Advice from a Respiratory Therapist about COVID

Just in case you get the virus and develop symptoms, here’s some good advice from a respiratory therapist to help stay out of the hospital and recover quickly.  CORONA Common Sense  Since they are calling on Respiratory therapists to help fight the Coronavirus, and I am a retired one, too old to work in a hospital setting. I’m gonna share […]

The Peace Symbol

I grew up in the 1970s, when Chick tracts were all the rage. One (or more) of these indicate that the universal peace symbol is an upside-down broken cross, meant to be Satanic and specifically geared to witchcraft. A few months ago, I did a bit of a study on the symbol. I discovered this: There are differing accounts of […]

A Piece of History

This amazing house is only a few miles from where I live. It was built before the Civil War (or, as I have heard it called, the “War of Northern Aggression”) and has been updated – while keeping as close as possible to its roots – with modern conveniences like electricity and bathrooms. Check out this beauty! (Click on the […]

Book Review – “God Creates a Snake”

I was provided a review copy. I’ve been following the author on Twitter for some time, and have greatly enjoyed his God creates animals series. This one converted awesomely into an adorable, if a bit irreverent, children’s book. It shows the imagined interaction between God, who was just finishing up the creation of the snake, and the adorable little crawler. […]

Six Word Short

Sitting at the control board, the commander leaned closer to peer at the monitor displaying the surface of the planet below. He watched as a baboon-type creature bounded across the orange ground-cover, smiling to himself at the antics as he hit the button to save screenshots for his report. Yawning, he glanced longingly at the cot in the corner, but […]

Six Word Short

Staring at the menu, a single laminated sheet, the restaurant critic considered what to order. She knew that choosing the right item would be key in determining the worthiness of this restaurant for the magazine. Peering through the ivy at the top of the booth, she took note of the dish on the table behind her, then looked back to […]

“Respect is earned, not given.”

I saw this on Facebook today, and I’ve seen it before. I cannot type “YES” to this statement. Here’s the thing: respect may be earned, but no matter how respect-worthy a person is, respect itself is still given. Respect says more about the person giving respect than the person receiving it. A respectful person will be respectful even to those […]

Six Word Short

The woman’s long, blonde hair fluttered in the breeze at the top of the skyscraper, as she gazed out over the city. She nibbled at her doughnut as she tried to gather her courage. The meeting time was drawing near, and she didn’t want to mess this up. She glanced at her watch and, realizing she had only five minutes, […]

Six Word Short

Terrence looked at the computer, puzzled by the results on the screen. Slowly, he turned to the calculator at his right hand and re-keyed the sequence, hoping for a matching result, at least, but hardly expecting it. The cruise ship was slowing, following its owner’s lead, as the computer worked harder to try to figure out the sequence it had […]

Flash Fiction – #2

The library was quiet, more quiet than usual. There was no rustling of pages, no quiet whispers, no footsteps between the shelves. Smoke hung so thick in the library’s rafters that she could read words in it. Not the words of the book bindings behind it, as one might think, but, oddly enough, actual words made of smoke. A shiver […]

Flash Fiction – #1

Miscellany was piled from one end of the huge room to the other, leaving only five or six narrow paths for the shoppers to amble along as they perused the patchwork of paraphernalia that was available for purchase. Karah’s eyes skimmed over the edges and corners as she traversed the room, one path after another. Nearly halfway down the fourth […]

Fiction Friday: Another excerpt

Meanwhile, back on his home planet, Forno, in the town of Ziti, Biff’s best friend Neal Parmesan sat in his comfortable recliner, watching the news. His phone began to vibrate, the first notes of the popular song “Lasagna” sounding tinnily through the room. Grabbing the device, he wiped the screen and grumbled, “Hello?” “Hello!” piped Pizelle’s lilting voice. “I just […]

Help for a Heartache

My mother-in-law, as a pastor’s wife, hosts ladies’ Bible studies regularly. She is currently working through a book called “Help! I’m a Woman!” This month’s lesson was on heartache, but she did most of it herself, using the book as a jumping-off place. Some sources for the material include Janet Treadway’s “Father, Please Heal My Broken Heart” and gotQuestions?org “How […]

The Potato Hack

I assume you’ve heard the names “Penn & Teller” at some point in your life. If you are interested in weight loss, you probably are aware that Penn Jillette lost around 100 pounds. He began his weight loss journey with this method – The Potato Hack. We read about it and decided it was worth a try. The information we […]

Update Letter – August 2016

Dear Friends and Family,August 2016 It’s been much too long (over a year!) since I last wrote an update letter! For this, I apologize. Let’s see—what’s happened since June 2015? My inlaws got a new puppy (who is now pretty much full grown, of course, but still relatively small, as he’s a Yorkie) which they named Max. (Max when they […]

Abomination

The word abomination appears in 142 verses in the King James Bible. Of these, six are in the New Testament. Two speak of the abomination of desolation (in Matthew & Mark), three are in Revelation in descriptions about John’s vision, and the remaining one appears in Luke, which states in chapter 16, verse 15: “And he said unto them, Ye […]