*I wrote this last week, but for reasons that will be obvious at the end, I’m not posting this until today. Mom’s birthday tour of Ireland is just over a week away. I can count the number of days on my fingers (no toes required), and the pile (as my family affectionately calls the stuff you want to take on a trip) is growing. Over the last month and a half, I’ve been receiving updates from my mother about what she’s…
Writing a check is pretty uneventful stuff. But as I was writing out the date yesterday, looping the “J” of June, I thought, “Today is the first day in 96 years that my Granny hasn’t drawn a breath in this world.” It was a strange thought to have. I pulled back the pen and looked at the date for a moment: June 10, 2015. My grandmother passed away Tuesday. It wasn’t an unexpected death. She had had a stroke not…
Remember the good ole days, when the internet didn’t exist, and flights were purchased over the phone? I remember my mom calling several airlines to inquire about price, making the purchase over the landline, and then mailing my brother (and eventually me) a plane ticket so we could fly home from college over Thanksgiving break. The internet has changed how we book flights in tremendous ways. Now, it’s easy to shop around. You can go directly to the airlines or…
First, an apology. Mom, I’m sorry. I’m going to bring up the shoes. You know the ones. I also apologize for everything else. Love, Your Baby Girl * * * A little back story on my relationship with my mom. We get along great! We have so much fun together! My husband loves her, and she loves my husband! And sometimes, I want to kill her. Ok, so now that I’m in my thirties, I rarely want to kill her,…
Part of my job requires me to work front of house at a theater before musical performances. While this means I am qualified to answer questions about the programming, artists, and performers, I’m usually relegated to a more important task: glorified guide to the bathroom. For the most part, I don’t mind this part of my position. After all, people are at the theater to have a good time, so it’s usually a jovial atmosphere. And I like to be…
After four solid months of speculation, my mother finally decided on Ireland as the destination for her birthday celebration trip, despite a tour of England appearing to be the odds on favorite, even over the long-talked about Alaskan cruise. When I asked her why she had chosen the Emerald Isle, she told me that she wanted to go somewhere that I hadn’t been to yet. All together now…aww! When I last saw my mother, pulling out of my driveway early…
How many times have you said, “I really want to go to [some location]”? But then you just never seem to muster the get up and go, and that statement, that dream travel destination, just hangs in the confines of pleasant conversation, destined to be nothing but a wistful musing during a delightful Sunday brunch. There’s always a reason not to go: finances, timing, vacation days, kids, you name it. But studies, like this one, have shown that not traveling when…
Our walks have been slower these days. We don’t go nearly as far, and I’m often stopped waiting ahead as he sniffs around the neighbor’s yard. He’s never been a quick dog or even an energetic dog. As a puppy, he found walking the length of the house too strenuous and would collapse in a ball of adorable fluff halfway through, looking sadly toward me as if to say, “It’s too far!” I have very few memories of him actually running….
Melktert, or milk tart, is a custardy treat you’ll find all over South Africa. I fell in love with this little dessert on my first trip there in 2007, and (obviously) not being able to find it in the States, decided to learn to make it myself. This is a super simple recipe, especially if you cheat (like I do) and use pre-made shortbread crusts. Here’s what you’ll need: 4 cups milk 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 Tbsp butter 2…
So I’m way behind on a bunch of things, one being the recap of my cousin Crystal’s trip to Florida in March. I try to lure Crystal to Florida every year, and with the winters being what they are in Kentucky, it’s not really difficult. This year was particularly easy when I tempted her with the prospect of the Strawberry Festival in Plant City, Florida. Like any fair, the Strawberry Festival has its midway, livestock shows, and fair food, but there…