A Quote Can Come in Handy

I was challenged by Leanne, the blogger at Cresting the Hill ~ of Midlife, to post three of my favorite quotes. 

The directions for this blogging challenge are as follows:

• Post three of your favorite quotes (a different quote on three consecutive days or do it all in one post). The quote can be from your favorite book, author or your own. 
• Nominate 3 bloggers to challenge them
• Thank the blogger, who nominated you.

I was thinking that this would be a fun and fairly easy post to write, so I laughed a little when I came across this quote on goodreads.com, by A. A. Milne: 

Quoting the thoughts of someone else can be perhaps a little lazy, but sometimes there are just no better words to say. When an emotion is well-voiced; an action well-explained; or an event is well-described, the words become an experience to which we all can relate. 

Well-spoken words get passed from person-to-person between quotation marks; some quotes even have endured throughout long passages of time. A little research about the quotes I selected for this posts showed, quite to my surprise, that all three have been

Saturday Spotlight: Last Minute Tips for a July 4th Meal

Saturday Spotlight #26

Have you planned to add any festive touches to your 4th of July meal today? 

It's not too late!

Are you planning to grill burgers, but would like to add a little bit of a festive touch to your meal? Do you wish the meal you are serving could have more of a 4th of July theme? 

It's still possible - and there's no need to spend a lot of time at the store or in the kitchen!

Go to the parade, take a hike, float on the river all day, or just spend time visiting with family! Then impress your family and friends with these easy tips for adding an American Independence Day theme to a quickly prepared meal!

A hamburger and a salad might be enough to satisfy.

Perhaps nothing is more American than a burger right off the grill. 

Your menu could just include a burger and a salad, but if you want to add some other side dishes  here are some good options:

• potato chips and dip
• a pickle
• baked beans, potato salad, and/or coleslaw 

Ending the meal with watermelon, ice cream, and/or brownies would make practically everyone happy! Of course, if you feel like making a dessert, my Hershey Chocolate Marshmallow Pie recipe is always gobbled up!

Here's my tips for making a salad and a burger with a 4th of July theme:

Week # 4: My List of Fabulous Finds

It's already time for another  “My List of Fabulous Finds” posts. Is it just me, or does anyone else feel like Friday came pretty quickly this week?

Just a reminder of the reason for this series:

There is a LOT of really helpful, captivating, and entertaining information available on the Internet!  It can take a lot of time however, to sift through and find the articles that interest you. In this series, I share the links to some of the “fabulous finds" I have discovered on the Internet throughout the week. 

If you read this blog, I suspect we have similar passions. If I find something to be fascinating or useful, I think you might as well. I hope you enjoy and benefit from these links!

Here is some of what I came across this week:

This Week's Fabulous Finds:

~ ~ Helpful information for bloggers about Understanding SEO 

It is important to most bloggers that people find and read their blogs. Search Engine Optimization is a crucial factor in how well viewed a post becomes - but many of us find it pretty confusing. This post by Kelly, which I found on the SITS Girls website, offers some really helpful information. I really hope I can start applying it!

• Easy SEO Tips Every Blogger Can Use by Kelly Cannon of The Take Action WAHM

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ ~ A Reminder to Be Kind

Life Vest Inside is a non-profit organization “geared towards spreading kindness, empowering people and building self worth." I signed up with them to be a "kindness ambassador" quite some time ago, and I enjoy seeing their inspiring Facebook posts and quotes in my feed.  Here is one I really like:

You never know what struggles someone may be facing- try to have a positive attitude towards all those you encounter.
Posted by Life Vest Inside on Friday, June 26, 2015

“Always be kind, for everyone is fighting a hard battle.” (Plato)

I always try to think this way.  In fact, this quote seemed quite familiar. I was curious if this comment by Plato was what I was remembering from a book that I had read. When I checked, I realized these sentences of Plato's are not word-for-word, but very similar to the passage I was thinking of from The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry, A Novel. (That paragraph is quoted in my blog post, The Complexity, Joy and Pain of Human Interaction. ) 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ ~ Tweeting on Twitter

It is no secret that I have found Twitter to be confusing. Despite myself, I somehow fortunately keep gaining followers, and I really need to figure out how be a better tweeter! That is why I was really excited to find this article. It provides a wealth of information  - useful not just for bloggers, but anyone with a Twitter account ... or anyone who has wanted one, but hasn't been able to figure it all out!

• Twitter for Beginners by Saira Perl of Mom Resource

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

~ ~ A Scientific Explanation of the Star of Bethlehem? 

Two planets appear as one, just to the left and slightly below the moon in the sky.

On Tuesday, June 30th, I witnessed a notable event in the evening sky. In fact, I even took a

Oh Canada! Snowshoes and the Canadian Flag

What a relief! 

According to this list, 10 decor items that say you're Canadian, my Canadian citizenship has been verified!! We don't quite have all 10 of these decor items (after all, my husband is 100 % American) but we do own quite a few! 

We are owners of the following items on the list: 

#2 (some rustic wooden furniture) and #10 (a balsam scented candle)

#3. Not one, but two sets of snowshoes in our guest room...

Love-Hate. Sometimes These Are Simultaneous Emotions.

Last week Lana of Two Teens and Their Mama wrote a post called Love and Hate. In it, she tagged me to write a post about ten things I love and ten things I hate, just as she had done. 

I've decided to follow Lana's example. Rather than strive for perfection - I wrote down the first 20 things that came to mind, and I'm sharing them as a list here with you. 

Strangely enough, almost all my choices reflect exactly what I blog about! I suspect this is because these really are the things about which I am most passionate!

I saw the words love and hate written this way fairly recently, and unfortunately I don't remember where! I created the drawing in this photo from memory - but I'd love to know who first thought of this idea! 

Love and hate are often simultaneously occurring emotions.  I think it is pretty clever how

NO! to a Flag and YES! to Love

Saturday Spotlight Series #25

Today my Saturday Spotlight shines strongly on two historically significant events of this week.

I do not tend to be a person of strong opinions. I can usually see both sides to any argument so clearly that it is often difficult for me to take a stand. 

There is no wiggle room, however, in how I feel about the following two topics that have been all over the media during this past week.

I know that my opinions will not be popular with every person who reads this article or follows this blog; however, I would be happy if this post leads to constructive conversation and an increase in understanding and tolerance. People are people, all are equal, and all of our lives will be improved if we all always remember that.    

No - the confederate flag should not be flown by the South Carolina Statehouse. 

The confederate flag's association with slavery has tainted any justifiable sentimental value it may have ever had. Its political history may be complicated, but it does not represent justice for all. I hope South Carolina takes it down - and I find it tragic that it took nine deaths to spark the debate to do so.

Week #3: My List of Fabulous Finds

It is rare that I publish twice in one day. Today is one of those exceptions! 

This morning I published the third segment of my fictional short story about Mindy, the delightfully quirky compulsive shopper with hoarding tendencies. And now, as promised for every Friday, here is the latest “My List of Fabulous Finds” post. My sincere apologies if you were expecting to find this list here earlier today! 

There is a LOT of really helpful, captivating, and entertaining information available on the Internet!  It can take a lot of time however, to sift through and find the articles that interest you. In this series, I share the links to some of the “fabulous finds" I have discovered on the Internet throughout the week. 

If you read this blog, I suspect we have similar passions. If I find something to be fascinating or useful, I think you might as well. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here is some of what I came across this week.

This Week's Fabulous Finds:

Fiction, Sangria, Roasted Red Pepper Spread, and a Picnic

The combination of fiction, photography, sangria, and a recipe for a roasted red pepper spread made this a really fun post for me to write!

This is Part 3 of my story about Mindy, a compulsive shopper and hoarder of cleaning products. Like the first two parts, this segment was also written using word prompts from a Words for Wednesday writing challenge. 

The prompts for the Words for Wednesday writing challenge have long been provided by Delores at Under the Porch Light. She recently relinquished this task, however, and it is temporarily being continued by EC at Elephant's Child.  In future, volunteer bloggers will each take a turn for a month, and provide the prompts and host the challenge on their own blogs. 

It will be my turn to host Words for Wednesday in September! I am already thinking about what my words should be! It is a wonderful writing exercise and I highly recommend giving it a try!

To catch up with the story so far:

• Click here to read Part 1, Cleaning Products Don't Work Unless You Use them
• Click here to read Part 2, A Perfect Match.

When you are ready, here is Part 3 ...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Sangria, Roasted Red Pepper Spread and a Picnic

Mindy checked her reflection in a storefront window. Her full-length mirror at home had

Words for Wednesday - exactly one year ago this week!

Glancing back in the archives of my blog, I realized it has been one whole year since I first participated in the weekly Words for Wednesday writing challenge provided by Delores of Under the Porch Light. 

Words for Wednesday participants are encouraged to write a piece of fiction from a provided word prompt.  Delores has recently been experiencing computer difficulties and is scaling back her blogging efforts somewhat, but the blogger (EC) from the blog Elephant's Child has graciously (at least temporarily) taken over providing the challenge.

In honor of the efforts of both Delores and EC to put this challenge together and keep it going, I am

Montana Wildlife - Unusual Sightings

Living in a rural neighborhood in Montana, we see a variety of wildlife on and near our property. We share our land (and our plants!) with many types of birds, lots and lots of deer, migrating elk, an occasional fox, and even a shy moose calf was spotted once nearby. We have found bear scat on our front lawn, and I've chased free-range cattle off our driveway. One summer, while driving my daughter to her early morning swim practices, I crossed paths several times with a porcupine and had to wait for it to waddle across the road.  

This summer our wildlife sightings have been a little different from years past, however.  

My dog and I walked right past this deer this week - and the dog had no idea the deer was there.

Diminished senses

A huge population of deer roam this area, and often sleep in the shade of our house. They have been

Saturday Spotlight: Father's Day (without kids - already?)

Saturday Spotlight #24

How did this already happen?

We'll celebrate Father's Day this year without our kids.

Father's Day is tomorrow and for the first time since they were born, neither of my kids will be with their dad and I. My son is halfway through his month-long backpacking trip in Wyoming, and my daughter will be back in Seattle after a brief three-day visit to Montana.

I feel like I have joined a club - one to which I'm not sure I am ready to belong.  My mom and my mother-in-law are already “members,” and this has always made me feel both grateful and a little guilty.  

The club to which I am referring is the "Wives Who Try to Make Father's Day Special, Because Their Children Are Not Home club." 

My parents and I, when I visited them earlier this month. My mom will make sure that tomorrow is extra-special for my dad.

Week #2: My List of Fabulous Finds

Every Friday, in this post series “My List of Fabulous Finds” I share the links to some of the “fabulous finds" I have discovered on the Internet throughout the week.  

There is a LOT of really helpful, captivating, and entertaining information available on the Internet!  It can take a lot of time however, to sift through and find the articles that interest you. 

If you read this blog, I suspect we have similar passions. If I find something to be fascinating or useful, I think you might as well. 

Here is some of what I came across this week.

This Week's Fabulous Finds: