Today, December 6, is St. Nicholas Day, a feast day honoring St. Nicholas, a 4th-century bishop of Myra (now part of Turkey). St. Nicholas was known for his charitable deeds, particularly toward children. For centuries, St. Nicholas Day was celebrated in many countries in Europe. It was a religious feast, […]
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Reflecting on Anniversaries and the Days In Between
Our 46th wedding anniversary was last weekend. Number forty-six doesn’t merit much recognition, though I gave my husband a couple of Hallmark cards. We ate Thanksgiving leftovers, so I didn’t have to cook. It snowed the night before, but the weather warmed enough that no shoveling was necessary. Still, we […]
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Happy Thanksgiving from President Ulysses S. Grant, 1872
My current work-in-progress begins in 1872, and I recently researched what was said about Thanksgiving that year. Here is the Thanksgiving Day proclamation by President Ulysses S. Grant that year: October 11, 1872 By the President of the United States of America A ProclamationWhereas the revolution of another year has […]
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A Festive Trip to Big Cedar Lodge
Through our forty-plus years in Kansas City, my husband and I have taken several vacations to Table Rock Lake in southern Missouri. Table Rock Lake is near Branson, Missouri, one of the nation’s preeminent entertainment destinations. From country music shows, to amusement parks, to fishing or boating, everyone is bound […]
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Requiem for a Life, Through Artifacts
My husband sold his boat earlier this year, and I discovered that three boxes of my ancient belongings had survived in the storage unit where he kept his boat. When we vacated the storage unit, these boxes returned to our house. About fifteen years ago, my husband deposited these boxes, […]
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Ben Holladay, Transportation Tycoon
I’ve written before about rail development in Oregon and the fierce competition between the East Side line and the West Side line in laying rails around Portland. Ben Holladay was the owner of the successful East Side line, and he had his finger (indeed, his whole fist) in many other […]
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Getting Past Procrastination
It’s been several years since I posted about how I sometimes procrastinate when I should be working on my novel. But I’ve found myself in procrastination mode for the past couple of weeks. Some reasons are good reasons to procrastinate. A grandchild’s visit, for example. Other reasons are not good […]
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Picking Up After Baby’s Visit
I am writing this post just a few hours after I dropped my daughter and granddaughter off at the airport. We had a delightful week, with lots of grandma and baby time. I have been very fortunate to spend almost four weeks of my granddaughter’s 8-month life with her—I saw […]
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A Birthday Celebration and A Few Old Posts
Today, October 4, is my husband’s birthday. I searched through my post archives and found that I have only written one post specifically about his birthday. That was four years ago on a milestone birthday, and the post turned very philosophical. This year is not a milestone birthday. Those come […]
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Sarah Winnemucca: 19th Century Advocate for Native Americans
Last month I wrote about Winema Riddle, a Native American woman who pursued justice for her people in 19th century Oregon. Sarah Winnemucca was another prominent Native American woman in Oregon at the time who also advocated for her people. Sarah Winnemucca was born into an influential Northern Paiute family […]
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