The comma has always, always given me problems. Where, oh, where to put that itty-bitty squiggly line of a hook within a sentence. That's why I love writing simple sentences, where the commas I generally need are for a series. Series? Yes, as in red, white, and blue. Or, if you're one who withholds the last comma, then: red, white and blue. I don't know what they teach in English these days, but back in my day (hahahahaha, back in my day, as if I'm sooo old, but to someone younger than 60, I suppose I am), I was initially taught the series (or serial or Oxford, if you prefer) comma. That's the one where you place a comma before the conjunction: red, white, and blue. That all changed in 10th grade. The English teachers, as well as the journalism instructor, were marking me off for following the series comma rule and demanding that I drop the comma before the conjunction: red, white and blue. Me, being a sheep, followed suit. From day one, I thought a series wit

"May I go outside, please?" asked Molly the Cat, nearly squishing her face to the screened door. Molly and I are heading over to The Weekend in Black and White , hosted by Dragonstar. Come join us by clicking here .

I love it when the Husband says, "Take a picture of me." And, I trail after him as he excitedly heads over to a building, a sign, or something else that he has observed. I wait as he sets himself up, then says, "Go ahead." This photo, for instance. He saw this sign last year at a corn maze. It wasn't obvious to me what he was going for but that didn't stop me from taking the photo. It's only now that I see what he had been pointing at. No. I don't recall him taking off his hat that day. Today is the letter O at Jenny Matlock's Alphabe Thursday . That's where I shall be checking out other N posts. Come join me by clicking here .

My ABC Wednesday theme: The Mama and Her Authentic Green Thumbs . . .and Fingers And just like that the Mama's trees in the backyard are bursting with life. Gee, when did the leaves start sprouting on the miracle tree? Golly, the young apricot tree has a lot of buds this year.  Gosh, the banana leaves have begun unfurling.   I'm participating in ABC Wednesday , a meme began Mrs. Denise Nesbitt and administered today by Roger Green at Ramblin' with Roger . Today is the letter G . Click here to read other G posts.

Recently, Birgit of BB Creations honored me with the Inspiring Blog Award. Thank you, Birgit, I appreciate it very much. The award came with a request that I write about three things that have inspired me this past few weeks. As usual, I started by pulling out the dictionary. Inspire -- To rouse/motivate/encourage/influence/incite someone to do or feel something. In particular, to do some kind of creative thing. Highly incited to clean the bedroom Being bit two nights in a row, and having those bug bites swell and itch to no end, inspired me to find the source and do something about it. Poor Molly the Cat was brushed and combed several times throughout the day. Then I decided to look under our bed since I was being bit on my feet. Horror! Carpet beetles were feasting on a blanket that once belonged to the Husband's parents, which we had tucked under the bed last summer. Out came the vacuum cleaner again! I got down on my stomach and back to vacuum and ended up with a