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My Forever Home
You can never go home again, but the truth is you can never leave home, so it’s all right. - Maya Angelou You can't go home again isn't just metaphorical for many people.  The first home I ever knew--the married student housing apartments where I lived with my...
Book Review and Author Interview: The Order of the Blood by Page Zaplendam
When a vampire’s abilities and defects never fully develop, taking on the head of England’s biggest vampire sect could be a bad idea. Ever since he was turned, John Grissom, bacteriologist, has worked to find a cure for the disease. A powerful peer of the realm...
The Hardest Part about Being a Woman: There’s No One Answer
Poor Caitlyn Jenner. Â How quickly the accolades change to attacks, all because of a few poorly chosen words. In case you haven't heard, Jenner was honored last night at the 25th Annual Glamour Women of the Year Awards. Â In a Buzzfeed interview, Jenner stated: "The...
Staying Home: Unpacking the Concepts of Privilege, Luxury, and Sacrifice
It was always my plan to stay home with my children, not just when they were babies, but always. Â But Emily was born when John was just starting law school, so I worked 20 hours a week from the time she was four months old until she was three-and-a-half. Â There were a...
Autumn Gardening
You may have noticed my more regular posting schedule lately, because it's November and I am once again participating in NaBloPoMo. Â That means a post per day. Â And it's hard, VERY hard, for me to find the time. So today I'm posting a few pictures, and writing a...
Birthday Girl
Tomorrow Lorelei, our baby, will turn 11. Â True to her birth order, she's very much still the "baby" of the family, although she is surprisingly capable if no one is around to baby her. Lorelei is homeschooled, and thus somewhat sheltered from a culture that pressures...
My Sunday Photo
This photo is special to me for a couple of reasons. Â The icon was a Christmas gift from my daughter. Â I suppose it's meant as a Christmas decoration but I love it too much so I keep it out all year. Â The candle holder is a new one meant to fit the peacock theme we...
Too Much Stuff: An All-American Problem
Americans have a lot of stuff.  Let's take a look at some of these statistics excerpted from Joshua Becker's article in his blog, Becoming Minimalist, shall we? There are 300,000 items in the average American home (LA Times). I have no intention of counting, but I...
#LoveYourLawyerDay: Why I Love My Lawyer (and It’s Not Just Because I Am Married to Him)
So today is Love Your Lawyer Day, which you can read about here. Y'all, this is not a joke. Â Now, we are not a hyper-sensitive bunch here, and we can laugh at a good lawyer joke now and again, but the constant vilification of the members of the legal profession can...
The Gift of Siblings
This summer I read an article in the online version of Elle Magazine, which read in part: Sometimes, I can see us living in a smaller, older home somewhere, selling this one, and adjusting to accommodate life with a third child in a home that is definitely anything...
After Three It Just Gets Louder
When it comes to kids, three is the magic number... for stress. Mothers of three children stress more than moms of one or two, while mothers of four or more children actually report lower stress levels At least that's what a survey from Today.Com claims, about which...
What Not to Say to the Parent of a Picky Eater
You know, I'm not really a big fan of all those "what not to say" posts. Â Because I think that most of the time people mean well, and the people who don't mean well are going to keep right on saying whatever they want to anyway. But hey! There's a first time for...
Bulu Box: SPONSORED
OK, y'all, let me start by saying that this is a sponsored post, which I get to do because I am a US Family Guide Blogger. Â I will be compensated for this post with a free subscription to this product, which I will then (HONESTLY, I PROMISE!) review. Â As of right now,...
Graveyards Can Be Happy Places: A Visit to Hickory Creek
What better day than the Feast of All Souls to write about a cemetery? I may seem a little strange the rest of the year but today I am on topic and I have a beautiful graveyard to write about. You may remember that my last graveyard story was very sad, about a...
My Sunday Photo: Downtown Knoxville
My daughter and I were hiking on Saturday along the Tennessee River when I snapped this iPhone photo of downtown Knoxville. Â It was one of those pictures that I knew would be good before I even took it. The greenway we were on is about two miles from downtown, and...
ATTACK of the Yellow Jackets!
Let me start by issuing a warning: Â if you ever see a hole in the ground, don't stick your foot in to see how deep it is. Just don't. It started off well--a family birthday party at my mother's house. Â My little niece wanted me to take her out into the back yard,...
Fall, Family, and Football at Notre Dame
I told y'all we've been traveling a lot lately--one trip each month since May--and last weekend was our October trip. Â Thanks to the generosity of one of my oldest and dearest friends, we had tickets to the Notre Dame vs. USC game, so we headed up for some football...
Love: The Key to Compassion
Love, love, love, love: Christians, this is your call; Love your neighbor as yourself For God loves us all. We sang it in a round and we sang it well, because Sister Janice had us practice it before Mass began. Â We sat on the hard metal folding chairs in the...
My Sunday Photo: Hickory Creek Cemetery
Taken at Hickory Creek Cemetery in Knox County, Tennessee. Â I love the sky; and this may be my favorite cemetery yet.
Pigeon Forge Weekend and a REVIEW of the Hollywood Wax Museum (SPONSORED)
This has been a traveling year for us so far! In May, we went to Baltimore for my mother-in-law's 80th birthday; in June, we took the kids to Gatlinburg; in July, John and I went to Chicago; in August we spent a weekend in Pigeon Forge; in September we went to...
Pope Francis Memes You Can Trust!
People love Pope Francis, and they love Pope Francis memes. Â They love them so much, in fact, that they will repost them whether they are true or not. But truth matters, y'all, and Pope Francis is saying awesome things ALL THE TIME. There's no need to make things up....
Fun at the Fair
We called it "The Dirty Fair" when we were little and although we begged to go every year, our pleas were rarely heard. Â I don't remember why we started to calling it that, but I have a feeling it came from whatever reasons my mother gave for not wanting to go to it!...
All Dogs Go to Heaven, and That Other Thing Pope Francis Never Said
I've done it, you've done it--go ahead, admit it--forwarded a meme or an email that was so perfect, such a reflection of and corroboration of personal views, only to find out later it was a pack of lies. Â It's human nature to crave affirmation, and when such a beloved...
Who Doesn’t Love a Good Wedding?
I remember a time when it seemed like we were always going to weddings. Â Next came the baby showers. Â Lately, it seems it's always funerals. Â It's the circle of life and all, I realize (and I do love a good funeral, as I may have mentioned a time or two!). Â But I'm...
Kids and Politics: The Presidential Debates
In this house, we LOVE election season (except sometimes on Facebook!). Â We had a great time watching the first GOP debate last month (definitely the most entertaining debate I've ever seen) and then talking about it afterwards. If you had asked me earlier this year,...
Middlebrook Cemetery: The One That Made Me Sad
Now, maybe you are thinking that's a strange title.  Because shouldn't visiting cemeteries make you sad?  Well, if they all made me this sad I'd stop visiting them.  Of course I feel sorrowful when I see baby graves.  Occasionally poor maintenance distresses me.  But...
This Year in the Garden
Last year, I posted about my gardening efforts often. Â This year I haven't found the time. Â I've gardened, though, and I've taken pictures. Â And as fall approached I thought it would be fun to show you the progress I've made this year. Here's what the area that I...
A Visit to the Windy City
Y'all may remember that I'm a big fan of the writing of the late Father Andrew Greeley. Â One of the things I love about his books is the way he brought to life the city of Chicago and its environs. Â His stories couldn't take place anywhere but there. Â So I was excited...
The Fairest of Them All
Lorelei is all about making videos lately. Â She has her own YouTube channel, with a weekly posting schedule, and she has custody of my iPhone more than I do. Â Today she was telling me that she no longer enjoys watching the videos made by one of her subscribers,...
Cedar Springs Presbyterian Cemetery: Forgotten But Not Gone
If you live in West Knoxville and like shortcuts, you've driven past it hundreds of time--this old, old graveyard not quite at the corner of Westland and Ebenezer, sitting right in front of the driveway to the Maple Grove Inn. Â Nameless, signless, churchless, this...
Answer Me This: The End
I can't believe that somehow I forgot to participate in Answer Me This last week! Â The ever-awesome Kendra managed to have a baby AT HOME like two days ago and still post this linkup. Â Since it's my last chance for this summer (when AMT goes back on hiatus until...
Giving the Gift of a Good Death to a Good Friend.
Today I had the honor to stand by the deathbed of a dear and loyal friend. Â Today I had the privilege of being with him to ease him out of this life. Â And today I also had the responsibility of deciding that it was time for that life to end. Today we put our dog to...
What We're Reading Wednesday . . . and Thursday
It's been a long time since I've linked up to What We're Reading Wednesday, and I've missed sharing books with you. Â Fact is, I don't read as much as I once did. Â That's sad but true, and it's the computer's fault. Because it would be more accurate to say that I still...
Fun in Pigeon Forge (SPONSORED)
We're going to Hollywood! Well, okay, not really. 🙂 But we are going here, which is the next best thing, at least if your travel is restricted to Tennessee: We drive by these places all the time on our way to Gatlinburg, y'all, and I've always been curious.  I mean,...
#1000Speak: Moving from Acceptance to Compassion
When Jesus went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and He felt compassion for them because they were like sheep without a shepherd; and He began to teach them many things. ~ Mark 6:34 That's the last line from yesterday's Gospel, providing inspiration for me as I respond...
REVIEW: A Weekend of Ripley’s Fun in Gatlinburg (SPONSORED)
Happily, none of the attractions I wrote about below were damaged by the recent wildfires. Please make plans to visit soon to support the business owners and the local economy. Â I know I will never take it all for granted again. It's been a couple of months since I...
See Planned Parenthood Top Doctor Talk Fetal Tissue Harvest over Lunch
The video below is not for the faint of heart--although it contains no graphic images. But there's something stomach-turning in watching a doctor discuss the harvesting of fetal body parts over lunch as she takes bites of her salad and sips her red wine....
E-Cloth Flexi-Edge: A Sustainable Solution for People Who Hate to Clean (SPONSORED Giveaway)
My house is a mess, y'all. I've never been the best housekeeper, but my home usually had at least a couple of neat and presentable rooms that were suitable for unexpected guests. Â That all changed about five years ago, when I started working at home. Â Something had to...
Answer Me This
Happy Sunday!  Time to have a little fun by joining the Answer Me This linkup at Catholic All Year! 1. At what temperature do you keep the thermostat set? Summer, winter, day, night? I believe I wrote about this once already here.  But to recap: I believe we are...
Answer Me This: July 5
Y'all, thank goodness for Answer Me This, the awesome linkup sponsored by Kendra of Catholic All Year. Â Otherwise, you'd have no posts of mine to read apparently. (Vowing to do better this week . . .) 1. How did you celebrate the 4th of July? (Or, for you...
Answer Me This
Yes, it's time again for the great Answer Me This linkup courtesy of Catholic All Year. 1. How long have you lived in your current home? It will be four years in September. Â Our house burned down on September 5, 2011. Â We were homeless for not quite three weeks, with...
After the Flag Comes Down, Then What?
Let's get one thing straight up front--it's time for the flag to come down.  It's divisive, it's hurtful, and whatever you or I or anyone might have meant by keeping or displaying it just doesn't matter now that the Dylann Roofs of this world have chosen it as their...
Answer Me This: Father's Day Edition
It's Sunday and time for Catholic All Year's Answer Me This linkup! 1. What's the best thing about your dad? One great thing, that strikes me because as a parent I have not lived up to this ideal: Â When I was a teenager, my father would come pick me up from the fan...
Let's Hear It for Skin
UPDATE: I wrote this last week, before the internet exploded with discussions of racial identity fueled by a white woman passing for black, before our hearts were broken by Charleston's violent reminder of one real possible consequence of being born black in America....
They Like Me! (Or Maybe They Don’t. And I Don’t Care.)
Most of us want to be liked, right? Â It's human nature, isn't it, to crave acceptance, to want to be part of a tribe? Â But worrying about whether people like you can be debilitating. Â And it's downright unhealthy if you let your desire to be liked trump your...
Answer Me This Returns!
I'm so excited that Kendra of Catholic All Year has decided to bring back her Answer Me This linkup! Â It's such a great way to start off my blogging week. Â Here are this week's questions. 1. Any big plans for the summer? Summer starts early here in Tennessee--my kids...
My Weekend Escape
For about eight years now, at least when the stars aligned and finances permitted, I have received a weekend away from my family as a birthday gift.  The stars did not align at the right time this year (my birthday was in April), so I took this past weekend as my own....
Walking in East Knoxville: Welcoming Spring at the Knoxville Botanical Gardens and Arboretum
Okay, y'all, I know it isn't Spring anymore. Â And I've been terrible about showing you new places to walk in Knoxville lately, for one thing because I haven't been doing as much walking this year, and for another, I'm behind in my blogging. Â Way behind. But y'all...
Portraits in Wax: A Visit to Madame Tussauds in Washington, D.C. (SPONSORED)
I'm sure you've heard of Madame Tussaud and her wax museum in London. Â I know I had, without ever thinking very much about it. Â Then, via my affiliation with U.S Family Guide, I got an opportunity to visit her Washington, D.C. branch. Having attended college in D.C.,...
Why I Remain a Catholic
Elizabeth Scalia, who blogs as The Anchoress at Patheos, has challenged all Catholics with a publishing platform of any kind to flood the blogosphere with their witness.  Here's her invitation: Let’s do this! If you’re Catholic and have access to a web-page, a radio...
REVIEW: Ripley's Odditorium in Baltimore (SPONSORED)
If you are my age, you probably grew up reading the Ripley's Believe It or Not cartoon in your daily paper. Â I can remember being fascinated and excited by Ripley's observations of the curiosities from all corners of the globe. So I was very excited to have been given...
Restaurant.com Sweepstakes: Let's Win a Dinner out with Friends!
How would you like to win a free dinner for you and five or your friends at a restaurant? Â What could be better than a dinner you neither have to cook yourself nor pay for? Restaurant.com is celebrating 20K partner restaurants across the nation with the Plates of...
The Desecration of Davenport Cemetery: What Is WRONG with People?
You know by now some of the reasons I like to visit graveyards: Â the beauty, the history, the sense of peace I find there. Well, sadly, my most recent cemetery visit left me feeling not enlightened and peaceful but ENRAGED. I should have been more prepared, since I...
More Awards = More about Me
In five years of blogging I received one award, and now suddenly I seem to have another one every week. Â Like I said in my last award post, that's what's known as an embarrassment of riches, folks, because I really am starting to feel embarrassed and hope you aren't...
#1000 Speak: The Compassion Connection
Let's connect! Â Looking forward to connecting! I'd like to connect with you! Such messages are all over social media, and usually there the idea of "connecting" conveys a professional networking vibe. Â Connecting helps us get jobs, drives readers to our blogs. Â Some...
Ten Things of Thankful: Big 100
This is only the second time I've participated in TToT but I can still celebrate its big milestone, right? Several months ago I started my own private thankfulness practice in my prayer life (that sounds way more holy than it is--we're talking praying in bed before...
And Now for the Liebster Award!
I'm afraid I'm starting to sound like a broken record but I'm excited to announce that Kathleen of Lifestyle Building Blocks for Success has nominated me for the Liebster Award!  I met Kathleen over on Google +, and have enjoyed being a part of her Friday Blog Booster...
How about a Visit to Ripley's Gatlinburg Attractions? (SPONSORED)
You will no doubt have noticed that I have written several sponsored posts lately--this one included--and since that's a departure from the usual here, I want to give you a little explanation. I was referred by some of my blogging friends to U.S. Family Guide, a...
Madame Tussauds in Washington, D.C.
Because John and I graduated from Georgetown University, and because his family still lives in nearby Baltimore, we have taken trips to our Nation's Capital fairly regularly over the years. Â And although there is never enough time to do everything we want to while we...
Ripley's Odditorium
I'm excited to report that my family and I are going to receive free tickets to the new Ripley's Odditorium at the Inner Harbor next time we travel to Baltimore to visit my husband's family!  I'm looking forward to coming back here to tell you more about it, but...
My Graveyard Stories
Since I was a little girl visiting the old churches in the Smokies, I have enjoyed exploring graveyards.  But in March 2014 I took this interest to the next level when I started visiting, photographing, and writing about cemeteries on a regular basis.  I try to tell a...
Stoney Point Baptist Cemetery
It was one of the first beautiful Spring weekends and Emily and I had just finished walking on the Pellissippi Greenway. Â Emily isn't into cemeteries like I am but she humors me when we are out and I want to go look at one. Â I didn't have a particular destination in...
April Goes out with a Bang!
Well, this has been another banner week for me, y'all! Monday was my birthday, and who doesn't like having a little fuss made over them? Â Especially when the fuss includes TWO bouquets and a homemade cake (Emily made it). Tuesday I published a post related to the...
Violence in Baltimore
Am I the only person in America who is having a little problem with this? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sr8rdYUOqgw Please understand, I am NOT bashing this mother. Â I am sure she loves her son and was concerned for his safety and his future. Â I'm not accusing her...
First Communion, Nostalgia, and How Time Really Does Fly
Facebook newsfeeds teem with Prom photos this time of year, and--if you are Catholic--with First Communion pictures. Â Both are rites of passage that many of us can relate to and which engender nostalgia (or PTSD, depending on what your Prom experience was). I love...
Nature, Nurture, and Compassion
Nature vs. Nurture? It's a common argument that may never be settled, but one thing I know about me: Â it's my nature to nurture. When I was a teenager, I was crazy about babies. Â I mean, who doesn't love a baby but I could hardly stop thinking about how much I wanted...
April: Not the Cruelest Month
This has been a totally awesome month for me blogwise, y'all. First, hard to believe but I have been writing this thing for FIVE YEARS now.  My "blogiversary" was April 7. Next, while I haven't been writing as much as I want to or should, I've been doing a lot of...
Spring Fling
For the past several years, starting on the first day of Spring I've posted a quotation about the season as my Facebook status. Â I love Spring so much that I needed to celebrate! Â My friends seemed to approve, which encouraged me because who doesn't like "likes" on...
A Tangled Tale Unraveled: A Knot Genie Review
OK, y'all, here's where things get real.  Here's where I tell all, like you've heard bloggers sometimes do.  Here's where I admit one of my deepest failures as a mother.  Read on . . . I have written before about  Lorelei's legendary tangles.  This problem recently...
Ask Away Friday!
 I'm participating in a new (to me!) linkup today:  #AskAwayFriday was created by Penny from Real Housewife of Caroline County and Amber from Bold Fit Mom, as a way to connect with other bloggers.  Two bloggers pair up to ask each other ten questions, any questions!...
From Attachment to Free Range: A Progression
You know, there's an awful lot of sneering about "Attachment Parenting" on the Web. (Actually, there's a lot of sneering about all kinds of parenting, for that matter--and I've done my share!) Â But most of the snark seems to stem from a misunderstanding of what AP...
More Than a Feeling
Like most people, I routinely share pictures I consider to be cute or profound on my Facebook wall. Â Sometimes I'm surprised by the lack of attention paid to something I found particularly noteworthy; other times one picture gets more likes than I expected. Â And who...
Check Out That View – Downtown Knoxville
Downtown Knoxville, Tennessee . . . taken looking southwest from the roof of a parking garage right before an afternoon storm.
My Sunday Photo – Reflections
This week was Spring Break, and on Tuesday Lorelei and I went on an adventure with some friends, visiting Seven Islands Birding Park for the first time (but I am sure not the last). Â It was a beautiful almost-Spring day, perfect for taking pictures. Â We saw a Cooper's...
Sunday Snippets
It's time again for Sunday Snippets, that weekly linkup of Catholic Bloggers from across the web hosted by RAnn of This, That, and the Other Thing. Â Sadly, this is the last week for Sunday Snippets but I hope to find some new linkups to join. Things were pretty busy...
We Have a Published Author in the House . . .
My daughter Emily, who graduated from Spring Hill College in 2013 with a major in Creative Writing, is an amazing writer of fiction and poetry. Â I've shared her prize-winning poetry with you here before, and she had her first short story published last year....
#1000 Speak: Bullies on the Bus
When Lorelei was very little, she'd get mad at her big brothers and yell, "Shub up! Â Beeg bully!" With four older siblings, it's not surprising she'd heard the phrase "shut up," but I'm not sure how she already knew what a bully was: Â someone bigger, stronger, more...
Is Fear Ruining Childhood?
Like many people approaching the mid-century (ACK!) mark, I look back fondly on childhood as an idyllic episode in my life. Â And while it may be true, as Doug Larson says, that "nostalgia is a file that removes the rough edges from the good old days," I still think...
A Grey Afternoon at Grigsby Chapel
Pictures don't look as pretty on grey days at winter's end, but that's the kind of day it was when I stopped by Grigsby Chapel United Methodist Church Cemetery a few weeks ago. I don't have as much context for this post as I'd like. Â Perhaps any local historians could...
Sunday Snippets
Thanks for joining me for Sunday Snippets, a weekly roundup of posts by Catholic authors from around the web, hosted by RAnn. Â If any of you would care to join in, please visit the link for instructions. Partly because of snow days and partly because I've been away...
Five Life Lessons from The Godfather
John and I are spending the weekend in Dallas with my sister and brother-in-law. Â They have an in-home theatre, and last night we ate Italian food and watched The Godfather. I have only watched it start-to-finish once, I believe, and that was twenty years ago. Now...
He Was Spock
"Are you sitting down, Dad?" We are out of town and it was our oldest son on the phone.  Those weren't words we wanted to hear.  But Jake knows us well enough to realize that the news of Leonard Nimoy's death would hit hard. I can't remember a time when I didn't know...
Smoky Mountain Graveyard
I cannot tell from the map of the footprint of the still ongoing wildfires whether this little graveyard, just a stone's throw from Gatlinburg, is in the affected area, but there can be little doubt that other graveyards and historic structures have been destroyed and...
Sunday Snippets
Welcome to Sunday Snippets, a roundup of Catholic bloggers from around the web hosted by RAnn of This, That, and the Other Thing. My content is not explicitly Catholic this week (unless, of course, you consider celebrating the beauty of God's Creation to be...
Walking in Knoxville: North, South, and Further South
Emily and I can't stop exercising just because we finished up the Urban Wilderness Trails. Â Our weekend treks have been sporadic of late (Christmas holidays, trips out of town, and hello SNOW!) but we've explored a number of trails in and around Knoxville in the past...
Walking in South Knoxville: Success!
So we did it! Â We hiked all 42 miles of the South Knoxville Urban Wilderness! Â And we have badges to prove it: We had just a few awkward pieces of trail to finish up to earn our badges, and we did it by walking the entire twelve-mile loop over three weekends, four...
Walking in South Knoxville: A Belated Fall Roundup
As those of you who have been following me for a while know, my daughter Emily and I have been hiking the South Knoxville Urban Wilderness trails every Saturday for months, and I've been reviewing those trails for my readers. I fell behind--not in hiking, but...
Sunday Snippets
Since I actually wrote a few posts this week, I'm linking up with Sunday Snippets, RAnn's link up of Catholic bloggers from around the web. Â Here's what I published: I started off with some tips for increasing followers and engagement on Twitter. Next, I continued my...
Throwback Thursday: An Autumn Afternoon at Holloway Cemetery
I know most of y'all are probably champing at the bit for Spring to arrive. Â Me, not so much. Â I'd like at least one good snowfall first. Â But today, I want you to stop thinking about Spring for a few minutes and instead remember Autumn. I'm behind in recounting my...
One Year of Obamacare: A Review
We were a little late getting signed up for Obamacare when it launched, so this month marks our one year anniversary--one full year of being insured! I know that "anecdotes don't equal data." Â I also know that UNBIASED data I've read on the success of Obamacare has...
Twitter Tips: Increasing Engagement on the Cheap
I haven't been blogging much lately because (among many other reasons) I got sucked down a social media rabbit hole trying to "fix" Twitter. I've been on Twitter since about 2009. Â I downloaded an archive of all my tweets the other day and it was like looking at a...
Sunday Snippets
I'm back for the first time in awhile with Sunday Snippets, RAnn's delightful gathering of Catholic bloggers around the web. Like many of you, I'm sure, I've spent a lot of time tweeting this week, sharing #whywemarch posts, rather than writing, but I did manage to...
Book Review: Patience of a Saint
It might seem a bit odd to review a book that was published almost 30 years ago and that I've read many times before. Â But having recently re-read Patience of a Saint by Father Andrew Greeley, who died in 2013, I wanted to talk about him and his writing. In 1987 I...
First Signs of Spring
In response to The Daily Post's writing prompt: "A Moment in Time." Today's prompt suggested that I write about the last picture I took.  I should probably do this every day as it would give me an endless supply of stories. I took this picture yesterday afternoon,...
The Year in Review: Your Favorites, My Favorites
I'm shamelessly stealing this idea from another blog. Â I'm going to share the year's five most popular posts (according the the stats provided by WordPress), and then I'm going to share five of my personal favorites (difficult to do because, frankly, I am a fan of my...
12 in 2014: A Year in Pictures
So, I'm linking up with Dwija at House Unseen, Life Unscripted  and posting one picture for each month of 2014.  I did this last year, but this year it seemed much harder to choose.  I've taken an insane amount of pictures this year, for one thing.  And then I had to...
Sunday Snippets: A Catholic Carnival
I fell off the NaBloPoMo wagon in a big way, even failing to participate in my usual linkups.  So I missed Sunday Snippets last week, and will make up for it by listing two weeks' worth of posts this week. Sunday Snippets is a gathering of Catholic bloggers sharing...
My Sunday Photo: Narnia
My big kids all attended Knoxville Catholic High School, and when I showed Emily this photo, which I took a couple of weeks ago while Lorelei and I were walking on the trails near the school after morning Mass at All Saints, she recognized "Narnia" immediately. Â You'd...
Stanton Cemetery: An Unexpected Reward
So you chose to walk around Mead's Quarry and took the Tharp Trace Trail starting at the harder end. Â Don't feel bad because you are going to come upon a nice place to slow down and catch your breath not far from the end of the trail. Â Stanton Cemetery is now...
A Quiet Walk at the Quarry
I have walked the trails at Mead's Quarry once before and I probably won't again, unless I REALLY feel the need to take someone there. Â Y'all, that Tharp Trace Trail is JUST THAT HARD. That's one of the reasons Emily and I waited until October to tackle this set of...
