I’ll serve up some serious stories as well as some silly side dishes. Hopefully, you’ll find the prices affordable, the service friendly, and no unpleasant side effects from your visit. Comments on your experience here are always welcome, and I hope you’ll come back soon (and maybe bring a friend). If you want to know when a new dish is added to the menu, register and check the box at the bottom of your profile page. You will be notified by email when a new blog is posted. Bon appetit! CW

Bonnie and I needed Halloween props and candy for an upcoming Trunk or Treat event at our church. We got a lead from a friend that a local box store had just what we needed. She forgot to tell us, though, that our money would be no good there. We found candy-scented markers, Play-Doh, bottles of bubbles, glow sticks.  And what kid can resist slime? We tossed three giant bags of fun-size candies into our cart as well. Wow, $30 each, but at least the shelf labels promised a two-dollar instant refund per bag at the …

Back in December Bonnie and I watched a Hallmark Christmas movie almost every day with our lunch. I like them for the most part—because I like almost everything about Christmas. However, when our preacher exposed his negative feelings from the pulpit towards “those Hallmark guys,” that’s the closest I’ve ever come to saying “amen” out loud in church.  Probably good I didn’t. The last time somebody shouted “amen,” everybody turned and stared. Not only that, but the preacher lost his place. (Kidding, but it could happen.) Those Hallmark guys give everyday husbands a bad name. They …

It was a dark and stormy night. Definitely not a night to be separated from the comforts of home. The weary travelers shivered as they searched for the star that had guided them in the past. After all this anticipation, would they be late for the big event? Then, a momentary pause in the heavy snowfall revealed its glow—and our friends pulled into our driveway just in time to visit our Christmas open house before it was over. Every Christmas for the last few decades, we’ve had a lighted star that has occupied a spot …

I was shopping at my favorite tool store when I ran into one of the horticulturists from our county extension center. After we exchanged greetings, she reminded me of the potluck lunches the center hosts every month during the winter for area master gardeners who volunteer in the community garden. I had a perfect non-attendance record for these winter social affairs and hadn’t planned on ruining it anytime soon. But there’s something about a personal invite. I told her thanks, I might come.      A few weeks later, on the day of the next …