Month: February 2019

Dirt Road Ramblings (formerly Joanie Tales)

When I made my return to blogging a few weeks ago, I mentioned that “Joanie Tales” was my new blog’s default title only because I couldn’t think of anything better. I also needed something I could come up with quickly before I lost my courage to start blogging again.

“Joanie Tales” seemed like a fitting spin-off from “LabTails” (my blog from years ago for which I was known best), a name that could be easily remembered by those who know me, and one that suited my wear-my-hair-back-in-a-ponytail style.

It worked as a starter name. But only as a starter name.

I don’t, however, think “Joanie Tales” fits. It isn’t accurate.

Continue reading Dirt Road Ramblings (formerly Joanie Tales)

Friday’s Smile

Okay, so the proposed Friday Funny feature turned out to be more than I could handle.  Ack!

What can I say? I’m a wimp.

Here’s the thing: I may find funny things about which to write nearly every day, and I can find them just about anywhere, but what I think is funny may not be what you think is funny. Humor is quirky that way. Last week’s happy idea of The Friday Funny morphed, in my mind, into a writer-blocking, ear-chirping Godzilla chanting, the Friday Funny must be rib-tickling, knee-slapping, guffaw-inducing, make-’em-laugh-’til-they-snort hilarious, or you’re done. My anxiety whispered that whatever I wrote had to be stand-up-comedian funny. Johnny Carson funny.  Mrs. Maizel funny.  Or I’d fail.

No pressure, eh?  So…

Continue reading Friday’s Smile

Wigglebutt Wednesday 1

It’s our first Wigglebutt Wednesday at Joanie Tales. Yay!

It seems appropriate that our first Wigglebutt Wednesday happens to fall on the day before Valentine’s Day and the day after the 2019 Westminster Dog Show.

[Sidenote: I’ll spare you how disappointed I am that a Wire Fox Terrier took Best in Show yet again, for the 15th time, when a bouviers des Flandres, a Havanese, and a longhaired Dachshund (breeds that have *never* won Best In Show at Westminster) were in the running. I was personally rooting for Bean, the Sussex Spaniel (his breed has taken Best in Show one time before, I believe, in 2009), but I would have been thrilled for a historic win by a different breed than had ever taken the Westminster crown before.  Anything but another Terrier. Geesh. Oh well. C’est la vie.]

Anyhoo, today’s post falls between our culture’s celebration of canines and its celebration of love. How fitting.

Continue reading Wigglebutt Wednesday 1

Field of Dreams

WARNING: Lots of reading ahead! (If you’re not into long posts, scroll on by.)

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The south field

Some of you may wonder what that field is in the photo above. When I first started this blog, I used this image as my header image, the fixed image you see at the top of the blog’s home page. I have since changed my blog design, so the field image is no longer the header image.  I’ve inserted it here at the top of this post instead.

The field you see at the top of this post is our (DH’s and my) “Field of Dreams.”  No, we don’t expect Kevin Costner (who played the Iowa farmer in the movie) to turn our field into a cornfield-then-baseball-diamond, nor do I expect the 1919 Chicago White Sox team to show up and play ball. That’s someone else’s story.

This field represents our story, and it’s filled with as much heritage and meaning for us as Kevin Costner’s cornfield meant for the character he played.

Here’s our story:

Continue reading Field of Dreams

Wigglebutt Wednesdays and The Friday Funny

As you know, I’ve only just started blogging again after several years away.

Quite frankly, I’d forgotten how much goes into creating and maintaining an active site, let alone how much it takes for my creative process to dump itself onto a page.

I am also, admittedly, out of writing shape; I become winded quite easily these days (*she pants after writing the first three sentences*).  😉

But I’m committed.

So, to make blogging easier, especially since I’m out of shape and not as fast as I used to be (oh boy, is that ever a topic for another day!), I got to thinking about assigning themes or categories to specific days of the week (like many already do on FaceBook, other social media, and in blogs).

Continue reading Wigglebutt Wednesdays and The Friday Funny