Life in a Small Town: January 2026

Friday Fotos 2026: #1

Friday Fotos is a post where I can dump some photos from the previous week. The goal is to make me more aware of the beauty and fun in my everyday life. It's not even quite the end of January and I've managed to take some pictures!

Friday, I tried out this new recipe for "Veggie Stew"...except I added some stew meat to it. It's a keeper!

The girls and I spent Saturday lounging, reading, and enjoying a "fire" (courtesy of YouTube) in my office.

I used the remainder of my bird seed from last year and looked out in time to see this cardinal.

We ended up with a dusting of snow when I woke up on Sunday morning. We had some sleet/freezing rain, then quite a bit of rain on Saturday.

Not very many pictures, but enough to do a quick post!

Gold Mine Hodgepodge

Joyce asks the questions, and we provide the answers. See how others answered at From This Side of the Pond.

1. I live in the south so we're pretty much only talking about the weather right now. Give us a weather report from where you live. Does the kind of weather you're having today affect your mood in some way?

As I write this on Tuesday at 11:00 a.m., it's 17 degrees F in the Knoxville area. I woke up to 10 degrees, so the warm-up is on its way! Thank goodness we didn't get all of the ice that Nashville did. In my county, there were no reported power outages. I went to Mass Monday morning; the roads were okay except for ramps on/off a US highway. Since I live on a main road, if I can get out of my driveway, then I'm okay.

2. Avocados, kale, cauliflower and cottage cheese have all had their time to shine. 2026 brings us the year of the cabbage. Is this a vegetable you like? If so, what are some of your favorite dishes that call for cabbage?

Raw cabbage: yes. Cooked cabbage: EWWW. I like a good coleslaw. My mom used to make it with vinegar, salt, and pepper. I'm not sure if she added anything else to it.

3. Was a Cabbage Patch Doll a part of your childhood? Or maybe your children's childhood? What's a toy trend from your childhood you remember wanting for your own?

Cabbage Patch Dolls were a "thing" after my childhood, and my boys definitely weren't interested in it. I wanted an Easy Bake Oven something fierce, but never had one. Maybe Daddy was afraid I'd burn down the house? A childhood friend who lived up the street got one for Christmas, but I don't think she was very interested in it.

4. Something you've spent a lot of time doing lately?

Reading. Which isn't a bad thing at all! I've read a couple of books this month that have been in my Kindle Unlimited for a long time; I've got to clear them out so I can load more.

5. Somehow it's the last week of January...sum up your month in just three sentences.

I'm establishing a routine.

I've been able to stay warm

I've done a lot of reading

6. Insert your own random thought here.

When I googled Cabbage Patch Dolls to see when they were popular, this popped up:

So if you've got one still in the box, you have a gold mine!

Flashback to 2016

As I wrote the answers to the Wednesday Hodgepodge one week, one of the questions was to post a picture from 10 years ago. This seems to be a trend on social media right now. When I looked back, I realized what a really good year that was, and I had trouble deciding on just one picture. (I actually snuck in 2, but only 1 was from 2016.) That gave me an idea for this post.

January

We started off the year quietly at home

February

We made a trip to Baton Rouge to visit MS for the Law School's First Year Parent Weekend

March

We spent Spring Break camping at Edisto State Park, SC

This is one of my favorite pictures of Laika. This was her first trip to the beach.

April

I met Father Leo Patalinghug during the Council of Catholic Women's Convention. He is also known as the "cooking priest"; he won a "throwdown with Bobby Flay".

June

Pepper was my best dog ever. She was a feisty little girl & was my shadow.

July

We took a camping trip to South Dakota & Colorado. YS joined us

Visiting Prairie Berry Winery was one of our favorite stops

August

Random selfie...apparently we had no idea where we should have been looking!

September

My daddy's last birthday...he turned 91

October

Sisters' Weekend. We had a sister & SIL who weren't able to be there

November

We took a road tour of Sevier County that I saw on a local channel. We saw some interesting things that are close to home.

December

We spent the last days of 2016 in Panama City Beach

It was a very good year, indeed!

A Frozen Hodgepodge

Joyce asks the questions, and we provide the answers. See how others answered at From This Side of the Pond.

1. Ice skating, skiing, sledding, snowshoeing, playing in the snow, or a snowy walk...which winter activity do you choose? Have you done any of these activities so far this winter?

Snowy walk. While sledding sounds like a lot of fun, I have to remember my age, and I want to avoid any broken bones! I haven't done any this year since we've had zero snow.

2. Everyone is posting pictures from ten years ago on their social media sites so let's jump on the bandwagon too. Share one photo and one thought to go with said photo from the year 2016. And maybe everyone isn't doing this, but many are and we're going to be part of the fun.

It was interesting to look back to see what I did that year; I had a hard time choosing just one, so maybe a whole post is in order!

During a camping trip to South Dakota/Colorado, we met up with some British friends who were in Colorado visiting her sister. Robert met them a few years earlier (I think) when he was riding his motorcycle through the Continental Divide; they were on a "round the world" motorcycle ride (2-up). I still keep in touch with them every now & then. In fact, this was taken when Robert & I went to Ireland in 2022; they flew over to Dublin for a few days:

So, I cheated and got in 2 pictures for this answer!

3. What's a trend you hope disappears in this new year?

I'm going to shamelessly admit I googled "current trends in the USA". Gosh, I'm old! :) I really hope AI videos just go away. I don't know what to believe anymore. I don't foresee it happening, though.

4. 'They' say there's a day for everything and January 21st proves it. National Granola Bar Day. Do you like granola bars? How about just regular granola? Do you like bars of other kinds?

I'm not big on granola bars. If I'm hungry, they just don't do it for me. But, if I'm going to eat a granola bar, then I'll go for the sweet & salty ones, which defeats the purpose of eating something healthy, I suppose! Sometimes I'll eat some granola on my yogurt, but not very often.

5. A frozen lake, a trickling stream, a raging river, or a deep well...which one describes something about your life right now? Elaborate as much or as little as you like.

Can I say all of them? It depends on the day or even the hour right now. I like the idea of a frozen lake or even a trickling stream, but unfortunately, especially this last week, there have been some raging river and deep well moments.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

The more I think about doing a whole post on what I did 10 years ago, the more I like it. It seems like all I'm posting on this blog is the Hodgepodge. I haven't done my "Friday Fotos" this year since I haven't taken any photos. Maybe my life is more of a frozen lake than I thought it was!

Come back on Friday to see what I did that year.

Head in the Clouds Hodgepodge

Joyce asks the questions, and we provide the answers. See how others answered at From This Side of the Pond.

1. What kind of winter person are you-snow lover, fireplace snuggler, winter adventurer, or indoor hibernator? Elaborate.

I'm a combination of snow lover, fireplace snuggler, and indoor hibernator. I love the snow as long as I don't have to get out in it. Being from the South, we'll have a beautiful snow and (most of the time) it will be gone by lunchtime. I mentioned here that my upstairs fireplace is in a weird spot, so while the idea of hugging the fireplace is ideal, I don't do it a lot because of where it is. Just give me a warm blanket and a good book/movie, and I'm good!

2. The Pantone color of the year is cloud dancer, described as a gentle, billowy off white shade. The color symbolizes 'peace, clarity, quiet reflection, renewal, and a soft reset'. Of the terms just listed which do you need most in your life this winter?

Clarity.

3. Every cloud has a silver lining, on cloud nine, head in the clouds, storm clouds gathering, or cloud of suspicion...which 'cloud' idiom do you most relate to currently? Explain.

Head in the clouds. I'm planning a big semi-solo trip, and I'm hoping I don't have my head in the clouds. When I start having doubts, I remind myself who is putting that doubt in my mind and try to remember that God has this!

4. coconut, cauliflower, cottage cheese, mayonnaise, onions, ranch dressing...of the white foods listed, which would be the hardest for you to give up? Do you like all or any of the foods on the list?

I don't eat any of them on a daily basis, so I don't have an answer to this one. The only one I don't like on the list is cottage cheese.

5. Thomas Wentworth Higginson is credited with this quote-

"How many lessons of faith and beauty we should lose, if there were no winter in our year."

Agree or disagree? Tell us why.

I wholeheartedly agree. It takes rain to appreciate the sunshine. It takes winter to appreciate the spring. It takes bad times to appreciate the good times.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

I wrote a couple of posts on my first solo road trip on my travel blog. I managed to get it all in 2 posts!

The Painted Churches of Texas

History and Fun

Share Your Shelf December 2025

Now that I'm back to reading, this link-up is just what I need. Look at the bottom of the post for the hosts, see what others are reading, and for inspiration for new books to read. Here are my books this month:

Book Six of The Seven Sisters Series by Lucinda Riley. I didn't feel a connection with this sister (Electra), but what a mess she is! Of course, (spoiler alert) she gets her act together and ends up contributing hugely to society. I didn't think this book was as good as the other ones; we'll see how the next book turns out.

I wasn't sure if I was going to get to this book this month, but I did. And I'm glad I did! I thought the Sun Sister wasn't up to par with the others in this series, but this was definitely was. It finished with a real cliffhanger, so I had to read the last book in the series:

Harry Whittaker is Lucinda Riley's son. He wrote the book for her since she passed away before the book was published. He explains in the Forward that she had notes but hadn't planned on organizing and writing the book, but she ended up getting it in order, and he wrote it after she passed away. Well done, Mr. Whittaker! All of the questions in the previous books are answered.

I'm obsessed with WWII and the Resistance, but I haven't read a book from that period in a while. This book did not disappoint. Based on a couple of real people, this book follows 3 young ladies: 1 in New York, 1 in Poland, and 1 in Germany. The NY and German were real people; the German was a doctor at Ravensbrück. At one point, all of their lives intertwine. I read some of it before I went to bed one night, and I couldn't go to sleep because I kept thinking about the situation. It was tough, for sure. It was an excellent book; I would definitely recommend it.

This was the Advent read by Matthew Kelly, who is the founder of Dynamic Catholic. Dynamic Catholic hosts yearly Best Advent Ever and Best Lent Ever. During Advent, he took a section of the book and talked about it in short (usually less than 5 minutes) videos. It took me all month to read, but there are some good nuggets in there. The basis of the book is that finding joy is all about slowing down. It made me realize that, since CH's passing, I have learned to slow down. Well, maybe not as much as I should, but I've got a good start on it.

I can sum this book up in one word: WOW. Cam is a literary agent; Luke is a ghostwriter. They have a 9-month-old baby girl, and it's Cam's first day back to work after maternity leave. The day starts off strange when Luke isn't there to help her get Polly ready and take her to daycare. It gets weirder when there's a commotion (with a lot of police), and Cam discovers Luke is involved...and not in a good way. She keeps repeating that Luke is a good person, so how could he have been involved? There are quite a few twists in this book; I guessed one of them correctly, but it didn't take away from the excitement. This is another must-read!

I picked up this book in the bookshop at the Skellig Experience during my trip to Ireland in June. If you know anything about Skellig Michael, this is a must-read. If you don't know about Skellig Michael, you can click here to learn about it.

Eliza is married to James, a Principal Keeper who has been assigned to Skellig Michael. They have 2 young sons, and soon after arrival, discover Eliza is pregnant. The conditions are harsh; in the book, they only have each other until an Assistant and his wife join them. Then the drama begins. I always say that I know it's a good book if it makes me cry, and this one made me cry. It was a fairly quick read; I read most of it in 1 day.

And now, what (I'm sure) everyone has been waiting for: The Hop Shelf Reads Book.

It is very rare that I would not recommend a book. This one is it. After the first 200 or so pages, I didn't like it. For the next meeting, I actually read over the required number of pages because I had to know what was going to happen. Suffice it to say, that feeling didn't last. Even one member, who said she really liked the book, changed her mind after the third meeting. I have no idea why Mr. Lamb put in some of the things he did; they have no bearing on the book. Suddenly, there would be some random act of perversion that did not need to be included. One lady (who was away for this book) told our facilitator that she read the book 3 times, and told her to encourage us to keep going because the end was worth it. It was not. All I can say is that I'm glad we're done with this one!

If you need ideas for what to read next, check out the hosts' blogs:

Slices of Life

My Joyful Life

Memphis Bridges

Routine Hodgepodge

Joyce asks the questions, and we provide the answers. See how others answered at From This Side of the Pond.

1. What are three words you would use to describe your 2025?

Back to self. Well, actually, I wanted to say that I feel like I'm getting back to my old self, but that's more than 3 words. 😉

2. I ask this question every January, and I always get comments about how we shouldn't be banning words. This is fun and games so just play along : )

Every January 1st since 1976 Lake Superior University has published a list of words they'd like to see banished from the Queen's English. Words may be banished due to misuse, overuse, or just general uselessness (go here to read about how the words are chosen). Here's the list for 2026-

67 • demure • cooked • massive • incentivize • full stop • perfect • gift/gifted • my bad • reach out

Which one (if any) do you use most often? Which one of these words/phrases would you most like to see banished from everyday speech and why? Is there a word you think should have made the list?

I use "perfect" quite a bit; I've also found myself using "gift" quite a bit, as in, "That's definitely not my gift" when talking to a certain sister about her hospitality gift!

67: What does that even mean? I've never heard anyone say it, although I hear it's popular among the high school crowd. Anyway, it's not a word; it's a number.

3. What are your nightly rituals? Is that different from your 'ideal' nightly ritual? If so what's your ideal?

Remove contacts, take off eye makeup with makeup remover, take off foundation with micellar water, wash face, apply moisturizer and gel for rosacea, take medicine, brush my teeth, use the toilet (TMI?), and then I'm ready to get in bed. When I'm in bed, I'll read, set the timer on the tv to go off after an hour (although this usually wakes me up), or I'll listen to an app that has the Liturgy of the Hours (prayers that all religious-priests, brothers, monks, nuns-pray several times each day) on it.

Ideally, I'd love to not have to put the gel on my face, but...! Maybe Joyce didn't want such detailed ritual?

4. January 6th is/was National Bean Day. Do you like beans? Which one is your favorite? Last thing you ate made with beans?

I'm not a big cooked vegetable person. I'll eat them if they're in something else, like kidney beans or navy beans in chili. I do like red beans & rice; I made them last Monday. I'd say lima beans are my least favorite.

5. Are you easily embarrassed? Elaborate.

When I was younger, I was very easily embarrassed. That didn't stop me from doing/saying stupid things, though. Sometimes, something would just slip out, and I couldn't stop it. As I've aged, I'm not easily embarrassed. So what if I say what I'm thinking? I just don't care!

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Speaking of not caring, have you seen this woman on SM? She is a scream, and she is dead-on!

I wrote a post (on my travel blog) on part of my first solo road trip that I took last March. You can find it here.

Friday Fotos 2025: A Recap of the Year

Photo by Designecologist: https://www.pexels.com/photo/image-of-river-on-smartphone-1398339/

As 2025 comes to an end, I want to recap my year in pictures. Hopefully, I'll do better with this series next year.

JANUARY

Laika staying warm and napping

We had a very decent snow
I took a quick solo getaway to spend the night in a place I always wanted to stay.

FEBRUARY

It must have been a fairly warm day...Laika found some sun on the back porch

MARCH

In March, I made my first solo road trip. I drove to Texas and reconnected with some cousins, saw a friend, visited some of the Painted Churches, toured Shiner, learned some Texas history, and also learned some family history. There will be a post with more Painted Churches and more about the trip on my Catholic blog and travel blog, so stay tuned!

The month started with a visit from my BIL, and we managed to get all of the boys together for supper at a local restaurant

On the way to TX I stopped in Vicksburg to go through the Battlepark

One of the first stops was the church where my mom and dad were married. This is my mom's home parish in Cameron, TX.

I found a house that was donated by relatives at the Texas Czech Heritage and Cultural Center in La Grange, TX

This painted church in High Hill, TX is in the community where (I discovered the day after I visited) my great-grandfather settled when he immigrated to the US. He had moved on to Cameron (see 2 pictures above) when this church was built, but his brother and sister would have been parishioners here.

I was so close to Shiner that I couldn't resist touring the brewery. It was a fantastic tour; I'd highly recommend it!

I visited Panna Maria with some cousins. Panna Maria is the oldest permanent Polish settlement in the US. Fascinating history and an amazing cultural center.

I spent the night with another cousin in College Station as I started my journey back home. Gig 'em...WHOOP!

I was treated to a birthday brunch (which ended up being a mini-pub crawl) at Potchke Deli in Knoxville.

I saw this stunning view from the park next to my house.

APRIL

April must have been a boring month...I only have 1 picture to share.

The Easter Vigil Mass is very long (anywhere from 2-3 hours, usually), but I think it is the most beautiful Mass of the year.

MAY

I gained a daughter-in-law in May! They decided to make it "legal" at the courthouse, then have a very small ceremony in Cades Cove in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It was perfect; there were even a couple of bears hanging out at the tree line.

Just outside of the courthouse after making things legal.

In Cades Cove, Great Smoky Mountains

Some friends had a surprise 80th birthday lunch for Mother Gabrielle Marie of the Benedictine Daughters of the Divine Will.

JUNE

I took another tour with Vagabond Tours of Ireland and asked the sister (who wasn't able to go last time) to come with me. We went to some places I'd been to before, but also to some new places. (I have plans to write a post or two on this adventure on Flyin' the Coop.)

Previous Places I've visited:

St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin

Blarney Castle

3 Sisters; Slea Head Drive

Dingle

Kilkee Cliffs

Cliffs of Moher

First Time Visiting:

Tork Waterfall in Killarney National Park

Aughnanure Castle

Stairway to Heaven, Garinish Island

Kenmare

Daniel O'Connell's house; Derrynane

Portmagee

Loop Head

Poulnabrone, The Burren

Pine Island. CH & I stopped near here when we were on our campervan trip in Ireland in 2022.

Kylemore Abbey

Cong. "The Quiet Man" (John Wayne & Maureen O'Hara) was filmed here.

The oldest bar in Ireland in Athlone

Kerry Cliffs

Cahergal Stone Fort

After I returned home, I had to put the finishing touches on a reception for YS & DIL. Since the ceremony in Cades Cove was very small (immediate family only), I held a reception for them at the church for my side of the family and a few of the couple's friends.

3 siblings weren't able to attend, but it was a decent turnout!

1 of my sisters made a beautiful cake and cupcakes for the event.

I don't know what I'd do without my sisters! (1 sister couldn't be there)

The happy couple!

I think I would have been cleaning up the church hall for days if it hadn't been for my sisters. They helped decorate, organize, and clean up after. In full disclosure, everyone pitched in to help clean up...even a brother and brothers-in-law!

JULY

Another boring month...only 1 picture.

MS' cat, Mr. Rumpelstiltskin (Mr. Rumpels or Rumps for short!)

AUGUST

Walks with Gurl Dogg

High School Football projected on the screen on the back porch

SEPTEMBER

Walks with Smokey (OS' Blue Tick Hound):

An owl feather

Plus:

A trip to Hanceville, Alabama, to the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament. While there, I reconnected with a friend with whom I went to church in SC

View from the cabin during Sisters' Weekend

OCTOBER

I added 2 new countries to the places I've traveled. I went on pilgrimage, "In the Footsteps of St. Paul" and visited Greece and Turkiye. Not to sound like a broken record, but this is also on my list of "to do posts" for my Catholic and travel blogs.