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Mostly Cloudy ~ High: 80°F ~ Low: 57°F Wednesday, May 22, 2013 |
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My coffee dilemma
Posted Thursday, May 16, at 3:58 PM Teaching an old dog a new trick! This weekend, I finally learned how to operate my son-in-law's coffee pot. It's one of those fancy rigs that makes one gourmet cup at a time. The first night I stayed with them, my daughter set it up for me, so it would be all ready to go on Saturday morning. She put a little cartridge of coffee in one compartment and poured a cup of water in another compartment...
Every spring, one of the first wildflower/weeds/ground covers to bloom in this area provides a carpet of purple. If you look closely, the little plant appears to have three or four perky little giraffe (or maybe llama) heads poking up to look around at you. I think they're very sweet, but I know that most gardeners hate to see them on their premises...
All week, the news has focused on the horrific bombing at the Boston Marathon. The event attracts runners from all over the world, including Southeast Missouri. Just a few days ago, I read that the U.S, ambassador to Czechoslovakia, also known as the Czech Republic, was trying to give the world a geography lesson by explaining the difference between "Czech" and "Chechnya."...
Part One of our amazing journey: I can't remember what year I first joined the Stoddard County Historical Society (membership--$5.00 a year), but I know we've discussed the old Bloomfield Road more times than I can possibly recall. In fact, when it comes to the history of this region of Southeast Missouri, everything leads back to the old road from Cape to Bloomfield...
Reading a shocker If the turn-out for the March 18, 2013 Advance Community Library Book Club meeting was any indication, only four members of the club tackled the task of reading Upton Sinclair's riveting and gory exposé of the practices which led to the 1906 passage of the Pure Food and Drug Act...
Mama was a jokester! In a recent conversation with a reader, I mentioned that I had once sent an Alaskan moose-poop necklace to my mother several years ago, when we lived in Fairbanks. Let me first explain--Alaskans, we soon learned, have a very "earthy" sense of humor. ...
I meet another goat herder If there's something I've learned about raising goats, it's that the stories last longer than the goats. We were visiting family in the great state of Texas this weekend, when the gentleman sitting across the table eating catfish with us said, "You've raised goats? Heck, so have I!"...
The power of song When I was a kid, growing up in one city or another, I always knew that wherever we went, Mom would sing alto in the church choir. She loved it. Back then, I didn't know how really rare a good alto was, and I'm afraid that I seriously underrated her skills to harmonize, since the sopranos sang the melody. Like most listeners, I probably thought it took more talent to sing the high notes than the low ones...
Seven-Mile Bridge is the vision of one man The 7-Mile Bridge, also known as the Overseas Highway, is one of the ten longest bridges in the world. It connects Key West to the rest of Florida and has to be seen to be believed. All the more amazing is that the original bridge, completed in 1912, is still standing beside the new one, which was completed in 1983...
Gifts from the dogs Several mornings ago, I found another dead armadillo in my front yard. The pathetic armored animal was right out there with several assorted deer parts--particularly skulls--which my dogs have dragged down from the woods to play with, while I was gone to Florida...
Thomas Alva Edison was born on Feb. 11, 1847 and died on Oct. 18, 1931, at the age of 84. He has been called "the greatest inventor of all time," and "the most influential figure of the millennium." I recently had occasion to visit his estate in Fort Myers, Florida and came away with monumental respect for this brilliant man...
Yesterday, I saw this photo on my Facebook page. It made me very proud. My son Todd posted a shot of his three oldest children, age 8, 6, and 4, playing in the snow in Minnesota. I've been watching the news, and I'm well aware that temperatures in the Minneapolis region have dipped as low as 27 below zero with the wind chill figured in...
On the Road in southwest Florida One of the additional "perks" for residents and retired "snow birds" in southwest Florida is the weekly farmer's markets which spring up in several urban locations throughout the state. I recently dropped in on the Naples Green Market, which is set up in the Coconut Point Shopping Mall parking lot in Estero every Thursday...
As the State of Florida enters the third week of the great 2013 "Python Challenge," over a thousand people from across the world have paid their $25.00 and registered to hunt the unknown numbers of Burmese pythons lurking in the Florida Everglades. According to some unconfirmed reports, there are 350,000 of the slithery reptiles occupying the Florida swamps...however, no one has enlightened us with how they have arrived at this figure. ...
21 pythons and counting! At 1 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 12, 2013, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission declared the opening of the "Python Challenge," a month-long contest which has attracted more than 1,000 amateur and professional "python hunters" to the Florida Everglades...
Goodbye, Michael! Yesterday, I learned that my cousin Mike died. It's a terrible thing to contemplate from my particular vantage point on an 80-degree day in southern Florida, but there it is. My old childhood chum is gone. Growing up, I was an undeniable tomboy, and my cousins Mike and Steve, only slightly younger than I, were my favorite "buds." No dolls or sissy tea parties for us! We were immersed in the rootin' tootin' life of the American West! When they came to visit, we took our dimes and walked down the alley to the movie theater on Saturday mornings to watch Whip Wilson and Lash LaRue beat up the bad guys in the black hats.. ...
On the Road Oldtimers in our area of Southeast Missouri are not unfamiliar with the pristine wildernesses that were once a part of this region. A drive west to Zalma. Mo. will take the motorist past a sign which identifies what was once the Dark Cypress Swamp, a region where, history tells us, hunters could get lost. Now, because of the draining of the swamps, this region no longer exists...
Wonder Works in Panama City I took this photo Sunday but had no idea what I was seeing. Later, I googled it and found the description below. It sounds like something a bit too active for me, but I'm sure my grandchildren would love it! Description: WonderWorks™ is an amazing Panama City Beach attraction where scientific principles and fun come together to provide an unrivaled educational experience. ...
You never know what you'll see on the road. Today's trip south through Alabama including a brief encounter with the tiniest camping trailer I've ever seen! I googled it and discovered that it's called a Little Guy Teardrop Camping Trailer, manufactured in Sugarcreek, Ohio by Amish craftsmen...
You can't teach an old cat new tricks! Today my heart is saddened, because I have to box up and return one of the best Christmas presents I ever received--if only it had worked! My sister and my three children went together and bought me a modern miracle of technology, an amazing accomplishment of the truly great minds of the 21st Century, a device which promised to revolutionize the working woman's life and add 10 years to her pitiful life span...
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Madeline DeJournett is the Advance writer for the North Stoddard Countian. A retired high school English/history teacher, she spent 32 years teaching in 5 schools in Missouri and Alaska. These days, she lives quietly with a menagerie of wild and domestic animals on 52 secluded acres in the remote Tillman hills south of Advance. She can be contacted at advancensc@sbcglobal.net or by phone at 573-722-5322.
Hot topics My coffee dilemma(1 ~ 6:32 PM, May 16)
Missouri flowers or weeds?
Where in the world is Chechnya??
Historical society travels old Bloomfield Road
"Jungle" book review
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