* SAYING GOODBYE TO VERN *

It is with great sorrow that I write about losing our beloved dog, Vern today. He'd been having some major health problems off and on, and we had to say our goodbyes to him this morning. I can't write anything else right now, or post more photos, but please just type in Vern in the upper left search area. See the Blogger symbol and the looking glass? Type Vern and you will see many blog posts and photos.

Vern and Becky 2013

* A HOME IS GONE, BUT NOT THE MEMORIES *

This is a photo of my Grandma Louise & Grandpa Harl Dorsey on the left, and my Great Aunt Grace & Great Uncle Albert Foster on the right. (Louise & Grace were sisters.) It was taken near the side of my grandparents' house in Greenfield, Iowa. I still love that small town, and visit it often, where I spent magical vacations as a little girl during the 1950s and early '60s.

Greenfield, Iowa - 1950s

It's the only photo I could quickly locate, but hopefully I'll come across a few more later. I'm so terribly sad and have actually shed some tears, because I learned this past Tuesday, Sept 8th, that it BURNED DOWN. (No cause known at this time.) It had been bought, and sold, and rented over the years, and was in pretty bad shape, but I'd always dreamed of having enough money someday to buy it and renovate it back to the beauty and charm it displayed all those years ago.

I wrote about these four lovely ancestors in several chapters of my memoir, "From Pigtails to Chin Hairs," and how much they meant to me. The following is the last paragraph in the chapter, "A Timeless Journey."

       The furniture, pictures on the walls, and old-fashioned knick-knacks were always the same: crocheted doilies here and there, roller shades on the windows, white sheets on the beds that smelled like sunshine, and Grandma’s quilt with the little, yellow sunbonnets on it. This was a place where time stood still—no matter how long between visits—and always surrounded me with feelings of love, comfort, and home.

The next time I visit Greenfield, I think it will be difficult to not drive along SW 2nd Street, the way I've always done before, looking for that familiar home, but I'm also sure it would be very depressing to see an empty lot. Only time will tell.

A Snowy Valentine

Happy Valentine's Day!

Yay! We finally had a beautiful snowfall yesterday! So, here's the perfect Valentine, from me to you!

Welcome to my newest follower, Stephen T. McCarthy. I hope you'll stop by often and always enjoy what you read and see. Thank you!

And now, one of my favorite quotes from Winnie the Pooh.



Piglet: How do you spell love?
Pooh: You don’t spell it, you feel it.

An Anniversary: Through the Years

28 years ago today, The Ronald and I were married.

We have the kind of marriage that I dreamed about when I was young. A loving, kind, appreciative husband. One who thinks I'm a talented writer. One who laughs at my jokes, and at my crazy singing and dancing. One who listens (when I tell him "I need your attention. This is really important!") One who holds me when I'm sad and need comforting. One who is darn near perfect....

(a story I wrote about our relationship, "Through the Years" is included in this Chicken Soup for the Soul anthology. Published in December 2007. Page 94)

"We don't need to win the lottery, because when he and I chose each other, that's when we hit the jackpot." -- Becky Povich