There once was a time when the first substantial snowfall of the season filled me with excitement. The scant dusting we received this past weekend...

It Is Well with My Soul At the risk of sounding preachy, I have to say that the hymn “It Is Well with My Soul” has been a great encouragement to...

This holiday season has been a different one for us with this move and all the home renovations and house cleaning we’ve done over the past month. I’m usually busy cooking...

Oh boy, the best week of the year has finally arrived. I've never been shy about declaring Thanksgiving as my top holiday. The turkey, purchased...

Pack Rat's Electronic Triumph I always knew my pack rat tendencies would pay off someday. For years, I’ve clung to every cord, every piece of...

If you were to Google the 12 seasons of Minnesota (or any state for that matter), you would find a list that looks something like the following: Winter Fool’s Spring Second...

XI.XI.MCMXXXIII Veterans Day is fast approaching, this Saturday, as a matter of fact. A quick look at the VA website reveals that World War I officially ended when the...

You never realize how many things and how much stuff you actually have until you have to move it all. We are officially in the process of moving house and after nearly five...

Like Bill Murray in "Groundhog Day," I seem fated to relive certain parts of my life repeatedly. I'm not alluding to the evident fact that my life...

Do you have a personal or family ritual that you hold to on the weekends? Our weekend starts the moment my husband gets home from work Friday...

Pumpkin Bars Tis the season for pumpkin everything and I am loving it! I usually make my annual "dinner in a pumpkin" soup dish around this time, but with everything going...

Recent events have revived an old saying in my mind: "The road to hell is paved with good intentions." This phrase keeps echoing inside my head, taunting me. A swift...

I’ve always been a planner, from the arrangement of the things in my closet to the classes I took in college to the trips I take with my kids each...

The air is finally hinting at a chill, and for me, it's about time. How can one genuinely embrace a day that dawns at a brisk 38 degrees, only to...

The Last Viking Raid Our viking-age living history reenactment season has now come to a close as we return from Green Bay, WI and the Midwest...