blogs

What Fresh Hell is This

I am sharing that wonderful, witty statement, “What Fresh Hell is This?” It is one of my favourite quotes from the most respected and beloved author, Dorothy Parker. It relates to this Food for Thou ........

Age Appropriate

Cyndi Lauper performing "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun..."I went "shopping in my closet," as my dear friend, Fran, used to say. I needed an ensemble to wear to an upcoming party. I had so many clothes. I ........

Unexpected Connections

Of late, I have been obsessed with the value and the difficulties of positive communication. Thoughts go through my mind with no resolution, like a dog worrying a bone. I think about every person ........

A Desk of One's Own

Author's Note: I am resurrecting this short story I wrote in 2011 when researching my journals for my memoir, which eventually became Writing in Wet Cement. “I wanted to be a writer, once. But ........

Post Valentines Day Love Lessons

We have a returning guest, a sweet little warbler. She usually comes with her mate but this year she returned alone. She knew all the familiar places, the bird bath, where we throw the bread cru ........

Shouldering On

Throughout my childhood I had always been a tomboy. I played with the boys even though I was often relegated to watching their battles and baseball games from the sidelines. I gained their resp ........

My UFO Story

UFO Highway, Area 51, Rachel, Nevada In honour of Halloween and strange unexplainable experiences, I decided to share this life event of 1984, San Luis Obispo, California. Okay. I admit it ........

What did I do wrong?

Recently I had that special, cherished, looked-forward to experience: lunch with a dear friend. Jean and I met in 1991. She immediately captured my heart through our mutual love of ........

Marketing Strategies by Jayne Lisbeth

The thrilling release of my second book, Raising the Dead, has filled me with enormous joy. And, excruciating, gut-wrenching fear. My box of promotional materials arrived on my doorstep une ........

Florida Life

It was about 10:30 pm when I heard the first scream erupt from our kitchen. I had been examining my image in the bathroom mirror. “Damn, is that another wrinkle?” I asked myself in exasperation ........

The Golden Years

Art by Mary EngelbreitThe first time I thought about the phrase, “The Golden Years” was at the Life Enrichment Center. As I was washing up my coffee cup after art class, I noticed a sign in the kitche ........

Artifacts Of My Life

My family was visiting from Brooklyn and Philadelphia during spring break. They hadn't visited recently. In the span between visits Tim and I had adorned our home with even more art, antiques, small p ........

Motherhood

I have always been an avid birdwatcher or Bird Nerd, as some call me. I love the varying bird seasons: meeting, courting, nesting, raising babies, first flight. I consider myself the patio Bird Mom, ........

Message In A Bottle

On April 16 we were visiting Tim’s Alma Mata, the University of West Florida, Pensacola. We were also excited to revisit our favorite beaches in Pensacola. Much had changed since Tim received his Huma ........

Tax Time

I sat on the antique loveseat in Ava, my accountant's office. I noticed the changes in the room which had occurred over the years. The couch was as hard and uncomfortable as ever and was becoming thre ........

Neighbors Old and New

Since 2005 Tim and I have lived in our little nest, our first home together. Being the more social of the two of us (and the nosier, as I am a writer) I have followed the lives of our neighbors resi ........

My Addiction

My addiction began on March 22, 1958. I was seven years old. It was less than five months prior to my daddy’s death. This Sunday had begun like any other until I heard my mother’s sobs interrupting o ........

My Line of Hearts

When I lived in Vermont I always had a Line of Hearts. It is a vine with heart-shaped leaves. The heart leaves grow from strange looking tiny round bulbs. The vines appear voluptuous, fertile, ........

Out of The Box

Dear Readers, The greatest treasures about writing are the comments from my readers, who relate to my memories, and share their own. My latest Food for Thought, Carpe Saponem, brought other stories ho ........

Carpe Saponem

A friend of many years advised me as I was exploring gift ideas for my women friends:“So, what’s so hard about buying a gift for a woman? Candles, soap or jewelry are always your best choices.” Her wo ........

Tribute to my Mother

My Mom, Muriel Jeannette Plage SchmitzNovember 14, 1912 - January 15, 1997My Food for Thought today is a tribute to my mother in the eulogy I wrote for her at her Life Celebration in January 1997. It ........

Beach Stories

There is something about the beach that brings out the best in everyone. We smile at one another more. We wave and wish good will towards strangers, their toes in the sand and surf. We are a fellow ........

Cleaving a New Life

I wandered, drenched in sweat, through four floors of dust-filled alleys and enormous rooms. Four delightful, enticing floors of undiscovered treasures. It was a warehouse sale of culinary, dec ........

A Tale of Two Genders

For the first time in almost two years Tim and I were planning a party for our friends from fifteen to fifty-two years. We have not all been able to connect and recharge due to the darkness of Covi ........

Hearts, Flowers, Candy?

With the approach of Valentine’s Day I examined what romance means to me. In between my dropping pregnant hints to my beloved about how much I adored his previous year’s Valentine’s Day cards, I res ........

My Mother's Hands

The older I become, the more I become my mother. I am a newer upgraded model of the original. Life made my mother and I different, but we are very much the same woman, existing in different eras, ag ........

Sarah's Story

In my quest to discover who Sarah, Consort of Reverend Hezekiah Taylor was, I dove into the history of Newfane Hill, which eventually became New Fane and later, Newfane. What a history this tiny tow ........

Lives Discovered in a Vermont Cemetery

I obsess over each Food for Thought I write. I take at least two weeks to muse over every word, nuance, and grammatical and spelling error on the horizon. Not this time. I am writing off the cuff of ........

Travel Journals: September 4-11, 2001

Journals have preserved every important part of my life, as well as many unimportant ones. They range from thoughtful, to joyous, anxious, sad and incredulous. My travel journals document our trips ........

Transported by Music

“I am on a lonely road and I am traveling, traveling, traveling, looking for something, what can it be?” The words, the intimate beauty of Joni’s voice, as though she were sharing a secret with the ........

Past and Future Christmases

It was the day after Christmas, 2013. My family had departed the day before. The day was quiet and Tim and I are lazy. We are exhausted after trying to keep up with two-year-old Sarah for the past t ........

Book Launch Lessons

I had been preparing for my book launch at the Life Enrichment Center for weeks. For at least three weeks it was the first thing I thought of each morning at around 5:30 am. I lay in bed as the open ........

Barnes & Noble Book Signing and Library Invitation to Read Local!

I was thrilled to be invited to the Barnes & Noble book signing Saturday, January 25. But we authors are no competition for Gasparilla Saturday! I was very grateful to all those who braved Gasparill ........

Murder by Pot Roast

Everytime I cook a pot roast I recreate my mother and grandmother’s time honored recipe: Bottom Round Roast, 2-4 pounds. Brown well on all sides with carrots and one large onion, cut in eighths, in ........

Oxford Exchange 6th Annual Book Fair! April 25, 2020, Independent Bookstore Day!

I am thrilled to be included in the upcoming Oxford Exchange Book Fair! This is a big deal for me, a new author. I have put my heart and soul and many intimate details for the public to view in my m ........

Coronavirus: Being a House Lady, Wedded to Walls

The Coronavirus has reminded me of how very fortunate I am to be a lover of cooking, baking and everything nest related. I admit it. I am a homebody. My mother never taught me how to cook. Nor did ........

Mother's Day Tribute through the ages

Mother’s Day MemoriesGranma Jayne Lisbeth I have always loved Mother’s Day. As a child I spent hours and days conjuring up the perfect gift for my Mom. At the age of seven, I found it: a tiny perfu ........

Our First Tomato

Our First Tomato, A Poem inspired by William Carlos WilliamsWe ate our first tomato tonight. Off the vine. After the evening storm,It was cold, bruised. We should have saved itWe didn ........

Woman's Best Friend: Abbey, May 23, 2020

Womans Best Friend, Abbey5.23.20Abbey was named for Abbey Road. That special, iconoclastic era in our lives. The Beatles trotted across Abbey Road full of confidence. Abbey happily trotted into Robi ........

00:08:46: Guest Blog Contributed by Writer, Journalist, Editor and Personal Historian, Paula Stahel,

PLEASE NOTE: Any images that appear below the post are a result of the links included. No one particular site was highlighted in Paula's original post. ********************************************** ........

Drive-By-Vacations during Quarantine

Even in good times, I am prone to cabin fever. In the past we have spent our summers in Oregon, where summer does not really begin until the end of June. From May to June it rains, storms, mists, is ........

Recipes for Life and Love

In the weeks prior to my mother’s death she said, in and out of consciousness, “Janie. Be sure to baste the chicken. Did you call the neighbors and tell them dinner would be late? Don’t forget to ........

Random Acts of Art: Drive-By-Vacation Day in Dunedin

Our latest call to adventure arrived on the Monday after July 4th. We had been locked in our home throughout the July 4th blasts of fireworks and screaming meanies. We were both screaming meanies ........

Getting To Know Me: Book Launch Video

Dear Readers and fellow writers:I would like to introduce myself to those who haven’t personally met me. I pay tribute to my wonderful supporters. Your emails, postings on my Facebook page and subsc ........

Windows On My World

I am not a very disciplined writer. I dream, I wonder, I procrastinate. Eventually the muse pokes me into action. My dreams guide my writing. I chew over a thought during the day and dream the resol ........

Cobwebs from My Past

I had been discouraged and derailed by my lack of creative output in words. I sit and stare at a blank yellow legal pad, thin green lines mocking me. Empty, a void, shared by so many writers before ........

The Deli Man

Publix is my luxury go-to market. Usually I shop at Walmart, Save A Lot and the Tasty-Cake bread store. We are thrifty. When I am feeling flush with cash I pickup cold cuts and cheese from the Publi ........

Lessons in Humility and Respect

The first illness I remember, Measles, dinner with Raggedy Ann, Great Neck, 1953 in my parent's bed, a rare treatIn the continuing wake of Covid I feel as though I have been sterilizing my life ........

Cleaning closets, finding old lives

In December, 2005, Tim and I moved the contents of our two homes, our shop, the “Funky Bazaar” and Tim’s Art Studio, “Funky As A Monkey” into our new home in Seminole Heights. We stuffed as much of ........

Raising the Dead

I am thrilled to announce I have signed a contract with my publisher, Austin Macauley, to internationally publish my second book, Raising the Dead. I will keep you all updated on the date of publish ........

Hiding in Plain Sight

Twelve years ago I visited Costa Rica with a dear friend who was trying to escape an abusive relationship. She never did. Recently I discovered my photos of our visit to this tropical paradise. O ........