All Purls. No Swine.
I'd be willing to bet that each of us has, somewhere back when we were very young (I get that that’s probably not as long ago for most of you as it is for me), a special memory that’s stuck with us over the years, of someone we wish we could see again, of a… Continue reading Sacred Cake
These words were spoken by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, to the family members of those who perished on September 11, 2001. And I’ve often thought she must have been channeling C.S. Lewis at the time: To love at all is to be vulnerable. Love anything and your heart will be wrung and possibly broken.… Continue reading “Grief is the price we pay for love”–Redux
I've always been fond of traditional country (no matter what country) and bluegrass (more specific country) music. Long story, but to shorten it a bit: Rhonda Vincent. An acquaintance of a dear friend, and someone who seems to be a genuine and dear person. So, a few of my favorites from this marvelously talented lady:… Continue reading Weekend Music: Rhonda Vincent
It is beneficial that the next generation learns about the past for the same reasons that it is important that you remember your childhood. The quintessential question of “what next!” How will we as a society go into the future without knowledge of the past? If we don’t know what we, as Americans, are, how… Continue reading Quote of the Day: Why is History Important?
Love is a temporary madness. It erupts like an earthquake and then subsides. And when it subsides you have to make a decision. You have to work out whether your roots have become so entwined together that it is inconceivable that you should ever part. Because this is what love is. Love is not breathlessness,… Continue reading Book Recommendation: Corelli’s Mandolin
A few months ago, on the occasion of 2021's Easter Sunday, I wrote a Ricochet post called "First Easter," in which I reflected on the fact that, following the death of a loved one, there's an inevitable year, 365 days, of "firsts." It begins thus: I learned, many years ago, that when a loved one… Continue reading The Last “First”
Certain is it that there is no kind of affection so purely angelic as of a father to a daughter. In love to our wives there is desire; to our sons, ambition; but to our daughters, there is something which there are no words to express. So said Joseph Addison, seventeenth-century essayist, playwright, and politician… Continue reading Dear Dad
I am the grandmother of an eight-year-old girl. Technically, she is my step-granddaughter, though the distinction makes no difference, I assure you. Her mother is my stepdaughter and beloved friend. Her first few years have not been idyllic. And she’s had to learn to be a little tougher than I would like, a little earlier than I would… Continue reading My “Feminist” Fever Dream
Into each life, some rain must fall. But not into ours. Our lives are where the garbage is delivered. — Jenny Today (June 10) is Jenny's birthday. And so I repost this, in her honor, and that of the occasion. Ever have one of those days, weeks, months, years, decades, when it seems as though… Continue reading Family Matters: On Life’s Vicissitudes
Today, May 10, 2021, would have been my husband's 83rd birthday (He always called himself "a good pre-war model.") He died on July 3, 2020, after suffering a decade of chronic health problems, and several years of mental degeneration due to dementia. His last months weren't made any easier by COVID lockdowns and the near… Continue reading Happy Birthday, Mr. Right!