Blog
Answer Me This #10
Once again, I'm linking up with Kendra at Catholic All Year for Answer Me This! 1. How often do you take public transportation? That's easy. Â Never. Â In Knoxville, all we have are buses, and out this way the routes are extremely limited. Â Now, when we lived in an...
Graveyard Roundup
I stopped visiting graveyards, because I haven't written about them for awhile and was getting behind.  In this "round-up" post, I'll catch you up on where I've been lately, so that I can go back to my explorations next weekend. Emily and I took the little kids hiking...
Cultivating My Garden
If you have a garden and a library, you have everything you need. Â ~ Cicero I can't believe I've never come across this quotation before today, but I'm beginning to believe it. Â Certainly few things give me as much pleasure as do reading and working in my garden. I...
Obamacare Revisited
I know I just updated recently but I have some things I really wanted to post about and I don't feel like waiting! Let's start with the not-so-good parts, because while want people to see the enormous good in our Obamacare experience I lose credibility if I...
What We're Reading Wednesday #2
It may be Hump Day to the rest of the world, but to me it's What We're Reading Wednesday hosted by Housewife Spice. Y'all, I am so boring. Â Whenever I look at anyone else's reading posts, they are either reading theology or the latest literary best seller. Â Me, I'm...
Five Favorites #2
I'm linking up again today with Mama Knows, Honey Child to tell you about more of my favorite things! 1. Â Aldi I'd been seeing this little grocery store for awhile, and even stopped there just once out of curiosity and picked up a few things. Â But I only recently...
Walking in South Knoxville: Forks of the River WMA
Look! Â It's the beginning of another path to explore in South Knoxville! Actually, this is a post about many paths. Â Many, many paths, which you can find at the Forks of the River Wildlife Management Area, one of the stops along the South Knox Loop and part of the...
Answer Me This #9
It's time for Answer Me This! Â Thanks to Catholic All Year for this fun weekly linkup. 1. When's the last time you got a new bathing suit? It's been a long time. Â I'm pretty sure it was 2008. Â It's basically non-functional now and if I plan to get wet this summer I am...
Five Favorites
Today I'm linking up with Mama Knows, Honeychild to tell you about five of my favorite things! (Don't be thinking Sound of Music here!) 1. Â Yves Rocher No, I am not on their payroll, although I would do a sponsored post for them is a second if I thought I could get...
Word-filled Wednesday
Maybe (probably?) y'all have heard of Wordless Wednesday, that great blogging invention in which all you have to do is post a quick picture and then you are finished with your post for the day? Â Well, this is kind of the opposite of that because I am linking up with...
Answer Me This #8
Back again with another Answer Me This linkup from Catholic All Year! 1. What’s something you intended to do today, but didn't? Today has just begun, so who knows?  But I can answer this for yesterday:  I wanted to get my newest plants into the ground.  I have a bad...
Obamacare: My Latest Update
I went to Walgreens yesterday to pick up some prescription refills that I had called in. Â I drove up to the window and gave my name and the guy said, "It looks like there are ten of them." Â He rang them all up and I held my breath and he said, "That will be $36.20."...
Answer Me This #7
It's that time of the week again . . . time for Answer Me This, from Catholic All Year. 1. Do you have a land line? Gracious, no. Â Not in about two years. Â I wanted to keep one, but we could never remember the number, and no one important ever called on it anyway. Â So...
Walking in South Knoxville 2: The William Hastie Natural Area
Years ago, when my big kids were little, any walking I did consisted of pushing a double stroller around our South Knoxville (Lake Forest) neighborhood, Emily walking at my side. Â I couldn't go very fast, but I got exercise on the hills! Occasionally, we'd make it as...
Book Review: Rescuing Julia Twice
I am so happy that Tina Traster offered me the chance to read and review this important story of her daughter's adoption from Russia (Siberia, to be precise) and the family's struggle with Reactive Attachment Disorder. Let me start by explaining why this subject...
Back Home Again
. . . is where I am, after the 500-mile drive from Georgetown earlier today. Â Everything was fine while we were gone, and I've already washed a load of laundry and cooked two pounds of bacon. But I'll back up just a bit to this morning, when we arrived on campus to...
Swift Potomac's Lovely Daughter
So, no, we didn't make it back to campus at 10 a.m.  And John wasn't ready to leave and I was chomping at the bit.  So  left him at the hotel and walked to Georgetown by myself. It's about a mile to campus from the hotel in Rosslyn, Virginia where we are staying.  It...
It’s Been So Long Since Last We Met . . .
If y'all don't understand the title, it's the first line of Georgetown's fight song, which is the best fight song ever. Â Seriously, it is. Â One of my college housemates once went to some kind of Catholic Youth conference where everyone sang their school's fight song,...
Answer Me This #6
Once again, linking up with Kendra's Catholic All Year. 1. Do you have a smart phone? Yes. Oh, yes. Â I resisted for a long time. Â I said my flip phone was all I needed. Â But when I became John's official assistant, I also got the assistant iPhone. Â I have become . . ....
Walking in South Knoxville
This is WAY too big a topic for just one post, y'all. Â If you want to go hiking but you don't feel like driving to the mountains, South Knoxville is the place for you. Â And I'm not just talking Ijams, even though we all know how wonderful that is. But let me back up...
Answer Me This #5
Back with another episode of Answer Me This! Â (Please visit Catholic All Year, the sponsor of this fun Q-and-A linkup!) 1. Beach or Mountains? Where would you rather be? Right this minute, the beach, because it's the beginning of summer. Â And I do like to visit the...
Dutchtown, Loveville, Graveyards, and Progress
You've probably passed this little church and cemetery hundreds of times on your way to Turkey Creek. Â Maybe you've never even noticed them. Â At the corner (sort of--the road has been closed here) of Dutchtown and Lovell Roads stands the little Concord Mennonite...
An Afternoon at Grassy Valley
When you start paying attention, cemeteries start popping up EVERYWHERE. Â Seriously, just take one day to pay attention to how many of them you drive by. Â You know how it is, when you see something every day you sort of stop seeing it at all. Â So last Saturday I...
Answer Me This, #4
Here's this week's Answer Me This, courtesy of Kendra at  Catholic All Year. 1. What's the scariest thing that's ever been in your yard? That's hard.  Can I do more than one?  (Yes, I can, because this is my blog and I do whatever I want here!) Yard #1  This was our...
A May Stroll You Must Take!
Let me start by saying that I love love love the smell of honeysuckle. Â That's probably not an earth-shattering revelation because who doesn't? Â But when I had to answer all those email questionnaires that want to know what's on your mouse pad and whether you like...
He's Baaaaack
There is another laundry basket in the hallway. I have to check the waistbands of all the jeans and boxer shorts for sizes before I put them away. Another car is jockeying for position in front of the house. I am cooking more meat than usual. We needed a second pew on...
A Story Unfinished: A Review
A few months ago, I was honored to be chosen as an "Off the Shelf" reviewer for Beacon Hill Press of Kansas City.  Y'all may have noticed by now that I love books.  So why wouldn't I be thrilled to have the opportunity to read quality books (for free!) and talk about...
Answer Me This #3
Linking up again with Catholic All Year for Answer Me This! 1. What's for dinner? God only knows. Â Seriously, y'all, after almost 25 years I am tired of making dinner. In the beginning, it was fun. Â Like playing house. Â The second and third years I got...
A Work in Progress
Every morning, when I get home from driving William to school, I get out of my car, start, walking toward the house, and then stop and stand staring like an idiot at my garden. Â My neighbors probably think I'm crazy (actually, they already have plenty of other reasons...
Obamacare Update 2
As promised, I will continue to update you on our family's journey out of the ranks of the uninsured thanks to the Affordable Care Act. Â Here's where we are now: Â John, Emily, Jake, and I are fully insured through BCBST. Â Lorelei and William remain on TennCare which...
Walking in West Knoxville
So, a few weeks ago I was telling y'all that I once had planned to write a blog called "Walking in Knoxville," and that I planned to incorporate that idea into this blog, because eclectic. Â I had really meant to chronicle each or my walks separately, but I've been...
A Visit to Third Creek Cemetery
My original plan for Saturday involved a graveyard I pass near frequently in my current location in Northwest Knox County. Â And I did visit it, but it just wasn't that interesting. (Oh, I will tell you about it later--don't worry.) But I felt unsatisfied and then...
Answer Me This Again!
Trying to get caught up with the Catholic All Year link up! 1. Are you becoming your mother? If I am, no one has said so yet!  I'm sure she doesn't think so.  I am far more likely to be accused of becoming my grandmother. 2. Coffee or tea? ...
Answer Me This
In my constant quest to provide exciting and FREQUENT content on this blog, I am going to participate in more blog-hops and link ups. Â The questions below come from Catholic All Year. 1. Do you hate happy clappy church music? Clapping I can do without,...
These Shoes Were Made for Walking
Lorelei is off to camp with her classmates this morning. Â They will be spending three days at Camp Wesley Woods, about an hour from home. This of course necessitated a lot of shopping. Â And with one thing and another, I put off this shopping until yesterday....
Roadtripping
Teddy's first year at Notre Dame is almost over. Â He will be home for the summer in less than a month, and back to eating us out of house and home once more. After we dropped him off, we didn't hear much from him for a long time. Â It was a far cry from the frequent...
And This Is Why They Call It Gallaher View
Oh, I'm so terrible. Â It's so nice of everyone not to mention that I claimed I was going to blog every day during Lent. Â That didn't last long. Â I have GOT to figure out a way to carve out the time to blog every day. Â Trust me, my silence does NOT indicate a lack of...
Obamacare Update
I promised several people to continue to share my family's experiences with being insured at long last via the Affordable Care Act, AKA Obamacare. Â We are coming up on two months of being insured and so far it is an unqualified success. There was a little sticker...
Graveyards and Country Roads
I had so much fun looking at graveyards last weekend, that I've decided to try to visit some every Saturday. Â Jake likes graveyards too, so I asked him to come along. Â Turns out he had one he wanted to show me! It's often referred to as Copper Ridge Cemetery online,...
Walking in Knoxville
Before I started this blog, I had planned to write a very different one, which I was going to call Walking in Knoxville. Â The main focus of it was going to be walks I liked to go on (hence the name!) but I was going to use that as a jumping off point to discuss other...
Cuttin' Footloose
When I was a teenager, the poster below (or one very like it) hung on the back of my bedroom door. It wasn't because I had a huge crush on Kevin Bacon, although I did think he was cute. Â What I loved was the movie--Footloose. As I checked my phone before bed last...
Spring Break!
My Facebook feed is filling up with pictures of beach views, because both Knox County public and Catholic schools are on break this week. Â Were I to post a picture of my view, it would be the same one everyone has seen before: Â my back yard. Â I'm not complaining,...
Dust to Dust
I had to run an early-morning errand today, leaving the house while everyone was still sleeping. Â On the way, I passed two graveyards I've often meant to explore. Â With no plans scheduled until later in the day, and expecting that everyone would probably still be...
Online or Hardback?
Readers with kids: Â Do yours have "online textbooks" and what do you think of them if so?Textbooks have grown much bigger and heavier since I was a little girl. Â I'm not sure there's any reason for that since surely the deposit of knowledge can't increase that much in...
What Dreams May Come
Last night I dreamt that my family and I were standing outside our house (only, because this was a dream, it wasn't THIS house, but rather the one I lived in from age 11 until I got married). Â We heard that scary cracking sound that lets you know that a big tree...
Home Wreckonomics
There was a room in the "new" wing of my high school that was referred to as the "home ec" room. Â There were sinks and a cooktop in there, but the days of anyone being taught the domestic arts as a part of the Knoxville Catholic High School curriculum were long gone...
Good Morning, Rennbore!
If you have an iPhone, you'll be familiar with the little "weather" icon you can click when you want to know what's going on outside without having to look out the window. Â This handy-dandy app allows you to pick several cities to keep track of so that at a glance I...
Lent and a Birthday
Birthday parties and Ash Wednesday don't mix. Â That's why we celebrated William's 13th birthday last Saturday, with a dinner party at the Lemongrass Restaurant (William loves Asian food of all types). Â There were 14 of us in attendance. Â We brought the cake (red...
2013 in review
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog. Here's an excerpt: The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 18,000 times in 2013. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would...
Uninsured No More
Since I've come out supporting the Affordable Care Act, with reservations, both here and on Facebook, and have publicly stated that my family would be applying for coverage, I thought I should let you know that as of February 1st I have joined the ranks of the insured...
2013 in 13 Photos
Linking up today with House Unseen, Life Unscripted's awesome 2013 in 13 Photos! Photo 1: Â January. Â Immaculate Conception Church. Â I take a picture every Sunday and sign in on FourSquare. Â I'm the Mayor! Photo 2: February. Â John's birthday cake. Â My own secret...
It All Boils Down to This
It's New Years Day and y'all know what that means, right? Â Black-eyed peas and greens, at least for us Southerners. As long as I can remember, my mother forced us to eat at least one bite of black-eyed peas each New Years Day, "For luck," she said. Â Later I learned...
A Short Christmas Story
William, my big baby boy, is growing up, even though he doesn't want to. Â He'll be 13 in March, he's almost as tall as I am, he weighs 140 lbs., and he started middle school this year. [edit: he's now an 18 year old high school senior, over 6 ft., and about 260 lbs.!]...
Persecution and Perspective
It's that time of year again! Â Yes, it's time for the annual "War on Christmas," when all we faithful Christians must endure the pain of being wished "Happy Holidays" and seeing retailers advertising "Holiday Sales" and let's not forget all those evil people taking...
The Hobbit II: The Desolation of Peter Jackson
Beware! Â Herein lie spoilers! I'm not in the habit of writing movie reviews, but then I'm not in the habit of going to movies either. Â John loves them, and occasionally he insists on taking me, but usually I'd rather spend date nights talking. Â I go to the theatre for...
More Advent Fun
Come visit me for my third annual appearance at Living on Love, where I am writing on making your own Jesse Tree for the home. Â Because clearly if you want to read something I've written, you aren't finding anything here, are you? (A temporary situation, I...
O Come O Come Emmanuel . . .
I made my first Holy Communion during Advent 1974, and that was the processional song. It's the first time I remember hearing it--at any rate it's when I learned the words--and so hearing it this time of year has a little bit of extra significance for me! Besides...
I Fell off the Wagon . . .
The NaBloPoMo wagon, that is. Â But, y'all, this week has been brutal. First there was the all-nighter. Â Jake got his paper done. Â Emily bagged on us around 3 a.m. Â I stayed up and up and up. Â For those of you who have heard me rant about helicopter parenting, all I...
All-Nighters
I may have mentioned a time or two that I was an English major. Â So that meant I wrote lots and lots of papers in college. Â And college being what it is, I rarely wrote any of them until the night before they were due. I write really fast, so usually that wasn't so...
Me and My Noodles
When it starts to get chilly outside, before I leave the house you might hear my ask one of my kids to "bring me my noodle!" Â And if you did hear that, you would probably think I was crazy. Â So let me explain. I buy a lot of beauty products through the mail from Yves...
Three Musketeers
We call Emily, Jake, and Teddy "the big kids," and William and Lorelei "the little people." because there's a a gap of six years between Teddy and William and there are times when it really does feel like we have two separate families. (And yes, a woman in the Kroger...
Family Resemblances
Almost twenty-three years ago, Emily arrived looking pretty much exactly like John. Â He brought his own newborn picture to the hospital and several people assumed it was hers. Â Great, I thought, I did all the work and he gets all the credit. Â And his black hair and...
Scattered Pictures
Twenty-seven years ago (ACK!!), I moved into my first apartment at Georgetown with three classmates. Â It was like playing house--walking to Safeway to buy groceries, making Quick Corn Light Bread from my mother's recipe, using the carpet sweeper, fighting over whose...
Cute Cat Pictures
I had an awesome time tonight, and I can't wait to tell y'all all about it, but it's already after midnight. Â But I have to post something for NaBloPoMo, so . . . When I got home a few minutes ago, I headed straight to the office to write this post. Â The first thing I...
In the Garden Part II
Mima loved to garden. Â There were flowerbeds everywhere--at the road, next to the carport, around the tree, right in front of the front porch, by the back porch. Â She did all her own gardening right up until she had her first stroke. As a child, I didn't think much...
In the Garden
I'm tired and still have work to do this evening, so I'm going to begin a two-parter: Â mostly pictures of my garden today, and then a post about gardening tomorrow. Â I hadn't seriously gardened in a long time--years, really--but this year I have been trying to do more...
Scorched Stew Saga
I have been thinking about beef stew for weeks, ever since it first began to get chilly. Â There's something about this time of year that makes me want to cook. Â I've been thinking a lot about chili and roasted root vegetables and pots of pinto beans too! But some of...
Connections
In the fall of 1973, 21 children started first grade at St. Joseph School. Â In May of 1985, 11 of them graduated from Knoxville Catholic High School. Â Those 11 kids spent more time together than they probably will spend with anyone else, ever, other than the members...
Just under the Wire
OK,y'all, I know this is lazy, but the thing is, it's a quarter till midnight, and I have to do something quick, and besides my daughter tagged me with this and I want to oblige her. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS Rule one: Always post the rules Rule two: Answer the questions...
Not a Chip off THIS Block!
John and I were both well-behaved children, responsible, excelling in school without parental prompting, never giving our parents worry or trouble. That's why I think Karma is bullshit. No, seriously, my kids aren't that bad. Â But they aren't carbon copies of me and...
About Those Crocs . . .
Before the fire, my closet was overflowing, mostly with clothes I couldn't fit in anymore but couldn't bear to get rid of. Â Seriously, I had the dress I wore when I graduated from college in there. Truth to tell, most of the things I actually wore lived in a laundry...
A Nice Surprise on a Bleak November Day . . .
Y'all, I am over the moon to have made this list today!  I have been reading Katie Allison Granju's blog for years--certainly it was the first blog I ever read, after going on a hunt for more of her writing because I had enjoyed her column in the Metropulse,...
They Come in Threes
Deaths, that is. Â Maybe it's just the constant desire to look for patterns and meanings, but I've found it to be true. I remember one day last summer on which I attended a memorial Mass in the morning, took a meal to a bereaved family that afternoon, and went to a...
A Busy Birthday
So my baby girl turned NINE today! Â Lorelei wanted to have a party for some of her school friends, and she came up with the theme on her own: Â a "fashion" party. Â The main event was manicures and makeovers provided by her big sister, followed by a pinata, then gifts...
Never Say Never
You know what happens when 1) You don't care what anybody thinks about you and 2) You've reached the age at which comfort is more important than fashion? This. Â This happens. Don't say I didn't warn you.
I'm Tired
This is one of those nights when the ONLY reason I am writing a blog post is because of NaBloPoMo. Â I am busy and sleepy and not feeling particularly inspired. Â The space in my head normally devoted to dreaming up things to write about, refining them throughout the...
When the Rest of the Story Is Bad
Surely you remember Paul Harvey with his "and now you know the rest of the story."  In his show, the rest of the story was always surprising, frequently meaningful, and sometimes moving. (And also, according to Snopes, possibly not really true!) As a child who read a...
Singing in the Rain . . . and Everywhere Else
That's me! Â I love to sing. I frequently burst into song for no reason at all. Â I am known in my family for my ability to do this with lyrics that are appropriate to whatever is going on around me at the time. When I was a little girl, my sister and I used to sit...
It's Not Just You
Over the past few days I've had several conversations with different people centering around how difficult things are for them. Â "That's how my life is," said one friend. Â "My life is just crazy right now," said another. Â "Why is my life so hard?" asked a third. In...
Along Came a Spider
Back in the summer, a writing spider took up residence in a bush in my garden, just outside my front door. Â Now I'm the kind of person who runs screaming at the sight of even small spiders, and this one was big. Â But William loves spiders, and so we left her alone....
Heaven Is for Real
I do believe that, even though I'm not a fan of the book. Â But I don't spend a lot of time thinking about it. There are those who spend their lives longing for Heaven, longing to escape this vale of tears. Â At my Aunt Iva's funeral I remember the preacher talking...
Are you ready to read a lot of blog posts?
So I'm doing NaBloPoMo again, but this week has been kind of crazy (seriously, who am I kidding and what week hasn't been crazy?) so that I'm even failing on the "Facebook gratitude game." Â This week looks to be another crazy ones so the posts may be short and written...
Joey
That's what I always called him, and how I will remember him, even though he was long since "Joe" to everyone, even his brother and sister. Â But he was Joey to me, my big grown-up cousin, more than a decade older than me so seeming like an adult even in my earliest...
A Perfect Day
Yesterday started out with some extremely crappy news from our (former) billing company. [Good news in disguise, y'all. Hindsight.] But the rest of the day, thankfully, was wonderful enough to tip the balance on my happiness scale. It's Fall Break for William, but...
A Literary Survey
I love this kind of post. Â (You know that, right? Â Because I've totally done it before. Â And also here. Â And also here, and probably elsewhere!) Â This time I stole it from my friend Maggie. Â You can read her version here. Â (And then read more of her blog because she...
Evangelization
Marianne Worthington calls him "The Acts Man" in her beautiful poem. Â (Stop. Â Click the link. Â Read the poem. Â Come back.) Â We called him the Bicycle Preacher. Â I've recently been informed that his name was Mr. Wilson. Knoxville was his beat. Â Some say they saw him on...
Good Day Sunshine
I got an award, y'all! This comes courtesy of my friend Elizabeth Flora Ross, who writes at The Writer Revived AND is the founder of The Mom Pledge Blog. Â She's an awesome writer and a wonderful mother to her darling four-year-old, and I admire her very much. So I was...
Cheer, Cheer for Old Notre Dame
Today I watched my first Notre Dame football game as the parent of a student. After all, I'm "part of the Notre Dame family now," (as we were reminded MANY times during last weekend's orientation events). (Fortunately, the Notre Dame game was at 3:30 and the...
"The School I Would Run"
The title is in quotes because I utter that phrase frequently, mostly when complaining about something that has happened in one of my kids' schools or when reading about the latest stupid educational fad. Â (I also sometimes say "If I ran the world" but that is another...
Feminism's Rotten Fruits
UPDATE: I was inspired to repost this by discussion surrounding the Women's March on Washington and by what many referred to as vulgar signs and speeches they saw on the media. While I understand that many women find such things empowering, I too question whether...
Letting Go
"Is there anything to eat?" I think that's maybe what I'll miss the most--my hungry boy saying those words to me, in person or on the phone, usually multiple times on any given day. Â I almost cried this weekend watching him fight his way through the mob in the...
Summer Is No Time for Homework
I've got some pretty strong opinions about education, after 17 years of having kids in school--and they've attended several, so I've got comparative data--plus my own years "in the system." Â I am very fond of proclaiming what would and would not happen in the...
Pretty Pretty Princess
So it seems like everywhere I look lately I see articles about what not to say to your little girls. Â Don't mention that you have issues with your weight. Â Don't tell them they are pretty. Â And for God's sake, don't call them Princess. (Disclaimer: Â I am not...
Thinking outside the Box: Ten Pro-Life Groups That May Surprise You
So I kind of went on a tear on Facebook the other day. Â I flipped out just a little bit. Â Here's what I said: Â "When certain people assume that "women" all believe the same things and support the same issues I get really, really irritated. It's patronizing and...
25 Reasons to Love Knoxville UPDATED
It's no secret to anyone who knows me that I love my hometown. Â Five years away for college and my first year of marriage was enough for me and I don't ever want to live anywhere else. I could list dozens of reasons for my love of Knoxville. Â But that's not the...
Summertime and the Living Is Easy
Summer time and the living is easy . . . Right? That’s what we are led to believe, anyway. That’s the ideal. My childhood memories paint summer in almost unbelievably idyllic hues. We slept late. Swam every day. Came home wet and starving into the frigid...
Drained
It' no news to me that my stats for this thing are way, way down. Â And it's no wonder, given the irregularity and infrequency of posts here lately. Now I knew I wouldn't be able to post much during the craziness that was most of April and all of May. Â But I kind of...
Going Home Part II
We had a big morning planned (two lectures and a tour) but we kind of forgot about it and slept in instead. Â We had to take a cab to make it to Georgetown in time for the Family Picnic (which we would totally have bagged too except we had already paid for it). Â The...
Going Home
So this is where I am today! Twenty-five years ago (yes, that does constitute an actual lifetime!) John graduated from Georgetown University, and we are here for his Reunion. Â (He's older than me. Â We just won't discuss when my 25-year Reunion will be. Â Until I blog...
Dear Mom in the Pew
Dear Mom in the Pew in Front of Me, the One with the Rowdy Kids: No, I am not going to write about how much your kids disturb me during Mass. Â I'm not going to suggest that you take them to the nursery (we don't have one anyway!) or sit with them in the cry room or...
