Bric-a-brac
a bit of this and that
When Death Comes Close
When Death comes close, all things change, even if only for a little while. I type this at the close of our Sassafras’ final day

Plain Folks Bravery
Bravery is a lot like beauty, it seems. It’s in the eye of the beholder. We quickly apply it to soldiers who stand firm or

Resonation, part 1
“That really resonated,” we say. What does that mean? It’s a powerful word, really. It can mean to fill with a deep reverberating sound. It

Mamaw Wisdom
I did not have a Mamaw. I had Granny, and I had Grandmother. But “mamaw” was for those who lived outside the city limits. Mamaws

As God is My Witness, part 1
This isn’t really about Scarlett O’Hara, though Gone With the Wind is a book I continue to love. It’s about the God phrases we use to make

Couldn’t Say It
I remember an episode on Happy Days from many years ago when the Fonz literally couldn’t get certain words to come out of his mouth.

Too Deep for Words
From time to time it happens that we find ourselves reacting strongly to a thing — a voice, a memory, a circumstance, an idea, a

Using God
My few years of life on earth in a mostly homogenous small town gave me no context into which to place the event of my

Quality of Life
“So these say ‘quick grits’,” he says. “When I used to make them for myself, I just put them in a bowl, stirred boiling

Why can’t we laugh?
Recently I saw where Ricky Gervais mused about how the BBC version of The Office TV series would not be allowed today. Just 20 years

Making the World Better
It’s quite presumptuous, quite arrogant, whether one is an aspiring lawyer/doctor or a college freshman, to set out with the goal of “changing the world”.

Solitaire R Us
I’m not addicted. Really, I’m not. It’s kind of like embroidery — something to occupy my hands while I let my mind float. I’ve actually

Two Mysteries
I’m thinking today about two mysteries . They are things we don’t seem to learn regardless of how long humanity has been on the planet.

Maybe it’s better that way
I think most of us are, by nature, sentimental beings. It isn’t about the same things. While I will get all misty-eyed looking at pictures

Do Nothing
“Do nothing for people that they can and should do for themselves.” Surprise — It’s not a Jordan Peterson quote! Credit goes to Fr. Thomas

Treat Yourself
There were many years where self-care wasn’t on my radar screen. It wasn’t because I was so busy with others’ overwhelming needs. It was because

Hospital Room
As I type today (7/17/2020), I’m sitting in a hospital room alone with a relative’s personal belongings while said relative is in a procedure that

In the Good Ole Summertime
It would start with the 3-4 inch tall white clover flowers that we girls would pick and make chains of during recess in April and

By way of introduction
Wabi sabi. Bric-a-brac. Put together, they explain what I want to be about. Wabi sabi is a concept I learned a few years ago. It