Grandmas Goulash

New to Convictions? Full story:   Index . Quick Story:  In a Nutshell   Beth hurried towards the kitchen. Time was tight, even for pasta. But as she approached, the tantalizing scent of beef, garlic and spices floated out to her. Cassandra was tossing a salad, while Judith mashed potatoes. They looked up as Beth entered. “That smells wonderful. I'm so proud of you.” “My timing is still off. The potatoes are ready, but the meatloaf is still cooking.” “We can keep them warm, Judith. You've both done a terrific job with dinner.” “So tell us how it went.” “Thanks to you, I have the job, Cassandra” “You messin' with me?” “I'd never joke about a job. It's part-time and temporary. But it's a start. “Will parole accept that?” “Yes. I spoke with Officer Watkins. With my history, she considers any job an achievement and said it would fulfill the employment requirement. I don't have to continue cooking here, but I'm hoping Pastor ...

Want to see more sky photos?

Want to see more sky photos?

Want to see more sky photos?

We had some unidentified bushes at the front of the house. The new leaves are very pretty, a bright red. I'd seen similar ones, although much larger, in Atlanta. The red leaves turn to green as they get older. They have a fairly glossy look and are oval-shape with a point at the top. I had never seen these in my northern years. Red leaves came in the fall. I started searching and came up with the Red Leaf Photinia as my best candidate. I think that's what we have, but I'd be interested to hear any other ideas my readers might have. We plan on keeping them, they are quite beautiful, though badly in need of some pruning. We'd hate to cut those beautiful new branches, but I wonder what is the best time to do it. At the minute, I can't go down the walkway to the car without being poked. In the virtual world, I did a bit of pruning today. "Friends" are fairly transient there and if they aren't playing with my virtual pet, it's time fo...

Medicine has it's wonders and I guess that pharmaceuticals are one of them. But sometimes I question it. If the diuretics are reduced, my legs double in size and I can barely draw a breath. Increase them and I'm too dizzy to stand for more than a few minutes. There's more of these wonder drugs, but let's skip the details. Suffice to say that it's a rare day when everything equalizes and I have both the oxygen and the stability to do more than sit. Today wasn't 100%, but it was close enough for me. How to spend it? Like a kid at the candy store, I checked out my options. Grab the canes and head outside to enjoy some sun. Get Calico to take me out to lunch or for a ride around the town. Stay inside and tackle a project. Today, the project won. My bedroom hasn't felt truly organized since we've moved in. Being the largest bedroom, it's become the designated dropping spot for items that haven't found a home. So I started weeding, ...

Want to see more sky photos?

Not eggs-actly what you were expecting? I've being working on an Easter Egg tutorial for a graphics group that I belong to. I played with some different ways of coloring eggs, including some sky photos. I like seeing these side-by-side. It certainly emphasizes the differences in blue skies. Want to see more sky photos:

Want to see more sky photos:

My balance, or lack thereof, makes it difficult to take photos.  So I decided to share this Memphis sky that my daughter captured moments before the sun sank from view last night. I couldn't resist playing a bit. I don't think it's possible to beat nature, but I did think that this version, created with a PSP Chalk effect, accentuates the details on the ground and gives a different perspective to the sky. It's lighter and made me wonder if that was how the sky had looked a little earlier.