So lately the entire country has been hanging out together in a deep freezer. Really. It's cold outside! I will admit others are far worse off than us — our lows haven't been in the  -20s but we've had wind chills that low. So, I searched Google Images and came up with some ideas to... Continue Reading →

My new alter-ego is "Lady Brandy of Glencoe." I also own a little piece of Scotland — my own personal estate. Really, I have the paperwork to prove it. As I write this, it's 5 degrees Celsius or 41 degrees Fahrenheit at my estate in Scotland — balmy compared to Emporia's current 16-degree temperature. I... Continue Reading →

So, tonight, while reading the latest issued of "Writer's Digest," I found a new use for those subscription cards they lace in the middle of almost every page. Turn a page, a card falls out. Turn another page, another card falls out. I decided to make paper airplanes out of them. Because I'm random like... Continue Reading →

I'm very excited: my blog has a new home. After much talking about it, I finally decided to move my blog from blogspot to here. And I purchased my own domain. My goal for 2015, as summarized in my new year's blog post is to do less talking and take more action. Thus, my blog's new home. If... Continue Reading →

There's a special kind of silence that falls on winter just before a snowstorm — a calm such as the aura the Earth is emitting this morning. I look outside and the world is asleep. Nothing is falling from the sky — yet. It's cold — but not too cold. It's not the bitey kind... Continue Reading →

This morning I woke up to one of my dogs, Chewie, squeaking one of his toys repeatedly. The routine on non-work days is we all get up at normal time, the dogs get fed and everyone goes back to bed. Such is what happened today — New Year's Day.But, around 8:30 a.m. or so, Chewie... Continue Reading →

So, it's finally here. 2015.New Year's is one of my favorite holidays. While in reality, it's just another date, it really symbolizes a fresh start — the start of a new year.There are so many things I want to accomplish this year, which I posted about here.After much thought I decided all of my goals... Continue Reading →

It remember it like the scene out of "A Christmas Story." The child stands at the window early Christmas morning to discover it had snowed outside overnight. A fresh blanket of snow covers everything — glistening in the early-morning sunrise.I recall a Christmas morning just like that as a child. It was truly magical. In... Continue Reading →

Disclaimer: The Santa Text referred to in this column is a statue — an animatronic version of Santa. The actual Santa was not harmed in the antics mentioned in this column.Santa — or our Santa statue rather — is a bit of a legend at The Emporia Gazette.Santa started his pranking adventures here at The... Continue Reading →