I have several physical places on this planet that evoke that warm feeling of belonging that is ‘home’. Certainly, my house is one of them. Tulsa (amazingly, it’s grown on me) is another of them. Western PA is another, as it is where I grew up, and Clendenin, West Virginia, where my dad’s dad lived, which is more about the people than the...

Well, I’m off to a great start, aren’t I? Forgetting to publish this yesterday? Had it all ready to go and clicked ‘Save’ instead of ‘Publish’. No month blogging about ‘home’ should start off any other way than by giving you all, my loyal Internets, a tour of our home, particularly this tour. This is a page I put...

As luck would have it, I missed posting yesterday on the last day of NaBloPoMo. In spite of that, though, my NaBloPoMo mission was accomplished: I got back into the swing of blogging, in spite of the continuing drama that I let pull me away. And I made some new blog friends – even better! Today I have a new mission: make it look like Christmas around here....

If you want that good feeling that comes from doing things for other folks, then you have to pay for it in abuse and misunderstanding.- Zora Neale Hurston In my situation, what was misunderstood was my intention. But intention – or more accurately, the correct interpretation of intention – is subject to personal filters, attitudes, sense of self-worth...

If Oldest Son (fyi: 20 yrs old) doesn’t start showing some true initiative about getting a job, I’m going to come un-F*CKING-done. He’s got such a negative self-concept and world view, and it’s making him such a freeloader. AAAARRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH! (Thank you – I really needed that!) Every time I ask him about what he’s doing...

And whinge I will! Maybe you are asking, “What’s whinge?” Well. let me tell you a little story before we get to why my rack is too big…and for what. While catching up with ImBeingHeldHostage this evening, I came across a word I didn’t know, had never seen before, and could not, for the life of me, figure out how to pronounce. The word...

Ok, it’s a Monday, for real. I contemplated whether I should sub today and finally ended up accepting a job at the middle school. Between first and second hour, my cell phone rings. I open it up to see who is calling and at just that moment, I drop it. It breaks into two pieces (as flip phones tend to do when dropped) which go flying in two different...

I’m trying out a new piece of software today. You see, I have always been admonished to keep a journal, and over the years, I have made several attempts, but they were all short-lived, for one reason or another. Since the advent of blogging, I thought I’d finally be consistent with journaling – but alas – I’m not. There are some things...

…I may explode. It truly is a great song, one which I, had today not occurred, might have played over and over again, myself. Now I know what my mother was complaining about when I was a teenager. I used to do the same thing. I’d put the speakers from the stereo on the floor facing each other about 2 feet apart and then lay down with my head in between...

There are not that many things that make me come unglued these days, and for that, I am thankful. Coming unglued is not something I enjoy doing – it takes entirely too much energy which could be used more constructively elsewhere, and it usually ends badly. Plus, it sets a bad example and teaches the wrong lesson if overdone. Well, as I may have mentioned,...