Slight Detour: Taytos and Lawnmowers and Such

Thank you, Eileen and the Irish geocachers for acting as conduits for Annie in her quest to give Mom and Dad some Taytos.

We always sample a "tayto" or two when we go to Ireland. Bill was a bit disappointed the last time we went to see that inflation has left its mark on Taytos.

So, to have two 12-packs delivered to our house indirectly from Ireland, thrilled us to no end.

We thought about how much Debbie loves Taytos and figured she may covet them.

She does. We're working out a deal so that Debbie gets her fair share.

For now, it's nice to have a tangible and tasty reminder of the place we love so well.

Thanks again to Annie and to all who helped in this culinary endeavor.

💙💚💜

Every once in a while, I find it inspiring and helpful to listen to this speech to her players by Duke women's basketball coach Kara Lawson.

The last few weeks have been personally challenging for me because of recurring knee pain interfering with the work and pursuits that I love.

I've whined enough to go along with it, but something inside has also told me day after day that compared to most folks my age, I'm a lucky person.

That daily message coupled, inspiration derived from others I know and with words of wisdom by the great Kara Lawson have kept me pushing forward in spite of the discomfort of old-age nuisances.

I have posted this speech before. The first time I ever listened to it, I wrote a note to Kara Lawson thanking her for sharing these thoughts.

Would you believe that she sent me a personally handwritten note back.

I was amazed that someone as busy as she would take the time to respond. You can be sure that I have kept that note and that I cherish it along with her inspiring words

I ran across Kara's speech this morning, thought about the my personal challenges and decided it's a good time to share it again.

Life is not easy, but if we quit the whining and trudge through each day, we can still reap amazing and meaningful rewards.

Of course, it's all relative to our personal situations, but the broad message of Kara Lawson can be helpful to any of us at any point in our lives.

The Lovestead lawnmower fleet has grown by one.

Tony, the wizard, brought this Toro zero-turn riding lawnmower to the place yesterday.

And, I have broken it in---thankfully not broken it.

My husband felt that it was time to get a new mower, and twice this week Tony has complimented me on keeping my lawnmowers going much longer than those of the past.

He knows because he has been fixing our equipment for more than 20 years.

So, to get a compliment from Tony who has helped me out in so many "fixes" over the years, I'm proud.

The new mower has adjustments that make the ride much more comfortable, and for an old lady who LOVES mowing lawn, that is a good thing.

Thank you, Bill and thank you, Tony.