As November marks the anniversary of the catastrophic explosion of a facility within a mile of my home, my thoughts relive the fright I experienced a few years ago. It was literally “The Fright of My Life.” The temperature of that afternoon was crisp but not cold when I heard a loud boom . . … Continue reading Remembering The Fright of My Life
If you grew up watching the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) television series Mr. Rogers, the melody to that memorable questioning phrase “Won’t You Be My Neighbor?” most certainly is locked in your brain. The bigger-than-real-life man Fred Rogers, the creator of the show, was a Presbyterian minister who appealed to children through his stories, music, … Continue reading Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
Over the years I have had spectacular results growing plants in my front room window. Among them have been and continue to be pink and lavender flowering ones, luscious green-leaf ones, and various types of cacti. I attribute most of my good fortune to the direct sunlight that comes in that window. However, in summer … Continue reading Keep On Reaching Out
People from all walks of life, much like you, have been awe-struck by the intervention of a Creator of the heavens and what we know as earth since the beginning of recorded history. The Bible in both its Old and New Testaments speaks of personal witnesses to events which stop us in our tracks and … Continue reading AWE-STRUCK
If you’ve been on an escalator—that automated moving pathway that travels through airports and other large entities—you know well how easy it is to become oblivious to what might be going on around you. You’re just thinking about getting from Point A to Point B. Let me encourage you to look for the Escalator Stop … Continue reading Find That Stop Button
May I introduce you today to Mahlah [MAH-lah); Noah [NO-ah]; Hoglah [HAW-glah]; Milkah [MILL-kah]; and Tirzah [TEER—as in “doe a deer”—tzah].* They were five daughters of a man who had no sons. They surveyed a challenging situation and found a way to do something about it! In the biblical days in which they lived, land … Continue reading Five Daughters Surveying the Situation
Sometimes the simplest of words and a simple haunting melody will penetrate our hearts and have a profound effect upon our souls. Such is the case of the hymn “What Wondrous Love Is This.” The lyrics and tune have their roots in the Appalachian region of North America reaching back to the early 1800s. Even … Continue reading What Wondrous Love Is This: Interpreting a Classic Hymn
The beginning weeks of 2026 have been a struggle for me with my health. Thus, I have not been able to produce my usual online Nonny’s Blog posts. I hope to have medical intervention in the near future to rectify this issue. I thank you greatly for your continued support by your clicking on my … Continue reading A Challenging Chapter of My Life
I recently sent the readers of my Nonny’s Blog a photo of my Christmas Cactus. Well, here she is in her abundant glory still blooming! How do I do it? 1) Keep it in a windowsill where the temperature is about 55 to 60 degrees Fahrenheit. 2) Give it plenty of daytime natural sunlight. 3) … Continue reading Christmas Cactus Going Strong Into The New Year
Happy Holidays to all from Nonny! Best wishes for a safe & joyful holiday season. Thank you for being a reader of Nonny’s Blog. The photo below is of my Christmas Cactus in full bloom... Season's Greetings & Happy Holidays from Nonny!Connie Carlisle Polley, 2025ConnieCarlislePolley.comNonnyDay.com Shop for Play Clay Hooray! or Learn about all my … Continue reading Season’s Greetings & Happy Holidays from Nonny
I feel a great sense of responsibility for what I write in my weekly blog posts. I think deeply about what I am going to say and make multiple revisions before it is finally posted. In a world of turbulent thought and turbulent events, the last thing I want to do is add to the … Continue reading Watching My Blog Post Statistics
In times of conflict, disappointment, or even utter despair in our lives, is there a place where can we go to find Hope? Yes, there is. Jesus, the Author of Hope, tells us in Holy Scripture, “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has … Continue reading Heavy Hearts Sustained by Hope
Happy Halloween! Best wishes for a safe & happy holiday. Thank you for being a reader of Nonny's Blog. Happy Halloween!🎃Connie Carlisle Polley, 2025ConnieCarlislePolley.comNonnyDay.com Shop for Play Clay Hooray! or Learn about all my children’s books
I recently discovered a trick to more pleasurable reading of my NIV DAILY SCRIPTURE paperback. No, it’s not how much I read daily. Nor is it what time of the day I read it. I discovered I needed to break the spine of this paperback so it would lie flat to allow me to read … Continue reading Sometimes You Have to Break the Spine
The Pool of Bethesda [buh THEZ duh] in Jerusalem is one of the many places where Jesus performed miraculous healings during His three years of ministry before His crucifixion on a Roman cross. This New Testament story can be found in the Gospel of John, chapter 5, verses 1 through 18. Although the story we … Continue reading Stir the Waters
My dear friend Ruthe Chambers Lusk died a few days ago. My first reaction of shock insulated me from breaking down in tears upon learning of her death. However, her passing was the first thing on my mind when I awoke this morning and little streams of hurt flowed down my cheeks. Ruthe, ten years … Continue reading On the Other Side
HOPE is . . . Happiness Deferred Opportunity to Do Good Possibilities Unlimited Energy to Keep Trying My Definition of HopeConnie Carlisle Polley, 2025ConnieCarlislePolley.comNonnyDay.com Shop for Play Clay Hooray! or Learn about all my children’s books
Some years back, a friend and I visited the Louisville Visitors Center where we met Colonel Harland Sanders whom it is fair to say is the King of Fried Chicken not only in Kentucky in the USA but all over the world. By the way, Colonel is an honorary title conferred by a Kentucky governor … Continue reading The Colonel (King of Fried Chicken) and I
There’s an old but interesting story I’d like to share with you today to help us all be sustained while life throws in our direction spears and arrows of disease, disability, defeat, and disappointment in ourselves and others. This narrative, a New Testament parable the Rabbi Jesus used to teach his disciples the power of … Continue reading The Power of Persistence
Millions of people in the U.S.A. and other parts of the world have gastric disorders related to the foods they eat. I’m one of them. With me, my first symptoms of abdominal pain after eating occurred in my fifties after coming home from a marvelous two-week vacation aboard a cruise ship. Since then, I have … Continue reading Calming Your Gut and Spirit at the Same Time
Millions of people in the U.S.A. and other parts of the world have gastric disorders related to the foods they eat. I’m one of them. With me, my first symptoms of abdominal pain after eating occurred in my fifties after coming home from a marvelous two-week vacation aboard a cruise ship. Since then, I have … Continue reading Calming Your Gut and Spirit at the Same Time
A few years ago my daughter Eve and I were fortunate enough to be able to travel to Spain and Portugal and have in our itinerary an added excursion by ferry to Morocco. To this day I can still envision the tea house in Tangier where we sat at a low table sipping hot sweet … Continue reading Hit the Refresh Button with Moroccan-Style Mint Tea!
Several years ago, I moved from the house where my late husband and I had raised our three children---two girls and a boy. It had three bedrooms so that meant the two girls shared a room in our suburban home. My husband died young of colon cancer at the age of fifty-two. Thus, unfortunately, he … Continue reading Discovering Nuggets of Gold — A Poem Reflecting on Life and What Remains After I’m Gone
A couple of years ago, I bought a two-inch tall cactus planted in a flimsy plastic container in the plant department of my neighborhood home supply store. It had a single red bloom. I at once transplanted it into a terra-cotta container large enough to allow the cactus roots to spread out. And placed it … Continue reading Connie’s Capricious Cactus
Toward the end of last year when the air was crisp but not cold, I experienced a fright which took hold of my body pushing my adrenaline to cause me to react in what might be called a super-natural way. It was late afternoon when I heard a loud boom . . . The next … Continue reading The Fright of My Life
Recently I was driving home after a short trip to my pharmacy when I approached a red traffic light. There was a city bus to my left beginning to make a turn onto this narrow street with cars parked on both sides. It was obvious that the driver of the city bus was going to … Continue reading When Push Comes to Shove
When I was growing up, I had a Michigan cousin whose family visited my Kentucky Aunt Genie on her rural Shepherdsville plot of land usually twice a year for a Carlisle Reunion. Most of my other Carlisle aunts and uncles lived in Greater Louisville or about an hour and a half away in Lexington. And … Continue reading Our Playtime Turtles
