afternoon, I’m not really interested in cooking again.

It’s All So Exciting – ‘Til It Isn’t

As a lot of you know, I live just a hair’s breadth away from the mighty Mississippi River. Well, actually not the REAL Mississippi River, but a smaller river, a canal really, what used to be the Mississippi River a little more than a hundred years ago. The Mississippi River is constantly moving and with that movement often comes course changes. That’s right, the river actually changes course. That’s what happened here in Vicksburg in 1876. The river changed course and left Vicksburg and its very active port, high and dry.

It’s Three Treats In One!

Today is Halloween and we all know what that means: little ghosts and goblins gorging on sugar and bouncing around the house ’til the wee hours. Or, at my house, it means . . . absolutely nothing. We don’t get any trick-or-treaters so we don’t hand out candy, which is fine since candy is so expensive this year, and there’s no need for us to get decked out in some wacky costume because nobody arrives at the door to see us. So, I’m going to address the less obvious and more exciting three-event special day happening tomorrow.

Not Since Chemo

So, my family has been battling the stomach flu for several days this past week. My husband had it first. He complained of upset stomach and didn’t want to eat anything for 3 days. He had stomach-flu-like symptoms without actually being “sick.”  Me, on the other hand, sick, sick, sick. I haven’t been this sick since I was treating with chemotherapy. Only this time, I didn’t have the really good drugs to help with the nausea.

The Importance of Nesting

For those of you who have not ever seen me, I’m letting you know that I am relatively short. Maybe, at 5’ 5”, I could be considered “average” in height, but most days I feel short. I cannot reach the top shelf in most grocery stores. I cannot reach the top shelf in my own closet without use of a stepstool. I can barely reach the top cupboards in my kitchen even on tiptoe.

Tres Kitties

Some of you already know that my family has grown by three. Last week we adopted three new kitties from our local humane society. We would have taken the entire lot home, but alas, three was all we could comfortably be responsible for. It’s so tough when you visit animal shelters because you want to rescue everything there. But the reality is, three cats in one confirmed space is the perfect amount of cats. Plus there is the added costs of properly caring for them, which greatly hinders one’s decision when adopting.

Calypso and Mozart – Photo by P. Rickrode (2022)

Monument of the Millennium

I hope I haven’t lost you. We were cruising and I left you hanging at Costa Rica. Never fear, we’re back on track. The next day of our 15-day cruise was spent navigating the uber impressive Panama Canal, designated as one of the Seven Wonders of the Modern World and a Monument of the Millennium by the American Society of Civil Engineers.

Good Medicine

“Laughter is the best medicine.” Or so the old adage goes. But is it really true? According to my research, medical experts say “yes,” laughter is indeed great medicine for many things. Laughter is a particularly great form of stress relief, and that’s no joke.