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Josie the Cockapoo Tells All
Mum’s a bit stressed out this week—something about finalizing the cover for her new book. So being the faithful companion that I am, I agreed to write this week’s column if she agreed not to read it. (I want to get a few secrets off this furry chest, and some might hurt her feelings.) Oh, by the way, I’m Josie, the cockapoo, and head of the Laundrie household. Mum, Dad, and I have quite a history together. From the day they picked me up—I was just over 6 weeks old—I knew I belonged to them. Mum gets gushy-eyed when she…
Daisy Duke
“Check out your sister’s legs,” my sister-in-law called to my brother in September 2020. We had paused on a bike trail to drink some water. “They look like stovepipes.” It was true. I had made a doctor’s appointment, but it was still several days away. When I pressed my thumb into my fat, puffy leg, it left a deep indentation. When I was a teen, I had considered my legs one of my better features. Mini skirts were in fashion during my high school and college days. I sewed a jumpsuit in a bright purple, pink, and teal swirled fabric,…
Here’s to you, Candy
We’re aware of the big decisions that steer our course, such as choosing a mate or a career, but if you think back, what was a minor decision you made that ended up being life-changing? For me, it was getting a horse of my own; a horse I would name Candy. It was the late 80s and my daughters and I had been taking riding lessons at Bev Gaedke’s ranch on Highway 23 in the Dells. Thinking about how I could afford a horse led me to investigating adopting a wild horse, which one could do for $150. That knowledge…
Ponder the Wonders
I carefully placed the lavender hyacinth in my shopping cart. Such a marvelous wonder. This fragrant, colorful array of blossoms that makes me joyously think of spring came from a dull brown bulb only weeks earlier. How that bulb could produce this fragrant plant is mind-boggling to me. Research would explain that the plant sends its energy and nutrients to the bulb, somewhat like a charger sends energy to our electronics. The bulb stores that energy over the winter and then, at just the right time, it knows the bulb is ready to flower. I carefully prop the hyacinth on…
Just Call Me Sherlock
I’ve turned into a spy. Since my husband has had some heart problems, and since he sometimes goes to our rural cabin by himself, I now track his phone using the app “Find My Phone.” I admit to feeling uncomfortable about the whole thing, but Frank’s okay with it, and it’s a sensible precaution, so I tell myself to simply pretend I’m Sherlock Holmes. Lately, I’ve had a little practice spying on, of all things, a turtle. A friend gave me a gift which includes a bracelet made of sea-colored beads and a QR code which tracks a female loggerhead…
Shifting Currents
Shifting Currents The current has shifted. It’s both unsettling and comforting. I’d seen it coming, but after my husband had scary chest pains, I couldn’t deny it. The shifting began when our son Jon and four other relatives joined my husband Frank at the cabin for the annual ice fishing week. Besides ice fishing, this week was meant to include many hands of the card game Schmier and zipping around on the ice with the UTV. When the UTV got stuck, though, Frank had to trudge through deep snow in the cold and experienced mild chest pains. Not totally sure…
Decisions Shape Us
“It is in your moments of decision that your destiny is shaped.” Tony Robbins, author and inspirational speaker My husband and I studied the trip itinerary for “Tulip Times on the Jewels of the Rhine” for the fifth time. We have a tough decision to make; one that could shape our future, maybe even our destiny. I’ve long dreamed about river cruising in Europe and this Mayflower trip includes seeing the colorful fields of tulips in the Netherlands, touring a medieval castle in Germany, spending time in a picturesque town in France, and riding a gondola where we’ll soak…
Sweet Grandma or Superwoman?
Have you ever wondered what you would do in a scary situation? Let’s say someone reached in your car and grabbed your wallet or phone or purse. A woman I met last fall at a folk art school in Door County, Marge, had this happen to her when she was 79. At my first glance of the 4’11” 80-year-old woman, I thought “sweet grandma.” After joining her for a meal in the dining room, I got to hear her remarkable story. Being the kind-hearted soul she was, Marge had helped at a church rummage sale and wanted to drop off…