Writers of mysteries have only to look back in history to find inspiration. Just a hint of a mystery is enough to get a writer started with, what if… From its earliest days, America has had its share of real life mysteries. In fact, a Puritan leader, John Winthrop, one of the founders of Boston, […]

The Comfort of Quilts
·This morning, as I got out of my comfortable bed, I thought about the things that keep me warm at night–quilts. And then, I thought about how life is much like a homemade quilt. Some of the colors are bright, some are dark, but they all go together to make the quilt. Some of […]

The World Needs Valentine’s Day
·Remember how excited we’d get as children on Valentine’s Day, counting those cards, reading the verses, keeping them in boxes? What a sweet custom! It seemed to me that my kindergarteners got more excited about Valentine’s Day than about Christmas. They would decorate white paper sacks which I fastened to the chalk tray then they would […]
The Way It Was
·The following story is from my mother’s book, Remembering Etta Bend. These are the words of Susie Latty, who, much later, became my mom. The year would have been around 1918. Most of the things we used were homemade and they had to last as long as possible. Papa carved his own handles and wood […]