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January 3, 2016

The Blessings of Children

Barren or Blessed?           During a sermon just before Christmas, our pastor spoke about Elizabeth, the elderly wife of Zacharias and cousin to Mary, mother of Jesus. He focused on the Gospel of Luke in which Zacharias is told that Elizabeth has become pregnant and will give birth to John the Baptist. “The Lord has […]

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January 2, 2016

Muffin’s mis-Adventures

Life with this family is always exciting. Sometimes it is downright terrifying. Every morning when we go for our walk across the street in the place with all the houses, I get to meet other dogs. Some are big dogs too fat and lazy to even move out of their front yards. I bark at […]

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January 1, 2016

On Death, Dying and Hope for the Future

The future is always with us but never more so than on New Years’ Day.            Yesterday, my cousin sent me the YouTube clip on neurosurgeon Paul Kalanithi of Stanford University. He was in the middle of his residency when he learned he had cancer. He completed his medical degree and then passed away after […]

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December 31, 2015

Begging and Groveling for Readers

Don’t. Just don’t. Several times I have been attracted to web sites or e-mail links that offer all sorts of wonderful opportunities.  Each offers amazing books, great insights and tremendous opportunities to do better, be thinner, be smarter, write more, and on and on. Each includes lengthy and impressive testimonials. I actually downloaded one or […]

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December 30, 2015

Stephen F. Austin in Texas

        What was it like for an Anglo to find himself in Texas for the first time in 1821? Texas had belonged to Spain since the 1530s, and although not heavily populated by 1821, there were Spanish settlements at San Antonio, La Bahía and Nacogdoches. With the promise of land for settlement […]

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December 29, 2015

The Care and Training of Dog Owners

            How do you do? My name is Ch. Lady Marguerite Elizabeth Diana of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha. Yes, that would be after the Royal Family. Sometimes I permitted my last caregivers (CG’s) to call me Peg. I’m a Cockapoo. In case you didn’t know, a Cockapoo is a very special breed—part Cocker Spaniel and part Poodle. That […]

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December 28, 2015

On Creativity

What is creativity and where does it come from? As I sit meditating and staring at a blank screen, (I think it was Hemingway who said “Writing is easy, just stare at a blank sheet of paper until drops of blood form on your forehead”) I wonder why some people are so tremendously creative. Others […]

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December 27, 2015

To Do or Not to Do—the Joys and Pain of Discipline

New Year is fast approaching and Resolutions are looming.   Of course, I will trot out my usual list for the New Year. I’ve given up calling them resolutions. Like most folks, my resolutions last about as long as the Christmas turkey leftovers. They are more like hopes. Hopes that this year I’ll actually lose […]

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December 26, 2015

And the Star Wars Saga continues: A Review

If you haven’t been to see Star Wars VII yet, you might want to pull up those big-boy Depends and go.            I invited Hubby Flatbottom (early Christmas present), but he flat-out refused. He shuddered at the very thought of entering a theater with thousands of kids running up and down the aisles, interrupting his […]

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December 25, 2015

Gifts of Christmas

       Opening presents on Christmas morning is a thrill and a delight. To watch children’s faces light up and hear their screams can’t help but bring us joy. There is nothing like sitting around the Christmas tree in jammies and robes, feet propped on the ottoman, mug of hot cocoa or coffee in […]

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