SOL 11/31: Sunset Haiku

 

Sunset beckons me

Nature's marvelous paintbrush

Springtime spectacle

Photo taken by me!

March 7, 2026 

Millcreek, UT

Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for creating this challenge and providing the space and support for us year after year. And thanks to this magnificent community for sharing stories with me and encouraging my writing life.

SOL 10/31: 10 Teasers I Can Never Resist

For this tenth day of slicing, I'm sharing ten words or phrases that never fail to make me click on someone's slice:

 1. Cats (looking at you, Elisabeth)

 2. Books (I love picture books, chapter books, middle grade books, historical fiction, book clubs, bookstores, libraries, author visits  . . . )

 3. Cookies ( Baking delectable cookies is my superpower.)

 4. Grandchildren (just home from visiting the three UT grands for almost two weeks) I'm leaving a link for yesterday's post because I was unable to do so yesterday. Oh, the challenges of technology!

 5. Spiritual Life (always interested in how to strengthen this part of life)

 6. Middle Schoolers (When I retired, I left my heart in sixth grade!)

 7. Family history (Not a genealogist, but I love encouraging folks to write their own stories.) 

 8. Poetry (always new poets and poems to meet . . . Kim, I'd like to meet Clint Smith too!) 

Now I'm stumped, off to look at posts for inspiration.

 9. Lost items (Always searching for something)

10. Buds, blossoms, sunsets, springtime ( I know that's four things, but they're all nature related and I do love alliteration.)

 Happy Day 10 of this month of slicing! 

 

Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for creating this challenge and providing the space and support for us year after year. And thanks to this magnificent community for sharing stories with me and encouraging my writing life.

SOL 9/31: 9 3/4 years ago I became a Grandma!

I'm in a memoir writing group and this was our latest prompt:  

"Scroll back to your photos from 2016 and choose one image that catches your attention. No need to overthink it. 

I'll spare you the lengthy paragraph I wrote summing up all the important (according to me) events of the 2016 calendar year. I totally ignored the advice, "Don't overthink it." Can you tell that I'm an easily distracted writer? Back to my response to the image I ultimately chose.

Beginning in July 2016 I begin to travel more frequently. I make three, yes THREE trips to Virginia to visit Blake and Stefi in July, August, and October of that year because there is now a 3^rd person in their family. I proudly accept the crown as grandmother to my first grandchild, Theodore Faust Behnke, born June 22, 2016. It’s been a delightful almost ten years as grandmother to Teddy and five more grandchildren! I’ve always loved babies and was sad that my two grew up so fast. I looked forward to becoming a grandma from the time that my children married. I watched dear friends become grandparents and hoped to join their exclusive club someday. And in June 2016 it happened. 

Here's the 2016 pic of Teddy (just a little over two weeks old) when we had our first meeting:

And here's a poem I wrote after we met:

Time for another day of
cuddling sweet Teddy, 
kissing his soft forehead, 
nuzzling the down on his head,

absorbing baby molecules,
capturing precious expressions,
observing my son in this new role as Dad,
celebrating the love of his sweet Mama,
murmuring sweet endearments,
taking turns with Grandpa,
singing tender lullabies, 

nuzzling the down on his head, 
kissing his soft forehead,
cuddling sweet Teddy, 
time to plan my next trip. 

What can I say about Teddy? He’s a mini-Blake! He’s a wonderful brother to his two younger sisters. He’s a natural born athlete (definitely not the Behnke genes). I remember watching him scooter around our driveway on Mercer Island with the ease of someone totally at home on wheels, even though he was barely two. I visited Utah the summer he mastered the bicycle and loved watching him fly around the park near his library. I love watching him play soccer, baseball, and basketball when I visit. He likes talking to me about books and spends a lot of time asking me about authors and titles. He has a wonderful sense of humor just like his dad. He knows how to work hard to reach a goal. He is a gentleman who loves opening the doors at church for anyone who needs help. He’s a friendly guy who loves people. His excitement when I come to visit always makes me feel right at home. His arrival prompted three visits to Virginia in 2016, he turned a family of two into a threesome and last night when I watched him play basketball, he made three baskets for his team. And most important of all, his arrival made me a grandma!  

And here's Teddy the night he made those three baskets during my visit:

This Grandma stage of my life is absolutely the best! And I think I finally understand why my mother used to say, "I know you kids will be okay, but I really wish I could stick around to watch the grands grow up." Somehow, I think she's watching over all of us.

 Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for creating this challenge and providing the space and support for us year after year. And thanks to this magnificent community for sharing stories with me and encouraging my writing life.

SOL 8/31: Book Treasures!

When I'm visiting in Utah, I can walk to Savers. I've never ventured beyond the book section of the store. I love finding used books in good condition. And when you buy 4 books, the 5th one is free. Unfortunately, my exploring led to a ten book purchase. Next time I'm here, I need to remember that Tuesdays are 20% off for seniors. I purchased a bag to carry the books to Smith's grocery store about a block away and then decided the books were too heavy to carry home on my walk. Luckily, Superson came to my rescue!

 

My cache of goodies, for under $30!

Three of the books were for me, the rest were wonderful finds for the grands. I listened to A Place to Hang the Moon some time ago. I loved it, but wished I had a copy of my own because there were so many parts I wanted to highlight. When Stars Are Scattered, a long-time favorite graphic novel and National Book Award Finalist, was a hardback in pristine condition. I listened to this one too. Wait, audio for a graphic novel? Yes, it's outstanding! And the third find for me was Pete the Cat's Groovy Guide to Life, filled with famous inspirational quotes and Pete's own pithy brand of wisdom. 

Where do you find used book treasures? I miss our Mercer Island Friends of the Library book sales. Our library in North Carolina doesn't have them.

Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for creating this challenge and providing the space and support for us year after year. And thanks to this magnificent community for sharing stories with me and encouraging my writing life. 

SOL 7/31: 54321 Saturday Reflections

   

I borrowed this structure from Elisabeth who borrowed it from Erika:         

5 Smiles:

• Puzzling with Lily
• Talking books with Teddy
• Playing “Swat the Word” with Ruthie
• Meeting our new grandpup, Dottie
• Attending Roots Tech with the grands’ other grandma, GrandmaBarb

 

4 Words:

• Drippy (the current state of my nose)
• Delighted (watching the snow fall)
• Disappointed (that so many RootsTech sessions I want to attend begin at the same time)
• Determined (to start organizing my digital photos)

 

3 Weekend Plans:

• Final day at RootsTech
• Sunday dinner at Grandma Barb’s house with son’s family and Aunt Amy
• Pumpkin chocolate chip bread baking with the grands

2 Things I Learned:

• Time to partner with AI as I write family history stories
• Chicken soup soothes the body and soul

 

1 Goal for Next Week:

• Polish my presentation for Saturday’s Family History Discovery Day

Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for creating this challenge and providing the space and support for us year after year. And thanks to this magnificent community for sharing stories with me and encouraging my writing life. 

SOL 6/31 & Poetry Friday: Fifteen Years Ago

A recent prompt from my writing group asked us to look at our camera roll from ten years ago and select a photo as a writing prompt. I decided to use this idea beginning with my first year of participating in the slice of life writing challenge in 2012 and limiting the photo choice to March of that year. Today's post does double duty with a haiku for Poetry Friday. Thanks to Karen for hosting and for her poem, "One Way to Live".

 

Rain kissed daffodils

Ebullient dancers of spring 

Harbingers of hope 

Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for creating this challenge and providing the space and support for us year after year. And thanks to this magnificent community for sharing stories with me and encouraging my writing life. 

SOL 5/31 & SJT: Strength from Songs and Scripture

 

With thanks to Leigh Anne Eck for hosting this month on the theme of strength. Check out Leigh Anne's post here where you can find links to posts from other members of our Spiritual Journey Thursday community.

 

This post is doing double duty with Slice of Life and Spiritual Journey Thursday. I think I was inspired to make this collection by Kim Johnson who is writing cento poems this month. 

As I pondered on our theme of strength for this month, I collected scriptures that emphasized strength. I'll share some of those with you. I also looked to the words of hymns which always strengthen my soul. I found a YouTube collection of Hymns for Peace, Strength, and Hope by Rosemary Siemens. Many of the words from Rosemary's collection of hymns found their way into my collection. I've put the song segments in blue. I am grateful for the strength provided through scripture and song from my Savior, as well as the strength provided by the members of our Spiritual Journey Thursday community.

"The Lord will give strength unto his people; the Lord will bless his people with peace." (Psalm 29:11) 

"When sorrows like sea billows roll

Whatever my lot, thou hast taught me to say

It is well, it is well with my soul." (It Is Well with My Soul)

"Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee withersoever thou goest."(Joshua 1:9)

"The Lord is my light; then why should I fear?

By day and by night his presence is near." (The Lord is My Light)

"Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face continually." (1 Chronicles 16:11) 

"I need thee every hour, In joy or pain. 

Come quickly and abide, Or life is vain." (I Need Thee Every Hour)

"The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusted in him, and I am helped. (Psalm 28:7) 

"I'm so glad I learned to trust Him,
Precious Jesus, Savior, Friend;
And I know that He is with me,
Will be with me to the end." ('Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus)

"Wait on the Lord; be of good courage and he shall strengthen thine heart." (Psalm 27:14)

"This is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long;
this is my story, this is my song,
praising my Savior all the day long."  (Blessed Assurance)

"The Lord is my strength and my song." (Exodus 15:12) 

This is my fifteenth year participating in the March Slice of Life Challenge, writing every day during the month of March. Thank you, Two Writing Teachers, for creating this challenge and providing the space and support for us year after year. And thanks to this magnificent community for sharing stories with me and encouraging my writing life.