What to write about when you got nothin’ | by Linda Brendle

Published in the Rains County Leader on January 26, 2016:

I can’t decide if this week was so uneventful that nothing unusual has happened or if so much has happened that I haven’t had time to contemplate the deeper meanings of any one event. Either way, when I sat down to write, the only thought that crossed my mind was I got nothin’.

I asked my Facebook friends for suggestions, but I guess they were all busy watching play-off games. Nobody responded, and I ended up with what I started with – nothin’.

Happy Birthday, Aunt Fay! | by Linda Brendle

Published in the Rains County Leader on January 19, 2016:

Wednesday, January 20 was my Aunt Fay’s 92^nd birthday. Anyone who has read much of my writing, especially my book, knows that Aunt Fay is my mother’s younger sister. Since she was married to my dad’s brother, and since we lived within a few miles of them for most of my childhood, she has been a big part of my life. This was especially true after I became a caregiver. I leaned heavily on her experience in caring for her mother and her husband and even more heavily on her strength and her faith.

The Kitty who came in from the cold |by Linda Brendle

Before I began my series on Advent back in December, I wrote about Kitty’s encounter with a less than friendly neighborhood tom cat. She ended up with an abscessed bite on her leg and a rather larger veterinary bill. I also wrote that, once we returned home from house sitting with our dog friend Spike, she was well and ready for an outdoor romp. However, her attitude changed quickly.

New Year’s Day – What’s It All About? | by Linda Brendle

David recently posed an interesting question. “I wonder why we celebrate New Year’s Day.”

In this era of the Internet and cell phones, I gave him my standard answer. “I don’t know. Why don’t you Google it.”

He did, and he discovered that Julius Caesar, along with scientists of his day, completely revised the calendar, adding days, renaming the seventh month after himself, and shifting the beginning of the year from March to January. This Julian calendar, with a few minor tweaks, is still used by much of the world, but not all.