Collage of Memories

My mom, aka Burl to her left coast kin, was an energetic and creative soul. Burl tried so many different crafts during her retirement years that I started calling her creations “Burl’s Limited Editions: sometimes limited to one.” Learning a new craft, enjoying the process, and then moving on to another new craft were what…

Farewell to our Matriarch

My Aunt Louise, or Flo, aka Fanny Farkle, left the planet last month after breaking her hip and then developing an infection while in the hospital. We’re all very sad to lose her at the ripe old age of 96, but at least she kept her sense of humor until the end. One of the…

“If you can’t do everything brilliantly, at least you should have a bash.”

This week, Kids Discover posted my blog post about the possible perils of labeling a child the “class artist.” Here’s the link that explains why that might be a bad idea. The author Neil Gaiman was interviewed on NPR this morning. He stated, “You have all these amazing tools; it’s up to you what kinds…

April Fools

Marvin and I both forgot that April 1 marked 36 years together, so happy anniversary to two April fools! I can’t remember what possessed us to have one of these western-style photos made, but I do remember dragging along our cat, Underfoot, to the shoot along with my banjo. If you look closely, you’ll see…

Sisterly Revenge

I spent much of the last few weeks researching and writing two social studies books that deal somewhat with family history. In the process, I realized that my family, at least the Mullins side, is lucky that we have had so much oral history passed down to us. The story I just posted about Virginia…

Family History

During my last trip to Carrollton, Alabama, I packed and shipped home a lot of stuff, including an old rocking chair from the Mullins family home. While it’s a cool old rocker, I didn’t want it for its antique value. According to family lore, this chair belonged to my great grandmother Virginia Corder Mullins, aka…

The Farkle Family

Some of us remember Laugh In’s Farkle Family, featuring Frank, Fanny, Sparkle, and the predicable Flicker (Hiiiiiiiiiii!). My mom’s sister in the Carmel, CA area adopted the idea for our left coast branch of relatives. She hosted many a Farkle Family Reunion, her favorite I think was the annual Easter egg hunt. She was Flo…