I became a vegetarian just over a year ago and one unexpected benefit is a renewed interest in trying new recipes. A month ago I bought dried black beans. I had no idea what the difference was between the canned version I usually bought versus soaking and cooking them myself, but I thought it time…
Author: renaissancerebecca
Free-Spirited Spinster?
I stood on the front porch of the Unwound yarn shop in Blowing Rock, NC, chatting with three women I’d met just a few minutes earlier inside the shop. They were on a day trip to the area. I was two weeks into my sabbatical year, taking my sweet old time driving down the Blue Ridge Parkway….
A Toast: To Not Drinking My Way to Happiness
“I called to say I love you,” I told my father. “Have you been drinking?” he asked. “No.” “Oh–you sound really happy.” I was, but his surprise at my happiness stopped me cold. Was it really that unusual that I sound happy? Perhaps it was because calls to Dad always had a purpose, and–like him–I…
The Power of Wow
It’s a very tiny book. It’s so small, in fact, that twice I went to the library to check it out, twice the library computers said it was there, and twice neither I nor the librarians could find it. ”It’s a small book,” they told me. ”This has happened before…” Click here to read more.
In Loving Memory of Grandma Doss
Grandma Doss, as usual, said she didn’t need any gifts for her birthday. But this was her 80th and we wanted to do something special for her. I knew she didn’t need any more “stuff”, but wanted to some way thank her for all she meant to us growing up. As I reminisced about growing…
Everyone Does Their Own Religion
I knew this one would make a bit of a splash…I thank the editor of Busted Halo (Barbara Wheeler) for publishing it last week. ____________ I have a confession to make: I don’t go to church on Sundays. Nor any other day for that matter. Click here to read more.
Me? An Introvert?
“Do you consider yourself an introvert or an extrovert?” he asked me. We met just three hours earlier, and already our conversation had covered religion and poverty, our life stories, and now personal reflection. But this happens all the time when I get in a conversation with the unconventional-traveler types: in this case, a couchsurfer….
Lessons in Simplifying Your Stuff
Our new pope decided he preferred a two-room suite to the 12-room apartment his predecessors have occupied since the early 1900s. He cited reasons of simplicity and community. Simplicity is making news, but it’s not a new concept. Jesus inspired his followers to leave everything behind and, “Come, follow me.” But I don’t think Peter walked away…
Alternative Ways to Walk The Camino
There he was again, up ahead of me on the trail, walking his bicycle, his backpack fastened to its seat. I had seen him a few times over the last week but never once did I see him actually riding that bicycle. Click here to read more. (I’ve gotten a bit behind on linking my…
Changing a Habit
I’ve gotten a bit behind on linking my bustedhalo.com posts to this site, so here’s one that was published a couple weeks ago: ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Not too long after I returned from walking the 500-mile Camino to Santiago my mother said, “Your brother-in-law is very impressed.” “Really?” “Yeah. He gave you three days.” “Three days? He didn’t think I’d…
RenaissanceRebecca 