My mother penned the Amish Cook column for 11 years. I was a teenager at home when she started writing. After her sudden death on Sept. 17, 2002, I started writing.

There’s a large hunk of rusted iron lingering in my backyard. Waiting.

State Rep. Amy “Murri” Briel hosted an immigration rights presentation from The Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights on Tuesday evening.

I enjoy a coffee with a Long John roll. I made two batches on Friday and took some along for family night. I told the family they are Short John rolls because I made them short. Haha!

I throw away a lot of useful stuff. At least that’s how it feels. And this is not easy for me. I grew up with parents who found a way to use most everything they had. I inherited that habit.

I canned more V-8 last week, but the garden season is slowing down. I have red beets yet to can into pickled beets. Also, another round of tomatoes that I will can into tomato chunks.

Looking for comfort in difficult times.

So I’m at the cinema this past week. While enjoying my popcorn time, something strange happened when movie previews started bursting on the screen.

I’ve always wanted to get back into writing. It seems that every time I write, I quit after 20 pages in, and that makes 20 pages of unfinished stories.