Get out of the flowers!
It’s spring and little green things are coming up outdoors and suddenly it’s not okay for the dogs to go stomping around in the flowerbed by the back door like they have been allowed to do since last...
View ArticleBig Brother is watching
Is anyone else creeped out just a little bit by the fact that technology is looking over our shoulders and tracking our online shopping habits? Granted, this is nothing new but it seems to have gotten...
View ArticleA quest for old-fashioned denim
In this age of political conspiracies, the ever-present threat of maniacs with guns and the terrifying thought that the 2016 presidential campaign has started, there is a growing menace every woman in...
View ArticleHow to tell it’s springtime in Iowa
You’ve bought bedding plants even though it’s still too cold at night to set them out. You spend a lot of time carrying your bedding plants outside in the morning and inside at night. You have a...
View ArticleA walk in the – oh look, a squirrel!
A few weeks ago, my dogs and I enjoyed an annual spring tradition: we walked the Homestead Nature Trail for the first time since last November. I’ve enjoyed that trail for years and my Australian...
View ArticleEvery bloomin’ thing
Every spring I say the same thing. I am not going to plant as many flowers this year. I mean it this time. I’m serious. And then I go to the flower store and lose my mind. This year, I girded my loins...
View ArticleVacation
Four months of happy anticipation. One week of frantic preparation. Seven days of bliss. One night of 3-year-old temper tantrums yelling, “But I don’t WANNA go back to work tomorrow. You can’t MAKE me...
View ArticleOf chairs and chairmen
Chairs are a big deal for folks who show dogs. Dog shows involve hours of waiting punctuated by 10 minutes of frantic activity followed by more hours of waiting. It’s important to have a comfortable...
View ArticleFed up with the news feed
As a news person, I spend a lot of time reading, watching and listening to the news. In recent weeks, I have decided there is a lot of news I do not care about. Nothing personal, it’s just that I only...
View ArticleNo such thing as a free cat
I hauled another cat to the vet a few weeks ago for an extreme makeover. He showed up at our place in January – a rag-tag black and white tom cat with a big draining abscess on his neck. He was a mess....
View ArticleSo you think you want a malinois
The movie “Max” is set to release in US theaters on June 26. Based on true events, the story is about Max, a Belgian malinois military working dog (MWD) and his handler, who are deployed to...
View ArticleSummer
It’s officially summer now. In case you missed it, the summer solstice occurred at 11:39 a.m. on Sunday, June 21. That day had the most daylight hours of the year. From here, it’s downhill. We lose a...
View ArticlePool party
Admittedly, I’m easily entertained but one of my favorite things to do this time of year is watch my dogs play in a wading pool. Maybe my dogs are easily entertained, too, but we all agree: hot summer...
View Article‘Do you want to save your changes?’
My computer at the newspaper office does not trust me. This is apparent from the questions it asks me through the course of the day, most of which involve second guessing everything I tell it to do....
View ArticleExpanding to fill available space
It has come to my attention over the years that I will expand to fill whatever space I am given. This includes kitchen cupboards, desks, purses, cars and closets. There’s probably a scientific name for...
View ArticleBack in the day
Summer finally got here. It had been mysteriously AWOL for most of June and the 4th of July was almost autumn-like with its cool temps and non-existent humidity. Then reality caught up with us. As the...
View ArticleHair we go again
It’s an age-old dilemma. Girls with straight hair wish they had curly hair. Girls with curly hair wish they had straight hair. It was that way in high school, in college and it’s still that way now. I...
View ArticleLet sleeping dogs lie
Our bathroom is the smallest room in our home. I don’t know what the exact wall-to-wall measurements are but after you factor in space for the fixtures, there’s not a lot of space left. Now, factor in...
View ArticleDoing nothing is harder than it looks
You know those lazy days of summer they talk about? Yeah. I’d like to know where they got that idea. Summer is not lazy. Summer is insane. Summer is day after day of hitting the ground running at 5:30...
View ArticleReflections of a stargazing morning person
Some famous person said, “I would enjoy morning if it came later in the day.” I know a lot of people who share that approach. I have been a self-confessed morning person my entire life. Never sleep...
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