Mom’s fruitcake was legendary or infamous depending on who you asked. It was about five and a half hefty pounds of candied fruit, currants, almonds, rum, and a little flour - substantial enough to use as a capstone, my brother and I called it "fruit brick." Mom absolutely loved making it. She’d start weeks ahead... Continue Reading →
I'm a look at the bright side kind of person, and can usually find the "half-full" aspect of any given situation. But even I have difficulty finding the silver linings from the swamp. You know what I mean; when life isn't just a puddle here and there, but a shoe-sucking wasteland of foul-smelling crap that... Continue Reading →
Forgotten Pieces There are times I look back at my life and think, "That's not me anymore." These are not bad habits per se, though there are some of those too, but things I wish I hadn't lost. These are forgotten pieces, crowded out by the ebbs and flows of life. Sometimes life gets so... Continue Reading →
Let me preface this by saying, I love honey. There is never a time in my home when we are without honey. Honey in tea, honey in coffee(weird but true), honey on toast, on cereal, on salmon. We all love honey here, and by extension, I appreciate the bee's place in the world. Now my... Continue Reading →
Remembering is active. Sorting through the boxes, files, junk drawers, and sealed black garbage bags in your mind is like cleaning out your garage. It’s usually fairly easy to pick up the larger labeled containers and organize them neatly on the driveway, but as soon as you open a box, well that might just lead... Continue Reading →
When I was a child, my mom, brother, and I started going to a new church. We went at the behest of my brother who had hitherto refused to attend. He had gone with a friend of his to their youth group and then to a Sunday morning service. Mom and I had a church... Continue Reading →
I looked into my pot this morning and, quite by accident, I realized I had made Ropa Vieja. The last few weeks have been hard; a cognitive setback from my concussion has left me struggling to complete the simplest tasks. I had really only been looking for a way to make something delicious without any gluten.... Continue Reading →
I have just published my 50th post, and I want to thank you all for coming with me on this journey. When I started this blog, I wasn't sure which direction to go other than that it needed to be about "Blooming Heather." When I was a girl, I hated my name. It sounds odd,... Continue Reading →
In my book, less is more when it comes to enjoying the summer. When the kids are out of school, I institute the no-cell-phone policy in the house. Computer time is severely restricted and tv time is mostly limited to things we watch together. There are fewer activities in general and far fewer solitary ones.... Continue Reading →
I hate my cell phone. No. Really. I hate it. It works. It's not broken. It takes decent pictures - though you can be the judge of that. I hate it because it never leaves me alone! It rings when I'm not at work. It calls me after I've put it down. I feel like... Continue Reading →
Don't you just love looking at boats out on the water? I could watch them all day. The breeze, the waves, the bouncing body skipping across the surface - it's magical. When I was a little girl, my aunt had a sailboat that she kept under or tied up ready to use next to her... Continue Reading →
My goal in life is to be able to love what I do and be able to take it with me wherever I go. I heard a speech the other day about not following the well-trodden path, like Frost's The Road Not Taken. Why not break with the norm and find a way to enjoy... Continue Reading →
