Any questions about why we love summer in Wisconsin?

For More Wordless Wednesday, please go here or here.

The following story was published in the anthology, Poetica Grandmatica, last year.

My sweet memories of Grandma are really just scattered slices of life. But together they make up an important part of my heritage.

When I was young, Grandma lived on Delbert Road on the north side of Eau Claire and my house was on Anderson Drive. Sometimes she had a garage sale and I brought my saved quarters to buy trinkets she’d display. It seems crazy now, but I remember riding my bike across Hwy 53 in the summer to visit her. Of course, now this four-lane highway is three-times as wide — and ten-times as dangerous.

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My friend Robin is hosting a monthly poetry project, and I hope to join her from time to time. Her first challenge is a limerick about Thanksgiving. I wrote a poem last year at this time about gratitude, so I think it’s the perfect subject.

Here’s my best shot:

Thanksgiving’s much more than the yams
And the turkey and stuffing or ham,
It’s everyone there!
Here’s my grateful prayer:
That you are as blessed as I am.

Visit Robin’s place on Sunday to read more Thanksgiving limericks!

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I’m truly amazed when I look back just one year in my blog posts — how could it only be one year?? It puts perspective on why it’s sometimes been complicated to adjust to our many changes. Here’s an excerpt from November 11, 2006. I write about a project that really worked for us in homeschooling — creating a toy car mat to study community. Continue Reading »

We’re moving.

We’ve been moving for about a month, ever since I mentioned it here.

My mom would say we’ve been moving ever since we got married.

Every time we move, I wonder why anyone who has ever moved, would ever do so again. This has been my “to-do” list over the past few weeks. I’ve crossed out the completed tasks:

Arrange garbage pick-up.
Decide on land-line or cellular.
Arrange utilities.
Hire a plumber to fix broken pipes.
Switch internet and forward business email to new account.
Paint every wall in the house.
Mow two yards.
Furnish the house.
Get a washing machine.
Jackhammer the sidewalk and repour cement.
Begin C’s soccer practice.
Take D to birthday slumber party with new neighbor.
Install mailbox.
Install window shades (in town there are rules;))
Organize a family half-birthday party for our kids the weekend before we move. (Are we nuts?)
Buy D a bed.
Install the microwave.
Learn a new job.
Meet the kids’ new teachers.
Start school Monday (yeah, that means in two days.)
Clean up fallen-tree debris from a huge storm.
Buy all the stuff we keep realizing we need there — clock, shavers, food.
Arrange for voice and guitar lessons.
Move the business computer and retail inventory.
Move the cat.

Once the cat box is moved, we’re officially new residents.

UPDATE: THE CAT BOX HAS BEEN MOVED.

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