Spare Me from House Flippers!

Honestly, I know house flippers (who like to be called property investors, even though they’re not) serve a useful purpose in society – somewhere – and I may end up using one of them one day.  However, a house flipper is looking for a quick turnaround, preferably without having to … Read more…

Terrifying Wildfires

Pain almost swallows you when you try to write – about anything – when your next door-neighborhoods have residents running for their lives from the horror of explosive wildfires!  You know that only by the Grace of God has your section of a sprawling metropolis been spared so far. It’s … Read more…

We’re Entitled to be Angry

The pain of the past week has been almost unbearable for so many thousands of us, even those of us who don’t live in the hit zone of the San Bernardino terror. The shock waves just keep coming as more information is discovered and released to us. Those of us … Read more…

Any Restaurant Can Be a Favorite

Write about a favorite restaurant, they’re saying. Convince us we’d love to eat there. Hmmm, are you like us? On a fixed budget, or at least a very limited budget? Maybe you eat out three or four times a year, if that. And usually, that’s only when visiting out-of-state friends … Read more…

Miramar National Cemetery

This was the weekend for my husband’s grave at Miramar National Cemetery to be dedicated as his final resting place on earth and for it not to be disturbed until our Savior returns. Loving family friends took care of this special prayer for me. Miramar National Cemetery is the extension … Read more…

We Can and Must Save Our Bees!

When I first mentioned bees in a June 2007 blog about grapevines, it was thought that a fungus was killing beehives and causing Colony Collapse Disorder. Since then we’ve discovered there are multiple causes, including pesticides. Oregon In June 2013, a landscape company sprayed 55 linden trees in a Wilsonville, … Read more…

Let’s Not Take Freedom for Granted

As aircraft fly over our crowded suburban valley to take part in a variety of Memorial Day air shows around the Southland, they bring a tangible reminder of how and why we are still free.  For every patriotic holiday, they are here. And when I hear the unmistakable drone of the … Read more…

A Franciscan Benediction

This blessing has appeared on many sites throughout the web, especially since Philip Yancey’s book Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference? was published in 2006. I think it cannot be repeated enough times, so that individuals everywhere realize that everyone can make a difference! I first came across this blessing … Read more…

The Wildfires of 2007

Such widespread devastation throughout our beautiful Southern California region! The unprecedented wildfires are like nothing we’ve ever seen. And the official fire season has only now begun. Yes, we’re used to wildfires here but no, we never really get used to them. They are a fearsome danger every year, but … Read more…

Grapevines really talk!

Grapevines really talk! And I do mean the plant kind, not just the people kind. I suspect most of us think the office grapevine got called that because grapevines spread rapidly, from a very small root to where they cover yards of concrete or brick wall, especially here in Southern … Read more…