"A Rough Patch" Written By Teresa Howell | Beth came out for coffee early one frosty morning, back in December. “I’m sorry,” I said. “I don’t have even a slice of fruit cake to go with it. I’m feeling a bit like Scrooge this year, and I haven’t gotten the Christmas baking spirit yet.” “Well, get ready for it,” she said. “I think I saw the Ghost of Christmas Past out in your yard. But in this frosty fog, it might have been my headlights on that crabapple tree you … [Read more...]

A Rough Patch Written By Teresa Howell | My daughter Lindsey and I were taking a walk with Beth the other day, looking at the way people had decorated for Halloween. Some of the comments Lindsey made seemed to be drawing an unfavorable comparison between my décor and that of the neighbors. “Hey,” I said. “I’ve nearly every element in my yard that we’ve seen so far, except the scarecrow.” “Your yard is pretty scary,” Beth said. “And you do so have scarecrow. I’m … [Read more...]