Family quilts hold special meaning, often because they were made by loved ones and handed down through the years. Although I don’t have the skill or equipment to create a genuinely quilted heirloom, I have wanted to sew quilts for each of our grandchildren. I decided high school graduation was the perfect occasion since I […]
Thoughts on Labor Day Weekend
What does Labor Day mean to you? The end of summer? One last trip to the lake or a backyard barbeque with the family? Anticipation of autumn and the start of a new academic year? Last Saturday our Lot Owners’ Association at the lake hosted its annual fundraiser, the Ox Roast and Silent Auction. In […]
Finding Your Nook
Webster defines nook as “a sheltered or remote spot, secluded or obscure; a retreat.” For purposes today, I’m referring to nook as a “retreat” or finding your nook for reading. You know what I mean–that favorite place to settle in, undisturbed, where you spend hours as your book takes you away to anywhere and everywhere. […]
Book Reviews: The Children’s Blizzard and Eleanore Oliphant is Completely Fine
I’ve been hearing good things about The Children’s Blizzard by Melanie Benjamin and since I love historical fiction, it was a natural choice for me to read. Based on the Jan 12, 1888 blizzard in Nebraska and the Dakota Territory, Ms Benjamin created the characters caught up in this tragic true life event. The fast […]
Remembering the Civil War on Memorial Day
“Let no neglect, no ravages of time, testify to the present or to the coming generations that we have forgotten as a people the cost of a free and undivided republic.” General John A. Logan 1868 Memorial Day, the day we honor fallen service members, traces its roots back to the Civil War. Southern […]
Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop on the Santa Fe Trail
Two miles from my house is the original Santa Fe Trail, disguised today under a layer of pavement and renamed the Kansas City Road. During the 1860’s it was a major highway linking the Missouri River and Kansas City with the American Southwest. Adjacent to the trail is the Mahaffie Stagecoach Stop and Farm where […]
Italian Immigration Inspired Marcello’s Promise
This is my family. My grandfather, Peter Coletti, emigrated from Italy to America in 1909. After he was established working as a coal miner in Cumberland, Wyoming, he sent for his wife Josephine, my grandmother, and son Anthony. My grandparents raised their four children in this immigrant mining town owned by Union Pacific Coal Company. […]
Miracles of the Heart
During February, the month of hearts and valentines, I want to recognize some special people at Olathe Medical Center. Saying thank you to them seems wholly inadequate, but it’s a start. Two weeks ago Sunday after we sat down to breakfast, my husband’s eyes shifted to one side and he nearly toppled from his chair. […]
A New You, A New Me
Years ago when a good friend and I were making New Year’s resolutions over the phone in early January, she said, “I don’t want to do last year over again, do you?” It struck me that I often stick with the same routine each year, doing the things I enjoy but not challenging myself beyond […]
Faces of 2020
What good could possibly come from 2020, the year of the pandemic? Many have experienced heart-breaking losses whether it’s jobs, homes or loved ones. By comparison, our family’s losses were primarily disappointments this year—a cancelled graduation and time apart from each other. Our in-person visits have been replaced with Facetime or Zoom, which are OK […]
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