July – Gracious Rain

July 9, 2026July 9, 2026

The Spirit of 1776

Jillian told me that 250 years ago on July 8th the Declaration of Independence was officially read to the colonists. So in commeration of that auspicious occassion, and in the true Spirit of 1776…

I’m going to…

…watch National Treasure because it’s sort of about the Declaration of Independence and it’s got Nicolas Cage in it so…you know. Heh, heh.

…wear my comemorative pins all over the place and impress the cats with my patriotic spirit.

…work on my star garland because it’s terrifically patriotic.

wave my fireworks around and holler BOOM a million times!!! The neighbors may just call the police–but I don’t care!

…work on my perfectly patriotic puzzle. Say that 10 times fast.

Eat one thousand-seven-hundred and seventy-six Bomb Pops…no explaination needed. Didn’t these used to be way bigger? What the…?

…stick my America 250 stickers all over the house and my water bottles and my phone and the wall and the car and the windows and the furnature and the cats.

AND…watch my cute son’s new video and sing and dance along with it!!

I suppose this is what happens when you live all by yourself and nobody even tries to stop you from doing wild and crazy things clear into the wee hours.

And you know me…even all alone, anything for a party!

USA! USA! USA!

June 12, 2025August 15, 2026

Patriot Puzzle

Ohhhhh my goodness…did I ever love this one!!

Yessss, it had letters on the back that just encouraged me to be a big cheater.

But July is coming up fast so that became my excuse…

to not dilly-dally around.

Come on…

admit it.

Isn’t this the coolest 4th of July puzzle you’ve ever SEEN?!

July 20, 2023September 22, 2023

A Grasshopper Story

So…I have this very, very naughty cat. No, not that one.

He’s a good boy.

Not that one either.

She doesn’t have wicked bone in her fluffy little body.

Yeaaaah. That one. She knows her name.

Little Miss Chili Naughty Pants.

I know. She looks all innocent and sweet now but believe me, it’s just a façade. Any minute, she will disappear out the kitty door only to reappear in 3 minutes time with a live, fully functioning GRASSHOPPER in her mouth!!

She used to play with it for awhile, till it was half dead or all the way dead, as I scurried around the room looking for a way to get the creepy thing out of my house, without…you know…having to…touch it. Gag.

Well, little Miss Naughtyness got so used to me chasing her prize around the place, that she decided to help me skip a few steps. NOW she just runs in, finds me and plops the nasty critter right at my feet, or ON my feet– anywhere that her treasure can be fully appreciated. Bless her.

If I’m at my desk, she’s content to drop it on the floor behind me so that it will hop right up on the computer screen–or better yet–on my BACK, which it has done right in the middle of a Zoom class…twice… in. front. of. people.

Oh, yeah–class gets REALLY good sometimes…

especially when someone is uncontrollably screeching like a six year old.