SimplyLife

The idea of getting a smartphone has been under consideration for a couple of weeks. Everybody has one, why shouldn't I?  I could fit right in with everyone in the restaurant who's texting, checking in on Face Book, and in general ignoring their dining partner.  The phone I haul around is at least five years old. There's nothing wrong with it. I can receive calls, call others, and sometimes even receive or send a text or two.  It fits nicely in my purse or the pocket of my jeans. The cellphone company wants to "give" me a new smartphone. Why they're shiny, have Internet access, and most importantly apps.  I can check my bank account, read a book, listen to music, play games, and so much more.  Since they're sleek and shiny, off I went to the cellphone store to see what an upgrade would entail.  The customer service person tried not to laugh at my old phone without any apps. She was kind and explained how wonderful the smartphone is. Enticed, I wander...

This week I received a four page handwritten letter from a longtime friend (Thanks MKR). She shared the traveling adventures she and her husband enjoyed last summer.  As always, it was full of great descriptions and humorous insights to their road trip. It was a welcome break from the endless stream of junk mail and bills. I've received a few handwritten letters over the past year and each one is a delight to receive. Who takes time to write a letter anymore?  We dash off an email, a text from our phone, and call that good enough.  A letter takes time, effort and a stamped envelope. Our handwriting has to be legible. Then comes a trip to the post office.  No wonder we are reluctant to actually pen a missive. There's nothing like some fine paper and a good pen to write down a cheery, newsy note to a friend or relative. It's probably a lost art, but one we should consider reviving.  When I was in high school, I had a pen pal in Japan and we corresponded regula...

There's nothing like ribs cooked low and slow in the smoker or stew simmering in the crockpot.  Can you smell those rich, BBQ ribs or that beefy stew?  Some things just take time and they're well worth the wait.  Our culture doesn't promote waiting of any sort--enter the very medium I use everyday (Internet). Shopping, finding information on everything from diseases to clothes, and so much more. The spinning circle indicating that something is slow in downloading--not good. Waiting is not popular --I'm usually not a fan. But I've gained some wisdom over the years, and find that waiting or patience is necessary for much of life. So you can either continue to be frustrated that life isn't instanteous or accept that the line you choose at the grocery store will be the absolute slowest. After printing off the Bible reading schedule that will get me through the Bible within 12 months, I decided to go low and slow.  What's the hurry?  Why not g...

The temperatures plunged into the teens this weekend and the highs during the day didn't get out of the upper 30s. That's pretty unusual for our area, even though cold weather is not. Although the Farmer's Almanac and the local weather people said we'd have a mild, wet winter, it just hasn't happened. We'll see how our little winter garden fares after a few days sub-freezing weather. The winter garden is our experiment, which so far has proved itself quite successful. Since our winters are oh so mild as compared to Western New York we decided to put the raised bed garden to use despite the cold weather.  Choosing the more cold hardy of vegetables, we planted lettuces, beets, chard, and carrots back in October.  We've been enjoying greens and lettuce since late November. We're still waiting for the carrots since they require more time.  There's nothing like fresh picked lettuce for salads or sweet beet greens with all those wonderful antioxidants. I...

Who doesn't remember Looney Tunes adversaries, Wiley E. Coyote and the Roadrunner? The poor coyote wasn't nearly as clever as the nonchalant bird, who blithely stuck out his tongue and kept on running. Both of these critters are common sights around Casa Wallace.  The neighborhood roadrunner visited the property today, prompting this text sketch of this bold and sometimes ruthless bird. The roadrunner is a member of the cuckoo family and has a clacking sort of call. They're good sized - around 22 inches from beak to tail. It's streaked in brown, black, and white--perfectly camouflaged to perform acts of violence against smaller critters. They're not particularly picky about their cuisine and will feast on bugs, small mammals, reptiles, and cactus fruits. It's true they're great runners--up to 20 mph, and really prefer not to fly. It's unusual to see them in the air unless they're escaping the grill of a motor vehicle or a predator like the ...