This week, Sunday Stealing features “what if” questions. Those are always fun. Thanks, Bev.   1. If you were to be granted one wish, what would it be? This is leading off with a hard question. Shall I be selfish or simply ask for world peace?  2.  If you could spend one night alone with anyone in the world who is currently alive, whom would you select? What are we doing? If it’s being  intimate, then the Husband. Conversing through the night? The Husband or any one of my woman friends. 3.  If you could spend one night alone with anyone in history, whom would you choose?  There’s nobody in history I want to sleep with either. To converse with, that’s a tough one. I would like to spend time with all of my grandparents, whom I never met. 4.  If you could physically transport yourself to any place in the world at this moment, where would you go? Hawaii. Any island. 5.  If you could have lived through any war in history (without actually fighting in it), which would it be? None. 6.  If you

We have no napkins.  And, friends are coming over this afternoon for a Fijian themed meal.  The Husband suggested we use paper towels. No, I said, besides we don’t have any. I have time to sew napkins. That was yesterday morning. By the time evening came, my body was too beat to do anything more. I’d spent the day prepping and cooking most of the dishes and cleaning up after myself.  It was a satisfying day. The Fijian curry chicken reminded me of Mama’s adobo chicken in her later years. She said she used tomato sauce. I didn’t believe her until today when I saw how two huge juicy tomatoes combined with onions, garlic, and spices created a rich red gravy. This, I apologize, only makes sense to me.   Back to the napkins. Last night  I brought up the subject again to  the Husband. I could call one of the friends to bring napkins. Do that, said the Husband. Then I thought if she doesn’t have napkins she’d have to stop at the store. How inconvenient.   “We can use paper towels,” I said.  

  1. This morning I went all the way down the stairs on my feet, without a gasp or flinch from my knee. Yay! I had been making my way down on my butt. Thump. Thump. Thump.  2. The first morning I bumped down the stairs, Missy Molly the pinky-nosed (wilde) Cat tried to help me at one point. She actually got behind me and pushed on my back. Such a sweetie!  3. The Husband has been carrying and fetching stuff for me. He also reminds me to stop doing things I ought not to be doing.  I'm still not used to be taken care of. You'd think after three surgeries in the last four years, I would be.   4. Between the Husband and me, we have had six surgeries since Mama died in 2016. The Husband got a pacemaker, I had my reproductive system removed, and we both had cataract surgeries for our eyes.  5. Molly says don't forget me. "I was the first one to have surgery, miao, miao." Poor baby. She had dental surgery, a month after Mama's Spirit moved onward and upward.  Molly sp

  "Toothbrush." I sat patiently for the Husband to open the package.  "Very hot water." I held up a metal bowl filled with cold water. "You'll have to throw that water out first." I must've looked quite vacant as I sat debating myself where to do that when the Husband offered me two options. I stood up. "Baking soda." The Husband poured the powder. "More, don't be stingy."  "Vinegar."   The task was done. We sounded like play surgeons. Just for the heck of it, I asked the Husband to pour baking soda into the two openings of the u-shaped pipe that was full of vinegar. Sizzzzzzzle. "Like a volcano," said the Husband.  This morning the Husband had to unscrew the pipe from the bathroom sink because the brush part of a paintbrush dropped into the drain while I was washing it. Oops.  It turned out the brush was still stuck in the drain, but with some pushing and pulling, it easily slid out. What became a bigger

"Did you see our new butterfly sanctuary?" I asked the Husband.  "Look to the South. . .by the fence. . .to your right. . .I mean the other way." "Where?" The husband turned his head here and there, mostly here. "There," I said. "Our butterfly sanctuary!" The Husband groaned. "I thought you meant real butterflies. You nut!" :-)

It was the sweet hour of the sun heading home. I stood in L Studio, my back to the window, taking advantage of the still bright natural light. La, la, la. I snipped away at a strip of red card stock to fit in a discarded book's hanging-for-dear-life spine. I wanted to fortify the spine before sewing in my own page signatures to make an art journal. Fun.  La, la, la. . . . Bzzz. What the heck? Bzzzzzz. Louder. Bzzzzzzzzzzzz. And louder. BzzzZZZZZZZZZ. Over my head and around to my back. BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ.  I turned and stepped to the window.  Striding around the corner of the house and towards the window was our neighbor to the north, his leafblower strapped to his belly like a weapon. I recognized him instantly. What was he doing here? How did he get in the backyard?  Our neighbor is a law enforcement officer. Was something wrong? We locked eyes immediately. Neither of us seemed that much surprised to see each other.  "Your husband said a lot of dust blew over to your side when

I've a lot of stuff on my desk. Who hasn't, right? Here are 13 things on my desk that I double like, no, make that triple,  quadruple like. 1. Jessie the Yodeling Cowgirl action figure. She was a gift from the Husband, along with Woody and his horse one Christmas or birthday. 2. My tarnished sterling silver baby cup. I put paper clips and whatever else in it. 3. A coffee mug from Calavera Coffee . That's the specialty coffee shop in town owned and run by a kind-hearted and determined young man. He recently moved into his own store front. May he have the success he wants and more. 4. The Kanger survival multi-tool. The size of a credit card, this stainless steel thing has a knife, a sharpening tool, scissors, and a magnifying glass. It also has the ability to file fingernails, fasten flathead screws, measure things, and open cans and bottles. I think the Husband gave it to me to carry in my purse, but I could be wrong. 5. A solar calculator from the early 1980s. This was Mam

Zip, rip. Wrap. Zip, rip. Wrap. "That looks like fun," said the Husband. "Want to make one?" See the yellow butterfly in the above photo mosaic. That's the Husband's creation. I love it when the Husband plays artsy-crafty with me. Over the past few months, we transformed hangers and colored and patterned tape into four butterflies. The fourth butterfly was shy about getting its photo taken. We think it may be hiding near the back fence. I thought it would be cool to hang butterflies around the backyard. I was done after making three. I still have a lot hangers. What to do with them? What to do? A PLYWOOD BOARD Who has made a desk by setting a solid piece of plywood (or door) over two file cabinets (or something like that)? My canvas of a plywood board was once my desk top when the Husband and I lived in the big city area almost two decades ago. Pshew, wow. I wrote a whole bunch of good stuff on that desk. Before being my desk, the plywood board was the

This week Sunday Stealing , hosted by Bev Sykes, has participants musing over questions taken from Upstream Life . 1. Name 5 people you admire and why. • Daddy. Family was important for him. He took his responsibilities seriously. He made sure his children got the opportunities for a good life. • Mama was resolute, stoical, full of love and cheeriness, but oh so sad. Also full of spirit, spit, and vinegar, Mama didn't let her misery keep her down. She had more than her share, including living through war and losing two children.  • The Husband. My gosh. I'm not an easy person to live with. • Winifred, my mentor, my writing partner, my friend. She took a chance on me (#6). Winifred was an amazing, gifted, and giving person who taught me how to develop and create educational materials that respect and teach the learners. • Kathy, a friend from grammar school days. I love her humor, her wit, her intelligence. For years, she went back and forth, several times a year to visit her pa

LeeAnna of Not Afraid of Color suggested I give Sunday Stealing a try.  It's a weekly meme, hosted by Bev Sykes, that comes up with a different list of fun questions, from elsewhere on the Internet, every Sunday. I think of it as answering surveys in magazines, once upon a time. So, here I go with this week's questions. 1. If you could be a Muppet, which would you be? The Muppets came along when I wasn't watching TV, but I did get hooked on the Muppet Babies. Among the babies, I would be Skeeter. She didn't get much play on the show, but from what I saw, the girl had a lot of gumption and moxie. 2. Why is a chicken crossing the road in the first place? To see how a cow is out standing in its field. 3. What's your favorite muscle? Heart or brain? Brain or heart? Without the heart pumping away, the brain can't live so I'll go with the heart. 4. Cheerios or Rice Krispies? Snap, crackle, pop, please. 5. Is summer ever going to get here

   "Have we seen this movie before?" I asked the Husband. "This looks familiar." "I don't think so. But it seems like I've seen this scene, too." Two weeks later, more or less, another movie. Said the Husband, "We already saw this movie." "We saw the documentary about his life. But it does seem like we saw something else." "This movie." It turns out the Husband and I had seen the first movie, Olive Kitteridge but not the second one, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood . Two thumbs up for both of them. Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Missy Molly the pinky-nosed (wild) Cat sleeps anywhere she wants.  So, I shall tiptoe over to Mosaic Monday .

"Summertime and the livin' is easy. . ." So it was, at least, yesterday. We watched a Mama turkey and her two babies amble through a hole in a fence. Not ours, though I wouldn't have minded. A deer stood still in the middle of the country lane we traveled.  We sipped a sappy margarita that I concocted out of tequila, triple sec, lemonade, and guava juice. It tasted like cough syrup but we drank it anyway. Next time, I'll leave out the triple sec and lemonade and maybe I'll come up with a guava margarita. We sat outside in the late eve, the Husband, Missy Molly, and I. What pleasure! The Husband plucked a ripe apricot off the tree for us to share. Deep in flavor, the kind that makes your tummy sparkle and you sigh into a smile.  Figs! Charlie, short for Charlotte, has borne fruit, at least six of them! That's a first for the "Little Miss Figgy" dwarf tree that friends gave us in 2018. Bean vines are twirling their way up and a

1. Next month the U.S. Post Office will be selling forever stamps that celebrate Hip Hop. According to the USPS website, the sheet of stamps features rapping, break dancing, DJing, and graffiti art. I don't know what floors me more -- Hip Hop commemorative stamps or that the first kids into hip hop are now in their 40s and 50s? 2. Our local library has been closed since early March due to the coronavirus pandemic. This month, the librarians decided that we, patrons, can check out books online for pick up. The pick-up process today was easy-peasy, even though I forgot to bring my library card. Nine new books to entertain me. Yippieeee! 3. A few weeks ago, the Husband painted this headboard, full of delight and whimsy, perfect for the Banana Room, once known as the Shady Room. The banana plants look to be coming back, and the bamboo, gardenia, and wongo-wongo plants seem to relish their move there. I also replanted a camelia shrub by the headboard. Does that all s

1. The Husband and I successfully fulfilled our monthly date for vacuuming, dusting, and mopping the house. Three months in a row. Definitely a whoop-de-doo! for us. The carpet feels so good beneath our bare feet. 2. Here's another thing I'm proud about doing today. I successfully pulled a curly dock weed, more than 60 inches tall, from the middle of a young butterfly bush. Poor guy. The two plants' roots were stuck together, but not entwined, so I was able to pry them apart. Hopefully the young butterfly bush was not too traumatized. 3. I need to go out and check the seeds I planted last week. They may need a drink of water. 4. But, first I need to go cook our main meal for us. I do miss not cooking. 5. Here I am again. The seeds got their sips of water. I saw two sunflower sprouts. Yippieeee. 6. After marinating locally produced grass-fed beef stew in a concoction of spices, vinegar, oil, and whatever else for a few hours, I sliced the meat thinly a