I had a man cave before it was called that.
For eons, men have had a space they called their own. A place to get away. This space has been called a number of different things, but the purpose was the same. When the pressures of their time reached an unacceptable level, they could escape.
One hundred years ago, when America was primarily an agrarian society, men had a barn. There, they could retreat to a day of taking care of the ...
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My mom is an identical twin. My mom’s mom was also an identical twin.
There were at least two other sets of twins in my family when I was growing up; one identical, the other fraternal. So, growing up around people who looked exactly like each other seemed perfectly normal to me.
However, the rest of the world seems mesmerized by this fairly common gift from nature.
Wikipedia indicates that out of every 1,000 births in America, about 33 are twins.
The most common ...
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This week, for the first time in my life, I made my own butter.
But to get to the beginning of this tasty story, we have to go back a few years.
In 2013, I was sitting in the waiting room at my sleep doctor’s office when I became tired of the talking heads on the news network arguing with each other, so I struck up a conversation with an older gentleman and his wife. Turns out, they were also sick of ...
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Comic books were a big part of my childhood.
As a preteen, my comic books went virtually everywhere with me. I say virtually, because they frowned upon them in church. That was about the only place I didn’t take them.
My favorites were the Marvel Comics. Spider-Man, The Fantastic Four, Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, Captain America, The Incredible X-Men and others, took me into a world that I loved. In my comics, the bad guys tried, but the good guys always ...
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Valentine’s Day is almost here. Again.
According to history.com, approximately 150 million Valentine’s Day cards are exchanged annually, making Valentine’s Day the second most popular card-sending holiday after Christmas.
There are a number of theories as to the origin of this now-commercialized holiday, but most have to do with the birth or death of a sainted fellow named Valentine. Leave it to American commerce to turn that into an expensive show of affection.
Valentine’s Day has to be one of the most ...
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Raise your hand if you’ve ever used an outhouse.
During a recent discussion with friends, the topic of outhouses came up. I honestly don’t remember why it made its way into the conversation, but boy, did it ever.
So, I posed the question on my Facebook page, yes or no, have you ever used an outhouse? I was shocked at not only the number of people who said yes, but also at the number of people who responded with comments about their ...
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I grew up in the land of harvest gold and avocado green. I can withstand anything.
As a kid of the 70’s, I was surrounded by strong colors and shag carpet. Most kids probably didn’t notice or care how garish our surroundings were, but I did.
What were we thinking?
As a child, I would look at photos from the previous decades and admire the choices people made when they decorated their homes and businesses. Specifically, I was drawn to the Art Deco ...
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I used to think that technological advancements were amazing. I couldn’t wait to see what was next. Now, I just want to keep using what I’ve already figured out.
I used to make fun of folks who shunned new technology. “Why wouldn’t you want to learn new and better ways to do things?” I thought.
Not anymore. I’ve become that person.
I realize that things change and improve, but do they have to change so darn fast?
Just when I figured out how to ...
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When I was a kid, I didn’t appreciate my grandparents as much as I should have. It’s a mistake I think most of us make.
Grandparents and grandchildren share a bond. Innately, grandchildren know that there’s a special love between them and their parent’s parents.
Your mom and dad had your back, but your grandparents had your mom and dad’s back. You always knew that.
I can remember my grandmother helping me on a school project for history class. I have fond memories ...
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Biscuit making is a lost art.
There have been many great advancements in civilization, but I have to say that canned biscuits isn’t one of them.
Pillsbury Grands, the flaky variety of course, are about as close to homemade biscuits as you can get, but they’re still nowhere near as good as biscuits made by the hands of an experienced biscuit maker.
This came to mind at Thanksgiving after eating my brother-in-law’s famous yeast rolls. It’s not his recipe (it came from one ...
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