Day 349: When I was a little girl, I thought Dickens’ Tiny Tim was named after my brother, Tim. Then I read the story and realized that...

Day 348: Kids remember funny things. I suppose they remember the things that are on their level. When I spent time at Grandma Vernie’s as...

Day 347: My Grandma Vernie was crafting before crafting was cool. Mom followed in her footsteps. When my Aunt Mardi came to visit from...

Day 346: My Grandma Vernie was a well-dressed woman. I always thought she looked smashing. Was it because they owned a store? I don’t...

Day 345: The decking of halls doesn’t only occur by flouncing bows of holly upon our houses. Decking the halls is necessary for the...

Day 344: This week I’ve already entitled “Decking the Halls” because I’m surrounded by people who know how to do it well. My parents were...

Day 343: This week has been about redefining life. I wrote all of December early to meet a publishing deadline. Today, I’m wavering from...

Day 342: Earlier this week I stated that when we recall the past, it helps us shape the future. From the time I was very small, my mother...

Day 341: My mother was a fan of the object lesson. She felt visual aids cemented learning in one’s brain. I think that is why she was so...

Day 340: Yesterday, I said my Grandma Evy had eras in her life. It is true. She had a colorful, difficult, sometimes poverty-stricken...

What do we learn about our ancestors when we poke around in newspaper archives? Maybe a little bit about ourselves.

Day 338: The way I wake up now has certainly been redefined since I was a young girl. When I was really little, Mom would come into my...

Day 337: December is upon us. The last month of the year. For me, December means redefinition. What do we want the last four weeks of the...

Day 336: All week I have been taking stock of the things Mom learned at the store that she eventually taught me. Her lessons have stood...

Day 335: “You will need to cut everyone some slack, except Jesus. You can’t deem someone your hero and then feel disappointed when it...

Day 334: My mother grew up in the days when working women were suspected of something, like there must have been an ulterior motive, that...

Day 333: From her store experience, my mom knew how to organize. When I would put away the groceries for her, the labels on the canned...

Day 332: This is all from childhood memories, so my siblings and older cousins can set me straight with today’s Mallory’s Department...

Day 331: Mallory’s Department Store was located in Shelley, Idaho, and Mom worked there for her father when she was a teenager and after...

Day 330: Have you ever thought about what the term “taking stock” actually means? To take stock is to “carefully think about how to...