Janet's Blog

The fog is finally receding again.  It lasted longer than I like, and little wisps remain around my horizon, but sunny skies are returning at last. I've been sick for far too long this time.  Weeks of annoying asthma issues collided with a nasty virus to produce a sinus infection that just wouldn't quit, and then bronchitis and walking pneumonia.  I'm no longer taking the gift of breath for granted.  Restful sleep is still a precious commodity.  I don't yet have enough breath or stamina to work a full day--maybe next week. I've spent too much of my adult life in the fog of fibromyalgia.  Gradually, I've come up with a rather tenuous mixture of medications and lifestyle that have sustained me in a state of near-remission for the past few years.  Unfortunately, an illness like this most recent one can trigger those old fibromyalgia symptoms to resurface.  I know one thing--I don't ever want to go there again! I'll admit that I felt more...

I love fresh, lightly buttered popcorn, with just a little salt, and a tall glass of ice water on the side.  Even though popcorn doesn't have much nutritional value, it's a perfect snack, really--low in calories and high in fiber.  Microwaved popcorn will do in a pinch, but there's nothing like the popcorn made in our Stir Crazy corn popper, or even popped, the old-fashioned way, on top of the stove. Bill has been fixing me a lot of popcorn lately, since I've been sick, because it helps get the gunk out of my throat. In fact, I haven't eaten so much popcorn since we lived in Michigan.  Back then, thirty-some years ago, Bill fixed popcorn almost every winter evening, after supper.  It was cheap, easy to make, filling, and delicious.  Then, more often than not, he would lie down on our furry brown couch, propped on a couple of pillows, with his bowl of popcorn balanced securely in the crook of his arm, while I sat cross-legged on the floor beside him....

  When I think about celebrating Epiphany, I remember Pastor Fitz, his long, black cape billowing in the gentle Michigan breeze, as he led the people in prayer before the towering bonfire was lit in the church parking lot.  Epiphany signals the end of the traditional twelve days of Christmas, so I suppose that's the reason the Christmas trees were burned after the evening Epiphany service.  That roaring bonfire still crackles warmly in my memory. Epiphany is a Christian holiday, falling on January 6.  The word epiphany means “manifestation” or “revelation," and is usually associated with the visit of the Wise Men to Bethlehem to see the Christ Child.  Even though they were gentiles, the men known as Magi came to worship Jesus, whom they hailed as King of the Jews.  The Magi were the first non-Jews to recognize Jesus as the one who was sent from God to rescue all people of every nationality. Many people assume that three Wise Men traveled from the Ea...

It is 2014, at last!  A New Year, a fresh start--the coming days are mostly unknown to us, but full of promise.  Oh, we have some hints of what lies ahead, it's true.  Here in Nebraska, January will undoubtedly have it's share of cold wintry days, but spring will assuredly follow winter, just as it always has.  Our days will probably follow the same familiar routines of work or school.  For most of us, our busy lives will continue much as they have for the past year or two. Yet, for many people, a new year signals another chance for a fresh start in life.  We hear about their New Year's resolutions to stop some nasty habit or start a new, improved practice.  For some, this new calendar year provides a convenient time to attempt necessary changes in lifestyle. I rarely make New Year's resolutions; in fact, I don't think I have ever made one. Yet, at times, we all find ourselves making adjustments in our lives.  Sometimes, we need to rethink our...