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Top Ten Thanksgiving Traditions
Thanksgiving is all about tradition...at least at our house. Here are ten of our top traditions in the order in which they occur. 10. All the dog owners bring their dogs to keep the kitchen floor clean. 9. Generations (4 this year) mingle together creating new links...
On the Street Where I Lived
A week ago today I visited the home where my family lived from 1961 through 1965. The molding above the front door where my sister and I posed in our Christmas best was still there, more lovely than I remembered. The corner where a Westmar college student snapped a...
A Little Shellacking on this Fantastic Friday
Today's the last day I'm in my home town. I walked by the house where I grew up and where Dad encouraged me to play fast and loose with shellack. This Fantastic Friday post revisits that memory and one of my few bonding moments with President Obama. shellacking:...
That Fabulous Franklin Chex Mix
Just in time for the big Thanksgiving grocery shopping trip, here's the recipe for the Fabulous Franklin Chex Mix. The recipe traces its roots back to Zoe Hemmingson, one of Mom’s fellow teachers at Franklin School in Le Mars, Iowa. It’s been a family favorite at...
Home Again at 1410 KLEM
One of my earliest memories is of sitting with my big sister on our bed, the kitchen radio between us, waiting for Dad to read the market report for our hometown radio station. Our bedroom door was tightly shut to avoid feedback from the dining room, which was HQ for...
The Fly Over Life on This Fantastic Friday
For those of you who don't live in fly over country, this Fantastic Friday post explains what you are missing. You know how jet setters dismiss the land between the east and west coasts as fly-over country? They scoff at what they consider a wasteland of cornfields, a...





