We all seem to have certain dishes which are "must haves" as we plan holiday menus for get-togethers with family and friends. If sweet potato pie is not already on your list, how about trying out one of the recipes included in my recent children's book Sweet Potato Pie, Oh My!? One is a traditional … Continue reading Maybe a Sweet Potato Pie for your Holiday Get-together? (Recipes)
SPOT THE TURKEYS is an outdoor game my family has played while celebrating the Thanksgiving season. You could easily adapt it to other times of the year as SPOT THE SANTAS, SPOT THE EASTER BUNNIES, etc. Use your imagination to come up with other variations and have fun! Let's enjoy the crisp outdoors. Time for … Continue reading Game Instructions for “Spot the Turkeys” (or Santas, Easter Bunnies, etc.)
During Thanksgiving week out-of-town family members travel to my house. While they are in town we have a special family day when those who live nearby and those who live at a distance have a chance to be together. We talk, laugh, share good food, get my out-of-the-box Christmas tree set up, and have creative … Continue reading Reflecting on My Family’s Thanksgiving
My Christmas Cactus always starts blooming around Thanksgiving. To me it is the symbol of life and beauty in the midst of winter. Find life and beauty wherever you are and share it with others.
Voters will soon go to their polling sites and in some places they may have to stand in line for an appreciable amount of time. They are willing to wait in order to exercise their right to elect persons they feel will represent their concerns on health care, jobs, immigration, crime and more. Many will … Continue reading A Laughable Limerick: Voting Dilemma
Where do we turn when there is violence all around us? Where do we run to feel safe when there are those who relish shattering the safety of our schools, the sanctuary of our places of worship, and the normalcy of our marketplaces? Run to family and friends and console one another with compassionate words … Continue reading A Poem of Hope: Words of a Friend
Basically, I think you can say I love technology. And I really love what technology applied to surgery can do for an old body! No, I’m not talking about cosmetic surgery. I have been tempted in that direction, though! I’m talking about medical surgical procedures to help out old, worn body parts. I’ve had a … Continue reading First Time Post, “The New God”
I recently lost a cousin who was my age. We both married fairly young, pursued middle class careers, raised children in suburban homes, and later lovingly invited grandchildren into our lives. Her death has caused me to reflect on what I have accomplished thus far in my life and what my future goals are. The … Continue reading Poem on the Transient Nature of Life, “The Silence of a Tomb”
Surely I'm not the only one who has ever done something outlandishly stupid. Maybe you have, too. My now adult son and I look back on an incident that happened when he was ten years old and still laugh as though it is a joke we are hearing for the first time. Growing up, my … Continue reading A Story to Make You Laugh: Certainly Not A Pipe Dream!
Many of you have told me you wanted to know when and where you might purchase the first book in my children’s NONNY DAY SERIES, VOL. 1, Sweet Potato Pie, Oh My! for pre- and beginning readers. The “when” is now! And the “where” is Amazon.com! Click on the link below to go directly to … Continue reading Available Now–Nonny’s First Children’s Book: Sweet Potato Pie, Oh My!
I recently was talking with a lady who found out I go by the name “Nonny” with my grandchildren and that I share some of my reflections on life on “Nonny’s Blog.” “That’s so interesting that you use the name “Nonny,” she said. How did you come to be called “Nonny”? I told her I … Continue reading Another Nonny!
A number of years ago while I was still teaching in the classroom, I told a colleague of mine I was looking for a new family doctor and asked if she would recommend her physician. "Oh, yes," she said. "Dr. Bakula Sheth is my G.P. I'm sure you would like her. She takes time to … Continue reading Doctor, Doctor, I’ve Been Thinking . . .
Publishing day is almost here! I am looking forward to having my children's book, Sweet Potato Pie, Oh My!, ready for your purchase online soon. It is the first book in my NONNY DAY SERIES. I think you and your beginning reader will love it! UPDATE 9/27/2019: The book is out 😀! CLICK HERE for … Continue reading Nonny’s Book Launch–Coming Soon!
We are heirs to a kingdom! / Born from on high! / Children of a Mighty King, / That cannot be denied. / We are heirs to a kingdom! / Filled with God's majesty! / Let no one try to hold us down. / We're heirs, you and me!...
A restless son left his Dad's embrace / To live life on his own. / He turned away from his Father's house / And love he once had known. / He fulfilled the dreams of each desire / But still ached with emptiness. / So, regretting wrongs, he went back home / And smiled through tears when his Dad said...
We seemingly live in a CULTURE OF EXTREME FATIGUE. It is evident from harried moms and dads with busy work and family responsibilities all the way down to our young school children. An example of this is a recent exchange my youngest grandchild had with the priest at her school. While my two granddaughters and … Continue reading Culture of Extreme Fatigue
Astronauts reach for the planets. Movie stars aim for the Oscars, and the Golden Globe Awards. Politicians stump for votes. Teachers have a loftier goal--they touch tomorrow, or in other words, they touch the future through their influence on students in their classrooms. Some years ago I walked into a school hallway and saw in … Continue reading Touching Tomorrow
In times of turmoil around us--hurricanes, tornadoes, volcanic eruptions, mass flooding, unparalleled fires--and within us--sickness, disease, death, accidents, addiction, poverty, crime--many individuals cry out, "Where is God?" Particularly anguished are families who lose innocent children. This is not a new question. And I'm sure I don't have new answers. I certainly will not have answers … Continue reading Where Are You?
The innocent honesty of small children lends charm even to life’s not-so-pleasant inevitabilities. I hope you enjoy the following scenarios. One day when my three children, my mother-in-law, and I were having lunch at a modestly-priced restaurant, it became apparent that my four-year-old daughter was staring intently at her grandmother’s face. “What are you looking … Continue reading Gems Out of the Mouth of a Babe
I had the good fortune of coming from a large extended family when I was growing up. There were so many aunts and uncles and lots of cousins--so numerous that I'd have to stop and count to give you exact numbers! And, on my Mom's side of the family, we all lived within close proximity. … Continue reading Here’s To Happy Trails
Keeping pace in a crowded race / With plans laid out for my stride, / I saw off the path a wounded heart / And I almost passed it by. / Yet while others ran on, I walked alone / Not knowing what price I’d pay / For walking a road never taken before / But with love, I looked for a way...
In my family when we had pets they were always dogs. The first dog I remember had a shiny black coat and dark, dark eyes. He was actually my grandmother's, but since we lived with her from time to time, by extension he belonged to us all. His name was Sparky, and my older brother … Continue reading The Passing of General
Over the years I have sung in a number of church choirs. In fact, Wednesday evening rehearsal, Sunday morning warm-up/choral leadership of worship, and participation in seasonal musical cantatas are a part of my DNA. As such, I have been under the leadership of numerous music directors. Here's a poem of appreciation I wrote for … Continue reading Opus Just Begun / Still More Work To Come
My playful ditty BIONIC NONNY [pronounced NAH'nee} explores the wonderful age of medical miracles in which we live! What surgeons can repair in a broken or degenerate body is amazing! Surgery, hospitals, and rehabilitation facilities are certainly not what I think of when I contemplate a pleasant experience or a time of vacation. However, after … Continue reading Bionic Nonny!
We should always be mindful that young children want to be like their parents (or other primary caregivers). That's the message of the following lyric especially for dads of boys. Just as little girls like to walk in the high heels of their moms, little boys relish scooting along in their daddies' seemingly gigantic shoes; … Continue reading Watch Your Step, Daddy
When life gets rough some people blame God. They just cannot understand why God would let bad things happen to them. Them... of all people! They were brought up in church. They don't do anything really terrible. They pray. They do good deeds. And then when something overwhelming happens, they look to God as though … Continue reading In the Storm
Teens and cars: one of the biggest things that Moms worry about. Even those teens who have been driving a year or two still give us Moms pause. We know the adolescent brain doesn't measure potentially dangerous situations the way we do. My following poem, A MOM'S PRAYERS, still brings a shiver to my spine … Continue reading A Mom’s Prayers
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