Buttermilk Bacon Waffles

For the past couple of weeks, my sister and I have been sorting through my parents’ home, preparing it to be sold. We moved to the house in 1968. My parents’ home was always neat and clean, but they did not throw away things that might be needed or...

What’s In a Name?

I’m not lying. Not kidding. Not exaggerating. May a lightning bolt come down from the sky this very minute if I’m even treading near untruth. There’s a girl at my local Kmart whose name is Marijuanna. I noticed it immediately as it was displayed for...

Patio Sets

Spring is (finally) upon us. If your neck of the woods is anything like mine, you’ve been mired in unusually cold, unusually precipitous weather…and you’re pretty darn sick of it. Waiting for the sunshine and some outdoor living can’t come soon...

Security and TV Upgrades

Depending on where you live, home security can be a serious concern. We live in a generally lovely, crime-free neighborhood, but still had a very expensive package stolen right off our porch. Unfortunately, these days, most of us can use a good security system. The...

The Streaker and the Missionary

When we lived in Indiana—waaaay back during the Cretaceous Period when my husband was in graduate school and I was a marketing rep for WordPerfect Corporation—we sublet our basement to LDS missionaries. The people before us had had an open door policy and let the...

What would you pull a ‘Rip Van Winkle’ for?

Rip Van Winkle got so tied up in what he was doing (not sure if it was sleeping, hunting, bowling, or just traipsing through the woods) that it caused him to lose track of time and re-enter his life years later, nearly forgotten by those he loved. Certain activities...

Improving Credit Rating

Credit scores can seem baffling. Indeed, the credit rating industry has a stranglehold on your financial life with some pretty nonsensical rules. With bad (r no) credit, it’s next-to-impossible to get a mortgage, get an auto loan, or finance much of anything....