Not my Daddy’s Gaithers

Was it the glow of the Northern Lights or was our cruise ship rocking along with an electrifying burst of joy? Oh, howdy-doody-mercy-daisy-great-balls-of-fire. It was the ship! From time to time, Bill and Gloria Gaither, along with the Gaither Vocal Band and other mega-talented musicians spend a week with their fans, cruising  and singing in…

Read More

4,000 fig recipes

For the past several weeks, I’ve been picking about 8 pounds of figs a day from one tree. The second tree, bless its heart, blew over in a Gulf Coast storm. Poof! Gone with the Wind.  I gave away many of the figs, then froze others whole to use throughout the next year in 1.smoothies…

Read More

Star Trek Wisdom

Who thought we’d ever get a bit of wisdom from Star Trek? Well, all you Trekkies, that’s who.  We’re very selective about the TV we watch, not because we’re great intellectuals sitting around reading and listening to symphonies, but in reality, we think most TV is junk.  Without the first bit of marriage counseling or…

Read More

The longest days

 I answered the door to let my grandparents inside, and Granddaddy said, “These are the longest days.” It was a strange, yet not unexpected greeting. My retired County Agent grandfather measured life by crop schedules. “Hey honey” Grandmother added as they both hugged my neck. I took the paper bag of corn and a basket…

Read More

Colorful Temptation

I was driving through a tunnel of green leaves from Wetumpka to Peach Park. It was early June and the corn was shooting up as the mimosas were popping out. The invasive tree always zips me back to being 7 years old on a steamy hot morning, when my Grandmother plucked a pink pom-pom from…

Read More

It’s Elementary

Many of our classrooms had no air-conditioning — and this was in  Florida. The “delicate” children of today with their worrywart parents and lawyers would surely melt under these conditions.  But we were tough . . . and we didn’t know any better. We were busy having fun and learning at Myrtle Grove Elementary School.…

Read More

Paper Flowers

It’s a small “do-it-yourself” booklet. Printed on a copy machine and stapled together by hand, and yet, it offers the comfort and style of a professionally bound classic.  “Paper Flowers” is a collection of short verses, deep thoughts, funny sayings and poetry, written by a cousin of mine, Laura Nell Harrison.  Laura Nell was actually…

Read More

Merry Christmas from the new kitchen

After spending the last 10 years writing a weekly newspaper column, it seems strange not to write my usual Christmas story. Now that the weight of a deadline has been lifted, I’ve been able to focus on a few other projects like . . . a Christmas BOOK! Yes! Plans are underway, so we’ll see…

Read More

Watch the Interview

Here’s the interview I did with Andy Andrews on his podcast, The Professional Noticer. We discuss the many things we have in common in addition to writing and storytelling, and since this was made, we also realized Andy’s mother and I were both born in the same tiny town of Florala, Alabama.  We have to…

Read More

Announcing Wisdom Harbour!

I’ve been dying to tell you about my new project, and now it’s time! Introducing, Wisdom Harbour – a new web site from Andy Andrews.  It’s been a long labor of love for sure— not by me . . . I’ve had the fun and easy part. But New York Times best selling author, Andy…

Read More