Crystal Ball, July 9, 2014
The shoes of summer Summer brings with it a long list of traditions. Sweet corn. Fireworks. Tomatoes. Parades. Fireflies. Cookouts. Canning and freezing garden produce. Watermelon. New shoes. Yeah. New...
View ArticleCrystal Ball, July 16 2014
The gardening fitness program continues In May, I spent the big bucks and bought a nice long no-kink garden hose. There was nothing wrong with my current no-kink garden hose except that it was always...
View ArticleCrystal Ball, July 23, 2014
Summer harvest I love this time of year. It starts with the sweet cherries. Then sweet corn. Peaches. Watermelon. Cantaloupe. Tomatoes. Cucumbers. New potatoes. If I’m not drooling over garden produce,...
View ArticleCrystal Ball, July 30, 2014
Let there be flames Food tastes better if it’s cooked over open flame. This includes campfires, charcoal grills and gas grills. Gas stoves are another story entirely and we’re not going there. The...
View ArticleCrystal Ball, Aug. 6, 2014
Vacation I’m on vacation this week. I’m not going anywhere, so as usual, it’s more of a stay-cation. Those are the best. My vacation time tends to be sort of unconventional. It’s often more fun (and...
View ArticleCrystal Ball – Aug. 13, 2014
Making a joyful noise . . . or not I needed a vacation last week to get over my vacation from the previous week. I suspect I am not alone in this post-vacation condition. After having a week to one’s...
View ArticleCrystal Ball, Aug. 20, 2014
On the road again Traveling with dogs is always an adventure. Traveling with dogs when one of those dogs is 11 weeks old is an adventure in over-packing. I had registered for an obedience training...
View ArticleCrystal Ball, Aug. 27, 2014
The tail-end of summer This has been a great summer for gardening, at least from a watering perspective. After buying my handy-dandy 135-foot, 75-pound garden hose in the spring, I’ve hardly had to use...
View ArticleCrystal Ball, Sept. 3, 2014
Back to school School started across the county last week. It’s time to scratch my head and wonder where summer went. June drifted by pleasantly, but as soon as the Fourth of July and the county fair...
View ArticleCrystal Ball, Sept. 10, 2014
Not living in the fast lane It occurred to me the other day that I am out of the loop. I am so far out of the loop I don’t even know what the loop looks like. I’m talking about the entertainment world...
View ArticleCRYSTAL BALL – Dec. 3, 2014: The countdown begins
By MELINDA WICHMANN Christmas is in three weeks. Is your shopping done? Gifts wrapped? Cookies baked? Cards sent? House cleaned? Halls decked? Yeah. Me neither. It’s not like Christmas comes as a big...
View ArticleHibernating
I suppose winter serves a good purpose because it makes us slow down. If we had never-ending months of warm weather, we’d be so busy going places and doing stuff that we’d eventualyl collapse in an...
View ArticleGo talk to your cat
In case you missed it, Jan. 22 was national “Talk To Your Cat Day.” I don’t know who comes up with this stuff. Every day at our house is Talk To Your Cat Day. It’s also Talk To Your Dog Day, Yell At...
View ArticleThe woes of upgrading
All the technological devices that allegedly exist to make our lives easier add an element of difficulty to those lives that goes beyond anything our parents or grandparents ever experienced. The...
View ArticleOffice time zones
I’ve been thinking about the words we use to describe time at the office. In this over-scheduled world, it seems like someone is always leaving to go somewhere and an important part of leaving is...
View ArticleWinter burnout
Winter has worn out its welcome. By this time of year, the season has ceased to be amusing. Snow no longer creates a picturesque holiday scene. With Christmas two months past, the white stuff is no...
View ArticlePick a card, any card
Life was simpler back in the day. When you went to a store, you took your purchases to the counter, paid for them and left. The most exotic thing that ever happened was maybe you saved 50 cents with a...
View ArticleForget what? Who, me?
Have you ever tried to forget about a doctor or dental appointment? In this electronic age, it is nearly impossible. In recent years, medical providers have taken to leaving voice mails, texting and...
View ArticleOf sunshine and mud
It would be a stretch to say spring weather has arrived to stay but last week’s glorious sunshine and vanishing snow pack certainly puts one in a vernal equinox mood. If you’re of a mind to celebrate...
View Article‘Scarves For Dummies’
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably noticed that neck scarves are the “it” accessory in women’s fashion these days. I don’t mean the bulky woolen scarves we wear to keep our faces...
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