SimplyLife

Shooting star -Bing.com The night skies in Arizona are amazing! The Milky Way during the winter months is really milky and the massive roadway of stars sparkles in the cold air. It's easy to get lost in the beauty of that declaration of God's power. Often, meteorite showers travel through, spraying trails of stardust, and lone shooting stars are not uncommon. Of course the day skies are just as spectacular. Double rainbows that stretch between mountain ranges, thunderclouds piling up over the Huachucas with lightning slashing through the air to the ground. The advantage of the West is the absence of those beautiful, huge trees that block much of the sky Back East. Unobstructed views and dark nights are a real advantage to taking in the sights. This past week while standing on the patio enjoying the twilight in the western sky, I noticed a triangle of what looked like three stars. It was something I'd never seen before and wondered if I'd been missing it every eve

The title of this week's column is a familiar phrase in Cochise County. It's the descriptor for the infamous Tombstone. If you visit Casa Wallace, we'll make sure you get to this icon of Western history. Founded in 1879 by Ed Schiefflelin, it became a boom town in no time. This was because of the silver mines that dotted the countryside around the town. Tombstone was the county seat for many years, until Bisbee managed to wrestle it away in 1929. By that time Tombstone was in a major decline. Stagecoach rides Ed Schieffelin was a prospector who struck silver in 1879 and a tent city sprang up as mining efforts grew. He and his brother, Al along with another business partner staked their claim for the Lucky Cuss mine and other fortune seekers poured into the area. Within a year, a real live town sprang up with a hotel, saloons, stores, the Bird Cage Theater, and so much more.  Prostitution was legal in Tombstone as long as you were licensed. The "soiled doves"

Every once in awhile, I review a book for readers. Today, here's a review that I recently posted to Amazon and Goodreads. This is a free book for Kindle currently, so if you're looking for devotional reading that is challenging, but brief, read on. Jesus Himself by Andrew Murray My rating: 5 of 5 stars I discovered Andrew Murray two or three years ago and have continually been challenged by his to-the-point and contemporary message for Christians today. The overarching theme of the works I've read has been total surrender to Christ. Two short sermons by Andrew Murray are recorded in Jesus Himself . Murray was a Dutch Reformed minister who lived in South Africa during the 1800s until his death in 1917. His passion for spreading the Gospel and challenging Christians to walk worthy is evident in his many writings. He was born and educated in Scotland, receiving his Masters degree in Aberdeen. Murray was also one of the founders of the South African General Mission.

There's a fun little book on the shelf I received for Christmas one year from my sister, Yvonne. It's entitled, "Spilling the Beans on the Cat's Pajamas." The reason this came to mind was some recent conversations with yes, younger folks who don't have the slightest idea what you're talking about when it comes to time honored expressions--idioms. My husband told a server in a recent restaurant visit that she was "Johnny on the spot" with our drinks and received a zombie-like look. In this terribly technical age of texts, emails, with acronyms to cover a range of phrases, such as lol, omg, btw,ayk are the norm. If you want my opinion, I think it's just plain sad. We're losing the fun of English, which as you know is a difficult and irregular sort of language. However, when people actually had conversations with each other, lots of of colorful expressions were used to keep things interesting. Most of them came from real life which also he

Today is a special day for David and me. Thirty-seven years ago on a sunny Saturday afternoon, we said our marriage vows in front of about 150 people.  Family, church family, and friends crowded the church pews dressed in their finest polyester. Yes, it was the 70s after all.  The groomsmen had those powder blue tuxes and the bridesmaids floppy white hats. Sorry, everyone. It was a great time though. Both of my grandfathers participated in the ceremony, reading Scripture from the Old and New Testaments. My uncle also took part and our pastor did the actual marrying. Our pastor did say we had the most preachers involved of any wedding he'd performed. They all behaved and didn't bust into an extra sermon, fortunately. There are always little things that go awry at weddings, some more serious than others. Ours was merely a blip. After David and I were pronounced man and wife, I was just plain anxious to get to the reception and forgot that we needed to kiss. My new husband sav

One of the gardening issues of living in the high desert is caliche--that's "ka-lee-chee." It's a miserable layer of soft stone (well that depends on who's digging - person or backhoe) about 12 inches down in the sandy clay of Casa Wallace. Much to my good husband's dismay, I wanted a bush transplanted to a new location. It hasn't done lick of growth in several years where it is. The mangy looking Bird of Paradise bush hasn't bloomed or managed decent greenery in quite some time. Relocation did wonders for the Apache Plume bush which now is covered with fluffy pinkish plumes and white flowers. It was basically in the same spot as the Bird of Paradise, looking glum and unmotivated. Now in the courtyard, it's been revitalized. Apache Plume The yellow Bird of Paradise's move was to a nearby garden with a recent agave transplant and a new red yucca to keep it company.  The shovel went in easily at first, but before you knew it, caliche h

The Wallace family has had a lot to celebrate this month. Not only Emily & Chris' wedding, but David & I are celebrating 37 years of marriage on May 15.  What better way to be thankful than to give back to my readers?  On May 31 , three winners will be drawn. To enter, become a follower of this blog or "like" my FaceBook author page.  If you do both, you'll have two chances to win.  A copy of Family Matters, The Time Under Heaven, and Gardens of the Heart will be given away. You can check out all three books on Amazon.You'll find descriptions and reviews. If you're looking for summer reading or a gift, take advantage of the May discounts at my e-store on all three books. The discount codes and links are below.  Family Matters - $1.00 off by using discount code LP6VZNF7 E-Store Link:  https://tsw.createspace.com/title/4199607 The Time Under Heaven - 50 cents off by using discount code  RYX9GUHQ E-Store Link:  https://tsw.createspace.com/ti

It seems that life goes by faster the older you get. When you're a kid, summers are long and time drags its heels with evil glee when you're in math class. If there's one thing I'm learning right now is to enjoy the moment. The wedding was a chain of special moments from a family breakfast to the big day itself. There was a lot going on, but now it's over. It's a thing of the past, and now we've moved on to new moments. We spend a lot of time worrying about moments to come or sometimes stewing over those in the past. It's easy to miss what's happening right now if we're living in the past or fretting about the future. The best advice I had throughout the wedding was from Jennifer, our wedding planner. "Take a deep breath and enjoy the moment." I was very glad for that common sense reminder several times. I would have missed the joy of the wedding ceremony if I was focused on the reception. The fun of the reception would have paled i