The Storyteller | Mary Vee

Have you ever wondered how one day out of the year becomes National Night Out Day or National Raspberry Cream Pie Day or any other special celebration day? By the way, today is National Night Out Day and National Raspberry Cream Pie Day, so take your special one out tonight and enjoy a piece of raspberry cream pie. Yum. Well, near as I can figure these celebrations not only keep our economy from recession, it also helps us remember.  Sometimes we're remembering  something yummy someone special someplace we've been a cause someone we love a first a graduation all sorts of things worthy of remembering This week, hubby and I are remembering the day we walked down the aisle and said our wedding vows. He had the silkiest soft black hair that day. Sadly, time stole those gorgeous strands, but he still has dreamy brown eyes.  God has blessed us over time way more than we could ask. A home. Kids. A garden. Stability. Solid marriage complete...

In search of today's topic I happened upon a book of quotes (Quotations for All Occasions, editor Catherine Frank). Inside I read: Photo by Mary Vee   I know of nothing that makes one feel more complacent, in these July days, than to have his vegetables from his own garden. What an effect it has on the market-man and the butcher is a kind of Declaration of Independence. Charles Dudley Warner 1829-1900 I am very happy to announce my first, big crop of raspberries grown in my back yard. I filled a quart container with raspberries this morning. Yep, a whole quart. I've been working on this raspberry patch for three years reaping token berries. This year--this year I have a quart of raspberries, next year I am expecting a heap, this of course is a clearly defined amount.  Photo by Mary Vee In celebration, I watched the prices at my local store...a soaring, disappointing price, then, just like Charles Dudley Warner's quote said, I didn't buy any. Inst...

Photo by Mary Vee   I was surprised to see a fisherman out this morning.  Thick fog hung over us and the lake. I looked out my window and barely saw the water. A small object came into view....this fisherman. I wondered how he saw the narrow steep dirt path used by boaters to launch rowboats and canoes onto the lake. And how he chose this spot to settle. He must feel chilled. The moist fog gives a sticky, cold feel to the skin. And he is out there alone. At least an hour or more would have to go by before the sun warmed the air and dissipated the cloud. Threading the worm on the hook had to be a challenge. Tracking the bobber after casting would be nearly impossible. He'd have to go by feel. Not by sight. Then again, a good fisherman doesn't need to see with physical eyes. Knowing when the fish bite, where they are likely to be, the temperature of the water, etc, is far more important. Based on knowledge and desire to do what is needed, th...

We stumbled upon these unique fireworks. In my book, yah couldn't get closer to the intent of this holiday than this show. To the south of us is a lake. It's a long lake with cottages and houses on nearly every inch of shore. Behind postage stamp-sized properties, are more houses. Roads leading to each residence are twined like a mouse trap. Be careful or you may not find the way out! Anyway, my family heard the boom booms from our house. We hopped in the car in search for what we hoped was a fantastic show. AND IT WAS!! In route to a little park, big enough for four cars, fireworks burst overhead. Boom. Boom. One after another exploding brilliant blues, reds, yellows, and more. Popping as fast as pop corn. Then the sound stopped. The air filled with smoke. Car horns blared. People cheered. Toy horns honked.  We looked for a place to turn around, thinking the show was over. But it wasn't. A series of new fireworks burst overhead then cheers, horns, and spa...

Photo by Mary Vee a lovely restaurant in Venice, Italy not the location of today's post, though I sat with a group of friends at a restaurant and because of the angle of my chair, I saw an interesting situation play out. An older man and woman sat across from each other at a table. He told her a lengthy story during their meal, animating his words with his hands. He was so engaged in this tale he even laughed and snorted. I wish I could have heard what he said. Anyway, the woman kept her eyes on him but barely responded. I thought, why isn't she laughing with him? Even if what he said wasn't funny, his laughter was funny. But she didn't say a word or laugh the entire time I watched.  At the end of the meal she excused herself to the ladies room. He paid the bill, and the waiter brought Styrofoam boxes holding what I assumed was the food they couldn't eat. He looked back toward the ladies room. Ah, the body language was clear. He had to use the men...

Photo by Mary Vee, Arizona Today's late post is brought to you by a Mary Vee who has only seconds ago taken a BIG chill pill. Good grief. I opened the site to write today's post...whatever that topic was is long gone--wiped out by epic frustration. Although I could open my blog's schedule and examine settings and other details, I could not get to the composition page.  That's when I discovered my blog had been shut down. That's when I discovered my blog had "expired". That's when I discovered my blog did not revert to the failsafe address. The dorky one with blogspot.com in the address. That's when I slipped into dysfunctional mode. Okay, I am not a dork when it comes to technology. I have taught myself HTML survival and can modify mostly any code to look the way I want. I can find help desks. Follow directions. Sheesh I set up this blog with my own domain. But today I wasn't expecting a spiraling demise. The system ha...

It's rare to have post day fall on my birthday. This year it did. Having a summer birthday had some interesting advantages. All my siblings, and there were several, had fall or winter birthdays. Since my parents didn't have much money, anything expensive for the family was given as a birthday present. Made sense, right? Yep. So, when summer came and the brood needed an inflatable pool out in the backyard, it appeared as my gift. Too awesome. Well, we all couldn't fit in the smaller pool at one time, but we managed to have a ton of fun. There was also a few other perks given to the birthday person in our family. The honored one could choose one place to celebrate, pick what was served for the family dinner, and they got out of chores.  I usually chose to either go miniature golfing with Dad, he always beat me, or have the whole family visit Aunt Betty. She is a funny, make you feel-good-to-be-around-her person. Her personality is one I still aspire to ...