![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/999367f595.jpg\")
You never know what will greet you at the back door!
\n\n\nWe leave for the beach the end of next week. I usually procrastinate preparations till I’m down to the wire then I’m exhausted by the time the trip starts. I don’t want to do that this time. The new electric jack for the camper arrived yesterday and Mr. FixIt wanted to get it put on right away. I hemmed and hawed and looked at the weather report. It’s going to rain every day till next Tuesday. I really don’t want to push it because…what if something’s wrong and I need parts or whatever? Can’t risk it, so we started the project.
\n\n\nMr. FixIt has had trouble with fine motor skills in his hands ever since he had his two strokes five years ago. I often have to be his hands because he either can’t manipulate things like screws or bolts between his fingers or he doesn’t have the strength to grasp something tight enough with his hands. He was having trouble with one of the bolts that held the old jack in place, so I got the “cheater bar” out of the garage. That’s a pipe a little bigger around than the handle of the wrench you’re using. It’s about three feet long and it gives you leverage to loosen the tightest bolts. One twist and I had it off there.
\n\n\nI wanted to set the jack in place a quarter turn from the original position so I could have room to open the tailgate of the truck all the way when the camper is hooked up. However, the only way that would work was if we drilled a new hole. And if we did that, it wouldn’t be threaded for the bolt to attach. So I gave up on that idea. It wan’t long till we got that thing on and got everything put away.
\n\n\nBy the time we were finished it was time for supper. I don’t know about you, but when I don’t have a lot of time to cook a meal, I love a good Hot Ham & Cheese with chips and call it good. You can’t really go wrong with a sandwich supper! Mr. FixIt has a procedure today, then I’m going to get started on meal planning and packing the kitchen boxes for the trip. Since we are all about saving money these days, I will pack most of the food we need and take it with us. As you can imagine, the food in the grocery stores on the Outer Banks is pretty expensive. We’ll pack the meat in the freezer compartment of the camper fridge. We’ll have things like tacos one night and taco salad the next. Spaghetti one night and homemade pizza the next. Chicken and noodles one night and chicken sandwiches the next. Any time you can make two meals out of one package of meat, it saves a lot of money. My biggest hurdle will be our bread. I imagine we’ll have to buy bread when we’re down there. *sigh*
\n\n\nI’m hoping we have some warm weather when we’re down there. It’s not nearly as much fun when it’s cold! Hopefully, we can supplement our food budget with fresh fish!
\n\n\n🌷💛🌷
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n“Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”” Hebrews 13:5 NLT
\n\n
***Gratitude Journal***\n\n", "date_published": "2025-04-02T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2025/04/02/time-to-get-movin.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","Camping","Grace"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2025/02/15/the-never-ending-phone-call.html", "title": "The Never Ending Phone Call", "content_html": "\n
I am grateful we have this opportunity to get away for a few days to spend by the ocean. The fact we have our health and can still pull a camper is a bonus blessing.
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/4ce685fd61.jpg\")
Last fall when Mr. FixIt and I were on our anniversary trip to the Outer Banks, we used a transponder for the tolls. When we come home from the beach, we always get a statement in the mail from the WV Parkways Authority telling us how much we paid in tolls and how much is left in our account. We don’t even open those because the account is automatically refilled from our bank.
\n\n\nWell, we received another statement two weeks ago and I knew we hadn’t traveled recently. I opened it and apparently our transponder wasn’t read at one of the toll booths. The normal toll is $9.50 when pulling a camper. So now, not only did I owe the original toll, I have been charged $25 in Violation Fines, $10 First Notice Fee, and $15 Second Notice Fee for a total of $59.50.
\n\n\nI have been trying to call them every day and I’m always well over 150th in line…sometimes 200+. Wait times on the phone have been over two hours no matter what time of the day I call. I’ve emailed them twice and sent a message through their website, to no avail. Last night, I finally was told I was 85th in line and my wait time would ONLY be 96 minutes. I stayed online, listening to their abysmal music broken by periodic updates on my queue status and how long my wait would be. (As it turned out, it took three hours on the phone to resolve the transponder issue. Victory!)
\n\n\nWhy does it take forever on these things? Cutbacks? I mean…HOW many people could be calling the turnpike people on an average day, right? I know this is a state agency and it doesn’t have anything to do with the cutbacks currently being enacted in DC. But, I have a feeling we’re going to have a lot more trouble resolving things like this in the future.
\n\n\nWe’ve become so accustomed to instant gratification. Ever since the dawn of the internet, we’ve been moving faster and faster. Information is thrown at us so fast, we cannot possibly commit things to memory. I remember when I was a lot younger, we had to remember all of our contact phone numbers. And addresses, birthdays, and appointments. Now we run around with a computer in our pockets that has taken control of our lives. Not all of us, of course. But, most of us.
\n\n\nOur brains have been hijacked and voluntarily held hostage by an electronic gatekeeper. We’ve handed over the keys to the kingdom and I’m just so over it. The world has become so complicated and much smaller than we could have ever imagined. We can find out anything about anything with a tap on a screen. Sometimes it just feels like we are puppets on a string. Maybe this is Oz and there’s really IS a Wizard on the other side of the curtain.
\n\n\nI don’t know what the answer is. For a number of reasons, I can’t unplug completely. I have to be available to people that need me. But I do long for the simpler days before all these shiny things were dangled in front of us like a carrot on a string. Progress is not perfection.
\n\n\nOn another note, we went to town yesterday for breakfast as our Valentine. I should have known, when we agree not to get gifts…well, yeah. Mr. FixIt had a sweet card and some chocolates in my Big Red Chair. I made it up to him with a homemade pizza with sourdough crust last night. Ohhhhh, yummmmm! I used the same master recipe of Kate’s Soft Sourdough Sandwich dough for the crust and it was perfect. It got a big thumbs up from the hubs!
\n\n\n💜
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Romans 12:12 NIV
\n\n
***Today’s Gratitude***\n\n", "date_published": "2025-02-15T02:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2025/02/15/the-never-ending-phone-call.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","Wisdom","Kindness"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2025/01/29/make-it-a-good-day.html", "title": "Make It a Good Day", "content_html": "\n
Today I am grateful for the patience to wait for the goodness in people. When I finally got to a live person on my phone call, I told her how grateful I was to finally be able to reach someone who could help me. Instead of expressing my frustration in reaching someone after two weeks, countless phone calls and four hours on the phone, I greeted her with relief and thanked her tremendously for doing the hard stuff. In the end, she totally dismissed the charges and helped me fix the issue that triggered the late fee. Win-Win!
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/3276270083.jpg\")
Monday was such a bummer finding Grandma’s house had been broken into. I sat with those feelings of disappointment, anger, confusion, disbelief, and violations for a while. Then, like I always do…I had a little conversation with myself. I could carry it, or I could do what I could and make it a good day. I called the Deputy Sheriff and answered all his questions then I sent all the photos I took and he said he’d look into it. I know it’s low priority and nothing may come of it, but I did all I could do and moved on.
\n\n\nMy big chore of the day was baking bread. We were down to just a few slices of sandwich bread so that was on the docket. RuthAnn Zimmerman shared “Kate’s Soft Sourdough Sandwich Bread Master Recipe” from the blog “Venison for Dinner” the other day and I decided to try it. I’ve been getting mixed results with my sourdough. Sometimes it’s light and airy and sometimes it’s like a brick. I’ve had to throw too much of it away. When I made King Arthur’s Sourdough English Muffins last week, the recipe called for sourdough starter AND regular yeast. It was exactly what I was looking for in an everyday loaf…the tang of sourdough and the predictable rise of store-bought yeast.
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/b18b671f5c.jpg\")
The recipe called for whole milk, but we don’t really drink milk anymore. It said you could substitute plant-based milks or buttermilk. I had some buttermilk in the back of the fridge from baking biscuits the other day so that’s what I used. The dough was perfect, easy to work with and shape, and made a really good loaf. The flavor was wonderful and the crumb held up to spreading a shmear of butter and jelly. There is nothing like a warm piece of bread fresh from the oven!
\n\n\nMy friend Loretta gave me a jar of black raspberry jelly the other day and I could hardly wait to use it. My grandma always made what she called “black cap jelly.” It isn’t made with traditional red raspberries. And black caps aren’t blackberries either. Black raspberries are smaller, more tart, and have a thinner skin than blackberries. Loretta went berry picking last summer and didn’t have time to make the jelly so she canned the juice. Now she can pull a jar of juice from the shelf and make this elixir of the gods anytime she wants. And I was a lucky recipient of this treasure.
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/60be615f72.jpg\")
I remember going berry picking with Grandma when I was a little girl. I wanted to relive the experience one summer when I came back for a visit. I took my berry bucket and hiked up on the hill to the old home place. It took me a little while to get my bearings and find the berry bushes. Everything was grown up and unrecognizable but I finally found them. It was a little late in the berry-picking season and I didn’t get very many. But I did get something for my efforts…chiggers!
\n\n\nI don’t know if you’ve ever had chiggers or not, but those little buggers are awful. They are a tiny mite that is so small you can only see them with a magnifying glass. They live in moist, grassy areas like lawns, brush, and out in the woods. To keep them at bay, you should wear long pants and socks pulled up over the bottoms of the pant legs. A long sleeved shirt is a must. The problems is, they’re active right in the peak of the summer heat and humidity and no one wants to bundle up like that when it’s hot.
\n\n\nIt took me a while to realize what was wrong when my ankles and the tops of my feet were on fire. Itchy red spots broke out around my waist and ankles. I was miserable. Calamine lotion did nothing. I used an old home remedy and painted each spot with clear nail polish. I’m not sure if it was that or just the tincture of time, but they finally got better after several weeks and I was left with dark brownish purple spots for quite a while.
\n\n\nAfter our snack of bread and tea, I went out to help Mr. FixIt take out the old headlights on his truck and install the new ones my bonus son gave him for Christmas. It took a little trial and error but we got one side finished before it got too chilly. Mr. FixIt has a little trouble with the dexterity of his fingers so he’s my walking instruction manual and I’m his hands. We make a good team. I learn about things that really interest me, and he still feels useful.
\n\n\nI have to run to town today to get the tags on my truck and get it inspected. I also need to get the oil changed and the tires rotated but I’m not sure I can get all of that done in one day. We’ll see!
\n\n\n❄️🩵❄️
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n“However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.” Ephesians 5:33 ESV
\n\n
#baking, #mechanics, #marriage
\n\n", "date_published": "2025-01-29T02:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2025/01/29/make-it-a-good-day.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","Farm Life","Baking","Cooking","In the Kitchen"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2024/05/10/singin-for-my-supper.html", "title": "Singin’ For My Supper", "content_html": "\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/6a9262009a.jpg\")
Our Pretty Pink Peonies
\n\n\nMy grandma used to say, “You have to sing for your supper.” She didn’t mean I had to literally sing for her in order to get something to eat. What she meant was, nothing comes for free…you have to work for it. My sweet husband is very tolerant of my escapades, from gallivanting around the country alone with the camper to ripping out the bedroom and building twin beds five days before a trip in said camper. He rarely ever asks me to do something. He doesn’t have to. I know what needs to be done and I know when it’s my turn to do it.
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/bd9202c72a.jpg\")
Peonies
\n\n\nMr. FixIt’s buddy was in town yesterday and needed a little help with something so after breakfast, I kissed him goodbye and told him to have fun. Now, when we mow, I do the big area on the tractor and he uses the push mower in the fenced area around the pool. One may think that isn’t equitable, but my sweetheart suffers from a bad back and it’s all he can do to mow that piece of ground. His back was really bothering him when we mowed early this week and he couldn’t finish the back corner.
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/ca7db21d14.jpg\")
Kitty Beans
\n\n\nHe would never, ever ask me to do that on top of what I’d already done. But, I know when it’s time to pick up the slack. I’m leaving next week to camp with my bestie Gail and leaving him here on his own. As soon as he left yesterday, I went out and mowed the rest of the lawn. As I was surveying my handy work, I realized the peonies needed to be tied up because rain was coming. If the blossoms hit the ground, they’re gone in a heartbeat. I went in the house for kitchen twine and the scissors and tied them. Then I figured since I was at it, I’d best go out front and tie those peonies up as well. They are about a week behind the back ones, but they’ll need tying soon so I might as well do it while I have the tools and the time.
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/0fae8170e2.jpg\")
Before
\n\n\nOnce that was finished, I got the loppers out and started cutting back the vegetation that grows on the back fence. There is about a six foot space between the fence and the wall of the pole building. Sumac grows there like crazy along with slippery elm saplings, the occasional maple tree, and a boatload of wild grape and honeysuckle vines that weave it all together into and unruly mat of madness. Every couple of years, we have to really get in there and cut it all out. I am committed to spraying the whole area with a solution of white vinegar, salt, and Dawn dish soap to kill it all back in the spring so we don’t have to keep doing this.
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/f36b4b89bb.jpg\")
After
\n\n\nI started losing steam along about 5:00. I knew it was going to rain at around 6:00 and I wanted to get all those branches and vines hauled out to the burn pile before Mr. FixIt got home. It isn’t completely finished because I didn’t get the rake out for the little bits, but it’s done enough for now. As soon as I walked in the door, the rain started pouring. Good timing! A welcome shower and time in front of the fan to cool down was the perfect end to a good day’s work.
\n\n\n🌸☀️🌸
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2024-05-10T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2024/05/10/singin-for-my-supper.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","Farm Life","Marriage"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2024/05/08/jumping-in-with-both-feet.html", "title": "Jumping In With Both Feet", "content_html": "\n“Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense.”
\nProverbs 12:11 NIV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/177a86eefa.jpg\")
Our First Peony of the Year!
\n\n\nMonday was our first day back from the beach trip and it was spent running to town to refill medicines. So, yesterday was our first full day at home. I’d like to say we slept in, but we were both awake at 7:30. I fixed our favorite breakfast of grits and eggs while we waited for the dew to dry off the grass. The former Mrs. FixIt was here with our daughter checking on the cat while we were gone and she said the grass really wasn’t out of control. However…in the days since, there were high temps and plenty of rain so you can imagine what the fields looked like.
\n\n\nThe sun broke through the clouds around 10:30 and I ran out to hop on the tractor. I usually mow on Level 3 but I chose 4 yesterday to keep from overtaxing the mower deck. I’ve been toying with the idea of leaving both fields to grow wild. It would be good for the pollinators and it would save us time and money. I suggested the idea to Mr. FixIt and he warned me we’d have to get someone in to run a brush hog in the fall and probably again in the spring. Getting good help is hard anymore. In an effort at compromise, I let my artistic self “sculpt” the far field. (The near field grows mostly field grasses and very little in the way of wildflowers.)
\n\n\nThe far field was covered with blooming Dead Nettle, Buttercups, and there are an abundance of bud getting ready to bloom. It looks like Daisies will be next. I selected the areas the most concentrated with blooms and carved out more gardens with paths crisscrossing the entire field. I think I have tripled my pollinator area with this new plan, cutting down on time spent mowing and less money spent on gas. The garden I started last year is looking really healthy. I’ve seen turtles in there twice this year and it’s a microcosm of activity. Lots of bees and butterflies.
\n\n\nThe grass was so thick and damp that I had to run the tractor really slowly to keep from overloading the mower and popping the belt off. I soon discovered, running the mower slowly means running the mower longer and eats up the gas. I can usually do the whole place with one tank plus part of a refill. I ran out of gas twice yesterday and had to take a break in the middle to go to the service station over the hill. Still, I was left with a lot of grass laying on the top because I don’t use the bagger. We have so much moisture here that the clippings break down really fast and it mulches the fields.
\n\n\nMr. FixIt ran the push mower in the fenced yard and along about 4:00, he caught my attention. There was a bad storm coming in ten minutes and fortunately, I only had about five minutes left to mow. I no soon got the mower put away and the sky opened up with a crash of thunder and hard rain. The inside yard only has a few more runs to get finished but it will have to wait between rainstorms.
\n\n\nAs I was heading out to the camper last night to write, a weather alert came across the TV with a tornado watch for our area. Now, y’all know I’m a bit of a risk taker, but even I will heed that warning. I’ve seen way to many campers tossed and turned like the tin cans they are and I don’t want to be inside one of them when it happens. I stayed inside for the night. We have to run to town today for a medical appointment and a trip to Sam’s then we have nothing scheduled till next week! Who knows what I’ll get into next?
\n\n\n🩵
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2024-05-08T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2024/05/08/jumping-in-with-both-feet.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","Farm Life","Pollinator Garden"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2024/05/06/the-looooong-drive-home.html", "title": "The L-o-o-o-o-o-ng Drive Home", "content_html": "\n“The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops.”
\n2 Timothy 2:6 NIV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/f99bfdd7a3.jpg\")
Our peonies will bloom soon!
\n\n\nMr. FixIt’s alarm rang exactly five minutes after we woke up. Ohhhh, it was hard to drag myself out of bed, knowing this would bring us home and this trip would be officially put to bed. But, duty called and home beckoned and we were soon tidied up and ready to roll. We stopped for gas and a breakfast sandwich and were on the road by 8:30-9:00.
\n\n\nIt rained off and on which makes travel with a camper slower. You can’t drive in cruise control with wet roads. And you have to drive 5-10 miles lower than the speed limit. We made steady progress. We stopped a couple of times for potty and coffee breaks. It always feels good to get out and stretch your legs.
\n\n\nWe finally got to I-77 and turned north, only to be confronted with an information sign saying all lanes were blocked up ahead due to a crash and we would be asked to take a detour at Exit 19. That meant we actually drove 19 miles into Virginia before the you-know-what hit the fan. Several miles before the detour, we sat in totally stopped traffic for quite some time. We inched and inched forward till we finally made the exit and followed the dense line of traffic.
\n\n\nThere were no directions to tell us where to go so we all played Pied Piper and drove in single file to who knows where. There really wasn’t anyplace to get off the road till we found ourselves WAY out in the country on a one-and-a-half lane blacktop. There at the tippy top of a hill with the most magnificent views sat a volunteer fire department. We pulled into the lot and I reached for the Rand McNally Atlas to get my bearings. By this time we had circled around nearly to the on-ramp at Exit 24…two miles past the site of the accident. By the time, the road was clear and the detour took us at least three hours…to go five miles forward from where we got off the interstate.
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/67bdc7e385.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/662a593627.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/248d2fe1c8.jpg\")
Mr. FixIt finally found a local news story about the accident. It happened up on Fancy Gap…a mountain in the Blue Ridge that is commonly socked in by fog. It was super foggy yesterday morning…even when we were coming up the mountain. The accident involved four tractor trailers and three passenger vehicles. According to the news report, only one person was taken to the hospital by one of the firemen just to get checked out. By the time the rescue crews got to site of the accident, everyone was out of their vehicles. From the looks of the cars and trucks, I am amazed no one was seriously injured or killed. Thank you, God!
\n\n\nThe rest of the trip was pretty uneventful. Rain, sun, repeat. We got home in time for Mr. FixIt to jump in the shower and head BACK into town for his bowling banquet. That was the entire purpose of coming back home yesterday…he didn’t want to miss his friends at the banquet. I unhooked the camper, pulled out enough food to make a ham, egg, and cheese tortilla and fruit for dessert and I was totally done for. I went inside and took my shower then came back out to the camper to cool off and write my post for today.
\n\n\nI did get a quick walkabout to see what’s grown since we left. the answer is…EVERYTHING! OMGosh! The whole field looks like it needs brush-hogged. I don't see a whole lot that is impressive in the pollinator garden. There is a lot of Dead Nettle and Buttercups blooming. Daisies will be opening soon then I'll find sweet little wildflowers amongst the grasses. if it were left up to me, I'd leave the whole field alone. but, I'm not sure I can convince Mr. FixIt. We'll see.
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/c528fbd74e.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/220bed4fff.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/0a051df9a5.jpg\")
This morning is knitting group then a trip to town to pick up prescriptions and stock up the fridge. I have no idea when we'll be able to fit mowing in. It's supposed to rain for the next ten days! I hope you've been well. I'll be back tomorrow to tell you more stories and such. After I catch my breath!
\n\n\n🌸🌼🌸
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n“My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.”
\nIsaiah 32:18 NIV\n
#SafeTravels, #Home, #Tired
\n\n", "date_published": "2024-05-06T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2024/05/06/the-looooong-drive-home.html", "tags": ["Travel","Positive Energy","Road Trip","Pollinator Garden"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2024/01/31/the-art-of-customer-satisfaction.html", "title": "The Art of Customer Satisfaction", "content_html": "\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/4def95cebb.jpg\")
Ya’ll, I’ve got a great story to tell you today. When the Ninja brand of smoothie blenders came on the market, I kinda thought the brand seems sketchy. Like Ronco or some fly-by-night “As Seen on TV” company. You know…QVC or HSN caliber. Not that there’s anything inherently wrong with that, but the brand screamed cheap plastic junk from China. I bought one of the blenders and was pleasantly surprised by the quality. Then, in 2015, they launched their first coffeemaker. As it turned out, we needed a new coffeemaker at the time. Again, it was really good quality.
\n\n\nSince then, I bought one of their air fryers and a food processor…all good quality. About three years ago, a friend of Mr. FixIt’s called at Christmas to say he’d been working part time at Kohl’s and he could get us their friends and family discount on anything they carried. Our pots and pans were on their last legs, so I hinted to Mr. FixIt that a new set of pots and pans would be an awesome Christmas present. And they were under the tree come Christmas morning.
\n\n\nThey were awesome. I especially liked the ten year warranty. Being non-stick, I was afraid the coating would come off quickly but I was pleasantly surprised when month after month, the pans continued to be rock solid. A couple of months ago, I notice a small bubble in the coating on one of the saucepans. I checked the other one more closely and sure enough, it also had a couple small bubbles. A few weeks later, I could tell the coating was beginning to slough off, so I called customer service at Ninja Kitchen.
\n\n\nI spoke to a helpful gentleman who actually put me on a video chat and had me show him the bottom of the pans and agreed that was covered under the warranty and he would send me the 2.5 quart and the 1.5 quart saucepans. In less than two weeks, I received a box from Ninja, but it was the 3.5 quart saucepan…bigger than the one I used most often. Then yesterday, I received a 5 quart sauté pan which is a skillet with straight sides. Both wonderful pans, but not the saucepans I needed replaced.
\n\n\nI made another call to Ninja customer service and explained that I had received two pans, but they weren’t the one’s I needed and could she help me. She pulled up my warranty claim and saw the original request then she searched her computer for the 2.5 and 1.5 quart saucepans. She found the 2.5 but the 1.5 could take 4-6 weeks before they could get one to me. I told her that was fin…I understood they are a big company and I was willing to wait.
\n\n\nI was shocked when she said, “No, you need your cooking pans and since we cannot get the 1.5 quart to you in a timely fashion, and the two pans you received were wrong, I’m just going to send you a whole new set!” Hokey smokes! That’s a $300 set, plus the sauté pan at $130 and the 5 quart saucepan which is probably around $90. Now THAT’S good customer service!!!
\n\n\nMr. FixIt said I’m going to have a boat load of pots and pans. He’s right! I may need new kitchen cabinets! Nah…not really. I just need to get rid of several old pans that I don’t use. That’s for another day. I just wanted to tell you all what a great job Ninja did for us. In a world where so many people do nothing but complain, I wanted to tell you about a big company that takes customer service seriously. And that’s good news!
\n\n\n🍳
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2024-01-31T02:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2024/01/31/the-art-of-customer-satisfaction.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","Cooking","In the Kitchen"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2023/04/11/the-first-of-the-outdoor.html", "title": "The First of the Outdoor Days", "content_html": "\n”The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.“
\nPsalm 23:1 ESV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/498ba802a3.jpg\")
Yesterday was the perfect day for outdoor chores. Sunny and 68° with nothing but a gentle breeze. Mr. FixIt went out to start working on the lawnmower since I so generously popped the belt off the mower deck this weekend. I tell you what… there’s not much that ruffles my husband’s feathers. He just takes things as they come.
\n\n\nWhile he was working on the mower, I got to work on moving the Big Birdhouse so I could mow the long grass underneath it. First, I had to mow the spot where I was planning to move it. I got the push mower out and filled it with gas then set to mowing the designated spot. It wasn’t long before Mr. FixIt came over and indicated to cut the engine. He needed to run over the hill to the hardware store to get some washers for one of the deck wheels. While we were there, I dropped off a return at the UPS pickup site in the auto parts store. Then we headed to the post office where I had a package. (Daughter #1’s birthday present!)
\n\n\nWe popped over the the hardware store then the little mom and pop market for some of their dynamite fresh ground beef for burgers later. We ran over to the little quilt shop to make sure I can bring the quilt to her by the end of next week. Finally, we headed back home and I finished up my mowing. I moved the camper to the new spot and Mr. FixIt came over to help me get her set up. He had the mower deck off and cleaned up but found we needed new blades, so I locked everything up when we set off for town….again.
\n\n\nA quick stop at Lowe’s and we had the blades and booked it home. Between the two of us, we got the belt and the deck on. (Full disclosure…I only lent a hand when Mr. FixIt couldn’t get his hand to work the way it was supposed to and to help with heavy lifting.) We finally got everything put back together and I hopped on the tractor to try it out. Something was wrong. It was scalping the lawn at a setting that I usually use. Unfortunately, it turned out the blades were on upside down. By this time we were both tired and dirty and just…done. We’ll attack it again today.
\n\n\nI finished getting the a-frame camper set up and I took a whole new series of photos and a quick video walkthrough. We reduced the price and we’re praying the perfect buyer comes along. This is camping season!
\n\n\nI cooked burgers for supper and we dined al fresco for only the second time this year. It was so delightful sitting in the warm sunshine with my sweetie. But then, as soon as that sun dipped down below the far ridge, the breeze turned decidedly chilly. I finished the evening by watering the new rose bushes and putting things away. It was time to sit down and write my letter to you. Letters from “home.”
\n\n\n?
\n\n\n“for behold, the winter is past; the rain is over and gone. The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.”
\n\n\nSong of Solomon 2:11-12 ESV
\n\n\n#spring, #outdoors, #farmlife, #mowing
\n\n\n-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
\n\n\n“Go Where the Wildflowers Bloom”
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/2e228ca6e6.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/f984d2c3a9.jpg\")
I can live through the darkest of winters. Especially when God gifts us a day like yesterday. As a matter of fact, we’ve had a lot of sunny days the last two or three weeks. The sun was shining brightly yesterday and big puffy clouds drifted across a sky the color of a fine piece of Wedgewood. It was so delicious you could almost taste spring.
\n\n\nMy dear friend Gail sent me a screenshot of a spinning wheel she’s been wanting forever and wondered how close I lived to the seller. Turns out, it was just 20 miles away so with a few texts back and forth, we made the arrangements for me to pick it up. Since yesterday was a stellar pre-spring sun-fest, Mr. FixIt and I decided to drive down to pick up Gail’s treasure and go the long way around.
\n\n\nThe seller’s name was Cathy. Gail found her on Marketplace and didn’t know her from Adam, however…they have a mutual friend. Cathy is as sweet as honey. When we arrived in her small town, I called her and she talked me to her with turn-by-turn directions. The place where we parked was on an incline and I was struggling with the door and trying to get the money out of my purse. She ran to hold the door for me.
\n\n\nWhen I finally got out of the car, she held out two big bags of apples.
\n\n\n“You like apples?” She asked, her smile as radiant as the day itself.
\n\n\n“Sure! Who doesn’t like apples?” I smiled back.
\n\n\n“Well, my husband drives a tow truck and he ran on a call this weekend. A tractor trailer rolled on a highway in Ohio. It was packed full of apples and that company said to just throw them away! My husband said not on his watch so he packed up as many as he could carry and brought them home. I called my girlfriend and we went to work and we’re giving everyone we know some of these beautiful apples!”
\n\n\nWho am I to look a gift horse in the mouth? I gladly took the apples and I’ll bake some pies with them. We loaded up the spinning wheel and headed home. People are good, y’all. They’re out here being selfless and doing good things and helping others. The Good Lord brought us an abundance of sunshine yesterday…from the sky, and from a sweet lady named Cathy. We drove off, hand in hand, feeling really good about the day and thanked God for the blessings.
\n\n\nHappy Valentine’s Day, my friends!
\n\n\n?
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2023-02-14T02:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2023/02/14/a-beautiful-day.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","Gratitude","Kindness"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2023/01/31/watching-god-supply-our-needs.html", "title": "Watching God Supply Our Needs", "content_html": "\n“Everything in the world is about to be wrapped up, so take nothing for granted. Stay wide-awake in prayer. Most of all, love each other as if your life depended on it. Love makes up for practically anything. Be quick to give a meal to the hungry, a bed to the homeless—cheerfully. Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God’s words; if help, let it be God’s hearty help. That way, God’s bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and he’ll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything—encores to the end of time. Oh, yes!”
\n1 Peter 4:7-11 MSG\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/bcf5bd64d5.jpg\")
The other day when I was complaining about having to cook all the time, I asked God to change my heart. Anytime my heart isn’t in the right place and I’m making myself miserable over stupid stuff, I just ask God to turn me around and show me what I’m missing. He always does. And it turns out I get in my own way a lot of the time. I think we all do to one degree or another.
\n\n\nThe last few days, I’ve really enjoyed the heck out of cooking. And I have been diving into the pantry and the freezer. Yesterday morning we had breakfast sandwiches with those bulk sausage patties I made on Sunday topped with an egg and cheese. SOOOOOO good! Midday we had a snack of tea and cookies. Then last night I baked pork chops and served them with steamed veggies and brown rice. I did kinda tip the calorie scales with some yummy country gravy on top but I didn’t make it with cream like I usually do.
\n\n\nThis morning I’ll crumble up some of those sausage patties and put them in the gravy and heat it up while I make homemade biscuits. That’s always a delightful taste treat. When Mr. FixIt was heading up to the WVU game on Saturday, he texted me and asked me to send his son my biscuit recipe. Now that I think about it, I sure hope he said something to him beforehand and he doesn’t think we were trying to tell him something. His son made biscuits and sausage gravy for breakfast that day but he used canned biscuits. He tried to make homemade a couple of times but he said they didn’t come out very well. I never made a biscuit that was fit to eat till I learn from Tipper at The Blind Pig and the Acorn. Now I won’t make them any other way. (Sorry, Ms. Brenda!)
\n\n\nSo, it’s becoming more noticeable that the days are getting longer now. Every day will bring us closer to spring. I have so much to get done before mowing season so I need to focus, focus, focus. Mr. FixIt has an appointment tomorrow so I’ll stay home and get some more work done. I’ve found the basement to be a bit too chilly to work in when the temperature goes down in the 30’s…no matter HOW much heat I put on down there. I tried to work on my old desktop that’s in the desk in the living room, but it’s so old it won’t connect to the wifi router. And I need the internet for this project. We don’t have any heat turned on in the office so I can’t work on that computer comfortably either. I ended up working in the Big Red Chair in the living room while Mr. FixIt watches TV. I use my noise cancelling headphones to play white noise that drowns out the TV completely.
\n\n\nThe Green Comet might be visible to us tomorrow night just in time for Mr. FixIt’s birthday! Now, I HAVE to buy some stuff for that special dinner. Mr. FixIt has requested scallops and a petite steak with fries and a veggie and I’ll make him a cake or pie for dessert. Last year I absolutely ruined his scallops by forgetting he wants butter and garlic ONLY! This year I actually wrote that down on the shopping list so I won’t forget. lol I might make that tonight but more likely on Wednesday to celebrate on the actual day. I can’t believe how fast January flew by. Tomorrow is February already!!!
\n\n\n?
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2023-01-31T02:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2023/01/31/watching-god-supply-our-needs.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","God","Marriage"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2022/12/29/what-im-looking-for-in.html", "title": "What I’m Looking For in a New Year", "content_html": "\n“Wives, understand and support your husbands by submitting to them in ways that honor the Master. Husbands, go all out in love for your wives. Don’t take advantage of them.”
\nColossians 3:18-19 MSG\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/0d76016e6f.jpg\")
There was a time when I looked forward to the New Year with great anticipation. I dared it to be the biggest, best, most bad@$$ year in the books. “Bring it on!” I’d shout in my end-of-the-year, Christmas-cookie-and-eggnog-induced stupor. Looking back…I don’t know what on EARTH I thought I was doing talking to a new year like that.
\n\n\nThings are different now. I’ve learned to approach a new year with quiet respect. Like tiptoeing in to check on the baby as she naps, I’m more likely to peek around the corner and whisper in hushed tones. I don’t trust the New Year anymore. I don’t make sudden movements for fear of setting something off that’s likely to snowball out of control. I want the New Year to slip in quietly on kitten feet, sit down, and shut the heck up till I get an idea what it’s up to.
\n\n\nI’m not the only one. I’m hearing it everywhere.
\n\n\n“For the love of God, just give me a year with some semblance of normalcy!”
\n\n\nAs my friend, Kate puts it, “If there was a fabric that 2023 should be it would be soft-as-snow linen. Crisp from the sun, fresh smelling with a hint of lavender. I just crave soft, old, gentle, and calm. Literally, that’s it to my core.”
\n\n\nFinally…after being the social pariah for, like, forever…mental health is standing up and screaming, “LOOK AT ME!!!” It’s about darned time, too. You cannot sweep mental health issues under the rug and expect to maintain the status quo in society. People have had it up to here with all the repetitive trauma we’ve been subjected to the last few years.
\n\n\nSo, this is where we are. It’s ok to not be completely ok. It’s ok to look at the new year with a little trepidation while still hoping for the best. This collective grieving we’ve been doing as a nation is taking its toll and it’s time for a change now. If your brother was struggling, you’d check in on him more often. If your sister wasn’t leaving her house for weeks at a time, you’d call and check in. If anyone we cared about were hurting, we’d do whatever we could to try to make things better.
\n\n\nSo, why is it so hard to do for people we DON’T know? Why is it even harder to do for people we don’t LIKE? There is only one way to effect big change in the world and that’s to effect small change in our corner of it. Here are some of the ways I intend to create change in the world in the coming New Year.
\n\n\nI will not lose hope, no matter how hopeless things look. Emily Dickinson said, “Hope” is the thing with feathers - that perches in the soul - and sings the tune without the words - and never stops - at all.
\n\n\nI read somewhere the other day that said something to the effect that hope does not have feathers. It’s bloody and raw and fights with claws out and fangs bared. That’s a huge paraphrase, but you get the point. We don’t get through the rough spots of life on pictures of fluffy kittens and songs like Kumbaya. Hope is a sign of fierce bravery. One who hopes must learn to fight for the spoils of the battle between good and evil.
\n\n\nBecause, iykyk…if you know, you know.
\n\n\nGood WILL win.
\n\n\nGood has already WON!
\n\n\nBut that doesn’t mean we can become complacent. We still have to suit up and show up and put one foot in front of the other and BE THE LIGHT!
\n\n\nBE THE CHANGE!
\n\n\nAlways, alway, always look for the good people. And if you can’t find one…BE ONE!
\n\n\nThat’s my treatise on the New Year. My word for 2023 will be CHANGE. Not because I want any more change in the world, but because there already has been so much. We’ve been led astray by nonsensical fallacies that need to be laid to rest. We need to stop pointing fingers and start holding hands. We need to stand up and be brave and help each other through the next few years till we can reach a new level of enlightenment. A place where we can truly live as Jesus lived…by loving everyone unconditionally.
\n\n\nHappy New Year, my friends! May we all be blessed with every gift God has for us with our names on them. I’m taking a few days off at the end of the year. We’re having two big family gatherings in the coming days and I want to be present for them. I’ll post some things ahead of time so you have something to read with your coffee and I’ll be back on board this crazy ship on Monday.
\n\n\nStay safe, walk strong, and NEVER LOSE HOPE!
\n\n\nLove,
\n\n\nGinny
\n\n\n?
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2022-12-29T02:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2022/12/29/what-im-looking-for-in.html", "tags": ["Hope","Positive Energy","Change"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2022/10/22/not-what-i-wanted-to.html", "title": "Not What I Wanted to Wake Up To", "content_html": "\n“This is God’s Word on the subject: ….. “I know what I’m doing. I have it all planned out—plans to take care of you, not abandon you, plans to give you the future you hope for.”
\nJeremiah 29:10-11 MSG\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/18b0372f5c.jpg\")
I’ve been practicing the military method of falling asleep. And…so far, so good! I’ve been falling asleep quickly, and staying asleep all night and it’s been amazing. Yeah, ok…it’s been less than a week, but I have hope. I’ve never been a great sleeper. I have had trouble turning my brain off at night. This sleep technique that the Army teaches their recruits claims to bring the Sand Man in less that two minutes and I’m just going to believe that and run with it!
\n\n\nI woke up yesterday morning…the sun was up, Mr. FixIt was softly snoring beside me, and I felt wonderful! I reached for my phone and found a series of puzzling messages on my Lock Screen. They were from the fraud prevention at my bank. It seems someone in Australia tried to put a $1200+ charge through…under five different names. Thank GOD there are these fraud protections in place now!
\n\n\nA couple of months ago, I purchased a vintage apple peeler off the internet. There were a couple of red flags, but I REALLY wanted that particular peeler. So I hit “valid” when they asked if it was actually me behind the card. Then, I waited. And waited. And waited some more. I kept going back to the website where I purchased the peeler and it said “In process.” The little red flags were turning into big red banners in my brain and I called my bank.
\n\n\nMy only option was to freeze my debit card permanently and have the bank issue me another one. Or, give it a little more time since it was coming from out of the country. (Yes…that was the red flag I chose to ignore because…I REALLY wanted that peeler!) We decided to give it a little more time, but when it came down to the cutoff for a fraud claim, I told the bank to file it. I still didn’t elect to get a new card. ALL my bills are handled electronically…by that card. What a pain in the rear. The bank said they would clamp down the security on my card an alert me at the first questionable transaction.
\n\n\nAnd, that they did. At 4:00 yesterday morning. I hate to have to go through this mess, but honestly…as often as I use that card on the internet, I’m shocked it hasn’t happened more often. I love my bank in Colorado. They’ve been my “hometown bank” since 1986 and I kept my accounts with them even after moving to West Virginia. They always help me out and alert me to any kind of problem. And, my debit card has a painting on it by my friend Mary Noone who passed away recently. That card makes me smile every time I see it.
\n\n\nWe are binge watching Grace and Frankie and even though there’s quite a bit of irreverent material in it, we really get a kick out of it. Especially since the main actors are “seventy-somethings” and are so relatable. Robert had a heart attack. Sol has retired and become an activist. Grace had a knee replacement and Frankie had a TIA. They are vibrant and yet they struggle with their memory, their physical limitations, and navigating the specter of aging in place vs. a “retirement community”.
\n\n\nMr. FixIt and I face some of the same things with our health and memory and the house becoming a lot more work as we age. We hate it and we fight it and we figure it all out together. For now, that’s fine. But there will come a time…down the road…hopefully, WAY down the road. How did we get to be seventy? We don’t FEEL seventy…and we certainly don’t ACT seventy. We’re brave and profess age as “just a number”.
\n\n\nI’m going to have to reach back to a few years ago when I wrote a lot about “positive aging”. More movement. Improved diet. Better sleep hygiene. Mental stimulus. Time to get back to basics and stay healthy as long as we can.
\n\n\n?
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2022-10-22T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2022/10/22/not-what-i-wanted-to.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Aging","Choices","Fitness","Home"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2022/07/27/day-eleven-was-heaven.html", "title": "Day Eleven Was Heaven", "content_html": "\n“no weapon that is fashioned against you shall succeed, and you shall refute every tongue that rises against you in judgment. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord and their vindication from me, declares the Lord.””
\nIsaiah 54:17 ESV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e2f9cd91f2.jpg\")
Little works in the kitchen, filling jars with green beans.
\n\n\nWho hasn’t wanted to share their favorite things with their grandchild? It’s one of the greatest gifts in the world when a grandchild shares your interests. Little and I are two peas in a pod. I was a little disappointed on Monday when they only lasted an hour on the canning beans job. Then, I learned…it wasn’t the chore itself but the act of getting pruny hands and the icky sensation of that. The tapping of the jars. The noise and sensation was too much stimulus for Little. So we regrouped and came up with a solution.
\n\n\nMeasuring and adding things to containers is the perfect way to get the job done without it seeming so overwhelming. I asked Little to please count out seven jars for me and put a teaspoon of salt in each one. Then, stuff some green beans in there on top of the salt till they come up to here on the jar. Voila…we canned! And it was enjoyable this time and became a teachable moment…for Little AND for Nana. There was a lot of beaming pride when that load came out of the canner!
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/d9cb07e34a.jpg\")
But what a L O N G day! By the time I finished the last canner full, my back was screaming obscenities at me and threatening to do me an injury. I had enough beans to do maybe three more jars, but I decided to cook half of them in my little pressure cooker with a Vidalia onion and some ham. When they were done, I took half over to my friend in town. He’s retiring this Friday and I wanted to give him something. Cake? Or fresh half-runners with ham??? You know which one I’d pick…every time. He was thrilled and texted as soon as I got home how wonderful they were. He was right…I heated up a bowl for myself and one for Mr. FixIt, as well. They were SO good!
\n\n\nHave you all ever heard someone say they were going to “cook up a mess of beans”? That’s what we always called it. Cookin’ up a mess of beans. I can’t think of it being used with very many foods. You might fry up a mess of fish. Or shuck a mess of roast’neers. (That would be corn on the cob.) I love the colloquialisms of the Appalachian people. It makes my grandchildren laugh. Colorado kids!
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/b5d52c98d7.jpg\")
Little’s batch of beans!
\n\n\nI’m staying put today. Canning the last couple of days was a lot of work. We ended up with twenty-eight quarts plus two messes of beans cooked in the little pressure cooker. That’s a lot to get out of a bushel. And it was a lot of work. But, I’m telling you…you’d be hard pressed to find anything that tastes as wonderful as good ol’ half-runner beans. They can’t be beat! I’ll clean the kitchen then I need to block Big’s sweater so it will be dry soon and I can send it to Colorado before she heads for college. Once that’s done, I can sit down and knit for a while. I’ll put the pork roast in the slow cooker early so we can have a good supper when Mr. FixIt gets home from town.
\n\n\nOnly three more sleeps and Little goes home.
\n\n\n?
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2022-07-27T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2022/07/27/day-eleven-was-heaven.html", "tags": ["Family","Positive Energy","In the Kitchen"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2022/06/02/a-day-with-mr-fixit.html", "title": "A Day With Mr. FixIt", "content_html": "\n“Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”
\nProverbs 22:6 ESV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/66f25b1b78.jpg\")
I’ve had more trouble with allergies this spring than I have in a long time. I’ve read that climate change is causing more allergens and those of us sensitive are even more so as things worsen. I already take so many antihistamines I rattle when I walk, but Monday night…after two days of mowing…I took an extra one at bedtime and paid for it with the jitters all night. Most people can take a Benadryl and it puts them to sleep. Not me. I can take one maybe for two nights in a row. After that, it works just the opposite and my skin crawls and I’m jumpy till dawn.
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/ba787ddc53.jpg\")
I finally gave up trying to settle in around 2:30 and went to the guest bedroom so I wouldn’t keep my sweetheart awake all night with my tossing and fidgeting. When he woke up yesterday morning, he peeked his head in to see if I was awake then asked me if I wanted to go to Marietta with him. Now, honestly, I would have loved the day to myself without the noise of the television and time to clean up the stuff from camping. But, as those of us who have lost a husband understand…these are days we cannot get back. So, I happily said an enthusiastic yes. He beamed! It’s the little things, folks.
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e238632bc6.jpg\")
We headed to town in what would turn into a marathon of stops here and there. We picked up the new brake line he ordered, stopped at a gorgeous nursery, checked my mail at the post office box, grabbed a soda at McDonald’s, stopped at the pool supply store for chemicals, looked at campers, went to Joe’s to water our tomatoes, stopped to see one of the kids and check out the truck that was run into yesterday (they’re sore but fortunately ok) then a last stop at Walmart on our way home.
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/80fb960780.jpg\")
As we drove the two lane blacktop that twists and turns through the countryside, my mind yet again turned to the number of terrible car accidents on this one particular stretch of road. In my mind’s eye, I could see a head on collision so I became hyper alert and watched every approaching car. Last night at around 7:00, a notification came across my phone that there had been a terrible two car accident in that particular place and I automatically prayed for the victims and praised God for getting us through there safely yet again.
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/c092366c4d.jpg\")
This little Killdeer was protecting this triangle space with LOUD warnings to stay away!
\n\n\nWe warmed up leftovers for supper and enjoyed a little rest break in the hottest part of the day. When I got up, Mr. FixIt was out working on his brakes. That man has the patience of Job…seriously. Here he is, with some diminished sensation and use of his hands from his strokes, and he tried time and time again to get the fittings to connect on that brake line. I came out and sat with him, offering him what encouragement I could while I knitted. He finally got it finished and asked if I’d like to work on the tractor next.
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/b974cab505.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/3ad8ceb5dd.jpg\")
While I was gone in Colorado, he was mowing at the farm alone and caught the mower deck lever on the guy wire to the telephone pole that holds the transformer. It broke one end of the cover off and he ordered a replacement. I sat down where I could reach under the fender and removed the bent piece. And, of course, the replacement piece is just a smidgen different that the old one. Just enough that the plastic cover would not snap into place. I do NOT have the patience of Job and I walked away several times, only to come back and try again. We finally gave up and he’ll use the grinder on the metal piece tomorrow to get it to fit better.
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/5872b8a00d.jpg\")
A mama bird built a nest in the empty mailbox next to ours. Scares you to death!
\n\n\nSometimes you just have to know when to throw in the towel and leave it for another day. We got a lot done as it was. The brakes seem to be fixed. The tomatoes are watered. We have the chemicals to put in the pool. We understand the problem with the tractor. And…we’re still married!
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/5a8c7ae7f7.jpg\")
I’ll call that a win!
\n\n\n?
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2022-06-02T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2022/06/02/a-day-with-mr-fixit.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","Fun","Choices","Marriage"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2022/04/12/boosted.html", "title": "Boosted 2.0", "content_html": "\n“And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”
\nHebrews 10:24-25 ESV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/94c8085b6b.jpg\")
I had to stop the mower and get down on the ground to take a picture of this sweet violet. Grandma called them Johnny-Jump-Ups and she would NOT let anyone cut her grass till they were gone!
\n\n\nWe are heading to the beach soon for our yearly week at the condo. We’ve been watching the news reports for the prevalence of covid and trying to decide when to jump on the bandwagon and get that second booster. We’ve seen the numbers double since the mandates were eased and, while that is not entirely unexpected, it does hearken back to the possibility of history repeating itself. Mr. FixIt and I both have health issues that cause us to be extra cautious. Since we’ll be headed to a tourist destination, we decided to go ahead and get that booster yesterday.
\n\n\nIt was really easy. I went to vaccines.gov and typed in our zip code, chose the type of vaccine we wanted and where we wanted to get it, and the site directed us to the pharmacy website. There I made both of our appointments and were quickly scheduled for 3:00 in the afternoon. It was raining and chilly when we left the house so I wore a heavy sweater. Once we checked in at the pharmacy, we had to wait a few minutes. It was REALLY warm in there and I quickly knew I needed to get out of that sweater so I went over to the clothing rack and bought a black tunic-type shirt. Ahhh…much better!
\n\n\nThe pharmacist was an expert with the needle and I didn’t even feel it. I was happy to see he injected in the right spot so I didn’t have to correct him. A lot of people who give shots do so far too high on the arm which can actually cause a joint injury. I have absolutely no qualms telling someone the exact spot to inject. It was nice that I didn’t have to this time. Kudos to CVS!
\n\n\nI think the boosters are important, and if it wasn’t for the upcoming trip, I might have waiting till a little later on in the summer to get it. But we not only have the trip to the beach, but I’m heading to Colorado next month. There’s the travel, the parties, and the graduation gathering itself, as well as any number of social situations I may find myself in while I’m there. Also, I’ll be going to visit my brother. He had covid in February and I prefer he not get it again.
\n\n\nI was hoping we could get the mowing done out at the farm this week. There is a small window on Wednesday without rain so we’re going to shoot for that. If we can’t get it done, it will have to wait till we get back from the beach.
\n\n\nI knitted a little yesterday. I finished another hat and have one toddler sized mitten nearly finished. I’ll take my knitting with me on the trip. It’s so fun to sit out on the beach, but so far, the weather report is showing 60’s with a fair amount of rain. I don’t know how much beach sitting we’ll get this year. Today is knitting group. As long as I’m not feeling effects of the vaccine, I’m planning on going.
\n\n\n?
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2022-04-12T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2022/04/12/boosted.html", "tags": ["Health","Positive Energy","Wisdom"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2022/02/08/feeling-my-age-this-week.html", "title": "Feeling My Age This Week", "content_html": "\n“Behold, I will bring to it health and healing, and I will heal them and reveal to them abundance of prosperity and security.”
\nJeremiah 33:6 ESV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/d7ea3cf732.jpg\")
Surgery takes the starch out of you. I slept well Sunday night and got up at a reasonable hour. I made a cup of tea and a beeline for my recliner and that’s about the extent of my day. I finished knitting the first sleeve of this sweater. I got a followup call from the surgeon’s office to see how I’m doing. I went all day with no pain medicine…the first since surgery on Friday. By the time the early news was over, I felt like I ran a marathon. I took a nice shower and got the last of the adhesive from the bandage and ECG tabs off. It was beginning to irritate my skin. Mr. FixIt brought me a frozen fruit bar and tucked me in to write.
\n\n\nMy friends and family have been texting and calling to check in on me. Doesn’t that make you feel so wonderful when people care for you? I know how truly blessed I am to have my extended family and friend network…from all over the country. And, you have no idea what you all mean to me here. I started this blog as a way to not only help myself through my grief, but to help others along the way. I recognize so many of your names. I know so many of your stories. I feel like we’re more than just a blogger and her readers. In so many ways we are sisters and friends because we share this journey together. I know I tell you from time to time, but I just want to reiterate how much I truly appreciate you all for being here through all the ups and downs of life. I hope I help you in whatever way I can, even if it’s just holding you in my prayers.
\n\n\nThe sun was out yesterday and the temperature climbed up close to 50°. As I sat and knitted row after row, I reminded myself, the first week of February is already over! The days are already noticeably longer. I’m so glad I had to opportunity to get this surgery out of the way earlier rather than later so now I can just concentrate to regaining my strength as I watch springtime approach. Mr. FixIt was a doll yesterday and washed the windows in the family room. The gas heater in there makes the glass filmy. Now I can see the sunshine sparkling on the snow. I wish we had another large window on the wall behind Mr. FixIt’s recliner so we can see the birds in the feeders, but then it would be terribly hot in there in the summer. I am grateful for all that we have because it’s way more than enough.
\n\n\nMr. FixIt and his buddy are delivering firewood to one of the grandkids today and I will have the house to myself for a bit. I will knit and pray as a dear friend has a medical procedure done during the day. We are hoping this will help her feel much better. So, if you don’t mind, send some prayers up for her today. Thank you all so much…you’re the best!
\n\n\n❄️❤️❄️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2022-02-08T02:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2022/02/08/feeling-my-age-this-week.html", "tags": ["Faith","Family","Positive Energy","Writing","Friends","Healing"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2021/12/31/an-incredible-day.html", "title": "An Incredible Day", "content_html": "\n“Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise.”
\nJeremiah 17:14 ESV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/4360067823.jpg\")
I had one of the most amazing experiences yesterday…and in the days leading up to it. We’ve talked here a lot about anxiety and PTSD. I cannot remember a time since Mr. Virgo died that I didn’t experience incredible, sometimes debilitating anxiety before any medical event. When I was here in the big city to get my 4D CT Scan on October 14th, I spent the night before in the hotel room throwing up from anxiety. This time was completely different.
\n\n\nI started studying some really good devotionals on anxiety and how to get the upper hand and not let it be the boss. I studied sub-personalities and how they affect worry and stress and the combination of the two…anxiety. I’m a firm believer that knowledge is power in that it can alleviate some of the “unknown” in a situation. But, what really made the difference was pulling out the Big Guns.
\n\n\nI prayed. You prayed. Everyone I knew to ask prayed. For success. For peace. For calm up to and through the procedure. I spent two days in my camper, pleading with God to show me how to let go of fear and anxiety and the answer He gave me was so simple. “Give it to me.” So, here’s what I did.
\n\n\nThe night before the procedure, I wore my Bluetooth noise cancelling headphones that I wear when I mow. I connected them to my iPad and listened to the soundtrack I always use when I write…a crackling campfire in a thunderstorm. I closed my eyes and let the sound transport me to a beautiful campground in the woods, on top of a mountain. You know how I ask Jesus to go for a walk with me? Well, this time I asked him to go camping with me.
\n\n\nWe sat around the campfire…sometimes chatting, sometimes still. Every time I had a thought that might send me down the rabbit hole, I tossed it over to Jesus. He caught it deftly with one hand and tossed it in the fire where we would watch the sudden burst of sparks fly up into the night sky. Then…we’d laugh and laugh at how silly those thoughts were. How insignificant, really…in the grand scheme of things. Because, if you think about it…they are thoughts. Thoughts cannot kill you on their own. This was an incredibly powerful visualization and I felt ZERO anxiety leading up to, and even laying on the table having the procedure.
\n\n\nI was awake…sort of. I knew everything that was going on. I had to be awake enough to follow directions like “Hold your breath” and “Turn your head.” I could feel the catheter in the veins in my chest and neck. Sometimes it tickled. Sometimes it sounded like little bubbles. It was fascinating. They made a small incision in my upper thigh and threaded the catheter through there. Then they threaded it to different veins in my upper chest and neck.
\n\n\nPicture a large creek. Upstream, there are a lot of tributaries. What we want to do is walk up each tributary, throw a line in the water, and see if we can catch a fish. But not just any fish. We want the big kahoona. What the catheter did was stick its nose in the mouth of each “creek” to try to sniff out where the big fish is camping. What the doctor wants to see is a BIG number in one of the tributaries. That indicates there’s a bad gland up that stream. They take an outline of the heart and the twelve veins they took the samples from and write the numbers on the corresponding vein on the drawing. Then, the surgeon can see which vein is dumping buckets of parathyroid hormone. He can follow that vein and, ostensibly, hit the mother lode and get that bad boy out of there!
\n\n\nI cannot make heads nor tails of the numbers, however…I know we are looking for one BIG one. And there was…ONE big one! So, now I’m praying that means they can find the offending gland, take it out, and cure me of this disease that has been robbing so much of my joy the last four years.
\n\n\nThe doctor came in after the procedure and remarked how incredibly calm I was. When I saw him in consult…I was a nervous Nelly. I asked him if he wanted to know my secret. He did. So I told him about camping with Jesus. He listened intently. We finished up and as he left the room, he told me what a pleasure it was to work with me and Mr. FixIt. Then, he looked back around and thanked me for telling him about the visualization I used. He said he was going to try it himself. I love that!
\n\n\nYou never know whose life you are going to touch and under what circumstance. Just know that I am so incredibly grateful to have yet another opportunity to tell you how Jesus works in my life. He amazes me…every time!
\n\n\nAnd, here it is…the last day of 2021. Much like the second year after the loss of a loved one, 2021 was harder than 2020. We kinda went into the pandemic thinking we’d knock this out of the park in two or three months…maybe a little more. We couldn’t have believed at the time that it would just get worse…and worse. But there were gems in the flames, as there always are. Science brought us a vaccine and medicines to help. There have been many, many good things that occurred mixed in with the bad. We just have to look for and focus on them. And do our best to ease the burden of the medical community. The gal who checked me in yesterday said she had already had four front desk employees call in sick.
\n\n\n“Omicron is no joke” she said.
\n\n\nHere’s to a Happy, HEALTHY New Year for us all! Might I just caution you to open the door slowly and peak in? Don’t threaten 2022 with a haughty attitude of “Bring it on!” Let’s just tip toe in quietly and try not to wake it up or tick it off too bad…ok? Thanks!
\n\n\nSee ya next year!!!
\n\n\n❄️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2021-12-31T02:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2021/12/31/an-incredible-day.html", "tags": ["Health","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Positive Energy","Gratitude","Healing"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2021/10/24/where-did-the-year-go.html", "title": "Where Did the Year Go?", "content_html": "\n“Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.”
\nMark 11:24 ESV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/f05d258566.jpg\")
Our little bonus patch of volunteer petunias…teeny, tiny…hiding in the tub of African Lilies
\n\n\nMr. FixIt and I were talking on the way home from camping Friday. It was grey and chilly…one of those misty October days that chills you to the bone. A day we weren’t entirely prepared for. I was looking around and noticing the beauty of the moment…the beautiful trees lining the highway with their flashy show of red, orange, and yellow…dulled by the spooky-dim light of late afternoon.
\n\n\n“Where did the year go? I swear…it was just gone. In a snap!”
\n\n\n“Some years are like that.”
\n\n\nYeah…they are. And the older we get, the more “like that” they become.
\n\n\nWe did a LOT this year. It started out with Covid vaccines. Then, my surgery in Florida. Interviews and published writing. The beach trip to the Outer Banks. New Carpet in the family room. Then the kids came from Colorado. Little stayed with us for two weeks. A couple camping trips. Doctor’s appointments. A new-to-us camper. A month long trip to Colorado. More camping. Specialists in Columbus. A quick trip to Beaver Falls. More camping. Another NEW camper. And MORE camping. Yeah…ok…that’s where the year went.
\n\n\nFor the most part it’s been a ton of fun, except the surgery part. I’m still undergoing testing trying to find the missing parathyroid glands they couldn’t find in the first surgery. It’s looking like I’ll have to have a second surgery because my numbers are still elevated and I have the same symptoms. But, we can’t do the surgery till we figure out where these little suckers are hiding. Go figure.
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/60e8f24b6d.jpg\")
I love this…a LONG stemmed rose (nearly a foot taller than me) wrapped with the morning glory
\n\n\nIn the meantime, we hit the ground running yesterday. So much to get done because we’ve been out galavanting around instead of doing what needs to be done around here. I worked on winterizing the campers yesterday. I didn’t have enough RV Antifreeze to do both so I had to go on the hunt for some. I started cleaning out the little a-frame to prepare it for winter. I got it winterized. We need to bring the twin mattress back inside and get all the food items out of there and set out the mice repellant.
\n\n\nMr. FixIt worked on the brakes on his truck all day. It was so chilly out there, we were both freezing when we called it quits for the day. I made our first pot of chili of the season. My chili never tastes the same from time to time because I rarely ever cook with a recipe. And, I like to put a little bit of bittersweet chocolate in my chili. It’s something I learned in Colorado. I think it really adds depth to the flavor. I use Lindt Bittersweet 70% Cacao. Just half a square. I eat the other half. It’s good for you!
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/3d35c03fa4.jpg\")
I lost the battle over the furnace today. Poor Mr. FixIt was getting cramps in his hands because they were so cold, so the furnace is on for the season now. The bedroom window is still cracked open a couple of inches. It takes a LOT for me to give in on that one!
\n\n\nWe are scheduled to get our Covid Booster Shot this afternoon. I wasn’t sure how to go about scheduling it, but my dear friend Diane set me on the right course and it is SO easy! Just go to vaccine.gov and select “Find Covid-19 Vaccines” and follow the directions. If you are 65 or over, you qualify for the booster. There are other conditions which qualify you, as well. The website will give you all the information you need. We’ve both had our flu shots. Now we’ll get our Covid boosters, keep wearing masks in public, practice social distancing, maintain good hand hygiene, and keep our hands away from our faces. We didn’t have so much as a sniffle since this all started. I am all about preventive medicine!
\n\n\nStay healthy, my friends!
\n\n\n???
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2021-10-24T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2021/10/24/where-did-the-year-go.html", "tags": ["Health","Positive Energy","West Virginia"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2021/06/22/wowza-the-sky-is-falling.html", "title": "Wowza! The Sky is Falling!!!", "content_html": "\n“Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul.”
\n3 John 1:2 ESV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/75e28003c2.jpg\")
Man, did we have some crazy weather yesterday. I mean like, Wrath of God thunder and lightning and rain, rain, rain! We even had a tornado warning. I was going through some papers in a box when I heard Mr. FixIt’s phone make some sort of weird noise…just like the one that comes over the television when there’s an activation of the Emergency Broadcast System. I picked up the phone and was met with bright red letters and exclamation points saying there was a tornado warning for my area and we should go to the basement immediately.
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/a2e0dba4ef.jpg\")
I asked Mr. FixIt if he had ever seen that before and he said very, very rarely. We grabbed what we needed and went downstairs and watched the radar on our phones as the thunder was crashing overhead. The rain came down in torrents and we could tell it was overwhelming the gutters, but I’m so happy to say…the drain out back stayed clear and we didn’t get a drop of water inside the basement!
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/0e08354366.jpg\")
As soon as the coast was clear, we put on our rain boots and went out to survey the damage. We didn’t hear any trees crashing, but when we were down at the big creek out back, there was a huge log flowing downstream. And, the creek flooded out of its banks and up into the field. Mr. FixIt says it doesn’t happen very often and this is the first time I saw it. The road crew came early this spring and graded the gravel road alongside our house so the water would flow away from the yard. Well, we still got standing water in the yard and this time, water flowed down off the road and created its own little creek across the near field. We’re going to have to have them figure something else out because this won’t work. Intermittent thunderstorms were forecast for all of last night. I just got setting in TOW-Wanda to write when the next wave hit. I packed everything up quickly and came back in the house. I really didn’t want to be out there if another severe storm came through.
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/157520abc5.jpg\")
Now, update on the bathroom…we have a toilet! It’s not hooked up to water yet, but it will be today. We managed to put it in without killing each other. It must be hard for Mr. FixIt. I know just enough about renovations and tools to be dangerous. I think he should do it my way. He says, “I don’t know.” Which, loosely translated means… “I think it’s great you’re helping me and that you’ve done things like this before, but…we’re going to do it this way.” Which is fine. Because…when it’s MY job, I’m going to expect him to do it MY way! Which he does.
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/949482ae4c.jpg\")
T-Minus four days and counting till Daughter #1 arrives with the kids! I made a lot of progress on their room yesterday. Not much left to do and I’ll be kicked back in my summer dress and pearls with a cold ice tea with a plate full of sugar cookies…sitting on the veranda when they arrive. Looking all the world like this hasn’t been a bit of trouble getting ready for company! You know I’d do it all over again in a heartbeat just to see my Colorado Peeps!
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/de29916cc3.jpg\")
The average annual rainfall for New Castle, Colorado (where I used to live) is 15 inches. In a YEAR. Yesterday, we got about 2.25” in around an hour’s time. It’s crazy how wet and humid it is here in West Virginia.
\n\n\n?
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2021-06-22T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2021/06/22/wowza-the-sky-is-falling.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","West Virginia","Farm Life"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2021/05/30/i-have-a-dream.html", "title": "I Have a Dream", "content_html": "\n“Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:”
\n1 Peter 4:8-10 ESV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/c975dd2e41.jpg\")
My Bubby turns 70 this fall. We’ll be traveling to Colorado to help him celebrate. My dear sister/friend texted me yesterday telling me her husband will soon be 75. Mr. FixIt will be 70 in the early New Year. And I’ll be 68 next month. I told my friend, “How can this be possible? We were just laying out with baby oil and Sun-In in our hair...like, five minutes ago!” And now? Wow!
\n\n\nIt’s not bad, though. I mean...I’ve done an awful lot in this life. I had countless “careers”, four husbands, kids galore if you count all the ones who called me “Mom”. I’ve lived in England and Colorado and now back to my roots in WV. I’ve traveled alone halfway around the world. I’ve pulled a 30’ camper by myself back and forth across the country. I’ve slept under the stars and howled at the moon. I’ve skinny dipped in hot springs in the nooks and crannies of the Rockies. I’ve brought two amazing women into the world...my greatest achievement.
\n\n\nAnd now...I have this amazing life. This almost-68-year-old amazing life with this wonderful guy I’ve known since I was a kid. And we live on five beautiful acres in the country. Honestly...I’m living my dream life. Short of owning Grandma’s farm, this is perfect! And, now that we’ve decided to stay put, my heart is putting down roots even further. I’ve been thinking about ways to carve out spaces on our acreage that are not only beautiful, but functional and fun.
\n\n\nI’ve wanted a “she-shed” for years. I have it in my head what I want it to look like. I save photos that I see and file them away for reference. There is a beautiful shed in a garden in Seattle that inspires me. It’s a Little White House that the owners rent out as a space for photo shoots and teas and such. I’d love to have something like that. To make this into a complex with little sheds and gardens and paths. A place for a couple of campers. A large communal fire pit. We already have the big building. We could start with something like an Autumn Festival and sell antiques. We could have a place for live music. There’s plenty of room for parking. It could be really cool. Or it could just be a dream. Who knows? The important thing is...always having a dream. Something to look forward to. Something that brings you joy.
\n\n\nSixty-eight. Hey...it’s not NINETY-EIGHT! I have a DREAM!
\n\n\n?
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2021-05-30T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2021/05/30/i-have-a-dream.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","West Virginia","New Ideas","Gratitude","Comfort","Be Joyful!","Farm Life"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2021/05/28/days.html", "title": "3,000 Days", "content_html": "\n“Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.”
\nPsalm 37:4 ESV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/35f179da17.jpg\")
Grandma’s Peonies
\n\n\nWhile Mr. FixIt busied himself fixing the door into our pole building, I headed to the farm to bring some more stuff home. I have to admit...I stretched out on Grandma’s bed for a half hour before I packed up the truck. Soaking up the atmosphere. It feels good. I really don’t have a whole lot left out there...but I don’t pack the truck too full with each load. It gives me more trips to the farm! I canceled the Dish Network account out at the farm this morning...thus ending a 23 year run with them. It will be interesting to find out how long that phone number has been in the family!
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/433adb29b3.jpg\")
Wisteria
\n\n\nI had a little walkabout and photographed Grandma’s flowers. I think her peonies are the prettiest I’ve ever seen. The irises are lovely, and since irises need to be thinned on occasion, I’m going to bring just a few over to the Ponderosa and make a special flower bed out near my new mini-campground we’re putting in. I also have a she-shed in my future that I want to build out there as part of my little compound for gathering my girlfriends and campout. I have it pictured in my mind. Now I just need to gather old doors and wood to build it with! I have so many projects I want to complete here at the Ponderosa. I do believe, once it’s complete, it shall be renamed...what? Marshmallow Ranch, of course!
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/d9c38608c0.jpg\")
Clematis and Carolina Spice Bush
\n\n\nI got the nicest note from Frank and Beans on Wednesday night. They were on their way down to WV to work on their cabin, so when I was finished loading what I wanted to bring home yesterday, I headed up to see what’s going on. They have one of those driveways that are very common in these West Virginia hills...straight up! Well, not really...but it sure seemed that way. I jumped out of the truck to greet my newest friends and look at their place. It’s beautiful up there and they have a view that looks right out over the treetops. It reminds me of pictures taken above the canopy of a rainforest...but without the monkeys!
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/8614fdc7ca.jpg\")
Iris, foreground...Rhododendron, background
\n\n\nWhen they had their driveway graded, the folks doing the work found a huge rock in the shape of a heart. It has special meaning to Frank, so I brought them another heart shaped rock I brought home from Colorado and gave it to them as a housewarming gift. I couldn’t stay long, but we vowed to stay in touch, and they reiterated I am welcome to stay at the farm anytime. Just sitting on the porch during a rainstorm will be a huge treat, let alone getting to stay for a day or two.
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/bcacff59f3.jpg\")
Iris
\n\n\nI stopped at the store on the way home and fixed a quick supper. We have been dining on the deck every night under the pergola. We’ve only stayed out long enough to turn the market lights on a couple of times because we’ve been so busy with projects. But I envision more late nights out there as we catch up a little. Especially when the kids are here. I’m looking forward to doing more entertaining, as well.
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/09952aa4e1.jpg\")
Iris
\n\n\nIt’s supposed to rain today and the weather will turn quite cool over the next few days. The nights will be especially cool...good sleeping weather. I have discovered something very interesting. Now that I write in the spare bedroom, I am sleeping much more soundly when I get up and go to our room. Something about separating “work” from home has really improved my sleep hygiene. I sure wish TOW-Wanda was here and fixed already...I’d really enjoy sleeping out there on these cool nights. That’s what I get for procrastinating getting her to the RV Doctor!
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/054ec1ed72.jpg\")
Multiflora Rose
\n\n\nOh, and another thing...just as a matter of course. Today marks 3,000 days since Mr. Virgo died. I never could have dreamed of this life...of experiencing joy and happiness and deep love again. I couldn’t picture myself surviving that loss, let alone coming out the other side with a beautiful and fulfilling life. I just thought I would share that with you so that...if you are bereaved...there is hope for a good life down the road. I know it’s such a hard, hard journey...but a good life is worth working for.
\n\n\n?
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2021-05-28T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2021/05/28/days.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Grief","Positive Energy","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom","Choices","Change","Widow","Marriage","Healing"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2021/05/16/hes-got-the-little-things.html", "title": "He’s Got the Little Things, Too", "content_html": "\n“For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”
\nJeremiah 29:11 ESV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/1317ad9226.jpg\")
I’ve gotten a lot better about handing things over to God as I age. I just get tired and lose patience and turn it over later than I should. I told you about giving Him the taxes to handle. The rest of the story happened yesterday.
\n\n\nWhen I went to bed Thursday night, I told God I was just going to leave this folder on His desk and I’d look for his report in the morning. Well, when I got up yesterday, I went into the office and sat down. After going through that whole rigamarole over the printer and printing everything out, I still wasn’t comfortable sending it in that way. Mainly because I would have to send all those 1099’s and such, and I just wanted to keep it simple. I wanted to e-file.
\n\n\nI found the AGI. I even made an account on the IRS website to look at my past tax transcripts to make double sure. My main problem was, I couldn’t for the life of me remember what PIN I used last year and that was key. So that’s what I left God to work out for me while I slept. When I sat down at my desk...I kid you not...those two PINs popped in my head as clear as if I’d made them up on the spot. Now, I can’t tell you if I’ve eaten at a certain restaurant, every if I’ve been there five times in the last five years. Between grief, PTSD, the COVID year, a closed head injury from my truck accident, and my parathyroid issues...my memory is pretty bad. But God helped me remember! I put the items in their proper places and hit send. Within an hour or so, I received texts that our returns had been accepted! What a blessed relief. I may have to keep doing my taxes so I have more stories to tell...blog fodder, you know! lol
\n\n\nI emptied the load I brought back from the farm and put it downstairs. I left Mr. FixIt mowing and I headed out to the farm. When I got here, I could feel the changes in my bones. Not melancholy, exactly. But...I’ve been thinking a lot about this as “my last stay at my grandma’s house”. I’d be lying if I said it doesn’t hurt. I fixed a quick meal and came in and stretched out on Grandma’s bed. As I lay there, I felt the wind brush across me from the open window. I listened to the birds as they flitted through the bushes lining the creek. I got drowsy and just drifted off when there was a loud knock on the front door.
\n\n\nI seldom get company here, and family would come to the back door. I got up and peeked out through the curtain. There was a man on the porch.
\n\n\n“Hello?” I said through the closed door.
\n\n\n“We’re your neighbors!” The man smiled warmly and his wife said hello.
\n\n\nI opened the door and met the lovely couple who bought the place where my grandma got my jelly cupboard at an auction when I was around three years old. They had been on a four-wheeler ride around the back side of the farm and wanted to know if that was the property line. I got my iPad out and looked at the satellite imagery on Google maps. They showed me where they are building a cabin. I showed them where the old home place was. We talked about some of the history of the people who had lived here before me. We laughed at the rack you can’t throw a rock up this way without hitting someone we’re related to. They were delightful and we had the best conversation.
\n\n\nWhen they left, I crawled back under the covers and ended up falling asleep. When I woke up, I went looking for Charlotte...my 2nd cousin’s wife. I thought she might be at the barn, but she was at their son’s place, enjoying a cookout. I turned around and went back. There’s a steep drive and when you get to the bottom, it goes right in the creek. I stopped and looked at the water. It didn’t think it was too deep but I wasn’t sure. Then I heard Charlotte yell, “Come on down. You just drive right through that!” So, that’s what I did...holding my breath.
\n\n\nWe had a lovely visit and just before dark, I moseyed back up to Grandma’s. There’s more to the story of today’s events, but that’s to be left for another day. This day was good enough on its own merit. It just goes to show, you can ask for God’s help with anything...large or small. He wants to be involved in every little part of your life. And by golly...thanks to Him, those taxes are done for another year!
\n\n\n?
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2021-05-16T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2021/05/16/hes-got-the-little-things.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","Love","Choices"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2021/04/27/the-best-gift-ever.html", "title": "The Best Gift EVER!", "content_html": "\n“give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.””
\nLuke 6:38 ESV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e368b92cb5.jpg\")
We had a lot to do yesterday and in order to get it all done, we had to split up and share the chores. I ran to our little burg and bought gas for the mowers and picked up the mail that was held. Mr. FixIt headed to town to pick up the cat.
\n\n\nThe grass was really thick, and still a little damp with dew in the shady spots, but I got right to work. I filled the gas tank and topped off the oil and started the mowing. Things were moving right along...I had about 15-20 feet all around the edges of both fields and the yards done when...the blades stopped turning on the mower. No sound, no sudden problems...they just stopped turning. Although it’s never happened to me, I knew the belt had either broken or popped off the pulleys. Well, that was not what I expected.
\n\n\nI drove back to the big building and pulled the old tractor out to finish mowing. Mr. FixIt changed the oil this spring so both tractors would be operational. I hopped on, turned the key, and...nothing. The battery was dead! Hmmmmm...I sat there cogitating. Now, taking a mower deck off and changing out a belt is not part of my skill set so the next best thing was to jump the old tractor with my truck.
\n\n\nI pulled my truck up close and hooked up the jumper cables, started up the truck, and hopped on the tractor. It started right up! I felt so empowered! I sat there for a little while to let the battery start to charge up a bit. I thought, “I’ll just leave it running and unhook the jumper cables and turn off my truck, then I can get back to work. I started to get off the tractor and the engine promptly threatened to die. Of course! There is a safety switch under the seat. The engine will stop when you lift weight off it.
\n\n\nOk...Plan B. I tugged on the jumper cables to disconnect them, but I parked a little too far away to get leverage. By this time, the tractor had been running for a good five minutes. I was sure it would start again. I turned it off, disconnected the jumper cables, turned off the truck, and hopped back on the tractor. I turned the key and....nothing. Grrrrrrr. I pulled the truck up closer, repeated the steps above, got the tractor started, disconnected the jumper cables and thought, “How am I going to turn off the truck?”
\n\n\nWell...the answer was...I wasn’t. I had a full tank of gas and Mr. FixIt would be home any minute, so I just headed out and mowed. When he got home, I drove up to my sweetheart and yelled, “Turn off the truck!” He shook his head indicating he couldn’t hear me and motioned for me to turn off the tractor. I shook my head and said, “I can’t...the battery’s dead!” He shook his head and yelled, “Turn off the tractor!” I yelled back, “Turn off the truck!!!” lolol We both ended up laughing when he finally figured out what I was asking him to do. I’m sure the neighbors thought we were a sight!
\n\n\nTaking the mower deck off and cleaning it then running to town for a new belt and blades (one was cracked in two places) was not on Mr. FixIt’s agenda today. The old tractor really beats me up so I felt like I’d gone ten rounds in the WWE by the time I was done. I told my sweetheart, if he’d let me stretch out for 10 minutes, I’d go to town with him and buy him dinner. It was a fair trade, but the icing on the cake came as we drove home and the Pink Moon rose over the hills of West Virginia and took our breath away!
\n\n\nWe are so incredibly blessed to live the life we have in the most beautiful place in the world. (OK, I’m biased.) I thought as I mowed...how this ground, this West Virginia red clay...has formed me as much as God forming Adam. My blood runs blue and gold and my heart will always be a Mountaineer.
\n\n\nMontani Semper Liberi...Mountaineers are Always Free!
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2021-04-27T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2021/04/27/the-best-gift-ever.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","West Virginia","Gratitude","Be Joyful!","Farm Life"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2021/04/11/in-search-of-the-silver.html", "title": "In Search of the Silver Linings", "content_html": "\n“Live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God.”
\n1 Peter 2:16 ESV\n
![\"Grandma’s](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/7f33d03123.jpg\")
The Farm
\n\n\nYesterday we talked about letting the farm go and the inevitability of change in our lives. I read the lovely comments and encouraging words you left me on my post and it gave me much to think about throughout the day. When life hands me lemons, I start looking for all the different ways to use them. There are so many ways to make a lemon sweet and more palatable.
\n\n\nWhen I took over the farm in 2016, I also took over the utilities. When I no longer have that to deal with, I’ll have at least an extra couple hundred dollars in my bank account. That’s a good amount of camping I could be doing. Also, we won’t be responsible for the mowing and that will give us a lot more time and less pressing need to always be here.
\n\n\nYou know, normally I never would have had the opportunity to spend more than a week or two at the farm when I came home for vacations every year. After Mr. Virgo passed and I came back to West Virginia to help my elderly aunt, I had a taste of life in the country. It only lasted ten weeks that go round, but it was enough to let me know it was the life for me.
\n\n\nWhen I returned to West Virginia in the summer of 2016, I was presented with an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. My uncle was taking my aunt to go live with him and he needed someone to live at the farm and take care of it. He asked if I could come off the road and stay there for him. I didn’t have to think twice.
\n\n\nHaving all this time to live in my grandparents’ house was such a gift from God. I did a lot of healing there. Not only from the wounds of losing my husband, but of losing so much of myself over the years. It brought me back to my simpler roots. I remember, as a doctor’s wife...talking to one of my lifelong friends. Apparently I needed to be brought down a peg or two because she reminded me, in no uncertain terms, that she and I had the same roots in the red clay of Appalachia and it would do me well to remember that.
\n\n\nI’ve never forgotten that conversation. Living a simple farm life after downsizing humbled me in a way nothing else has. As I read stories on Facebook yesterday, I was reminded of the most basic point. I am letting go of a house. I have friends letting go of their children, of their marriages, of their livelihoods. I have friends who are in life and death struggles with health concerns. I am letting go of a HOUSE. I’m not planning a funeral, yet I will grieve. I am not burying a loved one, yet I am bereaved.
\n\n\nIt isn’t lost on me the way God is helping me through this. Daughter #1 and her girls will be here the week before we have to vacate the farm. We are planning a gathering of family to say goodbye to the old girl...and to the long line of loved ones who called her home and are no longer with us. Little is staying with us while my daughter takes Big to go see colleges. You see? I get to not only share the farm with Little, but I get to share my heart and the stories of her ancestors and instill a love and appreciation for what came before her. She and I have never been together....here. It’s extraordinary how well orchestrated this is. God is so good!
\n\n\nIt is a natural process in life to grieve the things we lose that bring us such love. And, just as I have learned to keep Mr. Virgo’s memory alive within me, the same will be true of the farm. I will remember the sights, sounds, smells, and every little feeling that creaky old house gives me till the day I part this earthly plane. When I hear rain on the roof of a camper, I’ll be transported back in time to a little red house in the woods. When I lay my head on a pillow where I can hear the rushing sounds of water in a creek, I will close my eyes and remember.
\n\n\nWhen I hug those I love, I give away bits of the love my family poured into me. That love comes from an endless source...a fount of remembrances of love and joy and faith. I carry the farm within me. I AM THE FARM and THE FARM IS ME.
\n\n\nWe are one and we are love...simply because, we were loved. By the family and by the land upon which we stood. For we are but sojourners here.
\n\n\n?
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2021-04-11T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2021/04/11/in-search-of-the-silver.html", "tags": ["Faith","Family","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","Gratitude","Love","Wisdom","Peaceful Moments","Farm Life","Memories"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2021/02/24/day-of-a-certain-age.html", "title": "Day 345: “Of a Certain Age”", "content_html": "\n““The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is mine. For you are strangers and sojourners with me.”
\nLeviticus 25:23 ESV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/c28eb8cd37.jpg\")
I’ve been playing with my hair...trying to dress up a plain old ponytail or bun with a fun hair wrap. The color isn’t quite right on this one. I ordered a lighter one with more curls. We’ll see if it works better. I was remarking to Mr. FixIt yesterday...I cannot believe how grey my hair has gotten in the last five years. But I still have a streak of my former color in my bangs on one side that goes back a ways on top.
\n\n\nYeah...I’m there. I’m at that age where, as my good friend Diane says, you can sneeze and be laid up in bed for three days. I’m THAT kind of old. Monday morning I woke up with the worst sore throat. But it wasn’t like “sick” sore. It felt more like whiplash. I started the inventory. Did I fall or make any sudden movements? Was I getting sick? Is this what happens with Covid? Could it have something to do with the tumor I’m having removed in a couple of weeks? Who knows?
\n\n\nWhen I woke up yesterday, it felt much better. Then I remembered...on Sunday, I woke up, turned my head to took out the window and yawned. I felt a spasm in my throat and I immediately stretched it out. But that’s the only thing I could think of to cause that soreness in my neck. I’m just grateful I am not getting sick...I have too much to do!
\n\n\nYesterday was absolutely gorgeous here on the Ponderosa. The sun was shining and the temperature got up to 54 degrees! Wahoooooo!!! I stood outside and turned my face to the sun for some much needed solar therapy. After lunch, Mr. FixIt asked if I was ready to help him with a project. We needed to run the snake down the back drain to make sure it’s running clear because we are getting big time rain this weekend. And, we want to make sure the drain is open while we are away. I have a monitor down in the basement by the back door that detects when the floor gets wet. I’d hate to be in Florida and get that alert!
\n\n\nThere are some things Mr. FixIt can’t do after his strokes and since I can, and I absolutely don’t mind getting my hands dirty, I changed into my work clothes and headed to the basement. We have this thing down to a science now. I wear rubberized gloves for protection and he keeps a can of 3-in-1 oil handy to keep the cable running smoothly between my hands. I get outside the door and sit on an overturned bucket and run the foot pedal for stop and go. He shifts the mechanism from forward to reverse on my command.
\n\n\nWe got the snake down as far as we could with the big blades then switched to the smaller ones to fine tune the tough part where the drain runs underneath the flowering quince and forsythia. If we do this every month in the spring and summer, we should keep that drain running well. When we were finished with the snake, we ran the hose down the drain with the balloon on the end to flush water through it. Then we walked down to the creek to make sure the water was flowing through the drain ok.
\n\n\nThe creek is running really high due to all the snow melt. We carried a shovel down with us to clear out the distance from the end of the pipe to the creek. It can get filled with mud and silt from the high runoff. Now that we have that job finished, we can breathe a little easier. It’s a reminder that farm jobs are going to start picking up before we know it and those long leisurely days of relaxation are soon coming to an end.
\n\n\nWhen we finished, Mr. FixIt walked by me and said, “You did a really good job today.” It feels so good to be appreciated for your hard work and I don’t take that for granted. Neither does he. We’re a good team and work pretty well together. I have a tendency to get a little bossy because I think my way is better, but he’s a good sport and lets me think it. lol
\n\n\nWe have errands today, and tomorrow we get our second vaccine. And...February is almost over. Amazing!
\n\n\n?
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2021-02-24T02:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2021/02/24/day-of-a-certain-age.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","Gratitude","Farm Life"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2021/02/21/day-waiting-for-spring.html", "title": "Day 342: Waiting for Spring", "content_html": "\n“Prepare your work outside; get everything ready for yourself in the field, and after that build your house.”
\nProverbs 24:27 ESV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/bfdf4dafbb.jpg\")
I know it’s probably a little early to be wistful about springtime in West Virginia, but it’s really not all that far off. By Wednesday, we are expecting the temperature to climb into the mid 50’s and it will feel glorious after the cold and snow we’ve been experiencing. Those first few days of promising warmth and sunshine stir my adventurous spirit and sends me into fantasies of long road trips and camping in the woods by a stream.
\n\n\nYesterday, while still quite cold, was a stellar sunshiny day here in West Virginia. I stood at the big picture window in the family room and gazed out at the light filtering down between the empty branches on the hillside across the road...the snow a glittering stretch of diamonds before me. The cardinals and blue jays, wrens and chickadees, starlings and sparrows all danced from the forsythia hedge to the myriad feeders we have hung about.
\n\n\nIf you look out there in the yard, there is a small tree. Mr. FixIt bought me a pink flowering dogwood tree when I first joined him here on the Ponderosa. He placed it there so that I could see it from my chair in the family room. Every time I look out at it, I am reminded of what a sweet and caring husband I have. And how grateful I am that he is still here with me. He had his first stroke a year ago today, and I have to tell you...there’s a little remnant of trauma sitting in my heart.
\n\n\nThat’s what happens when you have had PTSD. Anniversaries, sounds, smells, the way the light shines...anything can trigger the memories of the traumatic event. And any loss, be it death, divorce, loss of a job or a pet or your financial security, or the sudden illness of your spouse can trigger a grief response. He’s doing so well, but I will still tiptoe on eggshells for a little bit before I breathe easier again. I know in my heart God has this. But this is a physiological response, not an emotional or intellectual one.
\n\n\nWhen I awoke yesterday morning, Mr. FixIt was quietly reading the morning news beside me. I turned to him and said, “Listen...did you hear that?” We neither one could figure out what it was. It sounded all the world like a little kitten, but it turned out to be the starlings in the flowering quince outside the bedroom window. I believe it was the quiet bill and coo of early courtship they were practicing out there, and I must say...I was greatly relieved someone hadn’t dropped off another kitten here at Chez Marshmallow.
\n\n\nWe are so blessed in this season of life. Soon, we will have our second shot and we’ll be able to breathe a little easier. Still being careful, of course...but we are certainly heading in the right direction. And when the sun shines, it’s an extra happy day. I hope you can count your blessings every day, because we do indeed have so much to be grateful for.
\n\n\n?
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2021-02-21T02:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2021/02/21/day-waiting-for-spring.html", "tags": ["Grief","Positive Energy","Gratitude"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2021/02/13/day-throwing-out-a-lifeline.html", "title": "Day 334: Throwing Out a Lifeline", "content_html": "\n“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever.”
\nPsalm 136:1 ESV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/94637bebdb.jpg\")
Sometimes we lose our moorings. We become untethered and bound about, endlessly bouncing from one disaster to the next...wondering if life will every slow down. Just a little. Just enough to catch our breath. We bob and weave like a buoy....broken away and tossed on the waves...no way to be saved. Or to save others.
\n\n\nI’ve been cut loose like that from time to time. And, in the depths of my loss, something happens that reels me back in and makes me feel calmer, more anchored. I know it’s often my own prayers that bring me back to God...to my source of peace and comfort. But, it occurred to me last night as I was meditating on this topic...sometimes it’s the prayers of others that bring us back.
\n\n\nAs I scanned the last week, there have been so many opportunities for me to pray. Some for myself, for sure. But many, many opportunities to pray for others. The other night, a sweet friend from my little town in Colorado texted to tell me we had lost a very dear man...a friend to all. A quiet man with a fierce love for life. A talented actor. An adventurer. A sweet spirit.
\n\n\nI last chatted with him a week or so ago. He had survived his second bout of cancer and the scans were clear, he said. He had to come home from Asia where he’s lived for several years so he could get his cancer treatments. He had to leave his love there, because it’s very difficult to get a visa. They’ve worked at it for the better part of three years, and finally it was granted. She was packed and on her way to join him. He was to pick her up at the airport today. Instead, they had to contact her at the airport to tell her...he had died in his sleep the night before.
\n\n\nOf all the sadness and anger and ugly things that have happened in the last year...that broke me. I know sudden loss. I understand the gut punch a snatch death brings. But, to finally be on her way, then.... I’m heartbroken for her...and I have never met her. So, I pray for her and I hold her in my heart. And I throw her a line.
\n\n\nMy friend Kate has been widowed not quite four months. She is still learning to navigate this with teenaged twins. Hers was also a snatch death...a heart attack...just exactly like Mr. Virgo. She’s going through the same things I did....the anger, the fear, the guilt. And, just when she landed a dream job, a horrific ice storm is felling trees and branches all over her acreage. So far, it hasn’t damaged her house too much, but there’s four more days to go through this storm. So, I pray for her and I hold her in my heart. And I throw her a line.
\n\n\nMy friend Janine has a niece who just had her first baby...right in the middle of a debilitating brain bleed and resulting surgery and things are scary...sort of touch and go. The family is beside themselves and praying harder than they ever have. So, I pray for her and I hold her in my heart. And I throw her a line.
\n\n\nGod gives me an endless supply of lifelines to throw out to people in the form of prayer. When I throw that line out to someone, it sticks to them...whether they know it or not...whether they feel it or not. Then God picks up the other end of the line and takes it from there.
\n\n\nJust as I sat down to write this, a Silver Alert came across my phone. I looked down at the face of the middle aged man and I recognized in him a developmental disability...much like my own brother, and my sweet Uncle Bob who is gone with Jesus now. This man is lost somewhere and it is frightfully cold. He doesn’t have a warm winter coat on...only a hooded sweatshirt. This breaks me even more. There...but for the Grace of God. That could have been my brother. I am overcome with gratitude that he has always been loved and cared for and the people with whom we have entrusted his care are so good to him.
\n\n\nSo...I pray for them all...I hold them in my heart. Then I throw them a line.
\n\n\n?
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2021-02-13T02:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2021/02/13/day-throwing-out-a-lifeline.html", "tags": ["Faith","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Positive Energy","Gratitude","Grace","Healing"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2021/01/26/day-a-monumental-project.html", "title": "Day 316: A Monumental Project", "content_html": "\n“Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”
\nJames 5:16 NIV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/9644129df1.jpg\")
When I first began Marshmallow Ranch, it was just a little Facebook page promoting jewelry I made in my art studio. I networked part of the day to build an audience, and worked the rest of the day in my studio upstairs. Mr. Virgo was working at the Ritz Carlton in Aspen, and I was still working part time as a Clinical Pharmaceutical Research Coordinator. I slowly but surely gained followers and shipped jewelry out several days a week, when the unthinkable happened and my world crashed down around me.
\n\n\nAfter my husband’s untimely death, I bought my first camper and took off for three months in the wilderness and backroads of Colorado. I loved it, I sold my house, I hit the road, and made it to West Virginia. Somewhere around two years of writing here on Facebook, I thought maybe I should have a separate website. But, for one reason or another, I just didn’t follow through with that idea until December 2016.
\n\n\nEver since the day my website went live, I’ve had a link from my FB posts over to my website. Some don’t mind it...others hate it...but it’s the only way to build a social media platform. And, if you want to have any kind of standing with a publisher, that’s one of the first things they look for. I do want to get my book(s) published one of these days, so that became important to me.
\n\n\nThat left me with a dilemma. What to do with all that writing that sat alone over on Facebook?
\n\n\nFor one thing, sometime in 2017, Mr. FixIt shows up and my writing started to change its timbre. Time, healing, and new love set my feet in a new direction and not every piece I wrote was about grief anymore. Which isn’t a BAD thing. It’s the natural progression of healing, and I am glad I’ve been able to demonstrate the hope of a healing heart. But what about all those people who came down this road after me? While they are in their first and second and even third years of grief, the last thing they want to read is all the happy stuff I write about.
\n\n\nI want the newly bereaved to have ready access to the parts of my grief that more closely match what they’re currently going through. The website is great because there is a list of months and years so you can read along chronologically. However, that meant I had to hand copy four years worth of blog posts from Facebook. No easy task.
\n\n\nI worked on it sporadically whenever I had chunks of time...usually during the snowy months or when I traveled. I knew if I was actually going to finish, I needed to buckle down and force myself to wade through it and get it done. I started just after Thanksgiving 2020, sat down every day in my big red recliner and copied and pasted for hours every day. I don’t think I took more than a day or two off.
\n\n\nWell, last night at 9:35...I finally finished!!! Now, if one were so inclined (and I can’t imagine that they would)...the entire collection of my writing is readily accessible on my website! Huge, HUGE amount of work. I’d love to be able to figure out how many words there are on there. lol It makes me giggle when I remember my mom telling me I had “the gift of gab.” Daughter #2 says I can “talk to a tree.”
\n\n\nMaybe so...but I still haven’t run out of things to say. I’ll still keep plugging along...till I decide I’ve said enough. I love coming here and talking to you every day. You have become my coffee mates...my sounding board...my creative outlet...my muse. I know pride is a sin...but I think what I’m feeling more is...a sense of great accomplishment. There are now 2,558 posts on my website. If I averaged ~600 words per post, that would be 1,534,800 words!!!
\n\n\nI think I have a few more left in me. Here’s to learning and growing and exploring and living and...writing!
\n\n\n?
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2021-01-26T02:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2021/01/26/day-a-monumental-project.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Gratitude","Humbled","Writing"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2021/01/24/day-doctor-doctori-can-walk.html", "title": "Day 314: Doctor, Doctor...I Can Walk!", "content_html": "\n“But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.””
\n2 Chronicles 15:7 NIV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/5f8f6941fa.jpg\")
I’ve survived a lot in my sixty-seven years. Abuse, trauma, addiction, depression. And, every time I’ve gone through a rough patch, I come out feeling such a tremendous sense of relief and gratitude that the pain finally stopped. I have to say...I felt that yesterday. When you are in the trenches for a long time, it’s really easy to convince yourself you’re doing ok. It’s not so bad. I can do this. Then, when the weight is lifted, you realize just how awful it was down there. It’s the same as when you’ve been very sick with a bad flu. When you feel better is when you realize just how sick you really were.
\n\n\nIt seems something as ubiquitous as the “Bernie Memes” swept the internet, our country came out of the water at the deep end and gasped a lung full of fresh air. You could almost feel a collective sigh as people everywhere belly laughed for maybe the first time in a long, long time. It felt good. No...it felt GREAT! It felt liberating....like coming out of a dark winter into the warm sunshine of spring.
\n\n\nIt’s been a rough stretch for an awful lot of people in this country and Bernie sitting in a chair EVERYWHERE was just what the doctor ordered. I felt the weight of the world lift off my shoulders as I saw thread after thread on the internet...each meme funnier that the last. It felt...normal. Like, normal life. The Covid numbers are still awful, but they just might be slowing down ever so slightly. The vaccines are slowly trickling out, but help is on the way to coordinate the effort. And each day has incrementally more light in it that the day before as we slowly inch our way toward spring.
\n\n\nThe sun was shining yesterday here at the Ponderosa. I sat in my big red recliner and worked all day on my website and I’m making great progress. I am up to the first week of September 2016. Once I finish copying November 14, 2016...everything will be on my website. What an accomplishment that will be. To be able to scroll down and see eight years of work at my fingertips. It makes me giddy to think such a huge undertaking is nearly complete. Between that and the stress released by lots of belly laughs...I’m feeling like a new woman today! We aren’t totally out of the woods yet, but my strength has been renewed and I can face another day...with a whole boatload more hope!
\n\n\n?
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2021-01-24T02:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2021/01/24/day-doctor-doctori-can-walk.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Fun","Gratitude","Wisdom","Change","Be Joyful!","Healing"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2021/01/19/day-the-ripple-effectraising-our.html", "title": "Day 309: The Ripple Effect...Raising our Collective Mood", "content_html": "\n“I pray that God, who gives hope, will bless you with complete happiness and peace because of your faith. And may the power of the Holy Spirit fill you with hope.”
\nRomans 15:13 CEV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/f1150a72db.jpg\")
In psychology, the Ripple Effect is “emotional contagion in groups”. In other words, the emotions of one person can effect the mood of many others in the group. Negative energy is more readily spread. We’re all familiar with this in our daily interactions with others.
\n\n\nI think we can all agree there is a whole lot of negative energy swirling around in the world right now. It seems the volatile combination of a contentious political environment, a worldwide pandemic, and the resultant fallout of the two is taking it’s toll on everyone. Our collective mental health is suffering and I am praying in the coming months, we can start turning some of that around with calmer waters. When we get come semblance of control over this virus through vigorous health habits and herd immunity through vaccination and antibodies, we can get back to a more normal life.
\n\n\nWhen all this started last year, I don’t think the majority of people could even imagine it taking this long. It’s hard, I will not lie. I was telling Mr. FixIt yesterday...it’s not easy when you like each other and you get along. It’s got to be h*** when you’re having marital issues on top of it all. I personally know several who are really struggling with this and I hate it for them.
\n\n\nSo, what can we do to bring up the vibrations around us when we can’t get away? For me, my first outreach is to God for comfort. He’s always there to listen to my heart and lift me up. In addition, here are some suggestions that might also help you and those around you.
\n\n\nSo, today is Tuesday...let’s make it a better, brighter day for someone else. And, in return, that will make it a better, brighter day for us.
\n\n\n?
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2021-01-19T02:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2021/01/19/day-the-ripple-effectraising-our.html", "tags": ["Hope","Positive Energy","Choices","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2020/12/30/day-let-your-light-shine.html", "title": "Day 289: Let Your Light Shine Brighter", "content_html": "\n“God cares for you, so turn all your worries over to him.”
\n1 Peter 5:7 CEV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/da88bbd5cc.jpg\")
My grandma had all kinds of sayings that were descriptive and puzzling and funny and weird. Some were long handed down colloquialisms. Some were just those inside jokes that develop within the family and you’re surprised no one else has heard them...they’re just so accurate. One saying she used a lot...it was an Appalachian take on Karma. If you did something you might not ought to have done, or if you made a simple mistake that came back to bite you in the butt later, Grandma would exclaim... “Well, your chickens are just coming home to roost.” Meaning...you’re going to have to pay for that one.
\n\n\nCovid. You would be hard pressed at this point to find someone who doesn’t know someone in their circle who has had it. I hear more and more, every week. I can’t count anymore how many people I know who have had it or knows someone who has. I find it just as concerning today as I did when this first started spreading like wildfire in March. My only fear is that someone I know and love will get it and die. Thank God, the ones I know personally have been among the fortunates who just get sick. Science is still trying to figure out why some feel nothing much more than a bad cold while others seem a little sick one day and die the next.
\n\n\nIt’s a crazy disease. And seriously, one that should never, ever have gotten out of hand like this in the United States of America. I’m not going to go on a rant over this here, but I have choice words when I’m watching the news with Mr. FixIt...trust me.
\n\n\nThe other day, Daughter #2 called in a panic. They have a good friend who totaled his car a couple of weeks ago and they helped him out. His bubble is small, like theirs, although he does work in assisted living. His patient population had remained untouched by Covid until the week of his accident. And that is when my daughter went to pick him up from the emergency room after his car accident and let him stay with them for a couple of days to make sure he was ok.
\n\n\nWithin a few days, he tested positive for Covid. And, three days later, my daughter and her wife began having symptoms. They went right away and got tested, however, tests can often be negative when taken too early in the course of the illness. They haven’t had another test yet, but the circumstances wouldn’t be any different for them if they had. They are isolated and will schedule a repeat test sometime this week.
\n\n\nI am also thanking God they aren’t any sicker than they are. Right now, it’s mostly the fatigue that’s hitting them, and my daughter says it really doesn’t feel much worse than a really bad cold. Thankfully, she has Type O blood...they say those with that blood type seem to get a less severe case. Which is good because she also has bad asthma.
\n\n\nThey were just trying to do something kind to help their friend out when he crashed his car. They thought they were safe with all the precautions and their small social bubbles. But, it just goes to show you, this disease is nothing to trifle with. We cannot afford to let our collective guard down...which leads me to my main gripe.
\n\n\nSitting in my living room, not seeing my family since March...not seeing my Colorado family since August 2019...not eating in a restaurant since February, not camping, not socializing outside of direct family who also socially isolate and then only visiting outside and distanced. Making all these sacrifices and then watching all those people going through the airports and mingling at the malls, knowing...KNOWING full well what’s going to come in two weeks...it makes me so mad I could spit nails! I worked in medicine for forty-two years. I was married to an internist for twenty-one of those. I know how hard those on the front lines work when there ISN’T a pandemic raging.
\n\n\nAll it would have taken was a warning in January...something deadly is coming. Prepare yourselves. These are the steps you’re going to need to take. Do these things so we can hunker down and get through it and get back to normal as soon as possible. New Zealand did it. Other countries did it.
\n\n\nThis isn’t our Grandfather’s country anymore. What happened to the spirit of a people who rallied around the war effort and sacrificed for others? Those who say “You can’t stop living your life!” Tell that to the 330,000+ families who have lost their beloveds. It just boggles my mind that there are STILL people out there who think this is all a hoax or it’s overblown or it’s just a political ploy to try to control the masses. How many body bags does it take to convince them this is real and the medical community is about to crack?
\n\n\nOk...ok...I got on my soapbox after all. I can’t help it. It’s come after MY baby now! And this mama is pissed!!!
\n\n\nIT’S NOT FOREVER...IT’S JUST FOR NOW!!!
\n\n\nSTAY HOME
\n\n\nWATCH YOUR DISTANCE
\n\n\nWEAR A MASK
\n\n\nWASH YOUR HANDS
\n\n\nAnd, please pray my baby and her wife get better quickly with no complications or lasting side effects.
\n\n\nPLEASE
\n\n\nWhen times are dark....let your light shine brighter!
\n\n\nPhoto Credit: Steve Derrick - https://www.timesunion.com/entertainment/article/Local-artist-unmasks-soul-of-front-line-workers-15513007.php
\n\n\n?
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2020-12-30T02:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2020/12/30/day-let-your-light-shine.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Positive Energy","Love","Wisdom","Courage","Warning","Choices","Change","Kindness"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2020/12/23/day-special-deliveryjust-in-time.html", "title": "Day 284: Special Delivery...Just in Time for Christmas!", "content_html": "\n“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”
\nPhilippians 2:3-4 NIV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/2f9cce6f4b.jpg\")
I’ve been feeling kinda blue about Christmas this year. Covid has us sequestered and the kids all feel like they could just as well be on the moon. Top that with our firm commitment NOT to buy each other gifts this year and the season has just been...blah. I certainly have no complaints about the gift thing. We bought ourselves new recliners this year. Then the microwave went out and we replaced that. We had a trip to the beach in October. And there was an unexpected assessment on the condo this year, so we figured that was plenty. There really isn’t anything we really need anyway.
\n\n\nI’ve been so blessed to have all this time and supplies to do so much canning this year and those things don’t come cheap. But there’s only so much room in the kitchen and I’ve long since run out of space to store my small appliances. There are the shelves in the basement where I can store them but I know just as soon as I cart them downstairs, I’ll need one of them. Some of them are fairly heavy and unwieldy. An idea has been bouncing around in my mind for the last several weeks.
\n\n\nMy dear friend Ryb had a beautiful piece of furniture built in her Colorado kitchen to store her small appliances and baking pans. I always admired that, and vowed someday to have one. Then, divorce took away my big country kitchen and the house I built was just too small for such a cumbersome piece. Segue to 2020 and the Ponderosa. Another country kitchen, but still not enough room to house all my kitchen gadgets. I’ve been scouring Facebook Marketplace for something that might work but nothing was catching my eye. So, I did what I always do...I gave it to God and went about my business.
\n\n\nYesterday morning, I was having my coffee when a notification came across my phone...from Mr. FixIt...who was sitting on the other side of the living room.
\n\n\n“Look at this,” he said.
\n\n\nIt was a three piece, solid wood bookcase cabinet combo. An early entertainment center, really. But lovely. Country styling. Light oak. Interesting. I figured it would be way more than I wanted to pay. I kinda had a price in mind...$300.
\n\n\n“Nice! How much to they want for that?”
\n\n\n“$300!”
\n\n\n“Each piece?”
\n\n\n“No...total!”
\n\n\nWe looked at each other and smiled. I texted the lady and made arrangements and by 8:00 last night, the office was cleaned out, the furniture was in it, and it was holding all my appliances! I mean...if I would have measured out the space I needed to house my stuff, I couldn’t have done any better than this! It is so solid and heavy (thank you Harry and Joe for helping bring it home!) Seriously, it took three men to get it over here.
\n\n\nAs I carted my appliances from the floor of our dining room into the office adjacent to the kitchen, I placed each one in just the perfect spot. And with each trip, my heart got lighter and lighter. Because, I realize how truly blessed I am. I know there are people struggling mightily this year to just put food on the table. We are blessed this pandemic hit when we were retired and not when we were trying to raise a family. But, mostly...my heart was light because God always provides us with what we need.
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/afc0a3cd59.jpg\")
Did I NEED that piece of furniture? No, I did not. Did it brighten my heart and fill me with a sense of awe that God hears us? Yes, it did. God isn’t a Sears & Roebuck Catalog. You don’t just send out wishes and He fills them like the genie in the lamp. But He provides and wants to hear from us about all our hopes and dreams and wishes. Sometimes He says no...a LOT of times He says no. But...sometimes He says yes! We have been so blessed to be able to help out food banks and assist a few people during these trying times. This gift makes it easier for me to be organized and cook and provide for others without breaking the bank so that we CAN keep helping others. I am so humbled that God is so good.
\n\n\n?
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2020-12-23T02:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2020/12/23/day-special-deliveryjust-in-time.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Positive Energy","West Virginia","Gratitude","Change","Farm Life","Baking","Cooking","In the Kitchen"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2020/12/02/day-wishes-to-prayers-coincidences.html", "title": "Day 263: Wishes to Prayers, Coincidences to Blessings", "content_html": "\n“You will be blessed in every way, and you will be able to keep on being generous. Then many people will thank God when we deliver your gift.”
\n2 Corinthians 9:11 CEV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/2409c7f219.jpg\")
In the spring, I noticed my knuckles were swelling and painful. Arthritis? Could be. It’s also one of the myriad symptoms of hyperparathyroidism...of which I was unaware at the time. All I knew was, I was baking a lot and gardening a lot and my rings were becoming harder and harder to slip off and on. One day in particular really scared me. It took lots of uncomfortable coaxing to get my rings off. I certainly didn’t want to run the risk of having to get them cut off. I’ve seen that done and it isn’t pleasant for the recipient. Once I managed to get the rings off that time, they went to the safety deposit box.
\n\n\nAll summer, my finger was naked and I hated that I couldn’t wear my wedding rings. However, I equally hated the idea of asking Mr. FixIt to buy me another wedding band...even a simple gold band. As the year wore on, I thought I might broach the subject as a possible gift idea for Christmas, then the microwave bit the dust and there may be a trip to Florida coming up if this parathyroid surgery thing happens. Besides, we just bought these new recliners. I don’t need tchatchkes and I really have everything I could possibly want. I decided not to ask. But ohhhhh, how I wanted a ring on my finger. I did what I always do...I just handed it over to God and put it out of my mind.
\n\n\nThe other evening, Mr. FixIt was rummaging around in the basement for quite some time. When he came back up, he had a small case and set it on the floor in front of his recliner. I turned on the overhead light and sat on the floor to see what was in the box. It turned out to be some of his uncle’s “treasures”. Things like war memorabilia and old pocket watches that didn’t work. I am a sucker for things like this so I was having a big time.
\n\n\n“Maybe my new wedding ring is in this box.”
\n\n\nI looked up into my husband’s puzzled face. He knows my rings don’t fit but we’ve never spoken about it.
\n\n\nI smiled. “I asked God to bring me a new one that fits.”
\n\n\nHe looked down into the box and picked something up. “How about this one?”
\n\n\nIt was old and worn and looked like a piece of an old brass tube. I buffed it hard on the carpet and the tarnished surface remained unchanged. I slipped it on my finger and...I know this sounds SO weird, but...it felt like it belonged to me. Like I’d worn it forever. It was absolutely the perfect size. As a matter of fact, I can’t even tell I’m wearing it. I instantly loved it. It felt like I’d found something just yearning to be back on someone’s finger to be loved again. I didn’t even care that it was rough and tarnished.
\n\n\nMr. FixIt smiled at my pleasure over such a simple thing. He pondered who the ring might have belonged to and when it was worn last. We went through the rest of the treasures and put the box away. I kept looking at my new wedding band and was happy as a little clam.
\n\n\nWe had to run to town yesterday. We never found the missing link of Mr. FixIt’s bracelet so we decided to stop at the jeweler to see if it could be fixed. While we were waiting, I slipped off the new/old ring and asked my sweetheart to see if the jeweler could buff it up a little. I went around and browsed at the sparklies. Finally, he stepped back over and handed me a ring.
\n\n\n“I don’t know about that old one, but they found this one for you to try.”
\n\n\nI looked down at the shiny gold ring and back at him.
\n\n\n“This can’t possibly be the same ring!”
\n\n\n“It is...one and the same. The jeweler just buffed it up!”
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/623cbdbd7a.jpg\")
Oh, my gosh, you guys. You could have knocked me over with a feather! I slipped this beautiful 16K gold band on my finger and sent up a thank you to Jesus. This was way above and beyond what I ever thought I’d get for Christmas. I would have been happy with the tarnished one, but this? Wow.
\n\n\nMy wish became a prayer. What seemed like an uncanny coincidence turned into such a sweet blessing. Not only did I get a new wedding ring that fits perfectly, but my sweetheart got to share something that once belonged to a very special man in his life. When his uncle was a widower and old and alone, Mr. FixIt used to go to his house every single day after work and fix his dinner for him. He took him wherever he wanted to go. He helped him around the house on his days off. I am so honored to share this piece of his past. I’m so grateful to be a part of this story.
\n\n\n?
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2020-12-02T02:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2020/12/02/day-wishes-to-prayers-coincidences.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","Gratitude","Love","Wisdom","Be Joyful!","Memories","Marriage"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2020/11/11/day-farm-work-is-never.html", "title": "Day 242: Farm Work is Never Done", "content_html": "\n“If you are a husband, you should be thoughtful of your wife. Treat her with honor, because she isn't as strong as you are, and she shares with you in the gift of life. Then nothing will stand in the way of your prayers.”
\n1 Peter 3:7 CEV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/a3d3f95382.jpg\")
Yesterday was probably the last day till spring with the thermometer hitting 80 degrees. Rain was scheduled to arrive in the wee hours this morning and with it come the more seasonable temperatures. This late stretch of warmth afforded us the opportunity to finish up a few more projects around the Ponderosa.
\n\n\nWest Virginia is lush and green with annual rainfall that rivals a tropical rainforest. Consequently, plants grow like crazy here and if you don’t stay on top of it, you can soon feel like Jack and the Beanstalk. Such was the case with the North end of our house. We have a huge hydrangea bush that took up a full third of the wall and wrapped around the front corner. There is an old television antenna and, unfortunately, a combination of wild grape and Engelmann Ivy climbed it to the top with abandon. The base of some of those vines were a full three inches thick and woody.
\n\n\nThis was one of the many jobs on our to-do list and it finally got bumped up to first priority. Last Week, Mr. FixIt and his buddy Harry fixed the soffits under the eaves to keep the critters out of the attic this winter. That’s when they decided to tear out the vines and hydrangea this week. Actually, I didn’t realize they were going to scalp it quite this much. I was working inside and my sweetheart asked me out to see their handiwork. The nice thing about West Virginia...it won’t be too long and there will be growth again. We’ll need to salt the ground where the grape vine is because it’s harder than the dickens to kill.
\n\n\nWe still have to get the antenna down, but they needed a third pair of hands so it will just have to wait. We’re getting rain today...1-1.5 inches, to be exact. So it will be an inside day. Time to get those shelves downstairs cleaned off so I can store all these beautiful jars of food I canned this summer.
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/38ad77a0ad.jpg\")
We ended the day with a trip to get Chinese carry out. We sat in front of the old one room schoolhouse and had a picnic while the sun set over the ball fields. It was a good and productive day. Farm life...even just a little five acre plot with a barn cat...is a good life. It’s the life I’ve always dreamed of.
\n\n\n?
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2020-11-11T02:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2020/11/11/day-farm-work-is-never.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","West Virginia","Farm Life"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2020/10/02/day-where-do-i-findfeel.html", "title": "Day 203: Where Do I Find...Feel Good Friday?", "content_html": "\n“My friends, be patient until the Lord returns. Think of farmers who wait patiently for the autumn and spring rains to make their valuable crops grow.”
\nJames 5:7 CEV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/1b904472f7.jpg\")
Lord, have Mercy...these are hard times if we look at all we are shown. I’ve lost friends this year...some to death...some to politics. My list dwindles as people peel away from me for whatever reason. I had a friend ask the other night if we should unfriend till next year. I told her I am comfortable with civil discourse but if it made her more comfortable, she needed to do what was best for her. We decided to stay connected and work our way through the next few months. That being said, there are some friends I have had to put in “time out” by snoozing them for thirty days. When those thirty days are up, I can revisit and evaluate. I don’t unfriend people just because we have a difference of opinion. I DO unfriend people if they attack, are verbally abusive, or go beyond my personal boundaries of what I am willing to put up with.
\n\n\nSo...I snoozed the loudest, angriest, ugliest posts. Then...by mid week, my FB feed sounded like crickets. It’s been so much more peaceful and it left me the space to fill with hope and love. Hate doesn’t kill hate...only love does. My dear friend Diane shares the craziest, sometimes bawdiest memes and funnies and she helps keep me sane. She sometimes has a crusty exterior, but inside...she’s a marshmallow. She just doesn’t let very many people know. The other day, she sent me this. I watched it in messenger, but the sound wasn’t on. I thought is was so sweet...a speech therapist is getting married and her groom surprises her with the beautiful children she works with. Sweet. Then...when I prepared to write this post, I watched the full video with the sound and sobbed all the way through it...three times.
\n\n\nWe need more of this beauty and joy in our lives. These are hard times, yes. And there’s a lot of ugliness in this world. But....oh, my...there is still SO much beauty. Please don’t forget there is still so much beauty around us. Please don’t give up.
\n\n\nKeep looking.
\n\n\nKeep looking.
\n\n\nWATCH THIS BEAUTIFUL VIDEO HERE!
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2020-10-02T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2020/10/02/day-where-do-i-findfeel.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","Gratitude","Love","Peace","Be Joyful!","Kindness","Feel Good Friday"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2020/09/17/day-itty-bitty-critters.html", "title": "Day 183: Itty Bitty Critters", "content_html": "\n“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”
\nGalatians 5:22-23 NIV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/beb3c13aa3.jpg\")
I was hopeful when we spent the entire day in town on Monday, it meant I wouldn’t have to go back for a week. But that was not to be. I woke up yesterday and went over my to do list and remembered I needed to have blood drawn. Dang. I needed to pick up flea medicine for the kitty and buy a new set of sheets for the camper. And I’ve been wanting a food processor. I have one of those tiny food choppers, but they don’t do what I need done. Mr. FixIt had an appointment in town as well, but we decided to drive separately since we each had things that we needed to do.
\n\n\nWhen I got home, I stretched out to read my instruction manual for the food processor. I bought a simple 9-cup Kitchenaid that grates, slices, and processes with a blade. I really didn’t need the Mercedes model. After my little siesta, I went out to finish mowing. As I was pulling the tractor back into the building, something caught my eye. A baby Eastern Rat Snake was sunning itself at the doorway and I startled it. The little baby went slithering behind the extra refrigerator.
\n\n\nI know we have snakes out there. Remember the story I told you last year about rummaging around in the back corner, putting away camping equipment, and that massive Black Rat Snake fell out of the rafters and landed on the box in front of me? Yeah...there are snakes. I keep my eyes peeled when I’m in the building.
\n\n\nI like walking out to the camper on a warm summer night and seeing the little frogs and toads. They hang out under the outdoor lamp and catch bugs. By the end of summer, we have fat little critters all around here.
\n\n\nMr. FixIt and I were giving the kitty a little snuggle before I put her flea guard on and noticed there are tons of red tomatoes on in the garden. Today will be a kitchen day, for sure. Maybe I’ll get to try out my new food processor.
\n\n\nAnd, ohhhhh....there’s nothing like new crisp linens on a camper bed!
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2020-09-17T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2020/09/17/day-itty-bitty-critters.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","West Virginia","Farm Life"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2020/09/12/day-battling-west-virginia-vegetation.html", "title": "Day 178: Battling West Virginia Vegetation", "content_html": "\n“Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food at harvest.”
\nProverbs 6:6-8 NIV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/429c60d600.jpg\")
The area where we removed the biggest trees.
\n\n\nColorado has snow. West Virginia has dense foliage. Both are a result of moisture. Both are beautiful. And, both can be a king-sized pain in a horse’s patoot! We went out to the farm yesterday to do battle with the tough fall grass that grows in September. It’s so hard to cut. Then, instead of weed eating, I took the pole saw to several small trees and wild grape vines.
\n\n\nThe trunks of most of the trees were around an inch or so across, but there were a few that were around 3-4” and they were more cumbersome. You really have to stay on top of things around here or you soon have a veritable jungle surrounding you. The Rose of Sharon at the back corner of the house had grown in so close, you could hardly walk through there. That had to be trimmed back, as well as some of the branches still attached to the tree that fell. They were encroaching in the yard where I like to mow so they needed to go.
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/153c75638f.jpg\")
The larger brush pile.
\n\n\nOld blackberry canes, multi flora rose, wild grape vine, Virginia Creeper, sumac, pig weed, sycamore...all rapid growing and invasive. Of course, as soon as you get them cut, you have to haul them off to the brush pile or the grass will die where they lay. One tree was absolutely woven into the shrubbery with wild grape vines...just like weaving fabric. That one was a lot of work to get out and we had to chain it up to the tractor to pull it out of the road and into the yard where we could cut it up in smaller sections. I know I’m going to be sore today. For those of you who may not know what a pole saw is, it’s literally a small chainsaw on the end of a telescoping pole so you can reach low lying limbs without a ladder. Ours extends to about twelve feet so you’re trying to wield this thing around over your head and hold it steady while it chews through four or five inches of wood. It’s hard work, trust me.
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/763653bf14.jpg\")
The smaller brush pile.
\n\n\nI also ran a couple of loads of laundry while we were there, and we didn’t even leave our house till the bread was baked. We were supposed to go to the class picnic today, but with Covid and the new warnings to hunker down for the fall and winter, we just decided not to go. Some people say you can’t let fear keep you from living your life...we only get this one trip...make the most of it. My answer is, we are not living fearfully. We are living scientifically informed. Just wear the mask so we can get this over with. There...that’s my PSA for the day.
\n\n\nThese nights are “false fall”...a series of cool evenings that are great for sleeping in the camper with the windows open. There are so many who cannot open their windows because of the smoke. We are blessed here. Lots of moisture. Lots of vegetation. Lots of work...but so worth it!
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n“And God said, “Let the earth sprout vegetation, plants yielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind, on the earth.” And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, and trees bearing fruit in which is their seed, each according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.”
\nGenesis 1:11-12 ESV\n
#HardWork, #Vegetation, #WestVirginia
\n\n", "date_published": "2020-09-12T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2020/09/12/day-battling-west-virginia-vegetation.html", "tags": ["Strong Women","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","Gratitude","Farm Life","Marriage"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2020/09/10/day-beans-tomatoes-picklesyummm.html", "title": "Day 176: Beans \u0026 Tomatoes \u0026 Pickles...YUMMM!!!", "content_html": "\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/5a90df5956.jpg\")
Ok, yesterday was a marathon day in the kitchen here at the Ponderosa. I started out by packaging up the dehydrated mushrooms then rummaging through the garden to get a few more Roma tomatoes. I set what was ready in the dehydrator and turned my attention to the green beans.
\n\n\nI had enough of the beans cleaned yesterday to set a canner on to process. Then, Mr. FixIt and I enjoyed rocking in the recliners, watching old Frazier reruns while I finished stringing and snapping the last of the beans between canner loads.
\n\n\nI learned something yesterday. I should have weighed the beans, because apparently I had a LOT more than I thought. According to the weights and measures scale for produce, a bushel of snap beans should weigh between twenty-eight and thirty-two pounds. This should result in a quart of processed beans for every one-and-a-half to two pounds of raw produce. Initially, I figured I would get two canners full with enough leftover beans to cook up a mess for supper. (\"Mess is Appalachian for a batch...a dinner's worth with leftovers.)
\n\n\nI ended up with four canners full! That's twenty-eight quarts. I did my math and I payed just over a dollar a quart for these babies. AND I got the fun and satisfaction of putting them up for winter. I know, I know...this is nothing compared to what my cousins can every year. They put up hundreds of jars of food. I'm a little limited by supplies this year as I was sort of starting from scratch in the canning department. I'll get more jars and lids next spring.
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/a3278baa28.jpg\")
When the last canner was filled and on the stove, I got out my fermenting equipment and got two quarts of dill pickles started. They will sit for one to three weeks in the brine till they get to my desired taste. I made one quart with hot red pepper flakes for a little extra pizazz. I would normally use dried whole red peppers from the spice aisle but Walmart didn't have them.
\n\n\nAnd that was the end of my day. I was tired...but it was a good kind of tired. My hands smell like garlic and they're soft from working with wet beans for two days. My hips are sore from sitting so much. But, ohhhhh.....those beautiful jars of bottled summer take my breath away when I look at them!
\n\n\nIt was not till I was typing this last night to post this morning that I noticed the date. Today would have been Mr. Virgo's 70th birthday! It feels so unreal. He will always and forever be 62...a number I passed five years ago. I can't even imagine him at 70. He would have reluctantly retired. He had no hobbies other than golf and me. I never, EVER would have considered taking off in the camper by myself and having adventures without him. He told me when we were first dating that if I was the kind of woman who was going to leave him alone for long stretches of time, he wasn't interested. I had been in a two decade marriage with a workaholic who had dinner between 8:00-10:00 every night. I was ready for that one-on-one attention.
\n\n\nDon't get me wrong...I absolutely adore Mr. FixIt and I treasure every moment we have together. AND, I learned I need some space to recharge from time to time...for my own mental health as well as the comfort of my spouse. Different people. Different marriages. Different expectations. Still...I think of that silver-haired man and smile now.
\n\n\nSeventy.
\n\n\nWow.
\n\n\nHappy Heavenly Birthday, Mr. Virgo!
\n\n\n❤
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2020-09-10T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2020/09/10/day-beans-tomatoes-picklesyummm.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","West Virginia","Gratitude","Wisdom","Aging","Peaceful Moments","Be Joyful!","Farm Life","Widow","Memories","Marriage","Cooking","In the Kitchen"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2020/08/31/day-making-hay-while-the.html", "title": "Day 166: Making Hay While the Sun Shines", "content_html": "\nWhatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,
\nColossians 3:23 ESV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/3732b9d4a2.jpg\")
Grandma’s Hydrangea full of Honeybees
\n\n\nI thought for sure I was going to be a lady of leisure yesterday. But, nooooooooo! Even though it was Sunday, the Weather Channel App informed us first thing when we woke up what our day was going to entail. We had absolutely no other choice than to go to the farm and mow. But first, we had to go back to town. We got to the pharmacy too late on Saturday and then, when I opened up my brand new jelly maker, the knob for the lid was missing. Fortunately, they had another one and held it for me till we could get back yesterday morning.
\n\n\nAs soon as we got back home, we loaded up the truck and the trailer and headed to the farm with the mowers and assorted tools and materials we needed for a project we are working on. The grass was still pretty wet, but I went ahead and mowed anyway. It just meant I had to mow over it several times to mulch up the wet clumps of grass that gets left behind. It takes twice as long, but you do what you have to do.
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/25ffc3f073.jpg\")
The Gas Meter between the House and the Barn
\n\n\nWhile I mowed, Mr. FixIt got to work on rebuilding the cover for the gas meter. The week after the tree brought down the power lines, a smaller tree fell...narrowly missing the gas meter itself. It basically crushed the old sheet metal “lean to” that covered the gas meter to protect it from the weather...and I suppose falling limbs, as well. Mr. FixIt took the pieces of mangled sheet metal and removed all the rotten wood and laid them out on the sidewalk. Then he took a heavy hammer and the rubber mallet and beat it back flat.
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/130ff6a7ee.jpg\")
Rebuilding the Cover for the Gas Meter
\n\n\nHe measured and cut the wood to rebuild the frame. I finished mowing the front yard about the time he needed me to help reassemble the lean to. We realized when we got the sides and back done that we were going to need more wood. So, we put our tools away and I made lunch while he ran the weed eater. After lunch, I mowed the back yard with the push mower and he finished the weed eating. We were about done in by the time we loaded the mowers back up and headed home.
\n\n\nThat’s when Mr. FixIt said the back yard at the Ponderosa really needed to be mowed but he just didn’t think he had it in him to do it. I told him that was no problem...I could do it. We unloaded the mowers and I set to work. He emptied the truck and took everything inside and came out to run the weed eater around the fence, the sidewalk, and the pool. He can’t stand it if I’m working and he’s not helping.
\n\n\nWe finally finished around dark and that was the end of our day. I know it was Sunday and we aren’t supposed to work on Sunday. But, we enjoyed seeing the fruits of our labor and working together on a project. We talked about God and brought Him with us in everything we did. And, we thanked Him for Mr. FixIt’s improved health that allows him to do the things he loves to do. We are so grateful to still have access to the farm. We are so grateful for our health and our home and our relationship. So that had to suffice for our “Sunday Sermon” this week. We can watch our online church today...God will still love us.
\n\n\nOh, I wish you could have heard the honeybees on Grandma’s hydrangea bush out back! When I came around the corner of the house to take stuff inside, I could hear them from twenty feet away. A man down the road keeps about 25-30 hives so we have lots of bees which makes me so happy. The Rose of Sharon is nearly spent. There was another limb down from the huge old cherry tree out back so I told Mr. FixIt I need to get my vintage trailer out of there and bring her to the Ponderosa to work on before the snow flies.
\n\n\nThere’s never a dull moment around here and I’m telling you...TODAY I am taking the day off. After I make a pan of lasagna...and maybe an apple pie!
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2020-08-31T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2020/08/31/day-making-hay-while-the.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","Gratitude","Farm Life"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2020/08/28/day-the-evening-and-the.html", "title": "Day 163: The Evening and the Morning", "content_html": "\n“Honey is good for you, my children, and it tastes sweet. Wisdom is like honey for your life— if you find it, your future is bright.”
\nProverbs 24:13-14 CEV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/673eef839c.jpg\")
This is the time of year when I look back and remember long, leisurely days of knitting in front of the fire...a mug of tea, fuzzy slippers, and snow falling gently outside the window. And I wonder... “Will we ever get back to those days again?”
\n\n\nI’m sure we will...eventually. At least we didn’t have to wrangle that drain snake yesterday. I am not sure I had another day in me to mess with that thing and still walk upright. I hit the ground running yesterday. I mixed up some bread dough and fed the starter again. I set it aside in the fridge for the time being. It will grow slower and actually develop a nicer flavor if you do that from time to time. It saves you from having to feed it every day.
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/69cc009076.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e8f68cafd1.jpg\")
I turned the bread dough every thirty minutes. You don’t knead sourdough bread...you lift and fold the dough every thirty minutes for about three or four hours to incorporate and support the rise from the wild yeasts. They aren’t as strong as commercial yeast. In between the turns, I emptied the dehydrator and used the kitchen shears to cut the dehydrated tomatoes into julienne strips. Then I packed them into sterilized jars and covered them with olive oil to preserve them. A whole bucket of tomatoes shrank down to two pint jars...but oh, the flavor that is packed into those two little jars will add a little sunshine to dishes in the coming year. They can’t be beat!
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/762b66427c.jpg\")
Once the tomatoes were done, I turned my attention to the smoked pork that was still warming in crockpots. I ran the jars through the dishwasher earlier and they were still steaming hot. I packed the jars, put in a teaspoon of pickling salt and topped it off with hot broth, sealed the jar, and set them one at a time in the simmering water of the pressure canner. Once filled, I placed the lid on and let the water boil without the pressure cock. I placed it on 10 pounds and as soon as it jiggled, I set the timer for ninety minutes.
\n\n\nBy then, the bread dough was ready to be worked and formed into two round loaves. Once they were wrapped in flour sack dishtowels and placed in crocks, I took them out to the refrigerator in the garage to rise overnight and I’ll bake them this morning.
\n\n\nThe timer went off for the canner and I turned off the heat. Once the canner cooled and the pressure was equalized, I removed the pressure cock and the lid and let the canner rest for another thirty minutes to acclimate. Two pork picnics produced another seven quarts of smoked pulled pork that’s unbelievably good. I had two quarts and two pints of broth left over that I used in the jars of pork. I didn’t want to throw that way, so as soon as the canner was emptied, I processed them for thirty minutes. Now, when I smoke pork the next time, my broth will be ready made.
\n\n\nWhen I made that vegetable beef soup in the spring, I couldn’t find the pressure canner so I ended up freezing it. I’ve decided to bring it in from the freezer in the garage and cook it up again and can it this time. I have a huge tin of mixed veggies I want to put in it. I have enough tomatoes ready to make a batch of spaghetti sauce, too. That should just about finish up my available canning jars.
\n\n\nI love looking over the bounty I’ve created for our winter eating. These things will be so nice to have when that snowed-in leisure time returns and I can have a day of knitting in front of the fire. It sounds delightful right about now, doesn’t it?
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2020-08-28T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2020/08/28/day-the-evening-and-the.html", "tags": ["Strong Women","Positive Energy","West Virginia","Gratitude","Farm Life"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2020/08/22/day-a-funny-thing-happened.html", "title": "Day 157: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way...", "content_html": "\n“Try your best to live quietly, to mind your own business, and to work hard, just as we taught you to do. Then you will be respected by people who are not followers of the Lord, and you won't have to depend on anyone.”
\n1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 CEV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/66f9562a05.jpg\")
God has a sense of humor. He knows when we’ve had it up to here. That’s when he sends you something so patently absurd, you can’t help but break out into a belly laugh. That’s one of the ways the Great Healer heals...He brings us laughter.
\n\n\nMr. FixIt and I had a laundry list of things that needed doing yesterday in town...one of which was to mail some overdue greeting cards. There were two condolence cards and a graduation card, so I sat down to write. I filled out the first card and wrote a lovely note. As I prepared to start the second condolence card, Mr. FixIt interrupted me as he was looking for the graduation announcement. We needed it for the address to send the graduation card.
\n\n\nI told him not to worry, I would just text his sister to get the address. It wasn’t long till she and I were chatting back and forth. She gave me the address and I wrote it on the envelope. As we chatted about the smoked pork I canned last week, I wrote the sentiment in the card and popped it in the envelope.
\n\n\nThen I reached for.... Suddenly, I was puzzled. The only card left was the graduation card. If that’s the case...what was I writing in? I opened the envelope and there was the sympathy card...addressed to the young graduate! I started laughing, because I could just imagine which one would be funnier.
\n\n\nThe new graduate with...
\n\n\nRemembering you \nin thought and prayer...\n\nLet there be hope.\nLet there be stories.\nLet there be celebration\nof a life well-lived.\nLet there be tears,\nbut let there be happy memories\nof all you shared.\n\n\n
or...
\n\n\nMy cousin, the new widow, with the handwritten sentiment....
\n\n\n“Congratulations on your\nGraduation & Best Wishes \nin your Future Endeavors!”\n\n\n
I told my cousin about it last night and we laughed till we cried. I wonder which one I should send it to?
\n\n\nWhen we were leaving Walmart later in the afternoon, I walked by a woman on her cell phone. Her husband had wandered off and she was on the phone, trying to explain he should turn around and he could see her. Finally, she got frustrated and without the phone, she yelled his name.
\n\n\n“Marco!!!”
\n\n\nTo which I turned around and shouted...
\n\n\n“Polo!!!”
\n\n\nWe stood looking at each other for half a beat and literally doubled over laughing. Oh, you can’t make this stuff up!
\n\n\nLater in the day, I was on the phone with my son-in-law’s mom. Her husband and our granddaughter, “Little”, went to the nursing home to see her great grandmother yesterday afternoon. When she got home she said,
\n\n\n“Mimi, Grandma has gotten sick and almost died so many times in the last few years. There have been times Mom picked us up and we just went straight to the nursing home to say goodbye. Then she rallies and gets better. You know, I think most people go up there and knock on the doors of Heaven and are let right in. But, not Grandma. I think she rings the doorbell and runs!”
\n\n\nWhat a delightfully happy diversion laughter can be when things are so hard and dark. Laughter IS the best medicine!!!
\n\n\nAnd, oh...by the way...my cousin won. I’m sending HER the card...as is!
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2020-08-22T01:20:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2020/08/22/day-a-funny-thing-happened.html", "tags": ["Health","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Fun","Wisdom","Choices","Be Joyful!","Widow"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2020/08/16/day-my-shining-ray-of.html", "title": "Day 151: My Shining Ray of Hope in a Phone Call", "content_html": "\n“Everything on earth has its own time and its own season......for crying and laughing, weeping and dancing,”
\nEcclesiastes 3:1, 4 CEV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/3c5c7e4245.jpg\")
I worked on my website for a few hours yesterday. The office is across the wall from the television in the family room and my sweet hubby was snoozed out in his recliner with a shoot ‘em up action film going. I could feel every boom to my toes so I turned on my music. The booms melded with the tympani of the orchestra and soon I was blissfully lost in my work. Did I mention I hate television? We have agreed on a compromise. Until my second cup of coffee is done, there will only be old reruns of Andy Griffith on the TV. Then I can go do whatever else I want to do. Win-Win!
\n\n\nWe had three inches of rain yesterday between 6:00am and 2:30pm. I sure wish we could send some out west to help with the fires. Our high temp yesterday was predicted to be 73 degrees. I will take a day like that anytime!
\n\n\nAs soon as the rain let up, I packed up a few things and was about to head out the door to the camper when my phone rang. I was one of my dearest friends in the whole world calling from Colorado. She read my post yesterday and said, “You DON’T want to come to Colorado! The smoke is so bad, we can’t even go out of the house!” We went on to talk for an hour and I’m telling you...it was like salve to a sore place, as my grandma used to say.
\n\n\nBarbara and I are about ten years apart in age, yet my youngest and her oldest are only nine months apart. We became fast friends when her husband opened his practice in the same small Colorado town where Hubby #2 and I lived. She’s that friend you may not talk to frequently, but when you connect, the time seems to melt away. I felt 1000% percent better after talking to her and hearing she is going through much of the same things I am feeling with all that’s going on. I was her God appointment of the day...I am sure.
\n\n\nWhen we finally said our goodbyes, I grabbed my camping bag filled with books and writing implements and told Mr. FixIt I was “going camping”! So, as I am writing this, I am tucked into TOW-Wanda...pretending I’m camped near a clear mountain lake high in the Rockies and I can literally feel the stress peel off of my weary heart and mind.
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/51e87da544.jpg\")
There are ways to escape...even when you are bound to your premises. Remember to protect your mental well-being as well as your physical health during stressful times. Chronic stress leads to high cortisol levels and that can lead to a lot of physical problems in and of itself. A phone call. A good book. I’m reading Aunt Arie: A Foxfire Portrait and just love it. Aunt Arie is so much like my grandma and her contemporaries that I grew up with and her stories take me back to my childhood. A change of scenery...even if it’s just in another room or a short drive away...can do wonders for your frame of mind.
\n\n\nThere’s nothing like rain on the roof of a camper to put things in perspective and I am blessed to have this little home on wheels. I noticed a little bit of water on the floor so I need to do some sealing work in the next dry stretch.
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2020-08-16T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2020/08/16/day-my-shining-ray-of.html", "tags": ["Health","Family","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","Camping","Love","Peace","Choices","Marriage"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2020/08/15/day-just-an-old-granny.html", "title": "Day 150: Just an Old Granny Grump", "content_html": "\n“I give you peace, the kind of peace only I can give. It isn't like the peace this world can give. So don't be worried or afraid.”
\nJohn 14:27 CEV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/0787be43d1.jpg\")
When my grandma got old and we’d ask her how she was doing, she’d say, “I’m just an old Granny Grump!” I have no idea how old “old” was to me at the time, and I surely didn’t grasp the full nuance of the term “Granny Grump”. But, I think I’m beginning to get it.
\n\n\nOk...I’m not old, but I’m feeling like it lately. And I’m definitely feeling grumpy. Just ask my poor husband. It’s hard when you go on Facebook and you see your friends out doing things and you aren’t. It makes you wonder if maybe you’re being silly with all these Covid precautions. I mean, really...what harm could it do to hop on a plane or hook up the camper and drive across the country? I want to go camping. I want to go out to dinner. I want to go to Daytona Beach.
\n\n\nI want my life back.
\n\n\nI know. You do, too.
\n\n\nThis isn’t easy. And getting ready to head into the winter months, feeling like this will never ever end can easily turn anyone into a Granny Grump. When we got home from town yesterday, I hopped on the mower and mowed the whole property. I can do a lot of thinking while I mow. I zipped past the camper and thought, “I could do it, you know. I could just pack that bad girl up and hit the open road and be in Colorado by the middle of next week!!!” Man, I miss my kids and grandkids and brother and friends. Mr. FixIt and I have been together more in the last 150 days than Mr. Virgo and I were in the entire seven years I knew him. I’ve never spent this much time with anyone and being the kind of person I am...I know full well I am much NICER when I have a little tiny bit of space to call my own.
\n\n\nThen I remember how awful it was when I found out what being really alone felt like. And I start feeling a little guilty about wanting some space. Because I know about grief and loss and aloneness. And...being careful what you wish for.
\n\n\nThere is a difference between wanting to be alone and wanting a little space and time to recharge. Thank God, Mr. FixIt is pretty much back to being his healthy self. I still wouldn’t feel comfortable pulling the camper all the way to Colorado without him this summer, though. That’s too far away and not enough time has passed since the strokes. Then there’s the whole virus thing...so, here I am.
\n\n\nI’m just feeling a little stuck. And, I know I’m not the only one.
\n\n\nThis is a tough time we are going through, considering everything that has happened this year. I am reminded of something I wrote about a long time ago. You can put an egg and a potato in boiling water. One will become hard. The other soft. The temperature of the water is the same, but what they turn into depends on what they are made of.
\n\n\nI will not let my present set of circumstances harden me.
\n\n\nThis, too, shall pass.
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n“If you are a husband, you should be thoughtful of your wife. Treat her with honor, because she isn't as strong as you are, and she shares with you in the gift of life. Then nothing will stand in the way of your prayers.”
\n1 Peter 3:7 CEV\n
#JustSayin, #Grumpy, #Stuck
\n\n", "date_published": "2020-08-15T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2020/08/15/day-just-an-old-granny.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Love","Peace","Anger","Forgiveness","Choices","Marriage"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2020/08/14/day-a-cool-dip-shooting.html", "title": "Day 149: A Cool Dip \u0026 Shooting Stars", "content_html": "\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/4f45d22bf7.jpg\")
The last couple of days have been super, super busy. I put about thirty pounds of pork in the smoker on Wednesday after I pulled the bread out of the oven. We bought a full rack of ribs and two pork picnics. Those are the pieces of meat that are often cured and turned into picnic hams. We found a good deal at the local Piggly Wiggly and I wanted to stock up on pulled pork for the winter.
\n\n\nI don’t know if you have ever used an electric cabinet-style smoker or not. They are really easy to use and turn out some dynamite smoked meats. However...they are a booger to clean. The first couple of times I used it, I carefully scrubbed it by hand till it looked brand new when I was finished. Now, I take the power washer to it and call it good. Consequently, I usually only smoke meats about once a year. I load the smoker as full as I can without overcrowding it then I’m done till the next year.
\n\n\nWe don’t have a great freezer. It’s old and the seal is loose. It’s not a frost free freezer either and it desperately needs thawed out. Therefore, I elected to can the pulled pork in jars this time. I loaded the smoker and got it running around noon on Wednesday. The goal was to reach an internal temperature of 203 degrees. At 1:00 yesterday morning, I was only at 168 and it wasn’t rising fast. I elected to removed the two roasts and put them in slow cookers on low for the rest of the night. I didn’t really have any broth, so I poured a can of 7UP and a can of water over them and put the lids on for the night. I had removed the ribs long before and sealed them in a plastic bin in the fridge for dinner last night.
\n\n\nYesterday morning, I gathered all my canning supplies. I put the jars through a hot cycle in the dishwasher while I shredded the pork. I mixed up a combination of a quart of beef broth, a quart of chicken broth, and two more cans of 7UP and set it on to simmer. I packed the jars, put in a little salt, topped with the broth, sealed the jars, and slipped them in the simmering water of my pressure canner. Once they were all loaded, I set the lid on, let it boil for ten minutes without the pressure cock, then set it at 10 pounds pressure. Once the pressure gauge started rattling, I processed the jars for 90 minutes. When the time was up, I just turned the heat off and let the pressure slowly normalize. I carefully opened the canner and let the jars sit in the water for a while to acclimate to the room temperature then finally lifted them with the jar lifter and set them on a soft clean towel to rest for 24 hours before I wash the outside of the jars with Windex so they sparkle. All seven quart jars sealed. If you’ve ever canned...you know that is music to the ear.
\n\n\nI spent the rest of the afternoon copying more posts over from Facebook to the blog and when the sun went over the far ridge, I took the power washer out back and cleaned the smoker. It will sit slightly open overnight to dry, then tomorrow I’ll close it up and put the protective cover over it to protect it till the next time I decide to smoke meats.
\n\n\nI checked on the fire in Glenwood Canyon throughout the day and spoke with my brother’s caseworker. They are still carefully watching the fire and will evacuate the clients if they need to. We wondered if perhaps he could stay with a family member, but Covid has ruled that option out. It’s ok, though. My brother isn’t at all afraid or worried about this...especially if his roommate is with him. They have their “bug out bags” packed and are ready for whatever comes their way.
\n\n\nAs I am writing this, it is storming here in West Virginia and I am praying for a steady, gentle rain for Colorado to assist the firefighters. Please pray they get a handle on these fires and everyone is safe. The fire is getting dangerously close to the homes of friends of mine and they have been evacuated. It’s so difficult to be this far away and I can’t be there. But, I just have to pray and offer my brother encouragement from here.
\n\n\nThe best treat at the end of a long hard day was going out after it was pitch dark and taking a dip in the pool Wednesday night. Mr. FixIt didn’t join me, but he sat on the deck and we watched the meteor shower. It was a hot and sticky night and the water was cool and refreshing. We saw several “shooting stars” and it was one of the sweet memories I’ll tuck away for when I’m old and sitting in my rocking chair. ?
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2020-08-14T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2020/08/14/day-a-cool-dip-shooting.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","West Virginia","Comfort"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2020/08/13/day-my-peace-filterhit-the.html", "title": "Day 148: My Peace Filter...Hit the Snooze Button", "content_html": "\n“Our Lord, you are eternal! Your word will last as long as the heavens.”
\nPsalms 119:89 CEV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/7dcb7133c1.jpg\")
First, let me thank you for the prayers and concern you offered for my sweet brother. I was so relieved when I found out he wasn’t being evacuated. But, with that being said, please pray for my Colorado hometown...Glenwood Springs. Glenwood Canyon has been burning on both sides of the Colorado River with high winds and no rain in sight. I’ve spent many wonderful hours in that canyon over the years and it was never a matter of “if” this would happen...but “when”. And when is now, I’m afraid. There is another much larger fire west of there, as well. Please pray for the smoke jumpers and slurry bombers navigating dangerous territory.
\n\n\nMy day was filled yesterday. It started with baking bread and continued on to smoking 20 pounds of pork...a full rack of ribs and two fresh picnics. Today will be packaging the pulled pork, cleaning the smoker, and starting on the tomatoes from the garden.
\n\n\nThe other day I wrote about maintaining a peaceful demeanor during these crazy times. For a while, I tried counteracting misinformation with articles from reputable news outlets. I found that didn’t change anything except my mood. It made me dark and stormy. And, it was incredibly time consuming. The next thing I tried was hitting the three little gray dots to the right of a post. On the drop down menu, there is usually a choice to “hide all from_______”...the source of the material. I hid things right and left. That started easing my feed a little bit because it didn’t matter who shared it...if it came from that source, I didn’t see it. Still, more and more hate was flowing through my page. I love my friends. I love my family. I want to keep up with what’s going on with them. I made the executive decision this week to take my page back. I started snoozing people for thirty days. Bingo...the hate level dropped tremendously.
\n\n\nAm I sticking my head in the sand? No way! It’s self preservation. I don’t need to see all that stuff. I just need to see pictures of my grandkids and my friends’ gardens and the occasional cartoon.
\n\n\nI focus on the calm, steadiness of the Holy Spirit. I seek the peace that goes beyond all understanding. I can feel the stress melt off my shoulders already. I find I actually surf less because I’m not drawn into “discussions” which are causing rifts in my relationships. There is something I learned many years ago. The person who is actually IN a toxic relationship is the last one to know it. I think right now, about 40% of us are in a toxic relationship with at least one person they know and they won’t realize it till they get out of it. I am hoping and praying that eyes will be opened, that compassion and civility will be restored, and that we will all seek a calm and steady path. The world feels like a really bad marriage right now.
\n\n\nMr. FixIt has graduated from Physical Therapy so I see camping in our future! The Perseid Meteor Shower is technically past its peak, but you are liable to catch some shooting stars if your skies are clear. And, if they aren’t? Take advantage of the warm night air and sit outside for a while. When it comes January and February...you’ll be so glad you did.
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2020-08-13T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2020/08/13/day-my-peace-filterhit-the.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Peace"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2020/08/11/day-another-bad-night-another.html", "title": "Day 146: Another Bad Night, Another Good Day", "content_html": "\n“God blesses those people who make peace. They will be called his children!”
\nMatthew 5:9 CEV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/6ea56db7c2.jpg\")
I used to have what I referred to as “bad nights” in the early years after losing Mr. Virgo. I will never forget the blessed feeling of relief when they finally let up. I will also never forget when they resurfaced years later and I couldn’t shake the thought that maybe this is just the way things are with the new new normal of grief.
\n\n\nThankfully, those bad nights are few and far between anymore. They are usually triggered by stress and...could there be anything more stressful than your new husband having two strokes not much more than a year after the wedding...compounded by everything else going on in this world today? We have had two deaths in the family in the last two weeks. One was my cousin’s husband. That stirs up those old memories.
\n\n\nI went to bed Sunday night like I always do. I slept so well on Friday and Saturday nights. I was hoping for a repeat. I wrote my post. I fed my sourdough starter. I took my meds and did my evening toilette. I climbed between clean sheets with the windows open and a cool evening breeze coming in. I put away my phone so I wouldn’t be tempted to lay there and surf or read or play games. In other words, I did everything right. Still...sleep did not come.
\n\n\nI laid there for hours...tossing and turning. I knew I was keeping Mr. FixIt awake, so I tried to just lay still so I wouldn’t bother him. Then I got a headache from laying in the same position. When Mr. FixIt doesn’t sleep soundly, he become a noisy sleeper. Every time he turns over, he either moans or shouts out...depending on the level of discomfort he has from arthritis. Suffice it to say...I watched the sun coming up.
\n\n\nI got up, drew my fuzzy robe around me, and walked outside to photograph the morning fog. I love fog...it’s so cool and mysterious and softens the world to a hazy glow. The fog also dampens the sounds of the world. The birds seem to whisper their tenuous calls so not to wake up Mother Nature before the coffee’s ready.
\n\n\nI wandered around for a while, went back inside and cleaned the kitchen, and finally...around 7:30...I thought I’d try again to sleep. That’s when the “bad” part of the “bad nights” hit. I laid there, realizing it had now been 24 hours I’d been awake. What if something happened and Mr. FixIt had a medical emergency and needed me? What if something happened to the kids? How would I be my best if I hadn’t had any sleep. You all know where that snowball went...right downhill.
\n\n\nI laid there, quietly willing myself to settle down, to not borrow trouble, to not wake up my husband. When he finally did wake up, I told him about my night and he urged me to not worry about a thing and get some sleep. I went into the guest room and slept till 3:30 in the afternoon!
\n\n\nWhen I awoke, we went to the farm to get the long ladder so I could seal the roof on TOW-Wanda. When we got home, we watched the news and then worked on the camper. I fixed a great meal, and the day was done. My biggest gift of the day came again from Miss Jackie. Her husband was a pastor and she is just a knowledgeable woman when it comes to the Bible. There, in her comment on yesterday’s post was her formula for maintaining mental health. A verse from Philippians. I’ll include it here.
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/92848514cb.jpg\")
These verses are an instruction manual for maintaining balance in these crazy times. Good friends can bring such good advice when they are plugged into the light. I cherish those friends who tell me like it is, who gently correct...and who sometimes kick me in the butt when I need it. Thank you all for always being here.
\n\n\nAs Ram Dass said...”We are all just walking each other home.”
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2020-08-11T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2020/08/11/day-another-bad-night-another.html", "tags": ["Faith","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","God","Wisdom","Fear","Peaceful Moments","Widow"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2020/08/10/day-steadfast-through-the-storms.html", "title": "Day 145: Steadfast Through the Storms", "content_html": "\n“You have a special place in my heart. So it is only natural for me to feel the way I do. All of you have helped in the work God has given me, as I defend the good news and tell about it here in jail.”
\nPhilippians 1:7 CEV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/fd1978df32.jpg\")
Let’s face it...2020 has been a year of storms. Every single day, we see something incredulous...something unimaginable...something so unbelievable our minds can begin to be numbed by it all. I don’t even need to write out the list, but who in their right mind would have thought up murder hornets and zombie cicadas...let alone all the other stuff?
\n\n\nI was feeling a little overwhelmed by it all this last week. I found peace in my garden and on my walks with Jesus. Then I would look at the news again and it would be another awful thing. Balancing between informed citizen and sensory overload is getting more and more challenging. Then, Mr. FixIt and I sat down to enjoy online church yesterday. Like He always does, the Holy Spirit brought me exactly the sermon I needed to hear.
\n\n\nPastor Heather spoke about weathering the storms of life. We are always guaranteed to have storms and more often than not, they come out of nowhere and we can be caught off guard. She happened to be on vacation last week with her family and there happened to be a hurricane come right through Myrtle Beach. She noticed the palm trees swaying in the fury of the winds, yet they were never uprooted or broken. It reminded her of the first few verses of Psalms.
\n\n\nThose who turn away from evil advice and don’t follow sinners or sneer at God find happiness in the teaching of the Lord, and they think about it day and night. It goes on to say they are like trees planted by a stream where they get their nourishment. This is what I want to be. A sturdy tree planted by the living waters where I can get my peace from the source. God tells us over and over the way to happiness.
\n\n\nWhen I first started writing this blog, I promised God if he would bring me the words, I would tell my readers where I find my peace. It is so terribly easy to be reactionary in this political climate. The other day I wrote a reactionary post that I not only didn’t give much thought to, but I also didn’t research it first. My sweet friend Jackie responded with a gentle correction. I so appreciated that. It didn’t escalate. It just suggested I “listen”. Action versus reaction.
\n\n\nA good lesson for us all.
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2020-08-10T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2020/08/10/day-steadfast-through-the-storms.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Hope","Positive Energy","Grace","God","Courage","Peaceful Moments"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2020/08/07/day-having-trouble-feeling-good.html", "title": "Day 142: Having Trouble Feeling Good?", "content_html": "\n“God blesses those people who refuse evil advice and won't follow sinners or join in sneering at God. Instead, they find happiness in the Teaching of the Lord, and they think about it day and night. They are like trees growing beside a stream, trees that produce fruit in season and always have leaves. Those people succeed in everything they do.”
\nPsalms 1:1-3 CEV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/898406ef66.jpg\")
It’s “Feel Good Friday” and I don’t know about you, but...it could get pretty frustrating looking around this dark world for something to feel good about. I gave this week’s edition of FGF a good, hard look yesterday. I usually search the internet for some story or video that tells of some heart warming thing someone has done. That’s all well and good, but it wasn’t working for me yesterday. So, I do what I always do when I need a little inspiration. I went for a walk with Jesus.
\n\n\nFirst, we went out into the garden and looked at the abundance of tomatoes that are coming on. There’s zucchini and yellow crookneck squash, green onions and peppers, pumpkins and Passion Flowers. The honeysuckle clings to the fence along the back of the yard and brambles of wild black raspberries tangle in the corner over the rhubarb. Sumac and wild grape vines threaten to shade the garden as they compete with pokeweed and Virginia Creeper. I felt the stress in my shoulders begin to ease.
\n\n\nI gave the plants a good drink and took off for a walk around the far field. I saw a hole out there when I was mowing this week and I wanted to check it out. As I ambled across the fresh mown grass, I asked Jesus to give me something to feel good about. I let my mind go blank as I strolled and took in the sights and smells of the pasture. I let myself feel the gratitude for the beauty of this place Mr. FixIt has so generously shared with me. I started humming softly to myself.
\n\n\n“I’ll Fly Away” started drifting around in my mind. Not just any version either. It was the Stanley Brothers bluegrass gospel version. It was on their album “Good Old Camp Meeting Songs” and was recorded in May 1962...the month before I turned nine years old. In an instant, I was back in the front yard of Grandma’s house out at the farm, a quart jar in my hands, catching lightning bugs. Grandma and PopPop were inside with the Grand Ole Opry on...cranked up high...and Ralph and Carter Stanley were singing “I’ll Fly Away”.
\n\n\nMy heart smiled.
\n\n\nA few years ago, I met a lovely young woman named Rachel. She plays the guitar and sings in her church and I had the pleasure of singing with her at a few gatherings when I was staying in my camper up at the river. We harmonized really well together and sang several of the old timey gospel hymns. It’s a precious memory I will always keep close.
\n\n\nI continued my walk and peeked at the progress on the neighboring property as they clear some ground. As I was coming back down the road, I saw Mr. FixIt out looking for me in the field. The cat keeps losing her breakaway collars and he was hoping to find the one he bought her yesterday. No luck.
\n\n\nI came in to write this, opened Facebook, and the first person I saw on my feed was...Rachel! My heart smiled big! I searched for, and listened to, some of Ralph Stanley’s great bluegrass gospel and found this album. So, this is today’s treat for “Feel Good Friday.” If this doesn’t make you feel good, I don’t know what will!
\n\n\nThe Stanley Brothers - Good Old Camp Meeting Songs
\n\n\nLove you all. Take care of yourselves...and each other.
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n“speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
\n\n\nEphesians 5:19-20 NIV
\n\n\n#GospelMusic, #StanleyBrothers, #Hymns
\n\n", "date_published": "2020-08-07T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2020/08/07/day-having-trouble-feeling-good.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Prayer","Positive Energy","West Virginia","Grace","God","Wisdom","Peaceful Moments","Be Joyful!","Farm Life"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2020/07/27/day-searching-for-grace.html", "title": "Day 131: Searching for Grace", "content_html": "\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/49b2b242a8.jpg\")
We have held church in our living room every Sunday since the lockdown began. Which means we have not attended services with our church family since the middle of February. It’s only been four months, but it seems like a lifetime ago. While I miss my peeps there, I’ve learned that church is not the building we attend. As a matter of fact, those ninety minutes a week we spend there is really such a small piece of who I am as a Christian. I have a supportive group of Christian women in my life. We keep each other in prayer and check in on one another, offering support wherever it is needed. One of my group recently found out she has Covid even though she followed the guidelines. Masks and hand washing are good deterrents, but they are not 100% effective. We know this. But, for now, they are the only bullet in the gun.
\n\n\nOur pastor preached a sermon yesterday on grace. Having grace for our people is normally pretty easy. We are all trying to get through and lift each other up as best we can. That’s the easy part. It is harder to find grace for those with whom we vehemently disagree. I am often torn. There are things I find more difficult to forgive than others. Then I remember...Jesus loves the sinner, hates the sin.
\n\n\nI have been searching for grace more and more lately. We are weary of this mess. We are weary of the news. We are sometimes frightened by what we see...things we have never seen before. Or...at least, not for a long, long time. Things we never thought we would have to deal with again. Things are changing...shifting...dying...growing...ending. This is the hardest part of change. When we can find something constant to focus on, we can rise above the chaos.
\n\n\nThis will not last forever. It is grief. We are grieving the status quo. We are yearning for what once was. We are mourning the loss of the lives we knew...the comfort, the stability, the sameness. It is a collective grief we are all feeling to some extent or another. This is not easy. But, if there is anything losing Mr. Virgo taught me, it is that there really is nothing in the world we have real control over except our reactions to it.
\n\n\nEveryone...well, it seems everyone I know, anyway...has an opinion about what’s going on in the world. Politically, socially, economically, physically, mentally...and social media has brought out the worst in many of us. I am a work in progress, but I truly am trying to focus more on grace and less on my insatiable need to be “right.”
\n\n\nAs I watch the news and scan Facebook, I send prayers up for those I disagree with. I try, sometimes unsuccessfully, to keep my mouth shut. I cannot tell you how many times I have typed out a very LONG rebuttal to someone’s angry statement, only to think better of it and erase it instead of hitting send.
\n\n\nI ask myself one very important question.
\n\n\nWhich would I rather be...”right” or happy?
\n\n\nI try to emulate Jesus. I try to think of what He would do in each situation. And I’ve come to the conclusion that...sometimes we need to be the teacher. Sometimes we need to turn over the tables in the temple. And sometimes we need to go into the garden and pray. Praying for discernment to know which attribute to use at any given time is a full time job and I’m working it hard.
\n\n\nI’m not always successful, but I do give it my best shot.
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n“So whenever we are in need, we should come bravely before the throne of our merciful God. There we will be treated with undeserved grace, and we will find help.”
\nHebrews 4:16 CEV\n
Hebrews 4:16 CEV
\n\n", "date_published": "2020-07-27T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2020/07/27/day-searching-for-grace.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Grace","Peace","Forgiveness","Widow"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2020/06/03/day-taking-a-look-in.html", "title": "Day 79: Taking a Look in the Mirror", "content_html": "\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/f9521a01f9.jpg\")
When I was growing up in the mid to late ‘50s, the Civil Rights Movement was gaining speed. One of my first friends in grade school was a little black girl named Lisa. Lisa went on to become a pastor and actually performed our marriage ceremony out in our field when Mr. FixIt and I got married.
\n\n\nMy aunt that recently passed away was a Head Start teacher in Washington, DC in the ‘50s. She showed me photographs that had the words “Colored” and “Whites” over the drinking fountains in the school where she taught. I couldn’t understand what they were talking about. My grandma sat me down and told me under no uncertain terms was I to EVER treat anyone differently because of the color of their skin. Therefore...all these many years...I’ve thought I was not racist.
\n\n\nOne of the many things I learned from therapy was how to take a good hard look at myself and own/change my less-than-stellar character traits. Back in the mid to late ‘70s I was a single mom. I went out to a bar one night with some friends and a handsome black man showed interest in me and I demurred. I had a young daughter at home, and I was not nearly as enlightened as I thought I was. And I felt ashamed by that. Would I have had a problem with one of my daughters marrying a person of color? Not at all. But back when this happened, I was a young woman...still wet behind the ears...and frankly afraid.
\n\n\nI’ve said things like “All Lives Matter” and “I’m colorblind”. But now? I will forever hear “I can’t breathe” in my mind...echoing over and over. We watched a lynching on video. How can I not be changed by that? I want to be MORE than “not racist”. I want to be “anti-racist”. And to do that, I have to educate myself to the real everyday existence of people of color. I can’t turn a blind eye and not say anything. I have to wake up and learn and do whatever is in my power to make the changes that need to come to fulfill what the Bible tells us to do.
\n\n\nThe Golden Rule has to be the base upon which all reparations are made to those who have been disenfranchised because of the amount of melanin that is in their skin. It’s only right.
\n\n\nI cannot condone violence and looting and killings. But I will support peaceful protests and I vow to educate myself to their plight.
\n\n\nI found this article to be a good starting point.
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2020-06-03T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2020/06/03/day-taking-a-look-in.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Positive Energy","Growth","New Ideas","Grace","Peace","Wisdom","Forgiveness","Humbled","Choices","Change"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2020/05/10/day-a-different-kind-of.html", "title": "Day 55: A Different Kind of Mother’s Day!", "content_html": "\n“So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.”
\nMatthew 7:12 NIV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/7435aab184.jpg\")
As I sat at my keyboard last night, I looked for pictures of my mom and thought of all the Mother’s Days we had together. Really...very few. Once I left home to seek my fortunes, I am not sure we ever got to see each other on Mother’s Day. I always came home in the summer months when the kids were off of school. But I always called her and sent her a card and flowers.
\n\n\nI keep my pictures of Mom in an album on my iPad marked “”Family”. That way, when I get lonesome for them, they’re all in one place. I thought of all the sad and sentimental things I could say about my mom and how much I miss her. But, the truth is...even though I miss her desperately right now...I would NEVER want her to have had to experience what’s going on in the world. All the anger and divisiveness and ugliness would have upset her greatly. She had such a tender heart. And this virus would have worried her to death. I am much more peaceful knowing she is with her family and with Jesus.
\n\n\nMy eyes scanned the photos and lingered on my own children...from when they were littles to when they had littles of their own. These girls made me a mom. I wasn’t always very good at it. I made huge mistakes and it broke my heart that I let them down. So many years were lost to depression when I just couldn’t seem to connect with them as they needed. I’ve spent much of the last twenty years trying to fix that. Trying to be a better mom. Trying to create new and better memories.
\n\n\nSince I moved back to my home state, I have returned to Colorado every summer to see the girls and spend time with my grandchildren. Then, the pandemic hit and I am not at all sure I’ll get to go back this year. There was a time when I would have focused on that loss and that’s all I’d see. Things are different now. Now I see where God is taking this situation and turning it for good.
\n\n\nMy girls and I have communicated more since the Stay at Home orders came out than we ever have. There are lots of phone calls and texts, sharing pictures, video chats. When I watch their Facebook feeds, I see them reaching back for THEIR comforting touchstones and I see myself there. In the raised bed gardens. In the baking and making and growing. In the phone calls asking for advice. It has warmed my heart.
\n\n\nIn the last two months, during this lockdown, I have finally realized...I made a difference in my kids’ lives. The things I taught them, stuck with them. And now, they are using those gifts I gave them to comfort themselves and their families. This means more to me than any trinket they could give me. It doesn’t get much better than this.
\n\n\nMr. FixIt told me last night he didn’t get me anything for Mother’s Day because shopping isn’t the same. And I told him not to buy me flowers. I smiled and said, “I have everything I need for Mother’s Day. I have a great big blended family that gives me great joy.” Besides, I’d rather have kitchen stuff than flowers that wither and die.
\n\n\nI hope you have a wonderful Mother’s Day. And if you are actively grieving, I hope you find some moments of peace and comfort with your memories of your loved one.
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n“Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all.””
\nProverbs 31:25-29 ESV\n
#MothersDay, #Children, #Holiday
\n\n", "date_published": "2020-05-10T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2020/05/10/day-a-different-kind-of.html", "tags": ["Family","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Holiday","Forgiveness","Aging","Presence","Choices"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2020/04/28/day-the-census-and-voting.html", "title": "Day 43: The Census and Voting are Civic Duties", "content_html": "\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/dfe68bc5b7.jpg\")
I’ve been looking for the good stories to use on “Feel Good Friday” because Lord knows there are far too many of the tragic ones. One such story was about a little four-year-old Staten Island boy. Little CJ Tardy’s mom wanted to keep his time structured like his pre-school class days so she started out with the Pledge of Allegiance. Now he is doing a daily Zoom call with up to fifty participants from family and friends to first responders.
\n\n\nThere are more American Flags on display. People are planting “victory” gardens. I’m seeing more people coming together and helping food banks and checking in on the elderly. There’s nothing like a national crisis to create unity...or at least a semblance thereof.
\n\n\nWe received a postcard in the mail a couple of weeks ago to request a mail in ballot for this year’s Primary Election. It came on the heels of the 2020 Census. Both are important. I know there are some who blow off both of them, but they are terribly important. The Census isn’t Uncle Sam gettin’ up in your bidness. It’s how the Government determines where the funding for individual programs is distributed...by population.
\n\n\nI took care of the Census online the end of March. Yesterday, I sat down with my ballot for the primary. I read down the list and was dismayed by how many names I didn’t even recognize, let alone know anything about. (One of the side effects of watching very little television.) I spent the next couple of hours with my smart phone in hand searching the names of each candidate and reading their bios and platforms so I could make an informed choice.
\n\n\nThis is the first time in my life that I have felt such urgency in voting. I have to admit, there were times in the past that I voted a straight ticket or I voted in the women candidates on principle. This years is different. There’s a lot riding on this. The people holding offices in this country will be facing circumstances the likes of which no one has seen since the 1918 Influenza Pandemic. They need to be prepared to govern in ways we haven’t even thought of yet. I felt the heavy mantle of responsibility in a way I’ve never felt before.
\n\n\nI was happy with my selections. As I was folding the ballot and placing it in the two separate envelopes, Mr. FixIt and I were watching Governor Jim Justice give the daily Covid briefing. He ran and was elected as a Democrat then changed his party to Republican a couple of years ago. He sounds like he just came down out of a holler with his accent and folky colloquialisms. And his ill fitting suits sag on his massive frame. His sallow skin and heavy lidded eyes make him look unwell. But I’ll tell you what...that man is rockin’ the management of this Covid Pandemic. And he loves the West Virginia people.
\n\n\nAfter I voted, I grabbed my sneakers and hopped on the riding mower. I mowed the whole thing in less than three hours. When I parked the tractor in the building, I noticed a rod hanging down. I got down under the back to see what was wrong. Mr. FixIt found a metal bracket out in the field the last time we mowed and I suspected this rod had something to do with that. The internet can be a marvelous tool. Within 10 minutes, Mr. FixIt and I had the whole thing figured out and ordered a new part for the tractor.
\n\n\nThere’s nothing prettier than an expanse of freshly mown field. I’ve talked with Mr. FixIt about cutting down on the mowing...maybe letting part of it grow back into pastureland. I was feeling guilty that I was depriving critters from habitat, and...while that may be true of the exact area of the field...we are quite literally surrounded by forest on all four sides. There are lots of meadows and pastures and fields and gardens. This expanse of green makes us both happy and as long as we can physically do it, we probably will.
\n\n\nWhen I was a doctor’s wife, and even when I was the princess I was with Mr. Virgo, we didn’t have the time nor the inclination to fix things. That’s what garages are for. Oh, early on I was quite the fixit guru, but as time went on, I let more and more of those handyman projects go to the professionals. I wish I would have been more frugal all those years and done more of the work myself. And it would have been left to me. Hubby #2 was too busy and, seriously, Mr. Virgo didn’t have a handy bone in his body. He was cute, though.
\n\n\nI had a real sense of accomplishment when I was finished for the day. I relaxed in a bubble bath and let that good feeling of warm skin, sore muscles, and happy countenance wash over me in the reverie. I do love a good hard day’s work.
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,”
\nColossians 3:23 ESV\n
#Work, #Mowing, #FarmLife, #Coronavirus
\n\n", "date_published": "2020-04-28T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2020/04/28/day-the-census-and-voting.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","West Virginia","Gratitude","Farm Life"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2020/04/23/day-prioritizing.html", "title": "Day 38: Prioritizing", "content_html": "\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/705461122f.jpg\")
It isn’t always easy to do a do-over...those moments where life throws you a king sized curve ball and you get to reinvent yourself. There were the divorces. The overdose. Mr. Virgo’s death. The move to WV. Marrying Mr. FixIt. And now...coronavirus has sent us into timeout giving us the opportunity to rethink some things. There are very few things I actually regret doing in my life. But every single time I’ve had to rebuild or rethink has been an incredible time of personal growth.
\n\n\nI received an email this week from my financial advisor with that dreaded “we need to talk” subject. I’ve expected this and was actually preparing to call her anyway. We set a time for yesterday. I sipped my coffee out by the pool in the morning sunshine while we talked about strategies and being good stewards of the funds we are entrusted with. Danielle has taught me a lot about money. I wouldn’t say I’m financially wealthy by any stretch of the imagination. But what I do have, I want to be careful with.
\n\n\nMy mind wandered back to when I first became a widow. I had so much to deal with....bills, debt, and planning for a future without my primary breadwinner. I had the money from my divorce settlement and I was still years away from Social Security and Medicare. I had been a “kept woman” for most of my adult life having the luxury of staying home for a portion of that as a stay-at-home mom. Honestly, I knew nothing about money and avoided the conversation like the plague. Once I became a widow, I had no choice. I had to learn.
\n\n\nI didn’t handle my finances very well. Whether it was denial or rebellion or an attempt to soothe my grief with spending, money slipped through my hands like water. And, if I’m going to be brutally honest...in that first year or two, I honestly didn’t think I could possibly survive that so I might as well go out with a bang. Of course, there came a moment of clarity when I realized I had to rein it in or lose my retirement money completely, thank God.
\n\n\nSomewhere in yesterday’s conversation with Danielle, I had a lightbulb moment. I told her I didn’t know if it was being married to a down-to-earth, frugal WV boy or reaching “a certain age” or what...but I’ve suddenly felt a sort of fiduciary maturation of late. I can talk about money without my palms sweating or my heart racing which is such a relief.
\n\n\nWhen I first started with Danielle, she asked if I wanted to work with a secular guideline or a faith-based one. I had never heard of taking a faith-based approach to financial management and that certainly appealed to me. When we talk about my retirement funds, we talk about looking at my money with intentionality. Where do I want to be in two years? God has blessed me with these funds. How can I use them responsibly?
\n\n\nThe spigot of spending has been turned off by this pandemic. What was once multiple trips to town per week has dwindled to one. It’s given me the opportunity to re-evaluate the shopping experience. When we come out of this, I know my own personal spending habits will be different. While the reason we are having home is tragic, we can...we MUST...learn new skills.
\n\n\nMy shopping list is usually in an online shopping app. I put what I think I need in my cart and leave it there for a week. Then I review it and invariably ended up either deleting items or saving them for consideration later. If, after two or three weeks, I feel it’s warranted, then I complete my purchase. My recent order included supplies to make homemade tofu. It’s been a long time since I’ve made my own. It tastes so much better than the store bought variety and it’s an affordable source of protein. I buy my soybeans from a farm in Iowa. They are organic and non-GMO. I don’t know if I could ever be a vegetarian, but I can certainly substitute meats with fresh tofu 2-3 times a week.
\n\n\nI’ve cleaned up my schedule, we’re cleaning up our living space, we’re creating ways to enjoy our property without the expense or hazards of travel while still maintaining the experience, and now we’re cleaning up our diet. Well, yeah, ok...there’s pie. But I substituted part of the sugar with Splenda. Hey...one step at a time, ok?
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2020-04-23T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2020/04/23/day-prioritizing.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","Comfort","Choices","Change","Farm Life","Widow"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2020/04/16/day-the-redbud-and-dogwood.html", "title": "Day 31: The Redbud and Dogwood are Blooming!", "content_html": "\n“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
\nRomans 8:28 ESV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/c1e6fa1074.jpg\")
Mr. FixIt and I have been watching the weather reports very carefully the last week. We needed to get out to the farm to mow so we have been waiting for a dry, sunny day. Yesterday and today both were forecast to be beautiful, but...there was a 60% chance of rain last night. The ground at the farm is very soft and since it’s in a holler, it just doesn’t dry out very well. A heavy riding mower could easily tear up the lawn if we weren’t careful so we decided to go yesterday.
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/1f96dc99c7.jpg\")
As I was gathering things up to leave, I asked Mr. FixIt if he would like to go spend the night at the farm since we were going out anyway. This coming weekend is when we were supposed to go to the beach, so we have both been feeling the disappointment of changed plans. This would be a nice little getaway and feel like at least we saw something other than our own four walls.
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/fcc384c891.jpg\")
As soon as we drove into the driveway, we saw the tarp on the vintage camper had been ripped off in the wind. We knew we needed to get that fixed as soon as possible so we quickly got the lawn mowed then headed to the closest town with a hardware store to buy a tarp. The drive there was stunning. The sun was shining. It was just warm enough to have the windows open and the wind blowing through our hair. On the way home, we stopped to pick up a pie and ice cream for dessert. I also finally had the opportunity to snag a shot of this really cool dry-stacked rock wall I’ve been eyeing for the last couple of years.
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/9044732535.jpg\")
Every time I had the opportunity, I stopped and took photos. After Mr. Virgo died, I realized I only had a handful of photos of him. He was always the photographer so we didn’t get many pictures of him. I’ll never make that mistake again. Now I take pictures of everything and everyone. I have hundreds of photos of Mr. FixIt and since I’m taking photos of him, I end up taking pictures of a lot of other things, too.
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/bc961034d6.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e4e70adf67.jpg\")
One of my friends from Grandma’s church posted a picture of a batch of Redbud Jelly. Unfortunately, I don’t have the stuff to make it at the moment, but I’ll have it for next spring!
\n\n\nStacie says it’s really easy to make and has such a delicate taste. And, my oh my...isn’t it just beautiful? I’m thinking Homemade Buttermilk Biscuits and Redbud Jelly are definitely on the menu for Spring 2021!
\n\n\nHere’s the picture of Stacie’s jelly and the recipe she sent me:
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/515ff01017.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/bb0799e981.jpg\")
I hope you are finding things to look forward to today. When we were at the hardware store yesterday, we bought seeds to plant green beans. The last three springs, the rabbits have eaten them. Now that we have Pumpkin the Guard Cat...we haven’t had any bunnies in the yard so maybe we will have beans this year!
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2020-04-16T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2020/04/16/day-the-redbud-and-dogwood.html", "tags": ["Health","Uplifting Stories","Hope","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","The Farm","Presence","Peaceful Moments","Choices","Change"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2020/04/11/day-here-chick-chick-chick.html", "title": "Day 26: Here Chick, Chick, Chick", "content_html": "\n“Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord; his going out is sure as the dawn; he will come to us as the showers, as the spring rains that water the earth.””
\nHosea 6:3 ESV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/76fa0c3189.jpg\")
All my life, I’ve wanted to have chickens. I remember chickens when I was a little girl. I used to think they were out at Grandma’s farm, but my Aunt Peeps says she never had them. Interestingly, Aunt Peeps got her nickname from a book about a little chick that went “Peep, Peep, Peep!” She had that book memorized when she was a toddler and my PopPop always called her Peeps and it stuck all these many years later.
\n\n\nWhen Hubby #2 finished residency and joined a medical practice, our first house was on two acres out a two lane blacktop on the way to the ski area. We boarded horses and had a big garden that was really not much more than a salad bar for the deer and raccoons. I really wanted chickens but we lived in a subdivision with covenants. The developer of the property said we could have them if the neighbors agreed. All but one did, so I couldn’t get them.
\n\n\nMy best friend had chickens at her house. She also had ducks. She lived in town and was not allowed to have roosters. The chicks were sexed and they assured her there were no roosters. Needless to say, we found out that was pretty meaningless when they became adolescents and started crowing. She tried every one she knew to give the roosters away and finally decided we would just butcher them and freeze the meat.
\n\n\nThis was a really sound idea, except for two things. They were fancies and by the time they were plucked and cleaned, they weren’t any bigger than a pigeon. And....you never EVER butcher birds you have named. I do believe my friend is still traumatized and that was over thirty years ago.
\n\n\nNo situation ever presented itself where I could have chickens till I moved back to West Virginia and lived out on the farm. I was just at the point where I was considering getting some then I ran into Mr. FixIt and we started dating and traveling so chickens were put on the back burner...so to speak.
\n\n\nI have considered having chicks here at the Ponderosa, but again...travel gets in the way. I always go to Colorado in the summer to see the kids. But this year, I’m not sure I’m going to get to. Maybe this is my year. Or, maybe I’m past it. I don’t know. I had to share this picture with you, though. My friend Aimee is who I want to be when I grow up. She is an animal magnet and has some baby chicks this spring. Aimee is a free spirit, hippy mama, earth mother, gypsy farmer...she’s artistic and beautiful and colorful, to put it mildly. So...Aimee did what Aimee does.
\n\n\nShe bought tiaras for her chicks. They’ll fit right in with Daisy the dog who wears a pearl necklace instead of a collar and Gypsy the guard pony that protects the goats from the coyotes and John Boy, the rescued boxer/mastiff mix that cost them about a gazillion dollars in vet bills. I’ll tell you what....those are some lucky chicks right there!
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2020-04-11T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2020/04/11/day-here-chick-chick-chick.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Strong Women","Positive Energy","The Farm","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2020/04/09/day-getting-my-mojo-back.html", "title": "Day 24: Getting My Mojo Back", "content_html": "\n“He gives food to every creature. His love endures forever.”
\nPsalms 136:25 NIV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/6f46bf07a9.jpg\")
The phone rang at 4:00 yesterday morning. We both jumped up...hearts in our throats. No good news comes at 4:00am. It was my stepson calling to tell his dad he’d better go downstairs and make sure the sump pump was plugged in because a big storm was coming. Within minutes, the wind picked up and the rain started pelting the house. Flashes of lightning were near constant and the crash of thunder set your teeth on edge. I reached down and unplugged my phone and iPad. Priorities, you know.
\n\n\nThe storm didn’t last more than thirty minutes and Mr. FixIt went back to sleep. I, however, could not. The dawn was just beginning to show a pale pink glow when I was finally able to drift off and get a few more hours of sleep. After breakfast, I needed to tackle the kitchen. With all the pans and things I brought home from the farm, I needed to get the counters cleared off and get things organized. The thing is...this was sort of the tipping point that thrust me into a deep cleaning and purging of the dreaded pantry.
\n\n\nIt is both a blessing and a curse to have a big pantry to store food in. The blessing is having plenty of food. The curse is keeping on top of it and rotating your stock. If you aren’t careful, things keep getting shoved into the back and the newer stuff sits up front. What is out of sight truly is out of mind, unfortunately.
\n\n\nMr. FixIt and I have had this conversation several times. I’ve wanted to throw something out because it’s out of date and he informs me expiration dates are merely a guideline. As I started in on the kitchen yesterday, he went in and stretched out in his recliner and was soon sound asleep. I saw my window of opportunity and took it. I’m embarrassed to say, I took out SIX garbage bags of stuff out of that pantry...including a small tin of oysters from 2006!
\n\n\nI finally quit for the day and still have the bottom shelf to go. We had an errand we had to run so when we were in town, we picked up our utility trailer from a friend’s house and brought it home. I was putting the milk in the fridge when I turned around to see Mr. FixIt admiring the freshly organized pantry.
\n\n\n“Nice job, babe!”
\n\n\nOne thing we ALWAYS do is admire what the other accomplishes. It’s important to say thank you, even when it’s something that needed to be done. Even when you’ve done it a hundred times. It is always important to feel appreciated. I smiled and gave him a squeeze and looked at my handiwork. That’s one nice looking pantry. I’ll tackle the rest of it today.
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2020-04-09T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2020/04/09/day-getting-my-mojo-back.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","Presence","Peaceful Moments"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2020/04/08/day-a-moment-of-peace.html", "title": "Day 23: A Moment of Peace", "content_html": "\n“But all things should be done decently and in order.”
\n1 Corinthians 14:40 ESV\n
“The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.\"”
John 3:8 ESV
I slept a deep and dreamless sleep at the farm. I went to sleep with the sounds of owls and the occasional night bird. I awoke to the sun striking the the tippy top of the far ridge, the glorious choir of songbirds echoing down the holler from the woods above. What little bit of spring rain we’ve had trickled quietly in the creek outside the bedroom window I had propped open with an old bottle. My breathing was steady...my heartbeat was slow. I was feeling quite zen in the moment.
\n\n\nI stretched and yawned and gazed out the window, then I received an alert on my phone. My brother/friend Greg was texting from Costa Rica.
\n\n\n“Hey...wish me happy birthday, sis!”
\n\n\nOMGosh! Why wasn’t his birthday on my calendar? I’m challenged in this area. I sat up, pulled the covers up around my chin, brushed my hair back, and hit the little camera icon. I have never tried a video chat on Instagram before, but there is a first time for everything, right? After three rings, there he was. My curly-haired buddy with the sparkling blue eyes...retired attorney, world traveler, born in the same hospital as me and delivered by the same doctor. We grew up right across the Ohio River from each other but didn’t meet until 2002 at a board meeting in New Castle, Colorado. Go figure.
\n\n\nHis gap-toothed smile is charming, his innocent youthfulness belies his age. Greg is truthfully the little brother I never had. I adore my older brother. I didn’t get to do the things with him some sisters do. He didn’t play football and look out for his little sister. He didn’t reluctantly drive me to school or protect me from boys he didn’t approve of. My older brother was born with a developmental disability and cerebral palsy. I would never trade him for anything in the world. I was HIS protector, so God sent me Greg to do the other stuff.
\n\n\nWhen Mr. Virgo died and I returned from my three month excursion in the wilderness and backroads of Colorado, I couldn’t sleep in my house. I didn’t want to sleep in my bed...our bed. So I kept Little TOW-Wanda out front, plugged in, and essentially lived out there till I finally had to park her in storage for the winter. Greg and I were both night owls. If he saw me online at some ungodly hour, he sent me a text to see if I was ok. I can’t tell you how many times he walked the six or seven blocks from his house to mine at 2:00 in the morning to just sit with me in my camper.
\n\n\nWe propped pillows up at each end of my bed, he at one end...me at the other. It was getting chilly so we threw a quilt over our legs. Sometimes we listened to music. Sometimes we shared pictures on our phones. Sometimes I cried and he sat quietly and listened. He’s a good brother...as much a brother as any. And I got to start my soft, zen-like day singing happy birthday to him and catch up with each other’s lives. It was delightful.
\n\n\nWhen we finally said goodbye, I padded into the kitchen to make my coffee, threw in another load of laundry, and sat in Grandma’s chair to watch the world play out in front of me. I took a deep breath. No television. No news. No “press conferences”. No updates. I could just as easily have been sitting in a cabin in the woods in 1886 as remote and distant the world felt. This is what I was talking about a couple of weeks ago when I posted on my personal FB page... “Should married couples socially distance from each other? (Asking for a friend.)” I was trying to be funny...sort of.
\n\n\nI love Mr. FixIt completely. AND...I know myself. I need a break away from time to time to recharge and catch my breath. I need to NOT hear a television for, at the very least...24 hours. I am a much happier person when I get these little breaks...and when I’m happier, Mr. FixIt can’t help but be happier, too. It doesn’t take long and we can’t stand being apart. But oh...that twenty-four hours is delicious.
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/1349d62bc3.jpg\")
I finished my laundry and gathered some things up from the kitchen that I wanted to take home. The pots and pans I left at the farm are much nicer than the ones over at the house, so I gathered the good pans up to bring home with me. The next time we go back over, I’ll take the older pans from here and leave them at the farm. No one comes there but us, and we will do fine with them. I also brought my blender and my handheld KitchenAid mixer. Some knives and my wonderful crock with my spatulas and wooden spoons. And the red teakettle I bought a few years ago when I came back to the farm full time.
\n\n\nBy the time I got the car packed up, it was nearly 3:00 in the afternoon. I drove home and mowed the back yard for Mr. FixIt. It was warm and sunny. When I was done, I stretched out on the bed in front of the fan for a power nap. We had supper and sat out on the deck under our new pergola and played with the cat.
\n\n\nFor twenty-four hours, coronavirus was far away. Scary things were far away. Death and dying and illness were far away. I had the mental health break I needed and came back feeling stronger and more centered and rested. It’s important to take care of our mental health...always, but especially now.
\n\n\nWhat are you doing to help with your mental health? What are your self care rituals?
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2020-04-08T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2020/04/08/day-a-moment-of-peace.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","Comfort","Peace","Wisdom","Presence","Peaceful Moments"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2020/03/29/day-say-his-namenot-in.html", "title": "Day 13: Say His Name...Not in Vain", "content_html": "\n“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
\nJohn 14:27 ESV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e06a255861.jpg\")
I was reading my devotional yesterday morning. I have to admit, I haven’t been as focused on my Bible reading as I should be as my attention is being drawn in every different direction. Now, more than at any other time...NOW is the most important time to sit with God and have those deep conversations that can bring such peace to a weary heart. So, I’m trying harder to corral my wandering ADD spirit and rein it back in.
\n\n\nYesterday’s devotion focused on Exodus 20:7...
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n“You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.”
\nExodus 20:7 ESV\n
If your grandma was like my grandma, you remember what happened if the exclamation “Oh, my God!” slipped out. You might have found yourself with a sliver of soap in your mouth or a swat on the behind...or worse, the shame of disappointing your favorite champion.
\n\n\nAs I got older and thought I was oh-so-wise, I drifted away from that fuddy-duddy old church because I thought I knew better than they did. I was crude and crass and ugly in many, many ways. And OMG slipped out as easily as far too many other epithets. My ears burn when I think of the things my children heard coming out of my mouth. Eventually, I woke up and got it together. But I still relate Exodus 20:7 to using the Lord’s name to swear. That is, until I read my devotional yesterday morning.
\n\n\nIsn’t it wonderful when you read a verse you’ve read a hundred times and it suddenly means something completely different?
\n\n\nThe premise is this:
\n\n\nWhen we become a Christian, we take on God’s name and wear it as our identity. If we do not “walk the talk”, our behavior doesn’t reflect what we are proclaiming with our mouths. In this way, we take the name of the Lord in vain because we aren’t being honest...with Him, with each other, and with ourselves. I found that to be an interesting perspective and thought I would share it with you today.
\n\n\nChurch is still online. I read something the other day that said this time of working remotely may change the way we do business in the future. We used to think going to the office was the best way. But maybe it isn’t. Maybe if more people can work remotely, pollution can be cut down which would positively impact our environment. I don’t know about teaching at home...especially for young children. Learning socialization skills is just as important as math and spelling.
\n\n\nOne thing that won’t be replaced is gathering together in places of worship. I’ve enjoyed hearing my pastor online, but it just cannot replace the community bond of corporate worship. We will continue to learn and grow and evaluate what changes we can make in our way of life that will better the world. There will always be resistance to change, but change can be for our own as well as the greater good.
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2020-03-29T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2020/03/29/day-say-his-namenot-in.html", "tags": ["Faith","Positive Energy","Growth","Grace","God","Wisdom"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2020/03/26/day-remember-the-good-ol.html", "title": "Day 10: Remember the Good Ol’ Days?", "content_html": "\n“Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults.”
\nPsalms 19:12 ESV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/cef1f2a991.jpg\")
When someone says “Remember the good ol’ days?” now, they could just as easily be referring to last month than 100 years ago. Remember when we could go out to the movies? Remember when we could eat at restaurants? I love reminiscing and looking at old photos like this one. It reminds me of what they called “a simpler time”. But was it, really?
\n\n\nLook at this kitchen. That stove didn’t get started with the turn of a knob. Someone had to cut, haul, and chop wood. They had to split kindling and stack it all near the back door. This was done every day or you ate cold food. With those boots under the stove, I’d say there are some hard working men and boys in that house and they eat a ton of food. That woman is cooking three squares and baking all her own bread and biscuits. She had to tend a garden, preserve the food, store it properly. Hopefully there are a couple of other young girls around to help with the washing and cleaning and all the other jobs on the farm.
\n\n\nI believe that is the family “washing machine” the woman is using. This must have been an incredible convenience item to relieve her of scrubbing heavy wet work clothes on a washboard. The water had to be toted from the well, stream, cistern, or spring. It had to be heated in large pots on that stove. She had to save up the ash from the wood stove to make lye. She also saved the lard from butchering and rendered it for use in baking, cooking, and making assorted salves and soaps.
\n\n\nThat woman was the family doctor. She gathered herbs and medicinal plants, using knowledge handed down from generation to generation. She may have been the only midwife in a twenty mile radius. She milked the dairy cow out behind the barn...twice a day...and raised the cream to churn butter. Her sewing rocker is in the kitchen. Here is where she read her bible as the biscuits rose. She sewed and mended her family’s clothing to conserve them for longer wear. When they couldn’t be mended anymore, she cut them up and sewed the pieces together to make quilts.
\n\n\nThere wasn’t a lot of socializing in this day and age. There might be women who gathered for a quilting bee or to throw a wedding or a funeral. A woman valued those precious moments she shared with other women. The children were sent out of the house after breakfast and they came home at supper time. They walked to church and the one room schoolhouse down the road....maybe miles away. Or, if they were really lucky, they might have a horse or two...or maybe even a wagon for when they needed to make longer trips.
\n\n\nI show pictures like this to my grandkids and they just stare at it like it’s an alien planet. I was looking at the woman in the picture. My first thought was, this is the grandma. And, it could be. But I wouldn’t doubt it a bit if that’s the mom. All that hard work and all those babies made the womenfolk age well beyond their years.
\n\n\nI would never call this “a simpler time” in regard to the work that was put in on a daily basis. Yet, compared to the manic hustle most people live with today, I would say it is simpler in many ways. I had to smile the other day. Daughter #2, who showed very little interest in learning anything “old timey” when she was growing up called to say this pandemic has made her think about her life and how she’s living it. She wants to raise a garden. She would like to learn how to be more self-sufficient. Her mama is SO excited by this!!! I sent her pictures of the Encyclopedia of Country Living and the Ball Book of Food Preservation. This is a common ground I have longed to share with my kids.
\n\n\nThis pandemic is scary as heck. And it’s shaken many of us to the core. But, as I’ve been saying from the beginning, there will be gems in the flames of this. There will be great sadness, and there will also be great revolution. I hope we have awakened a sleeping giant.
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2020-03-26T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2020/03/26/day-remember-the-good-ol.html", "tags": ["Family","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Growth","Comfort","Wisdom","Courage","Humbled","Choices","Change"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2020/03/21/day-five-love-in-the.html", "title": "Day Five: Love in the Time of CoVid", "content_html": "\n“The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”
\nProverbs 16:9 ESV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/ce8f7636b7.jpg\")
Thankfully we didn’t need to venture to town yesterday. Instead, we took a drive over to the farm to check in. Oh...what an amazingly warm day it was. I actually saw the thermometer at 79! All was well at the home place. The daffodils are blooming as are the forsythia and the flowering quince. The irises are shooting their flat, sword-like blades out from the wet, awakening earth. As you drive out through the country, the bushes along the roadsides are gaining a green, ghostly hue as the leaves begin to form.
\n\n\nThis is rockslide season and we saw evidence of several...one was actually encroaching on the road. The highway crew hadn’t gotten to it yet. It is supposed to get chilly again this weekend and then I wouldn’t be surprised if we stay in the high 50’s, low 60’s for a while. I don’t think there’s much of a chance of having another freeze this spring.
\n\n\nSpeaking of spring, with all the madness going on in the world, I totally missed the first day of spring! It’s here...even though it is highly overshadowed this time.
\n\n\nI read something yesterday that someone shared. It was a letter to the humans from the vantage point of the CoVid-19 virus. It spoke of how we haven’t been paying attention. We have been so busy chasing after stuff and working to achieve a lifestyle that is unsustainable, that finally the earth broke. There were horrific wildfires and we looked on with morbid curiosity and counted our blessings it wasn’t us. There were deadly hurricanes and we sighed and looked on with a tinge of sadness at the devastation. Then our attention shifted elsewhere and the thoughts and prayers were replaced with the next thing in the news cycle.
\n\n\nWe as a people are so self-centered. We look out for number one. Maybe, just maybe this virus swooped in to get our attention...to wake us up to the devastation around us. To how unhealthy the world has become. And if the world is unhealthy, WE are unhealthy.
\n\n\nI saw a picture of a mega freeway in Los Angeles. There were eight cars on it. I think someone said it hadn’t seen that little traffic since the Watts Riots of 1965. I commented that maybe Mother Earth is going to be able to catch her breath. Maybe the skies will clear. Maybe the sun will shine a little brighter. Maybe the waters will freshen a little. Maybe the pH in the rain will normalize and the fish will flourish.
\n\n\nMaybe the quiet stillness will give us time to stop the frenetic pace we have set for ourselves and we can really connect with our family members...even if it’s through a window or over the phone or FaceTime. I’ve already noticed more caring for each other. Children are checking in with their parents to see how they’re doing. They are offering to run errands or go to the store. Strangers are helping strangers.
\n\n\nThis is a time like no other we have faced. But, our grandparents and great grandparents were called to war. They were bombed and food was rationed. They grew victory gardens and knitted socks for troops. All we are being asked to do is stay home. While the threat of the disease itself is terribly disconcerting, we can do things to help prevent the spread.
\n\n\nI’ve heard the youngsters say, “Ah, it’s not going to affect me. It’s just the Boomers.” Well, first of all, no. It’s not just the Boomers. They are finding people much younger than they first thought are getting sick and some seriously. And...who do you think those Boomers (and the generation or so after them) are? They are the doctors, scientists, financial wizards, farmers...the experts. The ones who hold the keys to a great deal of knowledge. Those who say they’re “just Boomers” had better learn a whole lot pretty darned quickly.
\n\n\nI’m having nightmares. I rarely remember dreams, but I’m having dreams of death and dying. Too much news. Too much information. I had to step back and stop watching as much of it. I have to limit myself to a half hour of news a day. Just to stay up to speed with any breaking news. To counteract the bombardment of bad news, I’m putting in twice as much good.
\n\n\nYesterday, I baked a pie. I went to the farm and sat in my grandma’s chair. I did an hour of meditation/yoga on Facebook Live with my dear Earth Mother yogi friend, Sue in Colorado. I snuggled the kitty. I walked around our property with Mr. FixIt. I made BBQ pulled pork sandwiches for supper and pie for dessert. And I spent time studying my bible devotionals. It was a good day...even though the virus is creeping closer.
\n\n\nMy God is bigger than any virus. He’s bigger than any of my stuff. When I remember who’s in charge here and how this story ends, even if I caught the virus and went to Heaven...I win. Because HE won...and I put my faith in HIM.
\n\n\nI will not be afraid.
\n\n\nI will not be afraid.
\n\n\nI will not be afraid.
\n\n\nYou can watch my friend Sue’s movement meditation video here.
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2020-03-21T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2020/03/21/day-five-love-in-the.html", "tags": ["Health","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","West Virginia","Growth","God","Wisdom","Fear","Courage","Choices","Change","Widow"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2020/03/20/day-four-holy-catsits-feel.html", "title": "Day Four: Holy Cats...It’s Feel Good Friday!!!", "content_html": "\n“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”
\nPsalms 19:14 ESV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/d6e6dee0db.jpg\")
One of the benefits of living in West Virginia is the rural nature of things makes social distancing pretty easy. After all...it’s what we’ve done for generations. It isn’t a big stretch for Mr. FixIt and me to hang around The Ponderosa or The Farm, but we do normally take several trips a week into town. We decided yesterday, the biggest change we’ve seen in our lives is not getting to dine out. I didn’t realize how often we eat meals away from home till that little luxury was taken away.
\n\n\nWe had to make a trip to town yesterday. We got the estimate on the damage to the truck...to the tune of $3,000! Yikes! Thank God for insurance. Mr. FixIt had a doctor’s appointment. I was not allowed back with him. Have you ever accompanied a man to the doctor?
\n\n\n“So, how are things going?”
\n\n\n“Good.”
\n\n\n“Are you having any problems?”
\n\n\n“No, not really.”
\n\n\n“How’s that back pain?”
\n\n\n“About the same.”
\n\n\n“Is that new medicine I gave you last time helping.”
\n\n\n“I think so.”
\n\n\n“Any questions?”
\n\n\n“Nope.”
\n\n\n“Ok, then...you’re looking great! Let’s see you back in about three months.”
\n\n\n“Ok.”
\n\n\n?♀️
\n\n\nWhen Lorie told me I had to stay in the waiting room, I looked at Mr. FixIt and narrowed my eyes.
\n\n\n“You’d darn well better tell him everything!”
\n\n\nHe’s a good listener...he was in there forever. And he came out and addressed every single thing I would have wanted checked.
\n\n\nWhat’s the message here? Oh...that he’s a grown man and can take care of himself in his appointments? Of course he can. Sheesh. But, that being said, men...no matter how diligent they are...sometimes forget the details of the conversation. Or they don’t quite grasp the subtle nuances of a new medication direction. Having a second set of ears helps tremendously, especially when they belong to someone who loves you. I also have the experience of sitting with Mr. Virgo and having him say no to every test our doctor wanted him to have and he was dead five months later. So, yeah...there’s that.
\n\n\nWe went to Walmart to pick up some prescriptions and bought a new tire for the truck. It wasn’t very crowded and everyone was practicing social distancing. We didn’t hang around long though and we hightailed it back home where I prepared a sumptuous dinner of steak, broccoli, and baked potato.
\n\n\nThere is always something to feel good about. For instance, yesterday Lester Holt told us to leave those boxes from Amazon outside for 24 hours because the virus can’t live that long on cardboard. He also said to wear gloves when you open the boxes because many of the products come from China. Why do I feel good about this? Well, I’ve been trying to cut down on my online (sometimes comfort) shopping and this is the perfect time. We can free up all those workers in the Amazon warehouses to focus on getting medical goods and critical supplies shipped and not have to worry about my books or batteries or what have you. And, I’ll be saving more money and who doesn’t need to be doing more of THAT right about now, am I right?
\n\n\nAnother feel good thing...people are talking nicer to each other. At least, that’s been my experience these last few weeks. We are finally getting back a little of that “we’re all in this thing together” vibe and I don’t think it’s humanly possible to have my fill of that! Letting people in line in front of you. Standing back and letting someone have the first choice of a piece of meat...even if that means you don’t get the one you had your eye on. Texts and phone calls and “I love you’s”...these are the sweet sounds of compassion I’ve been yearning for so desperately the last few years.
\n\n\nI was telling someone yesterday that I listened to NY’s Governor Cuomo address the coronavirus on TV and he spoke so kindly. He was efficient and honest and came across as trustworthy and compassionate. When he spoke...even without listening to what he was saying...his voice was soothing, calming. He told folksy stories as a way to humanize this pandemic and allay our fears. I seriously felt my emotions well up in my chest and the sting of tears as I realized...we don’t hear enough of that. And we’re getting beat down because of it. Let’s not wait for the powers that be to be kind and compassionate. Let’s take the bull by the horns and do that ourselves.
\n\n\nThis is exactly how we make THE WORLD great again. Because, all we’ve got is God and each other. And dogs. We’ve got dogs. Oh, and cats, and birds, and.......
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2020-03-20T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2020/03/20/day-four-holy-catsits-feel.html", "tags": ["Faith","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","West Virginia","Growth","Courage","Choices","Feel Good Friday"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2020/03/19/day-three-expect-the-unexpected.html", "title": "Day Three: Expect the Unexpected", "content_html": "\n“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”
\nProverbs 17:17 ESV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/59b38500f1.jpg\")
We picked up my truck from the mechanic on Tuesday. It was in the shop for ten days but it was fixed and didn’t cost an arm or leg. After breakfast yesterday and a quick update on the news, we decided to drive out to the farm for a little while. On our way, we were just getting ready to cross a bridge when three things happened...I looked ahead to the intersection to make sure no one was stopped, I glanced to my left at the empty campground someone set up just before the oil and gas business left town, and I caught a glimpse of a vehicle passing me in the opposite direction. I turned back to comment to Mr. FixIt that it was a shame that man didn’t set up the campground earlier when he could have made some money on it. Just then, we heard loud banging on the outside of the driver’s side of the truck and the clang of metal on the road.
\n\n\nI looked in the rear view mirror in time to see what looked like a four foot section of rebar go flying up behind my truck with one last smack on the side. It skittered down the road and I was so relieved to see there was no one driving right behind me. Immediately, the rear driver’s side tire started hissing air as I crossed the bridge and pulled into a convenience store parking lot.
\n\n\nSure enough, the tire was giving off it’s final breath and the side of my truck looked like someone took a tire iron to it. It took a few moments to shake off the shock and try to figure out what happened. The best thing I can come up with is something fell off the truck that passed us and I ran over it. I didn’t see anything in the road before, but I was looking ahead and to my left so obviously I missed it.
\n\n\nYes...I have AAA. But, you have to remember, we live in a town of a couple hundred people, we are in the midst of a national emergency, and it was fixin’ to rain. I didn’t really feel like we needed to call for AAA. That’s for times when Mr. FixIt isn’t around.
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/693d5ea8d3.jpg\")
The first thing we had to do was get the jack out of the truck. Well, actually...the first thing we had to do was figure out where the jack is STORED in the truck. Trust me, it wasn’t apparent but we looked it up on YouTube (thank GOD we weren’t out of cell range yet...five to ten more minutes and we would have been.) Unfortunately, I STILL haven’t gotten around to emptying that truck of all my camping gear. I know...I figured if I just left it in there, sooner or later it would be camping time again, right?
\n\n\nI took stuff out of the back seat of the truck and we finally figured out how to get the jack out. I asked Mr. FixIt to let me change the tire so I would remember how to do it. That was one of the things my dad taught me when I was sixteen and I’ve probably only changed two tires my whole life. I wanted to know I could do it alone if necessary...and Mr. FixIt is wonderfully supportive in that.
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/bae956fe51.jpg\")
I cranked down the spare tire under the bed of the truck and got it out. Man, it is REALLY heavy. I couldn’t pick it up, but I could scoot it along the ground till it was where it needed to be. I put the jack in place under the axle and got the truck raised up. I got the lug nuts off and Mr. FixIt reminded me to place them in the lid of the box the jack came in so I wouldn’t misplace any. Then it came time to remove the tire.
\n\n\nI pulled. I kicked, shoved, twisted, pulled, pried, pounded...nothing. That thing was frozen on there. A fellow came over and tried but he couldn’t make any headway either. Mr. FixIt tried...nothing. So, I gave in and called the guy from the garage where we picked up the truck on Tuesday because he just lives less than a mile from where we were. He came right down...with a sledge hammer. I told him I was really disappointed because I wanted to change it myself. He laughed and went to hand me the sledgehammer and we both laughed.
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/43356e3ac6.jpg\")
“Nah...that’s ok. I’ll just hand this job over to you.”
\n\n\nHe got down under the truck and it took some pretty strong blows but it finally came loose. From that point, it wasn’t two minutes till the spare was on and the jack was out from under the truck. It took a little figuring, but we got the spare tire holder cranked back up under the truck, put everything back inside, and turned around. It wasn’t prudent to go out to the farm without a good spare. We stopped and filled the new tire with air and headed back home.
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/16e2563747.jpg\")
A few phone calls and the claim, an appointment for the estimate, and a rental car were all lined up. A hot bubble bath and I was good to go!
\n\n\nThe enemy is pounding hard on all of us right now. But this was such an opportunity today. I got to refresh some skills I may need again down the road. I was in a safe place less than a mile from the help I ended up needing. I was fifty yards from the nearest air pump. My truck was drivable. I have a wonderful husband who supports my need for independence and courage. It reminded me of the worship song we sing in church.
\n\n\n“You took what the enemy meant for evil, and You turned it for good...You turned it for good!”
\n\n\nThere are so many uncertainties right now and if we focus on that, things can seem so overwhelming. But as long as we are taking every precaution we can personally to stay safe, and we know we have God on our side, we can face anything that comes our way. Pray without ceasing for all of us. Be there for each other. Help in whatever way you possibly can while maintaining safety. And look for the opportunities this brings us...even if it’s just the opportunity to pray.
\n\n\nIt takes a lot more than a national emergency and a flat tire to get THIS Girl Camper down!!!
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2020-03-19T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2020/03/19/day-three-expect-the-unexpected.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Positive Energy","West Virginia","Courage","Choices"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2020/03/09/sweet-caroline.html", "title": "Sweet Caroline", "content_html": "\n“The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.”
\nRomans 16:20 ESV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/63c548ead5.jpg\")
She was just a little girl when I first met Caroline. Two years my junior, I felt ever so much older and worldly than the little girl with the long, straight hair. Caroline had an older brother about my brother Gary’s age. Our brothers both went to the “special school” in our home town. Our moms knew each other through the Easter Seal Treatment Center where the boys both received speech and physical therapy. My mom was the secretary. Caroline’s mom volunteered whenever mom needed envelopes stuffed for the fundraisers that were held periodically.
\n\n\nI never really knew Caroline. Our ages were just enough different that our paths didn’t cross through school, but I remember seeing stories about her and her brother and parents in the newspaper from time to time. She always had that long, straight hair. She went on to become an artist and lived in New England. But, so many times over the years, she and her brother would come to mind and I’d wonder how they were.
\n\n\nLast night, as Mr. FixIt was at the bowling alley with his buddies, I went to Panera to write my post. As I pulled out my iPad, I looked up at the woman sliding into the booth next to mine. I smiled. It was Caroline!
\n\n\nI caught her eye and smiled.
\n\n\n“I’m sure you don’t know me, but you would know my mom and my brother.”
\n\n\nTurns out she did remember and we had the most lovely conversation...comparing notes of lives lived and times past. Well, as much as you can in a few minutes in a restaurant. I’m afraid our conversation took up much of her dinner time, but I was so happy to have connected with her.
\n\n\nHer brother is in a care center now and really doing as well as can be expected. He seems to be happy and content where he is and there’s a lot to be said for that. I invited Caroline to find Marshmallow Ranch. I hope she does. It’s so wonderful when you can dot some “I’s” and cross some “T’s” in your life. It closes an open loop that has run through my mind over the years.
\n\n\nWhat a treat it is when there’s some completion to a story.
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2020-03-09T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2020/03/09/sweet-caroline.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Strong Women","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Gratitude","Aging","Art"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2020/03/06/its-feel-good-fridaylets-get.html", "title": "It’s “Feel Good Friday”...Let’s Get Moving!", "content_html": "\n“and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.\"”
\nJohn 8:32 ESV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/2fa77276e6.jpg\")
Three years ago, I went on a health improvement journey. I did great! I lost forty-five pounds or so. I got lean and strong and fit. I was eating clean and green. I could walk a flight of 176 stairs nine times without huffing and puffing. Mr. FixIt and I started dating. I did really well the first year keeping up with my diet and exercise. Then, winter set in, I started knitting full time, and my dear friend Janine said, “Write your book! You can knit at the book signings!”
\n\n\nThat motivated me to sequester myself and write like crazy. The byproduct, besides a nearly finished book was...a bigger behind from sitting and writing and eating. Those of you who know the yo-yo diet sequence understand how hard it is to jump back on the bandwagon when you’ve fallen off hard. I was feeling defeated and discouraged but I didn’t have much time to sit and cry about it. 2019 was one of my busiest travel and writing years I’ve ever had.
\n\n\nOne of the side effects of letting your health take a back seat is, things sneak up on you on quiet stocking feet. They tiptoe in and sit down. You hardly notice they’re there till enough of them come and pretty soon, you’ve got a LOT of things going on. Mine started with a sharp pain in my left foot at the base of my middle toe. Gradually it moved on down toward the little toe. Then, it moved to my left calf muscle. It felt like I had torn the muscle in half. The next day it would be gone and my right foot would hurt. Eventually it was my left hip, then my right elbow, then back to the left foot. It was crazy!
\n\n\nMy doctor sent me to a podiatrist, but I didn’t go till after the big camping extravaganza was over. I had an MRI, x-rays, lab tests. Nothing. No one had answers and I stopped talking about it because I figured it must be in my head. When Mr. FixIt had his stroke a couple of weeks ago and my blood pressure shot up, I thought I should make an appointment with the nurse practitioner to get it checked. It had been twenty years since I had any trouble with BP and I just wanted to make sure it was just stress related and would go down...or need treatment.
\n\n\nThe nurse practitioner asked me what kind of stress I was experiencing. I told her about Mr. FixIt, and the busy travel year, and all the writing, and the pain. Her ears perked up.
\n\n\n“Pain? Where? How long have you had it?”
\n\n\nI pooh-poohed the whole thing because, seriously, what could possibly cause pain that migrates everywhere on a daily basis. She insisted on the details so I told her, but I was still dismissive. She said there are indeed things that can cause just those symptoms and she ordered a whole barrage of blood tests. Sure enough, there are some things out of whack. We still have to do some more tests, but on a preliminary basis, it looks like something going on with my thyroid. I need an MRI and they’re sending me to an Endocrinologist...a doctor who specializes in the endocrine system.
\n\n\nIn the meantime, I’ve been back on track with my diet for the last three weeks. No sugar, no gluten, intermittent fasting, and pretty much whatever I want to eat. I’ve lost about eight pounds already. We are both eating much, much better and I am following 99Walks...the program app that Girl Camper has teamed up with. It’s a membership walking program with teams and goals and rewards. I’m also keeping a food log on MyFitnessPal...another app I use daily.
\n\n\nWhile I was searching for a feel good story for today, I came across Joan MacDonald. Joan was 70 years old and 200 pounds. She looked like me...grey hair, tired eyes, sallow skin....in other words...unhealthy. Joan’s daughter is a fitness trainer and yogi and she begged her mom to take charge of her health and turn things around. I watched my own mother fail physically and refuse to change things. I won’t be that way. I have SO much to be here for...I’ll be darned if I’m going to go out prematurely...unnecessarily.
\n\n\nJoan has given me a big shot in the arm. This isn’t vanity...this is an emergency. This is “Get it together, kiddo! You’re failing here!” It’s time to get serious, stay serious, and be the best I can be. Because...today? Today is the youngest I will EVER be again! How many “todays” do I have left? Check out Joan’s story HERE.
\n\n\nLet’s get up and go, my friends! It’s not only “Feel Good Friday”...it’s also “Fitness Friday!”
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2020-03-06T02:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2020/03/06/its-feel-good-fridaylets-get.html", "tags": ["Health","Positive Energy","Wisdom","Aging","Choices","Change"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2020/03/05/shake-your-can.html", "title": "Shake Your Can", "content_html": "\n“Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.”
\n3 John 1:2 NIV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/5adbde9374.jpg\")
Last Sunday, our Pastor delivered another wonderful message. This time he was talking about how we can get flat and stale in our faith after time. We can become complacent and go to church simply to be fed every week. We can get comfortable. We may think, “I’m saved...I’m good. I don’t need to _________ (fill in the blank...serve, share, invite, get involved). We can do that, of course. But, we could be so much more if we just shook things up.
\n\n\nIf we wake it up and shake it up, God’s light in us will be so much brighter when we carry it out in the world. And, heaven knows...this world needs all the light it can get! The Pastor used a great visual. He had a can of soda in his hand when he asked a woman from the front row to come forward.
\n\n\nHe showed the woman the can.
\n\n\n“Are you afraid of this can?”
\n\n\n“No,” she said.
\n\n\nHe started shaking the can violently and poised to open it in front of her.
\n\n\n“How about now?”
\n\n\nThe woman laughed and took a few steps back.
\n\n\n“Yeah...I’m afraid of it now!”
\n\n\nHe made his point. The enemy doesn’t pay us much mind when we’re being complacent and doing enough to get by. He isn’t afraid of us. But shake us up and see what happens. That gets his attention because the last thing he wants is for us to be all up in it.
\n\n\nYou wanna make a difference in this world?
\n\n\nGet up and shake your can!
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2020-03-05T02:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2020/03/05/shake-your-can.html", "tags": ["Faith","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Wisdom","Choices","Change"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2020/03/04/its-mud-season-an-ordinary.html", "title": "It’s Mud Season: An Ordinary Day", "content_html": "\n“Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?”
\nHebrews 1:14 NIV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/f8bd9cd123.jpg\")
This is the time of year when we get a ton of rain. It makes me laugh to say that because, really...West Virginia gets TONS of rain. Period. I lived in the semi-arid climate of Colorado for forty years. I was dried up like a prune...constantly dehydrated. Then I moved back to my beloved home state and actually felt my skin soaking up the moisture.
\n\n\nWe have a boat load of moisture here, that’s for sure. And it comes in bands. If you look at the radar on the majority of days, you will see long finger-like bands of clouds sweeping across the Ohio River and deflect on a Northeasterly course. We waited out one such storm band yesterday and thought we might be able to get a walk in before the next band came through. But the sky darkened quickly and we soon recognized the heavy dense clouds of impending rain. We changed our course.
\n\n\nNot that I really wanted to drive to town, we decided it was our best option to keep from getting wet. We drove to the mall and got in nearly two miles for a respectable first time out for Mr. FixIt. Errands, groceries, and dinner on a Christmas gift card rounded out our day. My sweetie was sure tired when we got home but he did great!
\n\n\nOn our way home, we experienced out first lightning of the season. I love thunder and lightning. And, I am so grateful we don’t have the kind of storms Nashville was hit with yesterday. I have friends who live there and I half held my breath till they started checking in. Please lift up prayers for all those effected by the tornado. There are buildings there that hadn’t even been fixed since the last tornado.
\n\n\nWe watched a little TV. A little election. A little American Idol. A little reading.
\n\n\nIt was another extraordinarily ordinary day here on The Ponderosa.
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2020-03-04T02:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2020/03/04/its-mud-season-an-ordinary.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","West Virginia"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2020/02/23/no-luxury-of-losing-it.html", "title": "No Luxury of Losing It", "content_html": "\n“Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years.”
\nJames 5:17 NIV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/5a66ca96ca.jpg\")
First, let me thank you for your prayers Friday night. This one was for us. My sweet Mr. FixIt had a stroke Friday night. It was mild, but concerning enough that he is in the hospital for a couple of nights for tests. My heart was pounding out of my chest and wave after wave of hot flushes rushed over me. Visions of the final trip to the ER with Mr. Virgo had me in a near panic.
\n\n\nI drove, maybe a little fast...but we got to the hospital in record time. It wasn’t the kind of medical emergency you need an ambulance for. He just had some numbness and tingling. It was more “let’s just go in and get this checked out to make sure everything is ok.” When they descended on Mr. FixIt and started all the medical stuff, I excused myself to the ladies room and threw up.
\n\n\nI didn’t have the luxury of losing it. My sweetheart knows these things scare the dickens out of me and he kept asking me if I was ok. I was honest.
\n\n\n“No, not at the moment. But I’m going to be.” I squeezed his hand and offered a brave smile.
\n\n\nI sent out the prayer request. (Thank you SO much for all your prayers!) I wrapped my arms around my sweet husband and prayed for us both. And I began to feel that sense of peace beyond all understanding.
\n\n\nGod didn’t mean for us to do the heavy lifting. He wants us to turn all things over to Him. When I sat there, I thought of all the people I know who have been through so many hard things lately. People I know and love. I took strength from their courageous fights. I felt a Legion of Angels around us from all the prayers.
\n\n\nWe waited, and waited, and waited for a room. Which almost always means we were waiting for the staff in the ER to find a moment between patients to get us upstairs. At one point, I thought if I could just get a blanket for him and turn off the lights, at least he would be able to get some sleep while we waited.
\n\n\nI went out to the desk and the tech said she was just coming to get us and take us to our room. Pretty soon, she came in and apologized. She said she had to go prepare a patient. Those of us who have worked in an ER know what that means. A patient had died and the family needed to come in to see their loved one. She was going to go make them presentable.
\n\n\nI didn’t say anything to Mr. FixIt as she left. I just held his hand a little tighter as my mind wandered to the day I was led in to see Mr. Virgo after they had made him “presentable” for me. I closed my eyes and said a prayer for the family who were about to have that horrible experience. I prayed that the Angels would come and wrap their wings around them and comfort them in their time of great heartbreak.
\n\n\nI patted Mr. FixIt’s hand and said, “It’s ok, babe. Someone else needs her more than we do right now. We’re ok.”
\n\n\nThank you, God. This could have been so much worse.
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2020-02-23T02:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2020/02/23/no-luxury-of-losing-it.html", "tags": ["Faith","Health","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Wisdom","Fear","Courage","Aging","Widow","Marriage"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2020/02/22/avoiding-the-medical-treadmill.html", "title": "Avoiding the Medical Treadmill", "content_html": "\n“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.”
\n1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/f3a1cc13dc.jpg\")
There was a time when I found myself stuck on the medical treadmill. Get treated for something. Get side effects. Get treated for the side effects. Get more side effects. Get more treatment. It was a vicious cycle and I honestly believe if I hadn’t suffered the overdose, that treadmill would have been the death of me.
\n\n\nIt was all too easy to get on that track. I was married to a prominent doctor. All doctors go the extra mile for another doctor’s family. The specialists get their referrals from internists and family practitioners. Of course they're going to make sure those people are treated to the very best there is to offer. That’s the way it’s always been.
\n\n\nThe problem comes when someone is smart enough to work the system. Someone with a predilection to addiction. Someone who knew very well how to hide it after watching her family of origin do the same thing. That someone, of course, was me. If I was asked if I needed pain meds, I said yes.
\n\n\nThe overdose was the end of that ride. I feel like God only gives us so many tickets for drinks. Far fewer for opioids. Let’s just say, I used my portion up way too fast and I was left trying to figure out how to live without them...how to build a new life after the old one collapsed around me. It took a lot of time and an incredible amount of work and personal growth to get through to the other side of that.
\n\n\nSince losing Mr. Virgo, I developed some health issues. Grief doesn’t just affect the emotions. It can have a deleterious effect on your body. The first thing that struck me was PTSD. The next was Palmar-Plantar Psoriasis. That was so debilitating. I tried everything for three years and finally struck pay dirt when I cut out sugar and gluten, started exercising and taking multivitamins, and using CBD ointment on my hands and feet.
\n\n\nSince being with Mr. FixIt, I’ve slowly lost my mojo in the taking care of myself department. The old adage “fat and happy” is pretty spot on. It was so much more fun to cook and bake and eat and snuggle than it was to get my butt outside and walk. You remember when I was on my health kick and lost a ton of weight. I was climbing those stairs downtown five to ten times, three to five times per week. I was really getting fit.
\n\n\n“Fat and happy” is taking its toll on me. I’m now pre-diabetic. I have a hiatal hernia and acid reflux and diverticulosis and high cholesterol. Those are the invisible things. I’ve gained weight. And along with that weight gain has come a drastic increase of my joint and muscle pain. From my feet to my lower back, I’ve had pain so bad there have been days Mr. FixIt has actually had to help me up out of a recliner. And I’m only sixty-six!
\n\n\nI can’t have this. I have this big family to love on and do things with. I have my writing and my travel. My campers. I’m staring at the other end of the stick now...I need to get crackin’ if I want to live my best life. I owe this to myself. And I owe it to Mr. FixIt and my family.
\n\n\nSo, as of last Friday, I’m back on the bandwagon. I haven’t had any sugar or gluten, bread, pasta or potatoes. In just two days, the pain was so drastically reduced, I have been able to get back on my walking regimen. Girl Camper has just partnered with 99Walks, a subscription walking club. You can listen to motivational talks while you walk. You can join virtual teams. And when you meet your walking goals for the month, you get a stainless steel bracelet with that months motivational message on it. So far, I’ve walked ten miles this week.
\n\n\nMy only other choice would have been to succumb to the pain, go see my doctor, and get back on the medical treadmill again. I’m not about to do that. Not when I know full well how I got this way and what to do about it. That same intelligence that finagled drugs from my ex-husband’s colleagues has been turned from evil to good. Honoring my body. Taking care of the temple where the Holy Spirit dwells. It’s time to take charge. Because the alternative is pretty darned grim.
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2020-02-22T02:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2020/02/22/avoiding-the-medical-treadmill.html", "tags": ["Health","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Aging"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2020/02/13/the-partys-almost-over.html", "title": "The Party’s (Almost) Over", "content_html": "\n““Be careful, or your hearts will be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness and the anxieties of life, and that day will close on you suddenly like a trap. For it will come on all those who live on the face of the whole earth. Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man.””
\nLuke 21:34-36 NIV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/a333ca9695.jpg\")
I didn’t sleep well at all my last night in the little rpod. I lifted the shade over the bed at about 1:00 in the morning and watched the clouds flitting over the bright, shiny moon. I smiled as I thought of all the beautiful places I’ve been in it. I felt my phone buzz and saw my friend Diane had texted me. She’s the “non-camper” that I took camping back in early October. She wanted to know if I was still in the camper. (Yes, we often chat in the idle of the night...we are both night owls.) Finally, we both decided we might sleep if we had a bowl of cereal. lol
\n\n\nAs I sat nibbling on Raisin Bran, I got to thinking...wouldn’t it be nice if you could tow a camper around and live in it a little bit before you buy it? You can rent some models, but it is not an exhaustive list to choose from. I knew within a week of living in Big TOW-Wanda that there were things I really didn’t like about it. For one, the windows didn’t open very far and you never really got a nice cross breeze.
\n\n\nAfter having this little beauty for the last five months, I’ve just about decided to sell the big camper and downsize to the rpod 196. There’s really nothing major I would want to change on it. I think I would put some sort of rain guards or an awning over the tops of the sliding windows so I could have them wide open when it rains. Other than that...it’s golden. And that comes from really living in it over time.
\n\n\nI was telling Mr. FixIt how much I would miss this camper and being on the road with her, but just as much as that, I am looking forward to getting some things done around the house that have been pushed to the back burner. I’m not sure how much camping we’ll get to do this summer anyway with all the work that needs doing on the house in order to get it on the market. I do know there will be a trip to Colorado!
\n\n\nWhen I did finally wake up yesterday after a fitful hour or two of sleep, it was so quiet. No rain! The rivers are high and overflowing all around and this little respite was short lived. As soon as I got the rest of the items packed up and the bed stripped, the drizzly rain started again. I hooked up in the wet and waited till I got to Setzer’s to sweep out the camper. It was useless to do it beforehand with all the dirt and wet I was tracking in.
\n\n\nI hauled on over to the dealership and unhooked in what was now a very steady rain. Everything was out of the camper and I handed over the keys. It felt really weird to leave without towing something! As I pulled away, I stopped and snapped this picture and said a quick prayer...for the new owners...and for safe travels home for both of us. She’s gonna make someone very, very happy in a couple of days!
\n\n\nAnd now...back to work!
\n\n\nHere’s the link for the camper. If you buy a ticket (or three) I promise I’ll stop bombarding you with these links. (Ohhhh, that’s not fair. The raffle ends tonight at midnight. Still...) There are also links in the story for all the wonderful companies who partnered with us to bring the camper from “Factory to Fabulous” as well as the HoldYou Foundation. It’s worth your while to go check them out.
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2020-02-13T02:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2020/02/13/the-partys-almost-over.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Positive Energy","Camping","Fun","West Virginia","goRVing","Girl Camper","Girl Campers","Road Trip","Chasing the Sun - Girl Camper Road Trip"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/12/31/seeking-comfort-in-an-uncomfortable.html", "title": "Seeking Comfort in an Uncomfortable World", "content_html": "\n“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
\nGalatians 6:9 NIV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/307005306f.jpg\")
Well, dear ones...this is it. The last day of the year. The last day of a decade. And oh...what a time it has been. At the beginning of it, I was happily married to Mr. Virgo...living in Denver and not much liking that part, except for being in close proximity to my children. Not that I got to see them much. I was very focused on my husband and didn’t see past the end of my nose. A major regret.
\n\n\nThree years into this decade, my life stopped when Mr. Virgo died unexpectedly...and I set out to create a new life with a new me. I sold the only home I had ever owned on my own. I made some bad decisions...but I’ve also made some good ones. I’ve driven tens of thousands of miles. I settled into and lived in the home of my heart on a beautiful farm that’s been in my family for nearly ninety years.
\n\n\nI’ve connected with some really wonderful people, and reconnected with people I’ve known for a lifetime. I’ve written hundreds of thousands of words as I poured out my grief and my heart and my love into the ether sphere. I married a man I initially set eyes on when I was six years old.
\n\n\nI gained people. And...I lost people I loved dearly.
\n\n\nI totaled a truck and escaped with nothing worse than a small brain bleed that left me struggling to remember things for a couple of years, which filled me with fear. This last year, things finally started to fire on all cylinders in my poor noggin and I feel more like myself than I have in a very long time.
\n\n\nI’ve aged a hundred years in some ways. I’ve gotten much younger in others.
\n\n\nI got a cat. Well...she got me.
\n\n\nI gained a huge extended family and I’m now not only a grandma....I am a GREAT grandma to two little ones with a third one due any day now. I am a GiGi, to be exact. A Mom and a mother-in-law and a Nana and a GiGi. A sister and a friend and a wife. How cool is that?
\n\n\nI went to Church Sunday night and Pastor Justin asked us to think about who we were before we were saved. In that moment, I realized THAT’S what has been hovering in the back of my mind as I contemplate the end of this decade. Because it was the beginning of the previous decade when my life very nearly came to an end.
\n\n\nI let myself cry as the music wafted over me, the Holy Spirit covering...filling me with his Love. My life has moments of demarcation with lines in the sand marking the points between “before” and “after”. The overdose. My mom’s death. Finding Jesus. Meeting, then losing, Mr. Virgo.
\n\n\nFinding ME.
\n\n\nFinding love again.
\n\n\nMarrying a wonderful man.
\n\n\nAll while traveling. I get bored being in the same place too long. I need to seek new horizons from time to time. I need to get away and “blow off some stink” every once in a while. I need to recharge...away from everyone and everything I know. I need to go where no one knows me and rest in the anonymity that comes with the unfamiliar.
\n\n\nI get uncomfortable when I become too comfortable. When things start to get too predictable, I need to shake things up. I tried to count how many houses and apartments I’ve lived in during my lifetime and I lost track. I crave change. Thank goodness I’m married to a very understanding man. It makes me easier to live with, I think.
\n\n\nI don’t usually travel like I did this year...not since I was on the road with the camper after Mr. Virgo died. It was different this time. It was harder to be away from my sweetheart. Partly because I genuinely love being with him and partly because I’m older now and I have intimate experience with loss. Things have changed. There’s more to lose now. I’m not sure how much I’ll travel in the coming year...but I’m sure it won’t be quite like 2019.
\n\n\nWe’re heading out tonight for a family bowling party to ring in the New Year. I can’t remember the last time I bowled. I can’t remember the last time I was out past 10:00! I have to remind myself...I’m only 66. There will be plenty of time to lay down when I’m dead and gone, right?
\n\n\nMaybe I can take a nap before we go.
\n\n\nHappy New Year, my dear ones! If you are struggling, may 2020 bring you peace, prosperity, and good health. You are so loved.
\n\n\nThank you. Truly...thank you for being here all these years. I am eternally grateful for the connections I have made through this page.
\n\n\nBe blessed!
\n\n\nGinny
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n“Sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth. Sing to the Lord, praise his name; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.”
\n\n\nPsalms 96:1-3 NIV
\n\n\n“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”
\n\n\nPsalms 90:12 NIV
\n\n\n“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.”
\n\n\nProverbs 16:9 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2019-12-31T02:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/12/31/seeking-comfort-in-an-uncomfortable.html", "tags": ["Family","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","Camping","The Grand Adventure","Fun","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom","Aging","Choices","Change","Be Joyful!","Widow","Marriage","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/12/18/big-loss-big-growth-big.html", "title": "Big Loss + Big Growth = Big Changes in 2020", "content_html": "\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/8cb02f304b.jpg\")
On March 12, 2013...my world as I knew it came crashing to an end. The future Mr. Virgo and I had planned ended right in front of me in the cold, sterile environment of a Colorado emergency room. Time stopped in that moment and I struggled to do the simplest of tasks...breathing was at the top of the list.
\n\n\nI ever so slowly dragged myself along the jagged shards of grief till I could accomplish simple things like personal hygiene, taking care of paperwork, and eating proper meals. Each tiny step seemed monumental and yet my focus was never much further than the end of my nose. But, hours became days, weeks, months. And finally...years.
\n\n\nWhen I look back on all of that now, I marvel that I survived. I also marvel at this new creation I have become. I am such a different version of myself than I was when Mr. Virgo was alive. I’m not at all sure he would like being married to the me I am now...although I have not a doubt that he would be ever so proud of what I have accomplished in a relatively short time.
\n\n\nRelatively short...if you can call seven Christmases without him “short”. Time is tricky. It seems like yesterday. It seems like eternity. Sometimes, it seems like a dream that I even had him. I’ve learned this is common and it was one of the hardest things to accept. It meant I was growing. Not forgetting...but growing into this new life that I find myself living.
\n\n\nAnd that’s where I’ve come to sit with you today...coffee in hand...to have a little chat. I’ve felt the winds of change whipping around my head for some time now. I’m not one to fear change. As a matter of fact, I embrace it. Good change, anyway. I find myself in a place now where I need to make some good changes. For me. For the people in my life whom I love and love me.
\n\n\nI’ve written every day...almost every single day...for 2,471 days. That’s 6 years, 9 months, and 5 days...in case you’re wondering. I’ve given everything to this project...this Grief Journal...the Documentary of an Ordinary Life. I’ve spoken from my heart with honesty and what I hope was with empathy and grace. And now...I find myself at a crossroads.
\n\n\nOn the day Mr. Virgo died, God threw a pebble in the lake of my life and the ripples have expanded in ever broadening circles...touchIng, crossing, blending with the circles of others. He brought me a companion in Mr. FixIt. With him, God brought me a large extended family that adds to my own in Colorado. More children, grandchildren, and now great grandchildren to love and care for.
\n\n\nHe crossed my path with Janine Pettit who has not only been a dear friend and mentor, but has opened my world to greater opportunities than I could have envisioned. God has answered my prayers when I asked him to “expand my territory”...my circle of influence...to give me even more opportunities to share how He has touched my life. And to share what wisdom I have been graced with.
\n\n\nThere are big projects in the works on a national level which require more and more of my attention. One of which is the new OH-WV Girl Camper Chapter that I share with my dear friend, Gail Bable. We write stories about camping, the things we’ve learned, our favorite picks (parks, equipment, etc.) and local finds. We are essentially Ambassadors for Ohio and West Virginia Tourism as it relates to women travelers...be it camping or otherwise. I also write a series for them called Girl Camper Moments.
\n\n\nThere’s my book, which sits waiting for me to get back to it and breathe life into it so it may be born out into the world. There’s a second book, and a third, and....you get my drift. There’s writing to be done and there are only so many hours in the day in which to do it. I have worked so long and hard on Marshmallow Ranch to let it devolve into anything less than the level of quality you have come to expect...and deserve. This is where the growing pains come in.
\n\n\nI have to make some changes.
\n\n\nIf I want to do what I feel God is calling me to do, then I have to learn to use my time wisely. Just as our finances belong to God and we must be good stewards of what He has entrusted us with, so too is the time He has graced us with in order to accomplish the purpose He has for us in this life. To that end, I have set up a “work schedule” for 2020. I will post here every Wednesday and every Sunday. I will continue “Sunday Evening Prayer Circle” as that has become such a moment of solace for me and for so many others I know. Then I can focus Friday on Girl Camper and turn the writing time I’ve been using into work time on the book.
\n\n\nI do hope you continue to follow along. It may take more work to find me. I'm not sure what Facebook will do to my algorithms if I don't post every day. I will post brief, encouraging photos and quotes frequently. I just won't be writing the long story posts every day we both have become accustomed to. I get as much...if not more...from my writing when I read your kind and encouraging comments. Your loyalty has not been lost on me and I am ever so grateful for all of you.
\n\n\nAnd now, it's.....
\n\n\n2020
\n\n\nIt's all about a new chapter.
\n\n\n20/20
\n\n\nIt’s all about vision.
\n\n\nWith much love and gratitude...
\n\n\nGinny
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n“The seed falling among the thorns refers to someone who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, making it unfruitful. But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.””
\n\n\nMatthew 13:22-23 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2019-12-18T02:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/12/18/big-loss-big-growth-big.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Grief","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","God","Wisdom","Courage","Choices","Change","Widow"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/12/15/the-perfect-christmas-kind-of.html", "title": "The Perfect Christmas Kind of Day", "content_html": "\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/3712e6016f.jpg\")
It was rainy and fairly warm yesterday and I did something I haven’t done in AGES. I spent the entire day on the couch in my fuzzy jammies with the snowflakes on them. We watched “Christmas Vacation” with Chevy Chase...a must every year. Then I put on my headphone while Mr. FixIt watched football and played on my computer all day. Yes, I fiddled a little with the websites, but not like...work. Just tweaked a bit here and there. I made brownies and beef stew on Friday so they were both even tastier yesterday. And my long time friend, Anna, called me from Belize. We talked for an hour and it was so much fun to catch up with her!
\n\n\nMy friend Marion sent me this photo of our hometown. It’s black and white and was taken at night in the 1950’s during the Christmas season. OMGosh! It takes me back. In those days, downtown was where you shopped. There weren’t any shopping centers or malls. Our only “big box” store was Sears. There were a couple of large locally owned department stores and the likes of GC Murphy’s. Jewelers, shoe stores, a fabric shop. Typical small town shopping at its finest.
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/1df3e94c13.jpg\")
One night, a few days before Christmas, Dad would get us all in the Oldsmobile and drive us downtown to see these very same Christmas decorations. On our way back home, we stopped at Dr. Fankhauser’s house to see their display. They always had carolers and a Nativity. And one year they had Santa sitting astraddle a rocket! It was tradition.
\n\n\nMy friend Sharon lived down the street from me and we always gathered a group of kids together to go Christmas caroling around the neighborhood. We watched Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman on our little Zenith TV with the picture that rolled and rolled. Dad would fasten aluminum foil to the rabbit ears and try to get better reception, with little luck.
\n\n\nSledding down 56th Street hill was a huge neighborhood activity and we’d come in half frozen with wet gloves and soaked feet. Mom would make us hot cocoa and we’d stand straddling the furnace grate in the floor. My brother and I would fight to stay awake to see Santa but we never made it past 10:00. Then we’d wake our parents up LONG before dawn and squeal with delight when we saw presents under the tree.
\n\n\nWe didn’t have a lot of money but there was always a little something for each of us. I begged mom to wrap each present separately so it would look like there was more there. As an adult, I totally understood why there were five things in a box. She was tired and wrapping paper cost money and got thrown away. We saved wrapping paper, ribbon and bows and used them from year to year. We recycled old Christmas cards into gift tags. We used the empty paper rolls as swords and trumpets!
\n\n\nWe treasured our Christmas ornaments...some of which belonged to my grandparents. We were always so careful when we put them up and Dad was really particular about the decorating. The smallest ornaments at the top...the largest at the bottom.
\n\n\nWe each had a stocking and in the bottom were mixed nuts in the shell, a tangerine, a candy cane, and if mom and dad had a little extra, there were Swiss chocolate ball and bells wrapped in colorful foil. There was always, without fail, a Lifesavers “Story Book”. I immediately gave the butterscotch roll to my mom. They were her favorite.
\n\n\nOne Christmas was really sad. I don’t know what was going on in our family, but money was tighter than usual. Mom ordered gifts for us from the Spiegel Catalog but they didn’t get to us in time. When we got up on christmas morning, there was a letter from “Santa” telling us our gifts had somehow fallen out of the sleigh on his way to our house and he would have to bring them to us later in the week. Then, when the box arrived, my dad made mom send it back...unopened. That was so disappointing, but I never realized until many years later how hard that had to have been for my mom back then.
\n\n\nThere are some unhappy Christmas memories that involved my dad’s problems with alcohol, but I’ve decided...at the age of 66, I don’t really need to rehash that all over again every year. I’ve told the stories. They’re out there in the blogosphere. That’s enough of that. When I look back now...my dad is in the background. We love(d) each other in our own ways, but now he remains a shadowy figure that no longer haunt me.
\n\n\nWho says you can’t rewrite history?
\n\n\nI want to remember this picture. And mom’s wool winter coat with the brooch on the collar. The thin gloves tucked in one pocket...a floral hankie in the other. There were always pennies and sticks of gum in her handbag for good girls and boys. She smelled like Evening in Paris and wore red lipstick and house dresses with patent leather heels. She had a pair of clip-on earrings for “fancy”. She pretended to be thrilled with a ten cent bottle of cheap cologne from Kresge’s. I don’t know...maybe she was. I do know this...I adored her and I miss her every day.
\n\n\nYes...this picture makes me smile.
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.”
\n\n\n1 Peter 4:8 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2019-12-15T02:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/12/15/the-perfect-christmas-kind-of.html", "tags": ["Family","Positive Energy","West Virginia","Holiday"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/12/13/definition-of-a-wv-holler.html", "title": "Definition of a WV Holler", "content_html": "![\"Grandma’s](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e004308d10.jpg\")
Grandma’s farm is at the mouth of a holler. No one lives back up the holler anymore.
It’s “Feel Good Friday” and I want to share something with you. We often talk about the hills of WV where my roots run deep. We talk about Grandma’s farm and the home of my heart. I tell you stories and memories that warm my soul and hopefully yours, as well. If you grew up like I did…you’ll be able to relate. And if you didn’t, you’ll be able to see how the luckiest of us were raised up.
\nI belong to several Appalachian pages on Facebook. I love the pictures and the stories as they stir up memories as old as the hills. When I read the writing of one of these hill folk and it particularly moves me, I simply must share. This piece was written about the hollers of Eastern Kentucky, but that’s not all that far from here and aptly describes our neck of the woods in WV, too. I hope you enjoy!
\nThe Definition of an Eastern Kentucky Holler…..
\nSomeone from outside my area recently asked me about our Eastern Kentucky hollers, and I have been thinking of how to best describe them to those not familiar with them. The simple answer is that a holler is a lane that follows a narrow valley between the hills. But if you’re from the hills of Eastern Kentucky, then you know there’s a lot more to a holler than that.
\nMost hollers are just dirt roads with a little gravel spread on them every now and then. They were never intended to carry heavy traffic. A holler is generally very sparsely populated because that’s the way we like it. We guard our privacy and we’re pretty wary of strangers. Often there’s not another house in sight of your house.
\nBut we still know our neighbors. And when one needs help, then you help. If someone is sick in the holler, then you pitch in to help until they get back on their feet. If someone has a problem, then you listen. When someone claims you as a friend, then you’re loyal. And if you make a promise, then you’d better make good on it.
\nThere aren’t any mansions In a holler. In fact, most houses in a holler are modest ones. And almost everyone has a barn, and a couple of other outbuildings. Some have chickens and cows and goats and a couple of horses. And they all have at least one dog that runs to the road and barks at every car that passes by.
\nMost people in a holler have a front porch. And they actually sit on it. They shell peas and string green beans and peel apples on the porch. And people stop by and sit on the porch with you. They laugh and talk and cuss a little bit about crooked politicians. And in the dusky evenings, they come with fiddles and flat top guitars and five-string banjos. And, good Lord in heaven…..what music they make! Sometimes the music drifts up and down the holler and it’s so pretty it just makes you want to cry! But instead of crying, you find yourself humming along to the lonesome strains of the Orange Blossom Special.
\nA lot of the houses in a holler have been occupied by several generations of the same family over the years. There is comfort in living in the house where your grandpa was born, or playing in the creek where your daddy used to swim. Something stirs down deep inside of you when you know you’re walking in the steps of your forefathers. And you never really feel alone as long as you know that your people lie buried on top of the hill that holds you so closely. Never underestimate the way that the hills cradle you. They will rock you to sleep at night, and awaken you in the morning with a happy heart and a joy in your soul.
\nIf you live in a holler, you get recognition every day. And you’re never invisible. People always wave at you when they see you on your porch or in your yard. And if they don’t see you outside, then they will blow the horn when they drive by your house….just as a way of saying “howdy”. And if a few days pass and they don’t see you, then they’ll stop by to check on you. You can count on it. And you can count on them.
\nIf your house is the first one as you turn up the holler….then you live at the mouth of the holler. If your house is the last one where the holler dead-ends…then you live at the head of the holler. And responsibilities fall to you according to where you live in the holler. For example, if you live at the mouth of the holler and you see a strange car that doesn’t belong to anyone you know and it’s heading up the holler, then you call the people who live above you and let them know that there’s a stranger headed up their way. That’s just common courtesy. If a vacuum cleaner salesman comes to your door, then call and let the others in the holler know so they’ll have time to let the big dogs out of the house before the salesman pulls into their driveway.
\nIf anyone invites you to have a meal at their table…accept their offer quickly. And if it’s a house where an old woman runs the kitchen, get to the table just as fast as you can. And get ready to be amazed! Because if you live to be a hundred years old, you will never have a finer meal than one served up in an Eastern Kentucky holler.
\nThere is a certain etiquette adhered to when you drive up or down the holler. If you meet another car in an extra narrow spot, then one of you has to back up to a wide spot so the other can pass. And when you are finally able to pass each other, you stop and roll the car window down and you talk until another car comes along and you have to move on.
\nIf your neighbor slides out of the road in the winter snow, or if he gets stuck in the mud, then you try to push him out. If you’re unable to push him out, then you get your tractor out of the barn, attach a big chain, and pull him out. Again…it’s just common courtesy.
\nIf someone in the neighborhood dies, you get to their house quickly with huge boxes of food. You make a pot of coffee. And then you make another one. And you stay beside your neighbor for as long as you’re needed. You don’t even have to say a word, you just have to be there.
\nThere are other unwritten rules to holler-living. If a forest fire breaks out, you become a firefighter. And not just to save your own house, but to also save all the other houses in the holler. If the creeks start rising, you don’t leave anyone behind to face the muddy waters alone. And when storms come, and they will, you will find no better friends than the ones who are going through the same challenges that you’re facing.
\nThere’s a lot more to be said about an Eastern Kentucky holler, but if I don’t tell you another thing, you need to know that a holler is more than a narrow isolated lane that runs between the hills. A holler takes you to the place where you have always been loved and where you’ll always be welcome. A holler takes you to the place where you can find comfort and peace and a sense of belonging. It takes you to your roots and to your family and to the truth of who you are. A holler takes you home.
\nWritten by Roberta Stephens
\nJanuary 4, 2017
\nIn sweet memory of the hollers I have loved
\n❤️
\n“‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.””\n\n", "date_published": "2019-12-13T02:30:29-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/12/13/definition-of-a-wv-holler.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","Gratitude","Comfort","Love","Wisdom","Choices","Feel Good Friday"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/12/06/its-feel-good-friday.html", "title": "It’s Feel Good Friday", "content_html": "Revelation 21:4 NIV
![\"Happy](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e7b490a1e7.jpg\")
“Here’s a photo of my happy big brother. He makes this a true Feel Good Friday!”
Wednesday night, after leaving the funeral home in support of family who suffered a devastating loss, I came home to an empty house while Mr. FixIt ran errands in town. I cleaned up around the house a bit, snuggled the kitten and put her to bed, then padded down the hallway to our room. I got into my cozy jammies, climbed into bed, and prepared to write my post…as I do every night. Then my phone dinged.
\nI looked down and it was a text from Hubby #2. He was having dinner with my brother and sent me a picture. He does this whenever they go out and it makes my heart burst…for a number of different reasons. First, because I miss my brother and I only get to see him once a year now. He is my only blood sibling. I have two sibs of the heart…but my Bubby is the the best. He owns the biggest piece of real estate in my heart. It made me so happy to see that great big smile from this sweet, sweet man.
\nThe second reason my heart exploded is…this picture was only possible because the man I was married to for twenty years thinks enough of my brother to make a point to take him out to dinner several times a year. There was a time in the throes of divorce that I truly mourned, not just for the loss of a marriage, but the loss of my friendship with #2. I was always hopeful we could develop that again, but it wasn’t until Mr. Virgo died what we set everything aside and called a truce. I’m so glad because it’s so much better for the kids and grandkids when you can get along. The fact that he takes my brother out for dinner and sends me the picture makes me proud of the personal growth we both have accomplished.
\nI’m always looking for good news stories to share with you all because there’s already so much bad stuff. We need something uplifting. A friend shared a cute little Christmas commercial with me last night so I decided I’m going to try to have “Feel Good Fridays” to give us all something joyful to take us into the weekend. Thanksgiving was so late this year that it’s giving us a shorter Christmas season. And…this is the time of year for all the feel good stories. After December, I’ll have to go hunting for them. But, hunting I shall gladly do. I hope you enjoy this sweet little story out of the UK.
\nhttps://www.cnn.com/2019/12/04/uk/heartwarming-christmas-advert-intl-scli-gbr/index.html?ofs=fbia
\n❤️
\n“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-12-06T02:30:21-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/12/06/its-feel-good-friday.html", "tags": ["Family","Uplifting Stories","Positive Energy","Fun","Gratitude","Comfort","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Aging","Choices","Be Joyful!","Widow"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/12/03/recovery-day.html", "title": "Recovery Day", "content_html": "2 Corinthians 1:3-4 NIV
![\"Christmas](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/9e70d90054.jpg\")
“Christmas Lights & Pie”
When all the food is put away…when all the dishes are done…when all the guests have said their last goodbye…what time is it? It’s time for PIE! Well, really…is there ever a BAD time for pie? We turned off the lights…all but the tree. And just enjoyed the quiet.
\nI took the kitten in bright and early to be spayed and immediately came home and slept three more hours. Working to put on a big family dinner takes the starch out of you. And it gets harder the older you get.
\nThe babies were so much fun. Princess First was in rare form, ate like a champ, colored brilliantly, and melted me with “Pweeze, Gigi!” I’m toast. Then there was Prince Second. Oy, he is a solid chunk of sheer joy. He smiles and coos and bats his big eyes at me. All I wanted to do all day was kiss and nibble on those cheeks…they are so delectable!
\nOnce the kitten was ready, I went to pick her up. They informed me she needs to stay in the house for the next ten days. You know what that means, don’t you? It means we now have an indoor cat. Bring me all the antihistamines in the land! It’s better, really. I worry about her outside with that road even though she was safe in the pole building every night. I also found out we can board her with our vet when we go out of town. So it was a win-win day.
\nNow I can turn my focus back to writing. The OH-WV Chapter page on the new Girl Camper website needs my attention every couple of weeks. There are presents to make. Cookies to bake. Calls to make. Cards to send. This will be a busy and quick month for all of us. Then we can start making all our camping plans for the New Year! There’s going to be some fun things happening on the east side…up and down the mid-Atlantic area so keep your eyes peeled for announcements!
\nKaty bar the door…all heck is gonna break loose around here!
\n❤️
\n“Put your outdoor work in order and get your fields ready; after that, build your house.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-12-03T02:30:13-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/12/03/recovery-day.html", "tags": ["Faith","Travel","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Holiday","Wisdom","Girl Camper","Girl Campers","Choices","Change","Be Joyful!","Widow"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/11/30/when-kindness-matters-most.html", "title": "When Kindness Matters Most", "content_html": "Proverbs 24:27 NIV
![\"Be](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/915ddf5f24.jpg\")
“Kindness Matters Most…especially when it involves children.”
My dear friend Diane sent me a link to an article in the New York Times yesterday. It was a story about the new mayor of Charleston and how she barked up the wrong tree. It seems, in an effort to be inclusive and considerate of the Muslim and Jewish population in our state’s capital, she decided to rename the Christmas Parade. She announced on a Facebook post that the Winter Parade would be on such and such a date…and thus began a civil uprising. Well, maybe uncivil is a more appropriate description.
\nI understand what she was trying to do. And I appreciate it. Having lived 27 years as a practicing Jew in a small town and watching discrimination at work was an eye opening experience for me. It gave me a much deeper appreciation for what some people go through on a daily basis in this world.
\nThe mayor was attacked from all sides and had very few backers. Part of it was the way she went about it…making a unilateral decision without consulting anyone. But the biggest part was the way the world is now. I could have been a mediator by profession because I can easily see both sides of this issue. People were feeling attacked and that, in the spirit of political correctness, they felt the mayor was trying to steal Christmas. When, in actuality, she was just trying to be kind to everyone in the community.
\nAs I read the comments to the story, several of them were from minorities saying they never felt they were “less than” or “excluded” because of Christmas celebrations. While they didn’t observe the holiday themselves, they never felt threatened by other people celebrating. I remember talking to a Rabbi once and asked him what he would do regarding my children’s participation in these programs. He said “Lip synch the words to the religious songs and belt out the secular ones. There is a lot of beautiful music in the Christian faith. I think it’s very important that we don’t try to dilute anyone’s holiday.” That made a lot of sense to me.
\nThis story brings to mind something that happened to me when I lived in that small mountain town in Colorado. Hubby #2 was a new physician and we had only lived in town a few years. One Christmas, a couple of things came to a head that are very similar to what happened in Charleston this month.
\nFirst, the wife of one of my husband’s colleagues was Jewish and she had two sons in the public grade school. There was no mention in the curriculum of any holidays besides Christian ones. She wanted the children to have a greater world view and asked if she could form an ad hoc committee to explore how to go about broadening the horizons without stepping on anyone’s toes. Even though my younger daughter was only a baby at the time, I knew she would be going to the same school in a few years so I said yes when I was asked to join.
\nWe held meetings with the school board. We offered to provide children’s books for the school library with stories about Chanukah and Passover. We volunteered to come into the classes during story time and share traditional foods of other cultures. And, we asked that the school program in December be renamed the Winter Festival. That’s where we ran into road blocks and it got ugly…fast. Our mayor hung a banner across the Main Street through town claiming that “The heathens are trying to steal Christmas from our children! Don’t let that happen!” Those were the exact words. Heathens.
\nIn the historical context, the word heathen means “an individual or a people that do not acknowledge the God of the Bible; a person who is neither a Jew, Christian, nor Muslim; a pagan.” We certainly were NOT heathens and it was a blatant slur…not the least of the discriminatory experiences I encountered in my years as a member of the Jewish community.
\nOur little mountain town was formed by a large ranching and mining community. There were two black children, a handful of Hispanic children, and no Asians the year my daughter started 7th grade. We had relocated there from Denver where my daughter was in a tri-lingual classroom…English, Spanish, and Vietnamese. Her school was a cross section of humanity and she was dumbfounded by the “white bread” community she found herself living in. Every holiday, a large cross was lit on the top of a mountain within view of the whole town, reminding everyone that that “we celebrate Christmas in this town.”
\nAt the same time the banner went up across the Main Street and the cross was lit on the hill, we found out that the cross was on city property and the electricity was being paid for with tax money. This is where I had a problem. I can educate. I can buy books and bake cookies till the cows come home, but there is a separation of church and state in this country and the founding fathers made it that way on purpose. I believe in honoring that and if I would have been Christian at the time, I still would have believed in that.
\nThen, things shifted in town. It turns out the ACLU got wind of the situation and put the town on notice they would be taken to court if they didn’t make other arrangements for the cross on the hill. A citizen donated a piece of land up higher than the original location, and a new and larger cross was erected. Every year, a collection takes place to pay for the electricity and upkeep of the cross. I was thrilled with that because it was not only even more beautiful than before, it now complied with the law.
\nAs time went on, some things in town got better, but there was still an undercurrent of anti-Semitism. When Daughter #2, who was just a baby when this all went down, was in high school, she was bullied and called a “stupid, effing Jew” among other derogatory comments. I went to the administration but the bullying continued and we finally determined she would be happier at the alternative high school.
\nShe is doing well now. She is 29 and married. But she carries the emotional scars from her experiences. This is why I am sensitive to all people. This is why I don’t want the little Jehovah’s Witness children to have to sit in the cafeteria, ostracized by their peers because of their beliefs. I want the little Jewish children to be included in the holiday extravaganza because they have a holiday to celebrate, too. I don’t want any child to feel left out.
\nI don’t know what the answer is for you. All I know is, I personally know what discrimination feels like. And I know what it feels like to hold your child in your arms when she’s been crushed by bullies. Therefore, I say “Happy Holidays” if I am not sure of the person’s beliefs. I don’t care if someone says Happy Holidays or Merry Christmas to me. I am not insulted. Why would I be? It’s a blessing when someone wishes you well. I’ll take that any day of the week over some of the terrible things people feel free to say to each other these days. Because…kindness matters.
\n❤️
\n#KindnessMatters, #Discrimination, #HappyHolidays
\n“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-11-30T02:30:32-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/11/30/when-kindness-matters-most.html", "tags": ["Family","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Growth","New Ideas","Grace","Peace","Holiday","Wisdom","Fear","Forgiveness","Courage","Warning","Choices","Change"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/11/29/black-kitty-black-friday.html", "title": "Black Kitty, Black Friday", "content_html": "2 Peter 1:5-9 NIV
![\"Black](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/af6ab00d63.jpg\")
“Little Black Kitty - Big Black Friday”
We have to go to town today. Ugh! I avoid Black Friday like the plague. But, we are having our family Thanksgiving on Sunday and there are fresh things I need to buy to prepare. Mr. FixIt was lamenting because Walmart will be crazy. We almost forget about real stand alone grocery stores and they should be less chaotic. My favorite store in the area is the Kroger over in Belpre. It’s as close to a Denver grocery as I have ever found here.
\nYesterday was a beautiful day…just the two of us. We cleaned house a little. Mr. FixIt shampooed the carpet down the hall. I made the brine for the turkey. We washed the windows in the family room. I am so glad to get the bathroom fixtures and tools out of there…it needed a good cleaning. We put up the tree and it made me miss my Colorado peeps…a lot.
\nI talked to my brother yesterday and I FaceTimed with Daughter #1. She was cooking her Thanksgiving Dinner as we chatted. My son-in-law was in the background, peeling potatoes. As I watched her, she told me what she was doing. She took her phone and focused on each dish and told me how she made it. She makes this really great Sausage-Cranberry Stuffing. I asked her about making sweet potatoes and she showed me a trick I had never heard of before.
\nFirst, she cleans, peels, and cubes her sweet potatoes. Then she puts brown sugar in the bottom of a CrockPot to the depth of her first knuckle. She puts the cubed sweet potatoes on top and pats them down a little, and dabs about 3 tbsp of butter on top. Cover and turn on low for 2.5 hours or so, then turn to high. Stir gently every once in a while to coat the potatoes with the brown sugar. The sweet potatoes have enough moisture in them, you don’t have to add liquid. When they are fork tender, turn the CrockPot to warm. She throws miniature marshmallows on top at that point and they melt and get gooey by serving time. I don’t usually add marshmallows to my sweet potatoes because I don’t like them that sweet. Her late grandpa taught her how to make them. We really miss Pop, so I’m happy to have one of his recipes.
\nAs I was washing the windows in the family room, the little kitty sat so regally out in the yard watching my every move. She is growing fast and will go in Monday to be spayed. I’m glad we decided to stay home because it was snowing in the mountains about the time we would have been driving through. I’m hoping to have some time to knit today, because I didn’t even pick it up yesterday. And, tomorrow I need to start cooking. I hope you all celebrated Thanksgiving in a way that brought you peace.
\nIf you are heading out to shop on Black Friday, let me share something with you I saw online.
\nLook around.
\nAll that clutter, used to be money.
\nAnd that money used to be time.
\nMaybe consider experiences instead of too much stuff.
\nWhen you’re dead and gone…no one will ever say, “Gosh, I wish Grandma would have bought me more stuff.” They’ll miss YOU. Six months from now, they won’t remember what you gave them, but they’ll remember spending special time with you.
\n“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-11-29T02:30:59-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/11/29/black-kitty-black-friday.html", "tags": ["Family","Positive Energy","Gratitude","Holiday","Wisdom","Aging","Choices","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/11/26/tuesday-truth-when-you-canstep.html", "title": "Tuesday Truth: When You CAN...Step Away", "content_html": "Psalms 90:12 NIV
![\"Meme\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/8c837d2539.jpg\")
“It’s OK to step away!”
Do you have trouble stepping away from toxic relationships? Do you find you are people pleasing yourself into a corner? Are you feeling pressed into doing traditional holiday things even though you would rather not? Or maybe you just can’t face your ____________ (insert relative/friend here) this year…or ANY year? Well, I’m going to do something here…pay very close attention.
\nStep away.
\nIf you need “permission” then, here…I’m giving you permission.
\nHolidays can be especially difficult if you’re grieving. Or if you have underlying health issues. Or, you know…if you happen to be human. If you are over the age of consent, holidays can be much more painful than they are pleasurable.
\nFor the last month, I’ve been really looking forward to going over to my cousin’s house for Thanksgiving. I don’t get to see her nearly often enough and this year it was for a very brief visit last month. I love to go and stay over a couple of days, but circumstances change. There are health issues with some of the older generation over there. Last year we left here early Thanksgiving morning, drove over, discovered my aunt had fallen and she and my uncle couldn’t attend dinner, so Mr. FixIt and I packed up a dinner for them and drove it to his house. This added another hour of driving…each way. Then, after our Thanksgiving meal back at my cousin’s house, we got in the tuck and drove home. It made for a very long day and was not relaxing nor fun even though it was great to see everyone.
\nWhen I returned on Halloween from the six week camping excursion with the rpod and discovered we had a new kitten, everything changed. Now there are no more impromptu trips and I am not up for a drive-by. I took the self-care approach and opted out. Now we can work hard to finish the back bathroom this week and get the sink, toilet, and shower stall out of our living room in time for our family gathering on Sunday.
\nSometimes it’s a sibling. Or an aging parent. You may feel guilty for stepping away, but as I tell you so often, you cannot fill someone else with an empty cup. WE are no good to anyone, including ourselves, if we continue putting ourselves in situations that are toxic and abusive.
\nI know, I know…there are times when you may be the only one that person has. There may be situations where you are a caregiver and there IS no other option. If you feel stuck…it’s ok to look for options. It’s ok to step away and take care of yourself. It’s ok to stay home and eat a hotdog for Thanksgiving if that will give you more peace. Surround yourself with the people who love you and lift you up and celebrate you if that’s what you want to do. But…give yourself permission to stay home if you need to. It’s ok.
\n❤️
\n“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-11-26T02:30:07-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/11/26/tuesday-truth-when-you-canstep.html", "tags": ["Health","Family","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Positive Energy","Growth","New Ideas","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Fear","Forgiveness","Courage","Aging","Choices","Change","Widow"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/11/25/motivation-monday-kindness-matters.html", "title": "Motivation Monday: Kindness Matters!", "content_html": "1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NIV
![\"Kindness](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/f6bb02f14d.jpg\")
“Just be kind because…kindness matters!”
I miss Mr. Rogers. I want to go see the Tom Hanks movie while it’s in the theater because I need a giant dose of his goodness. I wonder what he would think of our “neighborhood” now? After a week of watching grown a$$ men on national television acting like petulant two years olds (and I’m not choosing sides here…there was all kinds of nasty all the way around)…kindness seems to have left the building.
\nBut has it really gone away completely? Or is it just buried somewhere below the fold because, like sex, all forms of violence sells much more than kindness? I comb the news everyday for the feel-good stories….for the tales of heroes and shining stars. They’re out there…but man, you sure have to look hard for them.
\nLet’s look at some inspiring stories that happened this month. After a scheduling snafu at a Waffle House in Birmingham, Alabama left a young man all alone to man the entire restaurant, kind customers noticed what was happening and jumped in to do everything from wash dishes to wait tables and deliver food. No one made a big deal about it. They just got up and helped…no questions asked.
\nThe manager of a New York Bagel shop got a frantic call from a customer. She left her car keys on the counter of the bagel shop. She had left her car running while she ran in to pick up her order and didn’t miss the keys till she was at her destination several hours away. At that point, she was unable to start her car. The shop manager jumped in his car, took the keys to the customer in Pennsylvania, then turned right around and drove back so he could open the store the next morning.
\nA man with no kids of his own paid off the lunch debt for every child in nine Florida schools.
\nA boss paid off his employee’s mortgage so the Vietnam vet could retire.
\nA hospital in Pittsburgh knitted little cardigans and dressed every baby like Mr. Rogers for World Kindness Day.
\nThere are kind people out there. Please don’t let the nastiness we see color the way we see everyone. One of the most important things I learned from the hearings last week is this…Russia is very, very busy sowing seeds of discord in our country. They want neighbor to turn against neighbor. They are the ones sitting back in glee, watching our country self destruct.
\nI say we fight back. I say we stand up and say enough is enough. When I wasn’t spending every day at the farm anymore, I walked around the perimeter of the property with my grandma’s Bible and proclaimed to the enemy that he had no dominion there to protect the home and property. We can do the same thing for our homes, our cars, our property, our neighborhoods. We can proclaim our boundaries. We can reclaim our lives. We can salvage kindness, and it may not be easy.
\nLook for the helpers. Ask for discernment and watch out for the insidious encroachment of evil in our midst. Stop reacting to everything and ask yourself, “Is this information true? Where/who is it coming from?” I know you can’t put smoke back in a bottle, but we can sure try to raise the kindness titer in this world by spreading it in our own sphere of influence. There IS good…you just have to change your focus and look for it.
\n❤️
\n“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,”\n\n \n", "date_published": "2019-11-25T02:30:55-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/11/25/motivation-monday-kindness-matters.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","Grace","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Courage","Choices"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/11/23/let-the-preparations-begin.html", "title": "Let the Preparations Begin!", "content_html": "Galatians 5:22 NIV
![\"Sun](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/c9548c81e6.jpg\")
“At the end of a dreary, grey day, the sun peeked through the clouds.”
We went to town yesterday to do “Phase 2” of the Thanksgiving shopping. I have a tip for you that will save you TONS of time if you’re shopping at Sam’s. Quite a few years ago, I downloaded the Sam’s app on my phone then never did anything with it. About two weeks ago, I was walking into Sam’s with my phone in my hand. I happened to look down and I had a notification that I was near the store. I clicked on it and the app opened and my Sam’s card popped up on the screen.
\nOur Sam’s has started checking your member card again upon entry so I just showed the lady my phone and she waved me through. No fishing around in my purse or rummaging through my wallet! I gave the app a cursory glance and saw the button for scanning your items. As I went through the store, I scanned each item before placing it in a box I had found by the front door.
\nWhen I was done shopping, I realized I didn’t have a debit card loaded so I sat down in a camp chair in the outdoor section and filled in my info. (I would suggest you do this at home and not out in the middle of everything like I did. Hindsight is 20/20.) Once all my info was in, all I had to do was slide my finger across the screen, my payment went through, and a QR code popped up as my receipt.
\nWhen we went shopping yesterday, I showed Mr. FixIt how to do the shopping in the app and it was so slick. No waiting in lines. It cuts your time in the store to a fraction and that suits me just fine.
\nOne thing I will warn you about. When we came into Sam’s, there is always a long display of seasonal items to the left of the door. Yesterday, it was filled with holiday food items and the first display was pumpkin pies. Big…gorgeous…yummy looking pies. I haven’t had a pumpkin pie since last year and I was SO excited. I could hardly wait to get home and cut into it.
\nIt. Was. Awful.
\nThe filling was thick and pasty. The crust was undercooked and flavorless. And there was about twice the amount of pumpkin pie spice in it than was needed. I was SO disappointed. I think I’ll take it back today when I go to town to have coffee with the girls.
\nI really wanted to get a fresh turkey again this year. Our celebration won’t be until December 1st due to work schedules and the man in the meat department at Walmart said they probably wouldn’t have fresh turkeys that late. We bought a big frozen Butterball Turkey but I’m going to start thawing it WAY earlier than I did last year! I put it in the refrigerator a full five days before I needed it and it was still frozen solid the day before Thanksgiving.
\nHave any of you brined a turkey? Last year was only the second time I’ve done that and it makes the sweetest, most succulent turkey I’ve ever had. I only rinsed mine off before baking and I should have let is soak for a few hours in cold water to leach off some of the sodium from the brine because it was really salty. Keep that in mind if you decide to do that.
\nI finally ordered myself a Genuine Granite Ware turkey roaster this year. I got the big rectangular one that will hold up to a 25 pound bird. I haven’t had a Granite Ware roaster in decades. I don’t know what ever happened to my old one. Gone in the downsizing, I suppose. I’ve tried cooking a turkey about every way you can imagine. In a brown paper sack. In a plastic roasting bag. Covered with foil. Uncovered. In an electric roaster. And even deep fried. The best and easiest I have every made was in a Granite Ware roaster, just like my grandma’s.
\nGranite Ware Covered Rectangular Roaster, 19.5 x 12.88 x 7 Inches - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000050AVD/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_tai_3jj2DbRY14ZRX
\nSometimes, you just have to go back to your roots.
\n❤️
\n“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”
\nEphesians 5:15-16 NIV
\n#Thanksgiving, #Turkey, #GraniteWare
\n", "date_published": "2019-11-23T02:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/11/23/let-the-preparations-begin.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","Fun","Love","Holiday","Warning","Choices"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/11/20/story-update-little-gwen.html", "title": "Story Update: Little Gwen", "content_html": "![\"Toddler](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/06791b17c2.jpg\")
“We’ve been following Little Gwen since she was born with Arthrogryposis. Look…she’s standing!!!”
Last year I wrote about little Gwen. Her grandma is my friend, Jody who graduated with Daughter #1. Gwen was born with Arthrogryposis. I posted a picture of her back then with her little twisted legs and hands. One knee bent completely backwards and her foot sat in front of her face. Her jaw is severely recessed and because of that, her swallowing is restricted. She has had a feeding tube ever since she was a newborn.
\nGod knew what He was doing when He brought Gwen to her family. I can’t imagine any family any better equipped to handle the severe challenges that lay in front of them. They stand up and deliver the very best for Gwen and are her true champions.
\nGwen has had more than her share of setbacks in her short life with frequent hospitalizations. In spite of the Arthrogryposis, she has come further than anyone could have imagined. She has the best medical team around and has made great strides.
\nHer legs are straight now but she still wears braces to help keep them growing right. Her little feet aren’t moving with the braces like they had hoped so she may need to have surgery to fix them. These are difficult decisions for young parents to make. This surgery may help her feet move into a better position. However, it can also condemn her to wearing braces on her legs the rest of her life. That’s a lot to consider. It isn’t an emergency, so Mom and Dad are getting a second opinion.
\nI wanted to share Gwen’s most recent photo. This picture just warmed my heart. Look at her standing up! I’m so happy for her and her family. They’ve worked so hard to see every little milestone. I know they get discouraged from time to time, but they are the first to get right back up and encourage Gwennie to be her best little self…no matter what life brings her way!
\nWon’t you join me in lifting Gwen and her family up in prayer? Pray that they find the perfect solution for her little feet. Pray that her body gets strong and that illness stays away from her. Pray for strength and courage, joy and peace for her and her entire family. They are a faith-filled family and know where their every blessing comes from. Praises for her accomplishments.
\nWe love you, little Gwen! Keep up the good work and remember, God is with you always!
\n❤️
\n“Then Jesus said to his host, “When you give a luncheon or dinner, do not invite your friends, your brothers or sisters, your relatives, or your rich neighbors; if you do, they may invite you back and so you will be repaid. But when you give a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed. Although they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.””\n\n", "date_published": "2019-11-20T02:30:01-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/11/20/story-update-little-gwen.html", "tags": ["Faith","Health","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Positive Energy","Gratitude","Love","God","Peace","Courage","Choices","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/11/19/healing-and-scars-and-joy.html", "title": "Healing and Scars and Joy", "content_html": "Luke 14:12-14 NIV
![\"Grief](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/04875913bf.jpg\")
“Although grief is never finished, healing can occur and you can use your scars to help others.”
Grief doesn’t run in a straight line. Anything but. We’d love to see the slow and steady climb from that deep, dark valley head right up the side of that mountain to joy. But, unfortunately…it just doesn’t happen that way. Grief runs all skwiggly-skwog…up and down, back and forth, around and around and around.
\nAt first you don’t think you are making any progress at all. You can’t feel anything but pain. You cant see two minutes in front of you. It’s a bloody wonder we survive at all. The world is dark. No color…no sound…and certainly no joy.
\nOne of the things people had the hardest time understanding in my early writing was the “gems in the flames”. I always looked for those gifts God left for me along my path as he led me through the fire. This wasn’t just a Pollyanna attempt to keep my glass half full. This was an exercise in faith knowing that…even in my darkest, most painful moments…my cup was still full to overflowing because Jesus was in that valley with me. Urging me on. Asking me to trust Him and just take one more step.
\nIt’s easy to have faith when things are looking good. When you’re standing on the mountaintop and you’re feeling great, you may even forget to thank God for carrying you through the muck. Or, you might throw a cursory “Thanks!” His way then think “I’ve got this!” No, it’s when you’re down at your lowest…when life is hard and painful and dirty and ugly…and you beg for God to catch you and bring you out of this that you lean in closest.
\nWhen you’re walking the road of grief and things hurt so bad and grieving tears your heart out of your chest, you may very well be tempted to take a shortcut. Circumvent the whole process, push that nasty wad of grief way, way down deep inside and slap a smile on your face. Because, let’s face it…that’s what the world is usually asking you to do. “Aren’t you over this yet?” “You just need to _____________” (fill in the blank with any of a zillion suggestions you receive). The sheer variety of platitudes is mind numbing.
\nOh, you can try to walk around it or climb under it, but one of these days, that bandage is going to come off and you’re going to have to face grief head on and it’s going to be ten times worse than it was before. At least, that’s what happened with me when I tried to date someone way…WAY too soon after Mr. Virgo died.
\nEven four years after Mr. Virgo died and I started dating Mr. Fixit, I was still pretty broken. Fortunately, he has a huge heart and an infinite amount of patience with me. He allowed me to talk it all through with him. He’s a great listener. Then one day, I didn’t feel compelled to talk about it as much and my heart truly started to heal.
\nMr. Virgo came along when I was in a really vulnerable place. I had gone through a particularly difficult and ugly breakup/divorce five years before. And still, for the first year, that man listened oh so patiently as I went though all the gory details and told him every sad and angry story. He saw the potential and he invested in our love.
\nBoth of these men love me with the white hot heat of the sun. Neither relationship would have ever worked had I not already worked through a lot of the pain of grief…both that of divorce and that of death. Those two men I dated between Mr. Virgo’s death and Mr. FixIt’s arrival though? Oy! I bled all over them from wounds they never caused. It wasn’t fair to them. I hate that I was blind and couldn’t see past my own need for a tourniquet.
\nFortunately, I did come to some understanding how unfair it was to another person to try to have a relationship too soon. That’s when I stopped trying to date and started a serious relationship with Jesus. Then…when I was in a much better place…I was ready to open my heart and try again. It isn’t easy. There’s nothing about grief that is easy. And if you are in the throes of it, you will not understand this, but…I’ve come to look at every situation with a level of Joy. Maybe not jump up and down happy-happy joy. But with the Joy of knowing I have a Father in Heaven who loves me and will never, ever leave me. I have Jesus to hang onto when I go through the worst of situations. THAT Joy….that Joy with a capital “J”.
\nThere is Joy in the scars because you have the opportunity to share your story with others. You have the opportunity to reach back to others coming behind you who are trying to find their footing in their pain. Your scars give you the freedom to love others. Your scars give you validity. They show others they aren’t alone. And when you can be there for another who hurts like you once hurt, you give the greatest gift possible. Empathy.
\nYou don’t have to have flowery words. You don’t have to offer Hallmark phrases. You can give a hug, sit quietly, or just be honest and say, “Whew…I don’t know what to say, but I’m here for you.” It’s isn’t easy to be there for someone who’s in pain, but it is so fulfilling to know you can somehow help another human being when they’re hurting.
\nBeing vulnerable. Being available. Being open and honest. That is where I find my Joy in grief.
\n❤️
\n“Lord my God, I called to you for help, and you healed me.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-11-19T02:30:14-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/11/19/healing-and-scars-and-joy.html", "tags": ["Faith","Family","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Positive Energy","Growth","God","Wisdom","Fear","Courage","Choices","Change","Be Joyful!","Widow"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/11/14/a-new-approach-to-winter.html", "title": "A New Approach to Winter", "content_html": "Psalms 30:2 NIV
![\"Winter](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/837537ab94.jpg\")
“Making choices to find more joy…that’s my approach to winter this year.”
I started dreading winter with a vengeance after Mr. Virgo died. I wasn’t crazy about it a long time before that, but after he died the snow shovel only had one name on it and that was mine. Before long, I began to dread fall because winter wasn’t far behind. While I was out on the West Virginia Tour in the RPod, it began to dawn on me how negative this was becoming.
\nI can’t change the weather. I can change my geographic location, which I’ve done. Just moving to West Virginia has added at least two full months of warmer weather with a longer growing season. If I wanted to get away from cold weather entirely, I’d have to move much further south and for now, that isn’t in the cards for Mr. FixIt and me.
\nWe love West Virginia. It’s our home…the home of our hearts. It took me a long time to get back here. I’m not about to go someplace else at this point. So, that leaves the adjustment up to me. I saw this meme the other day and it really hit home. I can choose to hate winter, and now fall because winter is right after it. I’ll be miserable and consequently make everyone around me miserable. Because, we’re still going to have the same amount of snow and cold weather no matter if I’m happy or sad.
\nWhen I was a little girl and would get upset, my grandma would tell me to just “scratch my mad place and get glad”. In other words, get over it kiddo…you’re not in control of everything. This year I’ve decided to scratch my mad place by embracing all the wonderful things I can do in the colder months that I can’t do in the summer.
\nI have a much better winter wardrobe than summer. I can look forward to wearing my really pretty sweaters and boots, hats and coats.
\nI never drink hot beverages other than coffee in the summer. In the fall and winter, I pull out my tea pot and enjoy a cuppa in the middle of the afternoon. Or, I can hug a mug of hot cocoa with yummy, gooey, melty marshmallows in it.
\nIt’s way too hot in the summer to bake so I indulge in trying out new recipes in the cooler months. I’ve always wanted to try my hand at baking sourdough bread. So this winter I’m going to order some sourdough starter and see what I can do.
\nWinter has given us the break we need from outdoor chores so Mr. FixIt is back at work on the master bath. While he’s doing that, I am going to steam off the wallpaper in the dining room, paint the walls, and put up new curtains. Then we can tackle the main bath.
\nI haven’t touched my book since February. This winter, in my down time, I’m going to try to wrap that up once and for all then we can focus on getting it published.
\nWe have a new great grandson coming in January!
\nWe always try to get down to Florida in February and that’s something I always look forward to.
\nHaving goals allows me to set joyful things in front of me…something that has helped me ever since Mr. Vigo died. Just reading this list makes me feel far less frustrated by the cold weather. The meme is right…there will be the same amount of cold, no matter what. I might as well embrace it.
\n❤️
\n“The animals take cover; they remain in their dens. The tempest comes out from its chamber, the cold from the driving winds. The breath of God produces ice, and the broad waters become frozen.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-11-14T02:30:56-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/11/14/a-new-approach-to-winter.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","Fun","Growth","New Ideas","Peace","Wisdom","Aging","Choices"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/11/12/shelves-of-memories.html", "title": "Shelves of Memories", "content_html": "Job 37:8-10 NIV
![\"Jelly](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/55068da522.jpg\")
“The antique jelly cupboard from the farm now houses my quilts.”
When I showed you my beautiful jelly cupboard that I recently moved from the farm, many of you asked to see it when I had the quilts inside. As I sat working in the living room at the Ponderosa yesterday afternoon, the warm sunshine streaming through the big windows made its way to the cupboard. The shelves sat empty and glaring at me. I set my work aside and went on the hunt for my quilts. They have been put away since the wedding a year ago and it was about time they were brought out for all to see.
\nI am of the mindset not to “save the good china”. I want what few antiques I have curated to be displayed and used in my everyday life. Part of this is because my kids more than likely will not be interested in them. And partly because one of the lessons Mr. Virgo unwittingly taught me was…life is short. Use the crystal and the quilts.
\nWhen the unfortunate parting of the ways came on Christmas of 2014, just ten weeks after I arrived to help my Aunt Peeps, I didn’t know what to do with the cherished items I brought from Colorado. Five thousand pounds of stuff I didn’t believe I could part with became an albatross around my neck. I couldn’t leave it at the farm and I couldn’t take it with me on the road. My good friend, Steve, let me store a lot of it in his basement. And I decided many of the most cherished family keepsakes should go live with my cousin, Tammy. That way I can visit them and she can enjoy them.
\nMy quilts were one of the things I simply could not part with and I carefully stored them away for the perfect way to display them again. Once they were safely tucked on the aged bittersweet colored shelves of the jelly cupboard, I sat back to observe my handiwork. I realized something heartwarming.
\nFor the last few years, I have been dreading the day when I can no longer visit or spend time in Grandma’s old red farmhouse. That day will come…when, I don’t know. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned in my life, it is that change is the only thing we can count on in this earthy plane. As I sat and looked at the worn wood the color of a caramel apple, I realized I could feel the farmhouse. I could see the hump in the floor where it’s settled over the years. The old faded linoleum that made cleaning much easier. I could hear the squeak of the stairs and the way the spring squeals when the screen door slams. I could see the boxes of Wheaties that Pop-Pop kept on the top of the cupboard for his dessert after supper. I could hear the faint sound the doors made when I reached in as a little girl…taking the mishmash collection of dishes out to set the table or putting them back in after hand washing and drying.
\nIn that moment I realized that, even though the house may someday be inaccessible to me, this jelly cupboard is the heart of what is left of the beautiful childhood memories created within the crooked walls of a crooked little house in West Virginia. And…it is mine. Combining households with Mr. FixIt has definitely expanded our “footprint”, however…we each have things that are our personal possessions. While I don’t believe I will ever accumulate “stuff” like I did before Mr. Virgo died, what I do have will be things that are beautiful, useful, and that bring me joy.
\n❤️
\n“That precious memory triggers another...”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-11-12T02:30:47-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/11/12/shelves-of-memories.html", "tags": ["Family","Uplifting Stories","Strong Women","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","Gratitude","Comfort","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Aging","Downsizing"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/11/11/tell-me-about-yourself.html", "title": "Tell Me About Yourself", "content_html": "2 Timothy 1:5-7 MSG
![\"Monday](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/bcf843108c.jpg\")
“It’s Monday…Let’s do something different!”
It’s Monday! It’s a brand new week and I wanted to do something different. We will be heading into the holidays soon and I’ve been reading posts where people already have their holiday shopping done. And wrapped! I wish I could say the same…but I’ve been a little busy!
\nDo you, or someone close to you, have an online business that sells gifts appropriate for holiday gifting or decorating? If so, please leave a link to your website or favorite item in the comments. I’m all about supporting small businesses and independent artisans.
\nAre you a writer, poet, artist, photographer, singer, songwriter, actor, or other creative? Drop a link to your content or social media sites. I’m all about supporting creative people.
\nDo you have a special talent you’d like to share? Is there something about you that’s fascinating? Do you have a story that needs telling that might help someone else? Tell us in the comments below or give us a link to share. I’m all about promoting people in their efforts to gain a platform.
\nI was thinking about this in church yesterday. It’s not always all about me. God has given me this wonderful platform to touch the loves of others. It shouldn’t be just through my words. It should also be through yours. Everyone has a story. Everyone has a gift…a talent…a skill. Stories should be told because they will always help someone else. Talents and gifts should be shared as examples of what God does in our lives. We are here to lift each other up and I’d love to start out the week with a stepping stone.
\nWhat do YOU do? Where are YOU from? What moves YOU? Let’s learn about each other.
\n❤️
\n“And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-11-11T02:30:15-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/11/11/tell-me-about-yourself.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Positive Energy","Gratitude","Holiday","Wisdom","Choices","Monday Morning Motivation"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/11/09/baby-its-cold-outside.html", "title": "Baby, It’s Cold Outside!", "content_html": "Hebrews 13:16 NIV
![\"Weather](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/87b1a97386.jpg\")
“The cold, arctic air is hitting deep into the south in the coming week.”
I think Mother Nature has other ideas for me than traveling through the Blue Ridge Mountains through an Arctic cold front. Last week, I had every intention to knock out the arm-long list of things that needed my attention and be back on the road by this time. Then, I got home. And got a real look at what needs done around here. The temps have gotten increasingly colder day by day with next week looking even worse. To top that off…there’s the new kitten. We can’t just up and leave now. It’s going to take more planning than it has in the past. That’s not to say we won’t be going anywhere, but honestly…I do not want to be off somewhere and not be able to get back because of bad weather.
\nIn the meantime, we’ve been hustling around the farm and the Ponderosa battening down the hatches before the coldest weather of the year arrives. The top of the agenda was the pool. We really needed to get the level down and unhook the pump before last night as the low this morning was predicted to be 22°. Mr. FixIt worked all day Thursday in the cold rain and got that finished. Now we just need to get the cover over it and it’s put to bed for the winter. I emptied the food from the r-pod and turned off the refrigerator yesterday in preparation for the coming cold snap.
\nCold weather is perfect for a big pot of homemade soup. When I was at the store Thursday, asparagus was on sale for $.99 a pound. I bought two pounds and made a pot of Cream of Asparagus soup. I’ve never made it before and it was divine! I made enough for four big bowls for under $4.00! Here’s the recipe should you wish to try it.
\nCream of Asparagus Soup
\n2 lbs. fresh asparagus, washed, trimmed, and chopped in 1” pieces
\n1 large onion, chopped
\n4 tbsp. unsalted butter
\n4 cups chicken broth
\n1 cup heavy cream
\nSalt and pepper to taste
\n1/4 tsp. Lemon juice
\nMelt butter in soup pot and add onion and chopped asparagus. Stir over medium heat till onion begins to become transparent. Add chicken broth. Cover and simmer over low heat till asparagus is very soft. Remove from heat and purée using a blender, food processor, or hand held blending wand. Return to heat, add cream, and bring just to a boil. Add lemon juice and salt and pepper to taste and serve hot or cold.
\nIt was delicious and so quick and easy to make. Mr. FixIt said he had never had Cream of Asparagus soup before and he loved it!
\nToday’s culinary circus will include a Sour Cream Apple Pie and Homemade Ooey Gooey Macaroni and Cheese! These are the days I love…the days I’ve worked so hard for this year. What’s cooking in YOUR kitchen today?
\n❤️
\n\n “Give us today our daily bread.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-11-09T02:30:22-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/11/09/baby-its-cold-outside.html", "tags": ["Family","Positive Energy","Fun","Gratitude","Comfort","Choices","Change","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/11/03/back-to-the-comforts-of.html", "title": "Back to the Comforts of Home", "content_html": "Matthew 6:11 NIV
![\"Camping](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e6611dadc8.jpg\")
“My little office on the go in the R-Pod 196”
One thing I really was challenged by with I was touring West Virginia was internet accessibility. If it weren’t for the fact I’m a writer and I had deadlines to meet, I wouldn’t have really cared. But when you write every day, for yourself and for others, you have to be creative in how you stay connected.
\nThere was a delicate balance I walked. On the one hand, I needed accessibility. On the other, I craved getting lost in the woods. I chose campsites based on the view first. I always looked at the campground maps when I made my reservations and chose the one off by itself. The one with the view….the quiet…the peace. My second criteria was electric. I didn’t really need water or sewer hookups. The r-pod has plenty of water tank capacity, both fresh and wastewater.
\nMy last question was always, “Where can I get cell or wifi?” There were campgrounds I stayed in that had neither. In that case, I drove to the lodge to use theirs. There was one campground that had AT&T, but not Verizon. This picture was taken in the kitchen of the r-pod while I was camped at Watoga. I was pleased when the camp-host said the campground has WiFi at both bath houses. Then he added, “It’s really slow, though.”
\nHe wasn’t kidding. One little bar. As a matter of fact, every place I stayed had either one little bar of cell or one little bar of WiFi. It was a tad frustrating. Anyway, there at Watoga I happened to be camped right beside the bath house. And, if I was away from that window, I couldn’t send or receive anything. I stood a lot at that window when it was time to upload my posts or check my e-mail or Facebook. This was my little office that particular week.
\nI was telling Mr. FixIt about this the other night when he came to camp with me at Twin Falls. I told him I used to complain about the WiFi at home. Now it’s going to feel like high-speed fiber-optics! Well, until I get used to it and then I’m liable to complain again at how slow it is.
\nYesterday was a much better day. Mr. FixIt and I went to town to buy a warming pad and a storage tote to make Pumpkin a nice warm bed out in the pole building. We also bought a litter box. We already had the feeding dish/water bowl combo. I think Pumpkin is a girl but we’ll know for sure when we take her in to get her shots and checkup on Tuesday. Now I feel really good about her bedding situation and she has already come to love the building. I think she feels safe in there.
\nI’m so excited to go to my home church today. I have really missed my church family! I’m heading out to the farm this afternoon after church to get the house ready for winter. And then there will be far less items on that very long to-do list. Giving myself permission to have some down time with family and falling in love with a little black kitten just might be the best things I’ve done for myself in a very long time.
\n❤️
\n““Show me, Lord, my life’s end and the number of my days; let me know how fleeting my life is.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-11-03T02:30:13-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/11/03/back-to-the-comforts-of.html", "tags": ["Travel","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Camping","Fun","West Virginia","Gratitude","Comfort","Wisdom","Girl Camper","Girl Campers","Choices","Road Trip","Chasing the Sun - Girl Camper Road Trip"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/11/02/meetpumpkin-the-kitten.html", "title": "Meet.....Pumpkin, the Kitten!", "content_html": "Psalms 39:4 NIV
![\"Black](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/5a8e2b01a9.jpg\")
“Kitty has an appropriate Halloween name…Pumpkin!”
I hit the ground running yesterday. The first order of business was to haul the camper to the nearest dump station…a lovely fifty-four mile round trip drive out to and up the interstate and back. When I woke up at 8:00, it was a whopping 36 degrees. Two hours later, when I was finally hooked up and ready to go, it was all the way up to 37! Ohhhhh, I really wasn’t looking forward to that, but it had to be done. Last night’s overnight low was predicted to get down to 27 and stay there for four hours. That’s when you get freezing and possible damage to water lines in a camper.
\nThe only way I have ever winterized a camper was to run pink RV antifreeze through the lines. But this camper is different. I looked it up on YouTube and it said to open the drains, dump the tanks, pour some antifreeze in the wastewater tanks to keep any residual from freezing, and take out the element in the hot water heater. Then, you go around and turn on each faucet, one at a time, and turn on the water pump. Any residual water left inside should drain out through the low water drain. It worked like a charm! But, man…I was chilled to the bone when I was done.
\nI pulled the camper back home and unhooked, fully expecting to head back to town and run errands on my list that’s a mile long. As I sat in the truck, I took inventory. Have you ever had to sit yourself down and give yourself a stern talking to? Well, that was me yesterday. I was feeling overwhelmed by the expectations I was placing on myself. No one else was telling, or even asking, me to get everything done. I counted up what I had already accomplished. I looked at the list to see what I could do alone, and what I would need Mr. FixIt’s help with. I checked off the list of phone calls I had already made. Then I took a physical inventory. My shoulders and neck were so tense and tight, I was getting a headache. My body was just…tired. So…I gave myself permission to kick back for the rest of the day.
\nI got out of the truck and the little black kitten came running and rubbed against my legs. I reached down and picked it up and really gave it a good once-over. Well, except for checking the nether regions. It still just didn’t occur to me to look. I was more interested in testing the kitten’s demeanor. One of the tests you do with puppies is to cradle them in your arm on their backs to see if they trust you. An alpha won’t have anything to do with that. And that may be a more stubborn, if not aggressive, animal. I didn’t know if it worked with cats, but this little baby let me roll it over and snuggle and scratch it all over. It purred like an Evinrude motor on a power boat. It head butts you to snuggle face to face and taps you very gently on the face. What a precious baby!
\nI held it up to look face to face.
\n“What is your name, little one? Hmmm? Is it…Spooky? You’re a black little who came to me on Halloween. It should be a festive name to commemorate the holiday. How about Snickers? You’re pretty sweet, and that’s my favorite Halloween candy. Someone suggested Ash or Asher, but I don’t know whether you’re a boy or girl. They thought Boo was cute, but that’s what we call our little Boone, now isn’t it.”
\nBy this time, I was at the bay doors on the pole building. There is an old kitchen stool there and Mr. FixIt put a couple of our pumpkins on it. I plopped the kitten down and took a picture. I looked up from the camera app on my iPhone and smiled.
\n“Pumpkin! THAT’S your name, isn’t it?!?! I knew if I listened close enough, you’d tell me, you sweet little snuggle-bug.” I picked up the kitty and was again serenade with that mystical sound of purring. Now that the kitten has a name, Pumpkin just rolls off my tongue. So sweet, so simple. Such simple pleasures found in a sweet kitten. I had forgotten. The last time I had a kitten this size, I was in 9th grade and I talked my mom into letting me have a little orange marmalade kitten from my friend Sharon’s cat.
\nI gave the kitten a little more snuggle time and then went in to stretch out and read till Mr. FixIt came home. My nose was running like a sugar tree from handling the cat, but I wasn’t wheezing. That was a good sign. I washed my hands well, and was careful not to touch my face or eyes. I’m definitely allergic, but we’ll see how much of this I can get away with. Because this feels like something I didn’t even know I needed. Kittens are good medicine.
\nI have an appointment Tuesday for a checkup and shots. We’ll see how old Pumpkin is and when we can get him/her fixed. Today I will fix a winter box with a pet safe heating pad in it. I had those for the cats out at the farm. I’ll also get a heated water dish. The kitten seems to really like the safety of the building. We won’t have any mice in there anymore once this one gets big enough to catch them. And, there isn’t any poison in there. It’s a good, clean, safe place to sleep all cozy warm in a kitty condo. When we are home, the kitten is glued to us so…I think we’ve got this!
\nOh, and I slept in the house for the first time in a month last night. I feel like I’m in prison after the freedom of the road. It’ll take time to acclimate, but last night’s low of 27 drove me back inside. In the meantime, I am filled with wonderful memories of the latest “Great Adventure”!
\n❤️
\n“You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-11-02T01:30:07-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/11/02/meetpumpkin-the-kitten.html", "tags": ["Family","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Love","Peace","Courage","Presence","Choices","Change","The Cats","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/10/31/the-red-carpet-treatment.html", "title": "The Red Carpet Treatment", "content_html": "Isaiah 55:12 NIV
![\"R-Pod](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/8ccff2dd2e.jpg\")
“Sitting on a red carpet of maple leaves, the 2020 R-Pod 196 is one of my favorite campers.”
You know the story of the toothache going away as soon as you get to the dentist? Well, Mr. FixIt is here (YAY!!!) and we took the truck for a long drive…all round the park, up and down hills, around and around curves and…..nothing. Not a sound. Except, when I very first pulled out of the campsite, the brakes squeaked. A long time ago, I was driving over a dirt road in the boonies of Colorado and suddenly the car started making this horrible grinding, screaming noise. When I stopped…the noise stopped. I had no idea what to do. Finally, a couple stopped and asked what was wrong.
\nWhen I described the noise to the man, he suggested perhaps I had a rock stuck in the brakes. He directed me to put my foot on the brake, put the car in reverse, and back up with my foot still on the brake. When I did, the rock was dislodged. I don’t know if that was the problem here, but when I pulled forward again with the truck, there was no squeak, no grinding…nothing. Good news…I hope! Great news…Mr. FixIt is here!!!
\nSince the truck seemed to be working fine, we went for a hike to see the falls here in Twin Falls State Park. It rained and was a little chilly so when we got back to the camper, I heated up some chili I had in the freezer. It really hit the spot.
\nSo, this was the last night of the West Virginia Tour. It was so, so beautiful. And the r-pod worked perfectly. We’ll pull it home with Mr. FixIt’s truck today and watch my truck carefully. When I get home, I’ll have it checked to make sure it really is ok. I’ll leave you with a last look at the camper sitting on a beautiful red carpet of maple leaves. This part of the tour has been really special and I can’t wait to get back on the road to head south.
\nIn the meantime, I’m going to spend a few days at home for some much needed family time and attend my home church on Sunday. Thanks so much for traveling along with me!
\n?
\n“The Lord will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life; the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.”\nPsalms 121:7-8 NIV\n", "date_published": "2019-10-31T01:30:59-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/10/31/the-red-carpet-treatment.html", "tags": ["Family","Travel","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Camping","Fun","West Virginia","Gratitude","Girl Camper","Girl Campers","Road Trip","Marriage","Chasing the Sun - Girl Camper Road Trip"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/10/29/welcome-to-my-living-room.html", "title": "Welcome to my Living Room!", "content_html": "
![\"Woman](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/15bd323aba.jpg\")
“The camper is the kitchen, bath, and bedroom…the great outdoors is where I live!”
I got to my new campsite in the middle of the afternoon. The mountains I drove over yesterday weren’t anything like the ones last week but man, the road up into the campground here at the park is really, really steep! This truck did a great job pulling the r-pod in these West Virginia hills. When I arrived at my site, I was amazed to have this entire mountaintop to myself! I didn’t have any concerns about that, but I was pleased to see two more couples come into the campground with trailers.
\nIt’s quiet as a church mouse up here. I heard some owls just after dark and a coal train. And the squirrels were in the hickory trees all around me all afternoon. I opened the awning and set up my chair outside and enjoyed the 75° temps and the warm sunshine. A few weeks ago, I purchased an adapter for my tripod so I could use the iPad as a camera. I got it out and played with it for awhile. I had a blast setting the timer for 10 seconds then running to see if I could get in the picture in time!
\nI wanted to tell you about what happened yesterday. I always sit in my truck before I pull out and pray for travel mercies. I list off all the things I’m going to be talking with Him about as I drive. Then I pray the Prayer of Jabez and ask Him to send me whoever He needs me to talk with that day. I hadn’t driven a hundred feet when I came around a corner and there was a whole crowd of folks my age sitting around a campfire. I stopped and rolled down my window.
\n“You kids look like you’re having entirely too much fun!”
\n“Oh, we are!!!” Everyone turned around and smiled and waved. We made some small talk and one of the gals asked if I was traveling alone. I told her all about Girl Campers and how I’m taking this camper around for a few months and we are raffling it off. One thing led to another and the subject of my writing came up. When I told them my writing is faith based and that I even have a Sunday Evening Prayer Circle, one woman came over and took my hand and asked if I would pray for her granddaughter who is sick with ulcerative colitis. I opened my blog and added her name to the prayer list. Before I left them, I took their hands and prayed with them…right there in the campground. God is so good…I asked, He delivered. Immediately! I know it happens so often, I shouldn’t be amazed. But I am always in awe at that.
\nI’m in the home stretch of the West Virginia tour now. Just one, maybe two more nights and I’ll be back at the Ponderosa for a few days. It’s been such an amazing trip and I’ve seen some beautiful places. I’m looking forward to heading south next week. If you all have any recommendations for campgrounds or state parks in Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and South Carolina…I’d love to hear them!
\n❤️
\n“Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, “I gave birth to him in pain.” Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-10-29T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/10/29/welcome-to-my-living-room.html", "tags": ["Faith","Travel","Prayer","Positive Energy","Camping","Fun","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","God","Wisdom","Girl Camper","Girl Campers","Choices","Be Joyful!","Road Trip","Chasing the Sun - Girl Camper Road Trip"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/10/27/between-the-trees.html", "title": "Between the Trees", "content_html": "1 Chronicles 4:9-10 NIV
![\"Autumn](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/c553c840f4.jpg\")
“Sitting by the river is soothing to the soul.”
Being a writer is a wonderful thing. I can get lost in a blank page, creating worlds from my thoughts. It’s like magic…making something from nothing. I pray over my keyboard. I ask God to bring me words to say and people who need them. I am humbled when someone reaches out and tells me how my words have encouraged them or helped to ease the pain of their particular loss. I am quick to tell them…it is not me. I am merely the transcriptionist.
\nWhen I pray the Prayer of Jabez, I ask for God to give me those Blessings with my name on them. I ask Him to expand my territory and to walk with His hand over me to keep evil far from me so that I may not feel/cause pain. I love when He brings people to me. It happens daily and I am so blessed by His generosity.
\nAs I sat yesterday in the r-pod, working on a writing project, I noticed the camper next door had turned their outdoor speakers up and were playing loud music. Not over-the-top loud…just annoying because it was disturbing my flow. I stopped and looked at the clock. Just after noon. I had been working straight through since breakfast. I sighed and closed my iPad.
\nShould I go say something to the people? Should I give them a stern look as I pass by? Should I report them to the park office? I sat and prayed for discernment and wisdom. As I washed up the breakfast dishes, I looked out and there were two children…maybe ‘tweens…carving pumpkins! They didn’t have their noses glued to an electronic device. They were camping with their family and doing fun, creative things in the outdoors.
\nI smiled as I dried my hands. Just WHO is the one with her nose glued to an electronic device? Oh, yes…that would be ME! I laughed as I looked up and said, “Ok, ok…I get the hint!” After taking a look around the camper to make sure things were unplugged and safe to leave, I donned my jacket and headed to the Fall Harvest Festival.
\nI watched a chainsaw artist carve a bear out of a log. I sat and listened to some live Bluegrass music. I went to the river and sat in a chair and read for an hour. I put my book away and just breathed in the smells of the day. The aroma of good food from the lodge kitchen. The smell of wet leaves and swift river water. The earthy smell of wool as the sun warmed my sweater. I closed my eyes and listened to children throwing rocks in the river and an elderly couple chatting softly as they walked slowly by…their feet shuffling through the leaves.
\nI thanked God for reminding me to remove the plank in my own eye before I asked my neighbor to remove the sliver from theirs.
\nIt was a really good day.
\n❤️
\n“You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-10-27T01:30:43-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/10/27/between-the-trees.html", "tags": ["Faith","Travel","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Positive Energy","Camping","Fun","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","God","Peace","Wisdom","Girl Camper","Girl Campers","Choices","Road Trip","Chasing the Sun - Girl Camper Road Trip"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/10/26/time-travel.html", "title": "Time Travel", "content_html": "Matthew 7:5 NIV
![\"Coffee](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/663885f09a.jpg\")
“Coffee and sunshine and a little nosh!”
As I explored the latest West Virginia State Park on my camping itinerary yesterday, I took a king sized jump back in time. The last time I was at this particular park was with Hubby #2. I can’t tell you the year, but my guess is it was the summer of 1979, although it could have been later. I remember bits and pieces of that trip. I remember feeling so extravagant to travel to such beautiful places. We stayed a night in this lodge I am sitting in as I write this post. Oh, my…so much water over the dam since then.
\nI sat there in the morning sunshine, watching the river making riffles on the smooth stones below. The trees are yellow and brown and still-green here. Tiny little splashes of red and orange peek through as you move your eyes across the steep hillside at the far edge of the river. By 1:00 in the afternoon, the brilliant sun of morning gave way to the clouds portending the heavy storms predicted this weekend.
\nI haven’t met a West Virginia State Park I haven’t liked. This trip has seriously been magical and something my heart and soul so desperately needed, if for no other reason that to remind me how dearly I love Mr. FixIt. Not that there has ever been a question. We all have a tendency to get wrapped up in the busyness of life and forget to stop and appreciate what we have. I’m just as guilty of that as anyone.
\nGetting away also reminds me of the independence I cultivated for my self after Mr. Virgo died. I either got out and had adventures, or I would spend the rest of my life sitting at home alone. And that is just not me. I need solitude from time to time…to refresh and recharge and stretch my abilities. When I do that, I am a much better partner for my husband. I am more patient, more loving, and decidedly happier. This is a benefit for both of us.
\nI’ve been gone for quite a bit this year. Between Girl Camping trips, six weeks in Colorado for my daughter’s wedding, and this Charity Trailer Raffle Tour, I think I have spent more time away from home than I was there. I have a patient husband, to be sure. But we are missing each other a lot so we are working on our itinerary for the next two months and figuring out the best way to travel AND be together.
\nIt is supposed to rain a lot this weekend so I’ve saved my writing and indoor projects till then. I need to take advantage of the sunshine when I can. When I woke up yesterday morning, it was 37 degrees. By the time I rousted myself to get coffee, it was 8:00 and 42 degrees. I took the electric griddle outside and cooked with it sitting on the picnic table. I fried a whole package of bacon and carefully placed the cooked strip between layers of paper towels and slipped the entire batch into a zip lock bag. Stored in the refrigerator, these will be eaten up long before they would spoil. I did the same with a batch of pancakes and stored them two to a sandwich bag. That way, I’ve cooked several days of breakfasts ahead of time. When it’s raining this weekend, I can still have outdoor cooked meals.
\nAs I finished writing this piece, I watched a little boy, maybe four or five years old…walking along the river. Bright yellow leaves rained down around him. With hands reached out, he laughed as he tried to catch them…his feet crunching on those he missed. He picked up rocks on the river bank and watched out for his little brother toddling along behind him. They were out with their dad. I love seeing dads with their littles…teaching, loving, experiencing the joy of the day. I close with this thought. Wouldn’t it be a better world if the littles spent more time outside with their dads? Or moms, if dad isn’t around? Or with anyone who loves them and wants to teach them about the world and about life? Wouldn’t it be better than handing a child an electronic device to keep them quiet…engaged in learning what someone else is teaching them? Maybe something that isn’t reflective of your values? I’m not being judgmental here. There were plenty of times I let my own little watch too much TV in order to have some peace. It just seems we are raising a generation that’s greatest skill is dissociation. I’m not sure how you put the smoke back in the bottle.
\nWith that thought, I have spent entirely too much of my morning sitting here with my own set of electronic diversions so I’m heading out to enjoy this day before the rains come and I get stuck inside. I hope you have a beautiful weekend wherever you are. Put the phone down…go outside and play. You’re never too old to “go places and do things”, as the Girl Campers say!
\n❤️
\n“Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it.”\n\n \n", "date_published": "2019-10-26T01:30:14-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/10/26/time-travel.html", "tags": ["Faith","Family","Travel","Uplifting Stories","Positive Energy","Camping","Fun","West Virginia","Gratitude","Peace","Wisdom","Aging","Girl Camper","Girl Campers","Choices","Be Joyful!","Widow","Road Trip","Littles","Chasing the Sun - Girl Camper Road Trip"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/10/22/a-perfectly-beautiful-day.html", "title": "A Perfectly Beautiful Day", "content_html": "Proverbs 22:6 NIV
![\"Cheers\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/1ac4b9771d.jpg\")
“Dining al fresco in the glory of autumn.”
Now that I have left the last campground, I can tell you about it. Some of my friends who have camped there guessed where I was. Revelle’s Family Campground is just up the road from Elkins, WV in a little burg called Bowden. There’s a fish hatchery there…and lots of cabins and campgrounds. I’ve driven past Revelle’s since I was a teenager. They actually opened when I was sixteen and the just celebrated their 50th Anniversary.
\nThe current owners purchased it in 2015. It was a little rundown and they have put a lot into it, bringing some of it’s glorious past back to life. They have lots of fun activities like WVU Football Tailgate Parties and bingo every other weekend. There are over 200 campsites with several backed right up to Shaver’s Fork of the Cheat River…a stocked trout stream. About half the sites are permanent campers…meaning, they lease out the spot to one person on a yearly basis. Those campers treat their travel trailers like a mountain cabin and often only come for weekends. There are some who come to spend the summer.
\nI was really taken by the lovely surroundings and the equally lovely owner, Katharine. I can already envision organizing a Girl Camper trip next October to show off the amazing colors this time of year.
\nYesterday was my travel day to the next campground. My route took me on a two-lane blacktop that climbed over mountains, twisting and turning through forests of hardwoods, evergreens, and the ever present mountain laurel. It was sunny and absolutely gorgeous as I climbed through the Allegheny Mountains and the colors were spectacular. Every turn was more beautiful than the last. However, there were NO turnoffs or scenic overlooks and I couldn’t very well stop in the middle of the road to take pictures so I will have to search the internet for the photos taken by others of this area to give you some idea. I’m telling you…words cannot do this day justice.
\nAlong the way, I saw a sign for an old general store which is really more of a museum these days. I was fortunate to find a parking place out front and welcomed the opportunity to get out and stretch my legs. The owner was graciously greeting the crowds of people as they made their way to the portico out front. When he greeted me, he asked where I was from. When I told him Parkersburg, he lit up. He was born and raised just a couple of miles from me and graduated the year after Mr. FixIt and me and knew my sweet hubby back in the day!
\nTom Shipley’s mother left this farm to him, thus ensuring the little store and grounds would stay open and in the family. Tom says it’s a lot of work, but he’s been there since 2004 and is a fixture in the community. There is a small log cabin located on the grounds not far from the huge main house. It turned out to have been built by Tom’s great-great-great grandparents. What a treat that must be to have that family legacy remain in the same hands throughout the generations. I would have loved to have stayed longer, but I needed to move on. But, not without purchasing some jars of homemade apple butter, red raspberry jam, and cherry jam first. Tom carried my purchases out to the truck for me and gave me a big hug…”for Parkersburg,” he said.
\nUnfortunately, as I crested the last mountain, the clouds gathered and that was the end of the glorious sunshine. Still, it was quite beautiful as I closed in on my final destination. I got unhooked and set up and within minutes, I had people wanting to come see the camper and buy tickets for the raffle. The only way to purchase tickets is to buy them online at girlcamper.com . I can’t tell you how many people reach for their wallets when they find out we are raffling off this trailer!
\nThere is WiFi at this campground, but no cellular because of the blackout area of Greenbank Observatory. I’ll write about that another day. The WiFi is pretty slow and has to be shared by all the campers, so I don’t know if photos will come through to post or not…we’ll see. In the meantime, it was supposed to rain all last night and all day today. I have an indoor project to do today, so that will be perfect timing.
\n❤️
\n“Then shall the trees of the forest sing for joy before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth.”\n1 Chronicles 16:33 ESV\n", "date_published": "2019-10-22T01:30:02-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/10/22/a-perfectly-beautiful-day.html", "tags": ["Travel","Positive Energy","Camping","Fun","West Virginia","Gratitude","Peace","Girl Camper","Girl Campers","Be Joyful!","Road Trip","Chasing the Sun - Girl Camper Road Trip"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/10/21/take-a-little-time.html", "title": "Take a Little Time", "content_html": "
![\"Crimson](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/542667cb19.jpg\")
“The color crimson is startling in the woods of WV.”
I tell people all the time…”Self care is NOT selfish!” This weekend I took a little time for some self care and it felt wonderful. First was the old time music and folk dancing Saturday. Then yesterday, I took off early and drove over to see family in Grant and Pendleton Counties. The aunt that I cared for when I first moved back here from Colorado has been living with her brother, my Uncle Bud, for the last three years. She is suffering from dementia now and I am not at all sure she knew who I was. Which is probably a good thing because she doesn’t necessarily like me much. She was quite personable during our visit, which was nice.
\nI helped around the house…cleaning the kitchen and picking up. I took a chuck roast over and put it in the crock pot for them along with noodles and a pumpkin pie. They should eat like royalty for a few days on that. I shared pictures with them and we swapped stories for a while before I left to go to my cousin’s house for a while. I haven’t seen her since Thanksgiving last year so it was a long overdue visit.
\nAs I was driving back to the campground late in the afternoon, I got to the top of Middle Mountain and saw this amazing tree. Actually, I saw amazing trees everywhere. But it was raining all day and very foggy on top of the mountain. I pulled over to the side and stood with my camera ready…just willing the fog to part long enough to capture the beauty of this lone tree on the mountaintop. It was well worth the wait, don’t you think?
\nThe mountain sides look like a rich tapestry with everything from green to garnet, scarlet to sunshine yellow. It was mesmerizing and it was all I could do to keep my eyes on the road. Stunning! It’s this time of year that makes you hold your breath. In the spring, when the green leaves pop out, you know there is a long stretch ahead with lovely foliage. Then this time of year comes and we sit and wait for the proverbial “other shoe” to drop. Because, in a heartbeat it will be gone and the trees will reach for the sky with naked bony fingers grasping at the winter winds that whip through them.
\nSo, till that time comes, I will gaze in wonder and will share that with you as I travel this path to see where it leads me. Today is a travel day for me. My next stop is the first campsite I have had without electricity so I’m going to rely on the solar to power me off grid. I can’t wait to see what I can still do in the camper without shore power!
\n❤️
\n“\"Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. If you are willing and obedient, you shall eat the good of the land; but if you refuse and rebel, you shall be eaten by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.\"”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-10-21T01:31:56-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/10/21/take-a-little-time.html", "tags": ["Travel","Positive Energy","Camping","Fun","West Virginia","Gratitude","Girl Camper","Girl Campers","Change","Road Trip","Chasing the Sun - Girl Camper Road Trip"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/10/20/waiting-for-home.html", "title": "Waiting for Home", "content_html": "Isaiah 1:18-20 ESV
![\"Beautiful](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/5a554a6bb8.jpg\")
“The house I wanted for a B&B in Elkins…it always makes me wonder…what if?”
I’m not kidding when I say I spent just about every moment of the forty years I lived in Colorado waiting for the day I could move back home. Oh, there was a stretch of time when I was young and cocky and I thought I knew better than those “old fogeys” back home who were SO out of touch. Little did I know I would give my right arm to return to my roots one day.
\nI had the opportunity to come home when Hubby #1 and I split up, but I turned it down. My daughter was about three years old at the time, and I wanted her to have broader horizons than I had growing up so I elected to stay in Denver where I had no family support and a relatively small social circle.
\nWhen I was married to Hubby #2, there was some talk about going back home, but he is a Colorado boy, born and bred. You just don’t take them out of that climate and plop them down in humidity. I remember dreaming at night that if anything happened to him, I’d hightail it home as fast as I could.
\nThen, Mr. Virgo came along. He was my best bet to get back because he was born and raised in South Philly. But he had tried his whole life to get back to Colorado, which he adored, so I knew there was a very slim chance we’d actually move back to West Virginia. However, I did get him to discuss the possibilities of owning a B&B somewhere back here.
\nI’ll never forget those days when we would do internet searches for B&B’s for sale. We found a big house in the historic district of Parkersburg that was a real possibility. But the one I had my heart set on was actually here in Elkins, WV. It was right across the road from the back side of the Davis & Elkins campus. It had seven bedrooms and five full baths with a large commercial kitchen. I was in love!
\nMr. Virgo? Not so much. This is where the wheat was separated from the chaff and I realized it was never gonna happen. He had put his roots down in Colorado and there would be no budging that man. Now, every time I am near here, I have to drive past “my B&B”. I have no idea who bought it. It doesn’t look as though it has been turned back into the B&B it was many years ago. When I see it, I am reminded that we don’t work on our time. We work on God’s time. And it wasn’t time for me to be here back then.
\nI do have an affinity for this little town though. Mostly because of the college and the Augusta Heritage Center which works to preserve the old timey ways of our ancestors. I was thrilled to spend the afternoon with “my people”…folks who obviously love their heritage as much as I do. I’ve seen some beautiful places on this trip already. But I think this stop has been my favorite so far. I just wish Mr. FixIt could have been with me. He would have enjoyed this so much.
\n❤️
\n“And you shall remember the whole way that the Lord your God has led you these forty years in the wilderness, that he might humble you, testing you to know what was in your heart, whether you would keep his commandments or not.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-10-20T01:30:07-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/10/20/waiting-for-home.html", "tags": ["Family","Travel","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Camping","Fun","West Virginia","Gratitude","Love","Peace","Girl Camper","Girl Campers","Widow","Road Trip","Chasing the Sun - Girl Camper Road Trip"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/10/11/slow-down.html", "title": "Slow Down", "content_html": "Deuteronomy 8:2 ESV
![\"Country](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/851c260933.jpg\")
“There’s something special about moseying out country roads instead of roaring through on an interstate.”
There is something special about driving on a two-lane blacktop in the fall. First, you’re forced to slow down…especially in West Virginia. There are a lot of 15 to 20 to 25mph turns in these parts. Beyond safety issues is the sheer beauty around every curve.
\nI love how the leaves fall in a shower of gold and red light in the sun. I love how the car in front of you stirs them up into a whirlwind that splashes on your windshield as you drive through them. I love how the the denuded trees cast lines on the roadway making it seem to glitter and shimmer as the miles fly under your wheels.
\nThe morning dew glistens as the leaves flutter in the breeze of your passing. The whole world takes on an auburn glow with rich yellow, tawny bronze, and deep indigo undertones. Crows and turkey buzzards circle overhead, waiting for the tasty morsels of the unfortunate squirrel or groundhog that doesn’t make it across the pavement in time.
\nDeer stand tenuously on the shoulder of the road seeming to be making a decision. Should I go? Should I stay? My mind wills them to turn and run up the hill away from my approaching bumper…left to live another day. Chipmunks seem to be enthralled with the macadam madness that cuts through their turf. Scoot out fast. No…wait! Dart back quick! How I keep from hitting them, I’ll never know.
\nI arrived at my next campground shortly before noon. I stopped at the store on the way so I could buy chili fixin’s. Mr. FixIt was talking about chili the other night and it’s been on my mind ever since. I got unhooked and mixed up a batch for the crockpot. I made plenty to have leftovers for the freezer.
\nThis is one of the best things about traveling with a camper. With a well equipped kitchen and a stocked pantry, you can eat healthy and save a lot of money on the road. Avoid the fast food places and steer clear of processed foods and your food budget can go a long way. I have homemade chicken noodle soup, beef and noodles, pepperoni rolls, cinnamon rolls, taco meat, potato soup, pizza, old fashioned noodles, and now chili in the freezer. Potatoes, sausage, cheese, salad greens, broccoli, cauliflower, oranges, grapes, eggs, potato salad, sliced turkey, avocado, yoghurt, milk, and cottage cheese in the fridge. I have an assortment of dry goods in the pantry, including microwave popcorn if I want a snack. We’ll be eating like royalty this weekend when Mr. FixIt arrives.
\nThere’s and upside and a downside to this campground. Gorgeous woods. No internet at the campsite. I’ll have to drive to town to post this. If I didn’t have writing deadlines, I’d just cut the cord for the duration, but alas…my “work” is never done! There are worse things than writing every day!
\n❤️
\n“The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge.”\n\n \n", "date_published": "2019-10-11T01:30:15-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/10/11/slow-down.html", "tags": ["Travel","Positive Energy","Camping","Fun","West Virginia","Gratitude","Peace","Courage","Presence","Girl Camper","Girl Campers","Choices","Be Joyful!","Road Trip","Chasing the Sun - Girl Camper Road Trip"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/10/07/all-good-things.html", "title": "All Good Things...", "content_html": "Psalms 19:1-2 NIV
![\"Girl](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/290e8adfa3.jpg\")
“The curtain closes on another successful Fall What-a-Hoot!”
What a FUN event we had this weekend at the Fourth Annual Fall What-a-Hoot at Beaver Creek State Park with the Girl Campers! OMGosh…we ate and laughed and knitted and crafted. We sat around the campfire every night and talked and talked and talked. We toured each other’s campers. We broke in a newbie. We hugged and prayed and praised.
\nWe antiqued and flea marketed and shopped and faired. We watched a movie on the big screen outdoors. We captured sunrises and sunsets. We cooked and shared recipes. We shared pictures of the kids and grandkids and great grandkids. We taught and shared. We listened. We embraced each other’s differences. We lifted each other up. We included everyone and made everyone feel welcome and special. You know what we didn’t do? We didn’t talk politics. We didn’t watch TV. We didn’t complain…about anything. Not even the 41 degree morning. Ok, maybe a little about the mosquitoes. And those folks on that one site that had a WAY too big fire and a drunken party till the wee hours of Sunday morning that kept some gals awake. Oh, and did I say…NO POLITICS! It was heavenly! The weekend ended with a much, MUCH needed rain. I’m staying on for another extra night since it’s supposed to rain all day today. I have writing to do and some trip planning. I’m also going to work on a little project I’ll share with you soon.
\nHappy Monday, everyone!
\n❤️
\n“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”\n\n \n", "date_published": "2019-10-07T01:30:46-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/10/07/all-good-things.html", "tags": ["Travel","Uplifting Stories","Strong Women","Positive Energy","Camping","Fun","Gratitude","God","Peace","Wisdom","Presence","Girl Camper","Girl Campers","Be Joyful!","Chasing the Sun - Girl Camper Road Trip"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/10/06/cooking-in-the-rpod.html", "title": "Cooking in the RPod!", "content_html": "Romans 15:13 NIV
![\"Cooking](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e9624651b7.jpg\")
“Even with a compact, kitchen, cooking in the RPod is really easy.”
Saturday is Soup Day at What a Hoot. The Girl Campers gather at Beaver Creek State Park in the spring and fall…both wonderful times to camp and both offering cool nights when a hot mug of soup is most welcome. Yesterday morning it was all of forty-one degrees when I woke up. The perfect day to get out the crockpot and make something yummy.
\nI’m really getting the hang of cooking in the RPod. It’s a compact kitchen, but there is plenty of storage in the ample pantry…even for this monstrous 8-quart slow cooker. There are always several varieties of soup at the Saturday evening meal. This year, I decided to make beef and noodles…a wonderful comfort food that never fails to satisfy.
\nI bought a big chuck roast, some pre-diced onions/celery/carrots, a large pack of sliced mushrooms, some beef broth, a family sized jar of prepared beef gravy, and a 24oz. bag of frozen noodles. I sear each side of the roast in my iron skillet, then sauté the veggies and mushrooms, and put it all in the crockpot. I pour the bottled gravy and about a cup of the beef broth over the whole thing and simmer it on low for about eight hours. About an hour before I’m ready to eat, I throw in the bag of noodles and add another cup or so of beef broth. I turn it up on high and when the noodles are done, it’s dinner time! One of the nice things about having the leftovers is packing up individual containers and putting them in the freezer for meals down the road.
\nI realized last night, I haven’t been as conservative with water as I thought and my freshwater tank is down to 1/3 full, which means I have approximately 10 gallons left on board. I have at least two more nights camping before I can refill my fresh water and dump the grey and blackwater tanks so I’ll need to watch more carefully. I can warm up leftovers the next couple of days and use paper plates so I’ll be fine.
\nI think Diane had a good time camping. She enjoyed the girls and the campground. She learned a lot about staying in a travel trailer. The only camping experience she ever had was sleeping in a tent in Girl Scouts…which she hated. She really liked the RPod. I don’t know that camping will be an activity she seeks out in the future, but it sure was fun to show her the ropes and to spend some time with my good friend. There have been a lot of people who never dreamed of camping and end up enjoying themselves…whether or not they ever take it up as a pastime.
\n❤️
\n“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going. By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God. And by faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise. And so from this one man, and he as good as dead, came descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as countless as the sand on the seashore.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-10-06T01:30:58-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/10/06/cooking-in-the-rpod.html", "tags": ["Travel","Positive Energy","Camping","Fun","Gratitude","Comfort","Peace","Girl Camper","Girl Campers","Be Joyful!","Road Trip","Chasing the Sun - Girl Camper Road Trip"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/10/05/setting-up-the-spare-room.html", "title": "Setting up the “Spare Room”", "content_html": "Hebrews 11:8-12 NIV
![\"RPod](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/cb31a9fcac.jpg\")
“Converting the sofa to a spare bed in the RPod 196!”
I’m Back!!! Mr. FixIt and I had a wonderful time camping together and the little break was just what I needed to recharge. There’s nothing like being in the woods in a little camper. Losing Mr. Virgo taught me to really appreciate every moment and this week has been grand!
\nOn Monday, we checked into Tomlinson Run State Park in the tippy top of the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia. The drive up was lovely as we followed the Ohio River on Rt. 7. Mr. FixIt drove separately and followed along behind me. We got to our campsite by mid-afternoon and unhooked. It’s a lovely campground, located on top of a hill and densely wooded. The sites are all nicely spaced apart from each other. We had electric but no water. That’s not a problem, really. You just use the water you carry with you in your fresh water tanks. We rode our bikes around the campground, we cooked outside, and we spent as much time as we could sitting out looking at the stars.
\nWe left Tomlinson Run on Wednesday and headed to Beaver Creek to meet up with the Girl Campers. Mr. FixIt loves to hang out with the girls and they really enjoy him as well. We had fires in the Solo Stove which is wonderful…so much less smoke than a conventional campfire but still enough that you feel as though you had the camping experience. We had some rain here Wednesday night. Quite a bit actually.
\nMr. Fixit left yesterday mid-day to head home. My friend Diane joined me last night. Diane graduated from high school with me but we didn’t know each other back then. She and I didn’t really become good friends till I moved to the family farm in West Virginia in 2014…the year after Mr. Virgo died. I needed to find someone who could help me unload a truck so I called her to get a recommendation. We became fast friends after that.
\nI tried to get her to camp with me several years ago, but Motel 8 is roughing it to Diane. Then, when she found out I was taking the RPod out for a road test, she texted me with a bombshell. She wanted to come camping with me! She knew I’d be writing about my camping experiences and wanted to offer her services as “blog fodder”. “Camping with the Non-Camper!” Brilliant! This could either be really, really good…or really, really bad. I’m happy to report that, so far, she seems to be having a grand time! She fits right in with these great gals.
\nAs is always the case, there’s always a good deal of food at these events and last night was a smorgasbord. Tonight is soup night…my favorite night during What a Hoot. Everyone brings their A-game on soup night and we all go around taste testing each person’s creation. I decided to do something a little bit different this year and make beef and noodles. I’ll stick the chuck roast in the crock pot in the morning and let it simmer all day. It will be a welcome addition, I am sure.
\nThis morning was predicted to be 41 degrees! After a long stretch of hot, dry weather, I am really welcoming the cooler temperatures of fall. I needed to make a reconfiguration of the camper to accommodate my guest. I turned the jack knife sofa into a twin bed. The back of the sofa is a little bit higher than the seat when it’s laid out flat. I bought some firm upholstery foam sheets to lay down on the lower section to make an even base and place my inflatable mattress on top. It was cool enough for the furnace. Today is Pioneer Days down in the Historic Village. The grist mill will be running and there will be tours of the village buildings. Our friend Gail’s son wrote a book about the haunted history of Beaver Creek and will be on hand to sign his books.
\nSo far, the trip is fabulous and so is the RPod 196! The tickets are on sale on girlcamper.com for $10 each and the proceeds benefit the Hold You Foundation, an organization that assists families with critically ill children. This is a wonderful chance to support a worthy cause as well and get the opportunity to buy a wonderful camper! It’s good to be back!
\n❤️
\n“We love because he first loved us.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-10-05T01:30:44-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/10/05/setting-up-the-spare-room.html", "tags": ["Family","Uplifting Stories","Positive Energy","Camping","Fun","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Girl Camper","Girl Campers","Choices","Be Joyful!","Widow","Road Trip","Marriage","Chasing the Sun - Girl Camper Road Trip"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/09/29/the-best-pizzaever.html", "title": "The Best Pizza...EVER!", "content_html": "1 John 4:19 NIV
![\"Pizza\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/7f351d27bc.jpg\")
“Pete’s Pizza…best pizza EVER! Located in Mineral Wells, WV on Old Rt. 14.”
When Daughter #1 and her husband lived on Long Island, we visited her as often as we could. We took the train into the city and had great pizza and bagels. When I visited my aunt and uncle in Chicago, we had some really great pizza. We found a place last night that literally blew everything else out of the water.
\nMy husband is very picky about his pizza, and frankly, so am I. I cannot stand to have the outside third overdone, the middle third perfect, and the center soggy and undercooked. We have been hearing about Pete’s Pizza for quite some time now. The owners go to our church and I hear people raving about it so it was time to check this place out.
\nThe other night, our church outreach fed people in a very hard neighborhood with lots of drugs and crime. Pete’s donated fifty pizzas to the cause. For that reason alone, I decided we needed to throw some money their way and enjoy a pizza date night.
\nI was not disappointed. Good pizza takes a while to cook. (Remember that crispy crust I raved about? Cooking too fast is the reason pizza is undercooked in the center and nearly burned on the edge.) We kept the phone off the table and visited, enjoying our Saturday night out.
\nThe family run restaurant was cozy with a darling gift shop that reminded me a bit of a Cracker Barrel, but less “kitschy”. They have events during the week…trivia nights, family night, bonfire night (complete with s’more kits) and they are currently looking for live entertainment for Saturday nights.
\nPete’s is a little out of the way…1.3 miles out Rt. 21 just off the interchange of I-77 at Mineral Wells. If you ever find your way to our neck of the woods, or even driving past on the interstate…do take the time and stop in. They have quite a variety of menu items and a great lineup of deserts. They do serve beer and wine.
\nI’ve found my all new favorite date place. Mr. FixIt and I loved it!
\n❤️
\n“Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-09-29T01:30:45-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/09/29/the-best-pizzaever.html", "tags": ["Family","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Gratitude","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/09/27/love-letters-from-beyond.html", "title": "Love Letters from Beyond", "content_html": "Ecclesiastes 9:7 NIV
![\"Love](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/0c336c8efc.jpg\")
“Leaving love notes behind for your spouse to find later…what a gift!”
My friends and I camped at Beaver Creek State Park last night. We so seldom get together, just the three of us and when we do it’s always so special. It’s always tempting to stay up really late and sleep in the next day, but Janine and I both had long drives home. We called it a night fairly early and were up and ready for coffee by 8:00. We chatted over a leisurely breakfast and prayed for each other before we finally broke camp by 11:00. I pulled in to the Ponderosa around 4:00, dropped off the camper, and turned right around to go back to town for small group. I’m not signed up for this session, but I wanted to visit and share in the fellowship with dear friends from church.
\nI was seated by a new member of the group. Jonna is a widow of two years. I put my hand on her arm and told her how sorry I was for her loss. We chatted about the similarities and differences between people’s grief experiences. She knew ahead of time that her husband was dying and she was thrilled they had time to have important conversations, no matter how uncomfortable they were.
\nJust before our meeting started, she leaned over and lowered her voice a little.
\n“Wanna know the BEST part?”
\nI was intrigued. I had never thought about “the best part” of grief.
\n“Yes….please!”
\n“My husband hid love notes for me everywhere! I’ve found over twenty of them already!”
\nMy heart melted. I remember finding a note Mr. Virgo had left me for Valentine’s day just a month before he died unexpectedly. I know how precious that is.
\n“I’m not going to go looking for them. If I find one, it’s a gift! I found one the other day in the file of Explanation of Benefits from the insurance!”
\nI leaned over to her and said, “I think that is just the sweetest thing!”
\nThat’s a good man, right there. He knew, beyond a shadow of a doubt, what these little gifts would mean to the woman he had married thirty-eight years prior. Even when he was ill and in pain from the amputation of his leg, this gentle giant left his sweetheart love letters from beyond. Yes…that’s a very good man!
\n❤️
\n“Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-09-27T01:30:20-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/09/27/love-letters-from-beyond.html", "tags": ["Family","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","West Virginia","Gratitude","Love","Wisdom","Choices","Change","Be Joyful!","Widow"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/09/20/wv-hotdogs.html", "title": "WV Hotdogs!", "content_html": "2 Thessalonians 3:16 NIV
![\"WV](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/1722161e0f.jpg\")
“WV Hot Dogs….one of the finest pastries ever to be found in the Mountain State!”
We had a small gathering of Girl Campers who came to see the new R-Pod all dressed up over at Setzer’s on Wednesday. It was a long day and we were all pretty tired by the time we got back to the campground. One of the girls that arrived said she was so excited because she brought WV Hotdogs. I thought to myself…this gal must really like hotdogs. A bit later, someone asked if anyone brought dessert and Deirdre said, “Yep! I brought WV Hotdogs!!!” Everyone was ooooohing and ahhhhhhing. I totally didn’t get it.
\nAfter a dinner of steak and assorted sides, Deirdre brought over a small white box from her camper. When she opened it, there were several cream filled pastries…WV Hotdogs! It seems to me now that I’ve thought about it, the term was way back in the recesses of my mind where words go to die. I just needed to dust it off a little back there and find it!
\nThe pastries were delicious, by the way. And we had the “leftovers” with coffee yesterday morning. Two of the girls had to leave right after lunch and I had the campground to myself till suppertime when Janine and Lynn came back. We had Mississippi Pot Roast for supper along with fresh tomatoes and cucumbers. It was a very relaxing day. Today, I’m packing up the camper and heading home for a couple of days before I had out for Elkhart, IN on Sunday.
\nOn the road again!
\n❤️
\n“in every way and everywhere we accept this with all gratitude.”\nActs 24:3 ESV\n", "date_published": "2019-09-20T01:30:01-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/09/20/wv-hotdogs.html", "tags": ["Travel","Positive Energy","Camping","Fun","West Virginia","goRVing","Girl Camper","Girl Campers","Road Trip","Chasing the Sun - Girl Camper Road Trip"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/09/18/the-girl-camper-trailer-reveal.html", "title": "The Girl Camper Trailer Reveal!", "content_html": "
![\"Girl](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/040c52d70d.jpg\")
\nToday’s the day!!! Tune in at 3:00 on the goRVing Facebook page for a live reveal of how Janine has taken our little R-Pod 196 from “Factory to Fabulous!” We are so excited to show you all the special touches that have totally transformed this camper into a cozy, elegant showstopper.
\n![\"Girl](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/af38d7cb71.jpg\")
“Janine used bright and cheerful wallpapers from Spoonflower to give the camper an elegant, artsy feel. Campers don’t have to be brown!”
We came to Setzer’s RV Center in Huntington yesterday and were greeted by the owner…our good friend, Lynn Butler. I handed her a laundry list of little things that needed doing. First off, the scissor jack that I bent needed replaced. Then they filled my propane tank and provided me with a water hose so I could fill my freshwater tank. They replaced a low point drain cap that was missing. Once I was plugged into power, I was all set.
\n![\"Girl](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/7cfc7626d4.jpg\")
“Mixing different patterns delineates different living areas giving the camper a much roomier feel.”
We spent the evening finishing up the decor. We put the memory foam mattress topper on the bed and dressed it. After a meal of smoked ribs, we settled in for the night, each in our own little campers…in the parking lot of the RV dealership! We were locked in, safe and sound. There is nothing….nothing like snuggling into your little camper. It has always been a tiny sanctuary for me…my safe place. My happy place.
\n![\"Girl](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/db44b695d9.jpg\")
“Custom fabric was used post factory to make the living area more homey. This jack knife sofa folds out to a twin sized bed.”
Today will be really busy, but fun. I can’t wait till you get to see the interior of this camper. Last night was my first night sleeping in it so I’ll have to tell you about that tomorrow!
\n![\"Girl](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/8b98da9c05.jpg\")
“The kitchen is compact but fully functional. A deep stainless steel sink with a goose neck faucet is a big plus.”
AND…Raffle Tickets go on sale today on GirlCamper.com
\n❤️
\n“All hard work brings a profit, but mere talk leads only to poverty.”\n\n \n", "date_published": "2019-09-18T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/09/18/the-girl-camper-trailer-reveal.html", "tags": ["Travel","Strong Women","Positive Energy","Camping","Fun","West Virginia","Gratitude","goRVing","Peace","Girl Camper","Girl Campers","Road Trip","Chasing the Sun - Girl Camper Road Trip"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/09/17/chasing-the-sun.html", "title": "Chasing the Sun!", "content_html": "Proverbs 14:23 NIV
![\"2020](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/80aac83e23.jpg\")
“2020 RPod 196…taking her for a test run for the next four months!”
I’ve been trying to come up with a great name for my epic trip. I have decided I’ll be chasing the sun to stay warm as I travel further south so that’s just what I’ll call it. And yesterday was officially the very first day!!! And what a crazy day it was.
\nFirst, we had to pack up our hotel room. It is absolutely amazing what two people can accumulate in three short days! Once we were packed up, we headed to Advanced Auto Parts to buy a 2” ball for my hitch since that’s the size the RPod needs. I found one, but they didn’t have a wrench big enough to handle the job so I went across to the Goodyear store. They didn’t have a big enough tool either. So, rather than keep searching, I just went back to Advanced Auto and bought a new hitch at the correct size and we headed to Hershey Park to pick up the new camper.
\nWhen we arrived, our little camper was sitting all by herself at the end of the row. We hooked up and off we went. We had an easy, uneventful trip till we pulled into the field at the Ponderosa. I miscalculated a small incline and caught one of the scissor jacks and bent it. It’s no big deal, it didn’t hurt the camper at all…but it did hurt my pride because I knew better than to come in at that angle. We’ll just chalk it up to being overly tired because we were!
\nIt was wonderful to see Mr. Fixit! He had a pan of my smoked ribs out of the freezer thawing and I popped them in the oven as soon as I walked in. We fiddled around with the campers a little here and there. Janine had a spill in hers from a jar of balsamic vinaigrette that fell out of the cabinet so she had quite a sticky mess to clean up. We were all really excited to dine al fresco on the deck by the pool.
\nAnd, just like that…the evening was over and Janine and I both retreated to separate rooms to do our writing while Mr. FixIt watched his evening shows. It was too hot to dry camp in the field without air conditioning so we went for comfort and slept indoors. Today we are driving down to Huntington to Setzer’s RV to get some fine tuning on the campers and I will get my official walk through to learn the inner workings of the RPod. I’m going to have to come up with a cute name for her! Any ideas?
\n❤️
\n“Whoever conceals their sins does not prosper, but the one who confesses and renounces them finds mercy.”\n\n \n", "date_published": "2019-09-17T01:30:53-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/09/17/chasing-the-sun.html", "tags": ["Travel","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Positive Energy","Camping","Fun","West Virginia","Gratitude","goRVing","Courage","Girl Camper","Girl Campers","Choices","Road Trip","Chasing the Sun - Girl Camper Road Trip"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/09/16/weve-come-a-long-way.html", "title": "We’ve Come a Long Way Baby!", "content_html": "Proverbs 28:13 NIV
![\"Early](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/1b904a6b26.jpg\")
“Camping in the early days in Denver. This is just down the street from where Ben & Sue live!”
Janine and I spent our time at the RV Show yesterday browsing around for content for our blogs. We stood for eight hours and walked nearly 10,000 steps. By the time the show was finished, we were exhausted but then there was work to be done. Processing and editing photos, writing blog posts, calculating trip routes and travel times. All the logistics that come with the postmortems of a travel show.
\nI’ll bet we didn’t get to see one tenth of this show. And even that was overwhelming. We did see a couple of really cool campers. We saw some really EXPENSIVE campers. We saw everything from bargain basement, bare bones boxes to luxury on wheels. It’s amazing what some of the interiors of these campers look like. Marble counters, high end furnishings, and appliances that look like they come out of the finest kitchens. It boggles the mind that people would pay half a million dollars for a fancy bus.
\nThere are so many accessories….many that you definitely don’t need, but there are lots that were pretty handy. One was a rechargeable work light that would work well to illuminate a campsite if you arrive in the dark and need to back in. We have some really fun accessories that I’ll be sharing with you after the big reveal next week. We are still holding back the majority of the photos till then.
\nIn the meantime, they are breaking down the show overnight. I need to get a smaller ball on my hitch to fit the new camper. Janine and I are heading to the Ponderosa today then to Huntington tomorrow. We’ll dry camp out in the field tonight! So please keep us in your prayers for travel mercies today. I am so excited about pulling this camper today!
\n❤️
\n“For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-09-16T01:30:40-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/09/16/weve-come-a-long-way.html", "tags": ["Travel","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Positive Energy","Camping","Fun","West Virginia","Gratitude","goRVing","Grace","God","Wisdom","Girl Camper","Girl Campers","Choices","Change","Road Trip","Chasing the Sun - Girl Camper Road Trip"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/09/15/the-really-really-big-show.html", "title": "The Really REALLY Big Show!", "content_html": "Proverbs 2:6 NIV
![\"Women](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/ed8ac30958.jpg\")
“Janine, her BFF Carol, and me in front of the R Pod at the Hershey RV Show.”
Ok, so I thought Friday’s show was busy? Hokey Smokes!!! Yesterday was absolutely insane at the RV Show…but SO amazingly fun! Hundreds of people came and walked through the camper. Everyone loved the decor and if they didn’t…it was probably a guy. Guys don’t necessarily get the whole “decorate your camper” thing. That’s why most campers are varying themes of BROWN. I think a guy takes a look and says, “Yeah…that won’t show dirt. Use that!”
\nI do have to say, the folks at Forest River are stepping up their game in the new R Pod. The cabinets are a lovely shade of grey and the walls are off white. It is a perfect canvas on which to decorate in whatever style strikes your fancy. The light colors along with multiple large windows brings in an abundance of light which is exactly what I am looking for in a camper. I am going to switch the mattress out. I’ve never found an RV mattress that I found satisfactory. I am very choosy about my mattresses. I have an extra memory foam mattress at home so I’ll switch it out when I’m there next week.
\nJanine and I were so exhausted when we got back to our hotel room yesterday. We both took a long nap, then headed out for dinner. Our meal was ok. I was disappointed in my main course. I had pasta and meat sauce with Italian sausage. The sausage had been left in the skillet too long and was actually burnt. When the waitress took my plate, she asked if there was something wrong. I explained and she offered something different. By that time I was full from just the pasta and sauce and didn’t care for anything else.
\nPretty soon, the manage/owner came out to talk with me. He said he took my entree off the check. In the process of our discussion, I informed him I had a good understanding of what he was going through. I told him about Mr. Virgo working in the Food & Beverage industry all of his career. He lit up and we began a long discussion comparing notes of who worked where and when. This is something I always found fascinating with Mr. Virgo. No matter where we were, he could find someone who knew someone and there was always common ground. It made me smile.
\nI told him our story. I told him about going out to buy the camper and how he died while we were looking. I told him about buying the little camper and taking it out in the wilderness and backroads of Colorado. I told him about selling my house and buying the big camper and getting rid of 95% of my personal belongings. I told him about being on the road in the camper and writing about it and how I came to know Janine. Then, I told him the happy ending of the story…running into Mr. FixIt and how we are just about ready to celebrate our 1st Wedding Anniversary.
\nA happy ending. It’s never “The End” though…is it. Mr. Virgo died. But it wasn’t the end. It was the end of many things…but not of him. Or of me. There is always more story to be written…even when you cannot believe you can survive another moment after such a painful loss. Being away, doing something different, learning new things, expanding my territory. All these things offer a lovely perspective of life. I can’t think how my life could be any more perfect than what it is. I am so incredibly grateful. Telling my story gives me this gift every single time.
\n❤️
\n“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”\n\n \n", "date_published": "2019-09-15T01:30:02-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/09/15/the-really-really-big-show.html", "tags": ["Travel","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Strong Women","Positive Energy","Camping","Fun","Growth","Gratitude","goRVing","Wisdom","Humbled","Girl Camper","Girl Campers","Be Joyful!","Widow","Road Trip","Chasing the Sun - Girl Camper Road Trip"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/09/13/full-moonfriday-the-th.html", "title": "Full Moon...Friday the 13th", "content_html": "James 1:17 NIV
![\"Full](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e94bb9bf3f.jpg\")
“Tonight is a full moon AND Friday the 13th! What could POSSIBLY go wrong?”
If you have ever worked in an emergency room, you know it is guaranteed to be crazy busy on the night of a full moon and any Friday the 13th. Add the two? Yikes! Let’s just say, I’m super happy I am going to go work an RV show today and not an ER!
\nYesterday was insanely busy. I got up early and finished packing. Mr. FixIt had to work so I loaded up the truck by myself. Although I started early and it was only 73 degrees, within an hour I was sweating buckets and things became decidedly more difficult. I managed to get everything finished around 11:00 and headed to town. I had some errands to run before a doctor’s appointment at 2:45. The Doctor ran really late so it was 4:15 by the time I was finished.
\nAs I walked around the back of my truck in the parking lot, I noticed the hitch wasn’t on my truck. Mr. FixIt usually does that for me because a hitch with all the gear to use weight distribution bars is really heavy. I had to drive all the way home and hook it up myself before I could head out of town. I was really tired by 10:00 and started looking for a hotel room. I finally found one around Hagerstown, MD and stopped for the night. There’s a long stretch through the mountains where the pickin’s are slim.
\nI love traveling by night. The traffic is lighter and the moon was amazing! By the time I got settled in my room, it was 11:30 so I was whupped. I don’t have to be at the RV Show till noon so I could sleep in this morning! Gotta be ready for a busy, busy couple of days!
\n❤️
\n“For it is written: “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’ ””\n\n \n", "date_published": "2019-09-13T01:30:48-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/09/13/full-moonfriday-the-th.html", "tags": ["Travel","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Fun","Gratitude","goRVing","Grace","Love","God","Courage","Girl Camper","Girl Campers","Choices","Be Joyful!","Widow","Road Trip"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/09/11/the-amusebouche.html", "title": "The Amuse-Bouche", "content_html": "Luke 4:10-11 NIV
![\"Camper](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/1356c6b5f6.jpg\")
“A little sneak peek of the all new R-Pod 196 from Forest River…Girl Camper style!”
When Mr. Virgo and I managed a 4200 acre luxury resort in southern Colorado, we found ourselves needing a chef. One of the happy little benefits of being married to the boss was getting to sit in on the results of the chef’s “stage”. Typically, when chefs are interviewed for a position in a fine dining restaurant, they must demonstrate their skills before the person looking to hire them. This means…observing their kitchen skills while the food is being prepared, then taste testing. In our case, we were treated to three different chef stages before one was selected.
\nThis was where I learned about the amuse-bouche which literally means “amused mouth”. A typical amuse-bouche is just a small savory tasting to demonstrate the chef’s style. One chef gave us a single scallop seared to perfection but I almost lost it when I bit in and it had been marinated in vanilla! Ugh…vanilla and seafood do NOT go together, trust me. He didn’t get the gig. The chef that was hired had a small slice of ahi tuna in a flat bottomed spoon. On top was a small dollop of green foam that was as light as air but had the most intense flavor. I can’t even tell you what it tasted like…savory, spicy, rich, and so light as to almost not even be there but it complimented the tuna perfectly.
\nAmuse-bouche…the little tease of the culinary world. We also experience this in other areas of life. The free sample. The previews at a movie theater. And here? A teeny, tiny little sneak peek of the little camper I get to pull around for the next five months!
\nIf you haven’t caught what’s happening, Forest River donated the very first 2020 R-Pod 196 that came off the line this summer to the Girl Campers for our Annual Trailer Raffle. And, Janine Pettit…our Camper-in-Chief…received the camper sometime in August and has brought it from “Factory to Fabulous”! Let’s face it…the interiors of most RV’s are b.o.r.i.n.g. Or downright ugly! Forest River is listening. They realize that women represent the fastest growing demographic in the RV industry and us gals are tired of brown, right?
\nI can’t get into all the details yet, but we wanted to let you have a little peek inside to see how I get to Camp Like a Girl in this darling camper. It’s bright and cheery, bold and elegant, and can be dressed up or down. It demonstrates to manufacturers we want neutral palettes we can build on without having to paint over everything. It demonstrates to dealers one of the countless ways a camper can be customized so they better understand a girl camper and what she’s looking for in a travel trailer.
\nNot everyone wants to go all “she-she” with their camper decor so we went with something a little bold, a little trendy, and ultimately elegant. We can’t wait for the big reveal which will take place via live broadcast on Go-RVing’s Facebook page Wednesday, September 18th at 3:00pm Eastern Standard Time. I leave tomorrow for Hershey so hang on…we’re going on a road trip!
\n❤️
\n“He has filled them with skill to do all kinds of work as engravers, designers, embroiderers in blue, purple and scarlet yarn and fine linen, and weavers—all of them skilled workers and designers.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-09-11T01:30:23-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/09/11/the-amusebouche.html", "tags": ["Travel","Positive Energy","Camping","Fun","Gratitude","goRVing","Girl Camper","Girl Campers","Choices","Change","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/09/08/let-things-go.html", "title": "Let Things Go", "content_html": "Exodus 35:35 NIV
![\"Autumn](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/99aa1978b5.jpg\")
“Letting things go for a little while gives your mind and heart a chance to breathe.”
I have a list as long as my arm to get accomplished in the next four days. On the upside, I don’t have a camper to clean and prep for a trip. On the downside, I still have laundry, errands, packing, planning, writing, and a couple of doctor’s appointments before I slip out of town on Thursday for the beginning of this amazing Girl Camper Trailer Tour.
\nSo, with all this stuff on my list, what did I do yesterday? I let things go. I created a day just for me. I met ten of my dear friends from my high school class for coffee and conversation. We caught up with what’s been going on since the beginning of summer. We haven’t met since June before I left cross country. This is the first chance I’ve had to plan a coffee gathering since returning from Colorado. I needed to fit it in before I leave again this week.
\nWe caught up with everyone’s health issues. Yes, we’re THOSE people now…surgeries, hospitalizations, injuries. We are “of a certain age” and things break down more often it seems. One of the gals was new to our gathering. She’s been liberated from a longstanding situation that didn’t allow her to socialize before now so there was a lot of catching up to do there. We talked about our vacations over the summer and travel plans for the fall. We shared photos of the grandkids…and GREAT grandkids! Ninety minutes flew by and someone called, “Picture time!” We needed to enlist a patron sitting in the cafe to come take our photo. A young woman doing homework. I smiled. “High school friends. Don’t ever lose touch!” She smiled back and took the perfect picture.
\nWhen it was time to leave, we each hugged everyone there. We’re of that age…we don’t know “when” and “if” anymore. So we hug and kiss a lot and give lots of “love you’s” and “take care’s”. I left feeling loved and supported and relieved those I care about were experiencing a pretty good week. As I was heading to the truck, one of our granddaughters texted to say she was in town and did I want to snuggle our great grandson. Well…of course! Silly question!
\nI went to the former Mrs. FixIt’s house and visited her and with not one, but BOTH great grandchildren for an hour or so and caught up with everyone, then headed off for errands. I met Mr. FixIt after his golf scramble and went to one of my favorite stores…Rural King. I’m looking for a cool barn coat but I’m not finding one. I’ll probably have to buy online.
\nSo, there you go…my primer on how to let things go. Totally self serving and vitally important. Church today, then I can piddle around the house. It’ll get done. And, it’ll get done without me feeling like I’ll tear my hair out at any minute. That is a monumental win-win in my book.
\n❤️
\n“a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-09-08T01:30:33-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/09/08/let-things-go.html", "tags": ["Health","Uplifting Stories","Strong Women","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Gratitude","Comfort","Love","Wisdom","Courage","Aging","Presence","Choices","Change","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/09/06/stitched-with-love.html", "title": "Stitched with Love", "content_html": "Ecclesiastes 3:5 ESV
![\"Quilt\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/c1c6bb2422.jpg\")
“My friend’s comfort quilt is on its way. She’s had her first dose of chemo.”
My dear friend’s quilt is on its way out west. As I sat and hand stitched the binding, I listened to praise music for a bit, then I switched over to my daily devotional. My Bible app on my phone has a function where someone reads the Bible to you. That is especially handy for my Bible plan that I’m working on. It’s planned so that you read the entire Bible in a year. I’ve only read the Bible completely once. I read it from cover to cover…from Genesis to Revelations. That’s tough. You get stuck in all those begats and Kings and it’s difficult to keep from going cross eyed.
\nThis plan reads a couple of chapters from the Old Testament and the New Testament. Then it reads some from Psalms and finishes with Proverbs. Every day. Once I got two weeks behind and swore I’d never do that again. Then over the weekend, I hit the two week behind mark again. Currently I’m only behind nine days. I have some catching up to do. Listening over the headphones accomplished two things…it helped me catch up a bit and it let me stitch the Word into my work. Then I prayed over the quilt and hugged it close and sent it off to my friend, hoping she feels the love and hugs and prayers put into each stitch.
\nI’m counting down the days for my trip now. We’ve all learned from experience just how fast a week can go by. It will be no time and I’ll be off to the Hershey RV Show. I’ll meet Janine there and we’ll work the show for two days. Then we’ll be off to Huntington, WV.
\nI’ve been researching stays for my trip and all the writing that is going to be involved with it. Lots of driving. Lots of photo editing. Plus another project that’s coming up very soon. PLUS my own writing here. That’s a ton of work. What I will have to do is share my trip writing here on some of the days. It will be extremely difficult (I think) to write the daily essays you and I have become accustomed to. Then again, writing on this blog has become my bedtime ritual and I may not be able to sleep until I write something here.
\nAt any rate, you and I are about to embark on a VERY exciting journey filled with fun experiences and beautiful scenery. And sometimes we’ll still talk about grief. Because, you know…it’s what we do here. Grief and joy can exist at the same time.
\n❤️
\n“a time to tear, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;”\n\n \n", "date_published": "2019-09-06T01:30:17-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/09/06/stitched-with-love.html", "tags": ["Health","Travel","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Gratitude","Comfort","Love","Courage","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/09/05/soft-hands.html", "title": "Soft Hands", "content_html": "Ecclesiastes 3:7 ESV
![\"Soft](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/92d4f60f57.jpg\")
“Hold people’s hearts softly…with open hands.”
I’ve learned to have soft hands in my relationships. I’m not talking about getting a mani or using the latest lotions and potions. I’m talking about holding my relationships softly. I’ve learned a lot about relationships over my life. I’ve certainly had enough of them. I used to be embarrassed to say Mr. FixIt is my fourth marriage. I mean, would it have been nice to celebrate my 50th Anniversary with the man I married in 1973? Well…if it WOULD have been nice, I’d still be married to him now, wouldn’t I? Same goes for the one I married in 1979.
\nWhen I married Mr. Virgo in 2007, I truly believed it was my last marriage and we would grow old together. Then 2013 happened, and that dream was shattered by his untimely death at the age of 62. I was only 59, but I swore I would never, ever get married again. “No one could ever measure up.” “My heart could never take that again.” “I’ve already used up three women’s quotas…I’m done.”
\nI had every reason in the book to never do this again…then Mr. FixIt came along and God granted me another chance at happiness. I’ve been able to use a lot of the lessons I learned in my first three marriages and use them in my new marriage…my LAST marriage.
\nI knew nothing when I married my first husband…as is true with most people, I suppose. We were so very young…I was only 19, he was 20. We argued…a lot. We had a baby straight away and we were separated before she was two. I learned a lot about what I didn’t want in that marriage.
\nHubby #2 was my longest marriage…20 years. And the divorce was extremely painful. When I look back on that marriage, I realize I held onto my husband with tight fists. I was jealous of his coworkers. The nurses and medical staff, the female doctors…well, anyone really. I spent my entire relationship wondering when he would leave me for some talented, intelligent, good looking, young thing. I held on so tightly neither one of us could breathe and the relationship became toxic.
\nBy the time Mr. Virgo came along, I was looking for what I DID want in a partner…not the other way around. I held him softly, but I held myself in an ironclad fist. My second marriage did not end by my choice, so I told myself I had to be the very best version of myself…the perfect wife…with Mr. Virgo or he might leave me, too. The marriage was much, much happier…don’t get me wrong. But it was a lot of work to try to be perfect all the time. In all honesty, I have no idea what might have come of that relationship had he not passed away. I can idealize it and say it was perfect, but no relationship is absolutely perfect. Really, really great is a glorious gift.
\nBy the time Mr. FixIt came along, I was tired of being something…someONE…I was not. I knew if I ever had the opportunity to have another serious relationship and be married again, I was going to be a “what-you-see-is-what-you-get” kinda gal. Which works out really great because Mr. FixIt is a “what-you-see-is-what-you-get” kinda guy. I love our relationship because we aren’t guarded around each other. We’re easy with each other. We hold each other’s hearts, but with soft, open hands.
\nYou see, what I finally learned…and trust me, I’m a slow learner…what I finally learned was this: If you hold your love’s heart in the soft, open palm of your hand and he flies away…he was not yours to begin with. And, without the tight grip of jealousy and fear of abandonment, the relationship can breathe and grow.
\nI never once questioned Mr. Virgo’s commitment to me, yet I still held a piece of my heart tightly in my clenched fists for fear he’d leave like the last one and break my heart. It never occurred to me it would be his death that would crush me. I don’t question Mr. FixIt’s commitment either, and I haven’t held anything back. It’s liberating. Can I get crushed again. Yes, of course. But death has taught me I can survive anything so I don’t live in fear anymore. I have soft hands. And that is a much more graceful way to live.
\n❤️
\n“Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-09-05T01:30:37-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/09/05/soft-hands.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Growth","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Aging","Change","Widow","Marriage"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/09/04/the-other-side-of-fear.html", "title": "The Other Side of Fear", "content_html": "Philippians 4:5 NIV
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/36c271d072.jpg\")
“Everything you want is on the other side of fear.” Jack Canfield
I hear from a lot of widows who face fear as one of their most difficult symptoms of grief. Fear of the unknown…fear of being alone…fear of other people’s motives. Navigating grief is difficult enough on it’s own. Add fear, anxiety, and even full blown panic attacks and it ratchets grief up to an unbearable level.
\nI’ve always had a bit of an anxious nature. Anticipatory social anxiety. Commonly called “stage fright”. I’ve come a long way in learning to control it. Sometimes it bothers me. Sometimes it doesn’t. I’ve learned the things I most want to do lie on the other side of that fear, so I have to figure out ways to get through to the other side in order to find my bliss.
\nThe fear I felt early on after losing Mr. Virgo was different than my usual pre-speech jitters. It was hold-onto-the-edge-of-the-mattress-all-night awful. Through trial and error, I’ve learned a lot of skills…tools for my tool box, so to speak. If I feel myself amping up, one of the things that almost immediately calms me down is listening to praise music. If I’m singing at the top of my lungs, its really difficult to be scared.
\nI’ve had so many people tell me they would really love to take off camping or traveling by themselves but they are too scared. The bottom line any grief mentor should take is honoring what others are and are not capable of. That being said, if it really is something you want to do, there are ways you can ease into scary situations without jumping in with both feet.
\nFinding a like-minded friend to do things with can help a lot when it comes to doing new things. Taking little baby steps helps, as well. If your dream is to take a month long trip to Europe but you have panic attacks going to the grocery store, you need to desensitize yourself. Start with little excursions. A short day trip. Repeat till you’re comfortable. Then an overnight, then two…you get the idea. Getting professional help can go a long way toward building your confidence and getting down to the root of the issues you face.
\nWhen I was planning the trip to Colorado, my biggest concerns were the social obligations of my daughter’s wedding and being so far away from Mr. FixIt. Losing Mr. Virgo so suddenly brings the possibility of a repeat to the forefront of my imagination. So, yeah…that makes me nervous. The night before the trip, my stomach was in knots but I did my routine and the next morning, I was good to go. It’s not the actual DOING that bothers me…it’s the anticipation. And, sometimes I just have to do the thing and feel the fear.
\nI’m really excited about the opportunity to take this new camper around. There’s nothing about it that scares me, per se. I may have pre-trip jitters the night before. I may not. Knowing what it is, knowing how to redirect my thinking, knowing just what I need to do helps me feel less out of control and more confident in my own abilities.
\nWhat I want is often on the other side of fear, but that’s exactly what makes the experience so much richer. I know exactly what I had to get through to get there and that makes me brave! After all…so far, I have survived every single experience I’ve encountered in my life!
\n❤️
\n“Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.\"”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-09-04T01:30:51-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/09/04/the-other-side-of-fear.html", "tags": ["Faith","Health","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","God","Peace","Wisdom","Fear","Aging","Choices","Change","Widow"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/09/03/random-acts-of-kindnesssenseless-acts.html", "title": "Random Acts of Kindness...Senseless Acts of Beauty", "content_html": "Deuteronomy 31:6 ESV
![\"Kind](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/4749d18769.jpg\")
“My grandma always said you can catch a lot more flies with honey than you can with vinegar.”
About thirty years ago, a woman named Anne Herbert wrote something on a placemat in a restaurant. “Practice random acts of kindness and senseless acts of beauty.” Since then, countless posters, books, t-shirts, and movies have incorporated this idea of doing something for others…some kindness…without expecting anything in return. Things like paying for the person behind you in the drive through at the local coffee shop. Or, leaving a basket of flowers on someone’s doorstep. Or, something I like to do every once in a while….put a sticky note on a $5 bill with a note like “God loves you!”…then tuck it in a book at the library or a book store.
\nPracticing random acts of kindness didn’t start with Ms. Herbert, of course. The original practitioner was Jesus, of course…and we would do well to strive to emulate Him. Being a good person seems to be rapidly going out of style. My dad wasn’t what you would call a profound thinker, but he said one thing that always stuck with me. “Computers will be the downfall of mankind.” I think I rolled my eyes when he said that. But maybe he wasn’t so far off.
\nI don’t think it’s computers, per se, that will be the downfall of man. I think it’s how computers are used. Social media has created a monster. It’s given people a voice who may never have had one. It’s placed a filter between people….it’s created an US against THEM atmosphere. And, it has taken away the social filter of eye contact, allowing whatever vitriol that comes to mind to flow through the keyboard without repercussion. Cyber bullying isn’t limited to 8th grade girls and misunderstood emo boys.
\nI will have to say…thankfully there has been very little in the way of nastiness on this page. I won’t tolerate it and the few times it’s happened, the instigator has been blocked and the offending message deleted. That isn’t the case everywhere. It’s hard to judge the “tone” of a message when it’s written. All it takes is one “rude” comment to unleash a flood of bullying back and forth…and that’s with grown adults!
\nIt’s a new month. School is back in session. I don’t want to wait for Christmas to have the good feels. Let’s go out today and do kind things for people. If it’s not new to you, great! Keep up the good work! If it’s been a while and you’d like to rectify that situation, go out there and do something nice for someone today. And if someone does something nice for you, pay it forward.
\nWe attract to us what we dish out. If we are negative and uncaring, we just get more of the same. If we are kind and loving, there is a better chance of attracting that same kindness and love. If it doesn’t come right away…keep trying. It never hurts to spread good vibes around the world.
\n❤️
\n“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-09-03T01:30:15-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/09/03/random-acts-of-kindnesssenseless-acts.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom","Courage","Humbled","Choices","Change"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/09/02/the-tug-of-war.html", "title": "The Tug of War", "content_html": "Ephesians 4:32 ESV
![\"Angel](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/9046855216.jpg\")
“Angel on one hand, devil on the other…trying to have their way with me.”
Mr. FixIt and I haven’t had a lot of time together this summer. I was gone a lot and, even though he joined me for three weeks in Colorado, we both have been working nonstop at this and that since we got home the first week of August. Here it is September already and I’m already preparing to leave again.
\nWe miss being together and we both know the importance of devoting time to our relationship. It’s been really nice this weekend because we took three days off for some much needed R&R. When I woke up yesterday, I was tired. My allergies have been giving me fits creating fluid in my ears which sometimes makes me dizzy. I laid in bed for twenty minutes telling myself it was perfectly fine to stay home…we didn’t have to go to church. I mean…it’s just this once, right? We go almost every Sunday when we are home. That deserves a day off to sleep in. I just didn’t feel good. I didn’t feel like going.
\nAs I let these thoughts run through my mind, I was almost convinced to turn over and go back to sleep when a stern “voice” shook me from my reverie.
\n“When you don’t FEEL like going is exactly when you NEED to go!”
\nI quite literally jumped out of bed.
\nOhhhhh….my thinker was what was “sick”. Church is the place it gets healed.
\nWhen I’m thinking I don’t need to go to church is exactly when I need it the most. And yesterday, I am not kidding…church felt like plugging in my jet pack. I got fed the energy and grace and love and lessons I needed and I left there convicted. Convinced the place to feel better is to draw closer to Jesus, not turn over and go back to sleep.
\nIt’s not enough to go every Sunday and get plugged in, hoping the charge lasts till the following Sunday. That obviously didn’t work last week because I easily could have opted out. My tug of war pitted the proverbial angel on one hand and devil on the other…each trying to pull me to their side. I know I can’t ever go wrong when I choose Jesus.
\nThe key is to draw closer…constantly. The Bible says we are to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). The way to do that is to turn whatever you are doing into worship. Whether you are singing in the choir or scrubbing toilets, it can be done with a tone of worship and praise. And when we pray, we are to devote ourselves “to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving” (Colossians 4:2)
\nJust that boost, and the conviction to keep close, has given me rest and regeneration. I feel so much better and not nearly so overwhelmed by all I need to accomplish in the next two weeks. I came to the farm after church…to my place of meditation…to the home of my heart…and enjoyed a quiet evening while Mr. FixIt bowled. Today, I’ll go back home and get some work done. Perhaps I’ll pressure wash the deck!
\n❤️
\n“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-09-02T01:30:54-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/09/02/the-tug-of-war.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Hope","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","God","Peace","Wisdom","Fear","Courage","Aging","Choices","Widow"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/09/01/dining-alone.html", "title": "Dining Alone", "content_html": "Romans 12:2 NIV
![\"Dining](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/98b0114505.jpg\")
“Dining alone can be an intimidating experience when you are widowed.”
I saw her walk into the restaurant with the rest of us “early birds”. The waitress came up to her table and handed her a menu.
\n“Just one?”
\nI’m sure I’m the only one in the restaurant that saw the shadow of pain skitter across her face.
\n“Yes.”
\n“Really?”
\nsigh
\nI wanted to smack the perky waitress but decided at some point in the meal, this would become a teaching moment.
\nWhen we walked in, there were friends sitting in a booth near the front of the restaurant. They called to us to join them. The woman dining alone sat nearby. Our friends lost their son a couple of years ago. Eventually, our conversation included him…mentioning him by name, telling a funny story or two, comforting her and telling her at two years, it’s still ok to cry. It’s always ok to cry.
\nThe waitress came back to give us our check and I chose that moment to speak to the woman dining alone. We made direct eye contact.
\n“I remember the first time I went to a restaurant alone after my husband died.”
\nShe looked at me steadily. I recognized the sadness in her eyes. I sat there…many times.
\n“It doesn’t really help to be asked…’Oh…you’re alone?’ The first time I went to our favorite restaurant, I opened my iPad and pulled up my favorite picture of my husband and propped him up on the table so I didn’t feel so alone.”
\n“Yes…it’s really hard. Especially when someone comes up to you after a year and a half and asks ‘Where’s Paul?’”
\nThe waitress whirled around. It just dawned on her what had happened. She opened her mouth to say something and I quickly said, “It’s not your fault. You aren’t clairvoyant so you had no way of knowing.” But now she’ll be more aware the next time someone comes in unaccompanied.
\nAs we were leaving, I glanced over at the woman dining alone and gave her a long, knowing look and a gentle smile. She smiled back and waved.
\nGod moments. He gives us the people we need to help…and to help us.
\n❤️
\n“He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-09-01T01:30:25-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/09/01/dining-alone.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Positive Energy","Growth","Grace","God","Wisdom","Fear","Courage","Aging","Choices","Change","Widow"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/08/31/like-sands-through-the-hourglass.html", "title": "Like Sands Through the Hourglass...", "content_html": "Deuteronomy 10:18 NIV
![\"Comfort](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/7d84449dc2.jpg\")
“Sending some cheerful hugs, love and prayers to one of my dearest peeps!”
One of my dearest peeps is having a medical issue that will involve a lengthy period of medical treatments. I can’t be with her or give her hugs or bring her casseroles, so I’m doing the next best thing…I’m sending her a little “Comfort Quilt” to stuff in her tote and take to the hospital. I told her when she wraps herself up in it, she can feel my hugs and prayers because I’m putting both in it!
\nI spent yesterday afternoon at the little quilt shop in town, cutting and sewing the quilt top. The owner and I spent the time chatting and visiting with the other women who came in to shop. When they were all gone, she asked if I would mind if she turned the TV back on. The last time I was there, she had been watching quilt tutorials. I normally hate TV, but anything educational is quite tolerable.
\nImagine my surprise when she turned on…wait for it…..Days of Our Lives! I didn’t even know that was still on the air! Well, I’m here to tell you…it is. I haven’t watched soap operas since Daughter #2 was a baby. I usually watched while I folded the laundry. Here’s the crazy thing…
\nMaggie…Victor…Marlena…they’re ALL still there!!!
\nAnd they’ve been stuck in the same wine cellar since 1990!!!
\nSeriously though…other than people carrying cell phones, you wouldn’t know 29 years had passed. There was one actress on there that plays two characters…one of whom wears those false teeth that made her look like her daddy drank up all the money for her orthodontia. And she had such a grossly over-exaggerated fake southern hick accent that it was insulting. Every word she said made me want to get up and slap her for making fun of me and my people.
\nAnyway, I finished the quilt top and the shop owner will quilt it on the long arm tomorrow and I can pick it up Tuesday, sew on the binding and get it sent off with lots of love and hugs and prayers for complete healing and minimal side effects. When I get it finished, I’ll post another picture and you can send your prayers and hugs along with mine!
\nTill then…I hope you have a fun and safe Labor Day Weekend. And, if you’re in the way of the hurricane…please be careful out there!!! Prayers for your health and safety!
\n❤️
\n“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword.....No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”\nRomans 8:35, 37 NIV\n", "date_published": "2019-08-31T01:30:08-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/08/31/like-sands-through-the-hourglass.html", "tags": ["Health","Family","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Comfort","Grace","Love","Courage"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/08/29/grief-time-grief.html", "title": "GRIEF + TIME = grief", "content_html": "
![\"Grief](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/efad09dc8b.jpg\")
“Grief is a process that varies from person to person…but there are some general similarities.”
The other day I read a Tweet that stopped me in my tracks. A woman said she had cut her two best friends completely out of her life because in the entire year after her niece died, neither one of them bothered to check in with her. Her comment came after someone checked in…a full two years after her tragic loss. He texted her with a very simple message…
\n“I’m just checking in to see how you are coping after the death of your niece.”
\nSimple. To the point. And, so welcomed it brought her to tears.
\nIt prompted me to reflect. When was the last time I checked in with my friends who have lost loved ones? I get so wrapped up in my “work”, my “ministry”, with the bereaved, I forget to reach out and connect myself sometimes.
\nLast night I spent a good two hours writing quick texts to several of my peeps who had lost someone significant in the last couple of years. I heard back from them and the response was universal…”You have no idea what it means to have someone remember to ask how I’m doing!” “Thank you SO much for checking in…it means so much to me!” “My own kids don’t even want to listen!”
\nIt’s true…once a “reasonable amount of time” passes, people move on with their lives. And, unless they have been bereaved, they may not understand that you haven’t. I remember how I felt abandoned. Like no one cared anymore. That isn’t true, of course. They just don’t have a point of reference for the depth of your pain and…it would scare the crap out of them if they believed that depth of pain could possible last more than a few months.
\nThere is no way to compare your own experience with that of another. Your grief is different than my grief. And it doesn’t matter how your person died…your grief is the worst grief ever because it is your own. But truly, I’m here to tell you, there is some grief that I cannot begin to imagine. Like the mother whose son was murdered by terrorists and left to die on the roadside. Or the mother whose daughter was found dead three days after a heroin overdose. Or the wife who returned from the grocery store to find her husband dead on the back porch from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
\nThere are so many stories in the work that I do. It breaks my heart into little pieces. And, it makes me think, “If he had to die, at least it wasn’t like that!” I find myself feeling grateful it was “only a heart attack.” I didn’t have to watch him slowly fade away from the ravages of cancer.
\nAs I talked to my friend whose son was killed a little over a year ago, I thought back over the years since Mr. Virgo died. And, while there isn’t some neat and tidy delineation from year to year, there is some general sense of first, second, third, etc.
\nThe first year is such a fog. You are numb. You are just trying to get the next thing done, the next paper filed, the next account closed. Closet? Check. Accounts? Check. Cellphone? Check. The first year becomes a blur…a cross between busy and madness.
\nThe second year can be surprisingly rough…like you are standing in high tide during a storm surge. Your footing shifts like the sand beneath you in the ocean. Each wave hitting you blindly, knocking you beneath the surface. And…you can’t swim. Not even close.
\nAt some point along the way…you hear it. A little snippet of music. A little bubble of laughter. A little glimmer of color peeking through a stormy sky. And that’s when the tides begin to shift a little. The waves not quite so hard. Or…maybe we’ve become better swimmers.
\nFor me, the third year gave me a little breathing room. It was a period of exploration and self-discovery. A time of reaching out and stretching beyond my past and stepping a bit more boldly into the future.
\nThe fourth, and beyond, found me building a boat to carry me over the waves till the next storm comes.
\nI listened intently to my friend sharing her grief. I asked questions. I resisted the urge to share my experiences except to say the occasional “Yes! I get that…I felt that, too!” It was amazingly comforting to me when I found others shared some of the same things I was experiencing. At some point in our conversation, she asked…
\n”How is your life?”
\n“I feel bad sharing how wonderful my life is when yours sucks so terribly,” I said.
\n“No…don’t ever feel bad about that! Your story gives me hope!”
\nAnd that…in a nutshell…is what keeps me going. It keeps me telling stories…even when you hurt…even when I hurt. Because life keeps going on around us whether our sense of time has stopped or whether death has taken the joy from our hearts. I write about Jesus and faith. I write about grief. I write about pain. I write about love and joy and rocking babies. I write about travel, and camping, and becoming strong. I write about farms and mowing and fried green tomatoes. I write about life and all it’s little bits…both good and bad.
\nBut mostly…I write about hope.
\n❤️
\n“You are my refuge and my shield; your word is my source of hope.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-08-29T01:30:48-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/08/29/grief-time-grief.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Love","God","Wisdom","Fear","Courage","Widow"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/08/25/singing-with-jesus.html", "title": "Singing with Jesus", "content_html": "Psalms 119:114 NLT
![\"Pear](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/5ff55a8d8b.jpg\")
“Mr. FixIt says our pear trees have never produced…he thought they were ornamental. This year, they’re loaded!”
The other day I had to have a fasting blood draw for some tests. When I came out of the lab, I was humming a praise song as I walked through the lobby. “Your promise still stands…great is your faithfulness, your faithfulness.”
\nThe woman in front of me turned around and gave me a huge smile and said, “You must be really happy! I’m a singer, too. I’m always walking around singing.”
\nI smiled back. “Well, Jesus is always with me and we love to sing together.”
\nShe stopped and looked at me and said, “That’s a really good thing. I like that!”
\nYesterday was a busy day. We had our class picnic in the afternoon. Then, Mr. FixIt went to help someone with a move and I went home and mowed five acres. Then I cleaned the pool. When I mow the lawn, I use a pair of ear protectors that have Bluetooth speakers in them so I can listen to the music on my phone. I crank up my worship music and once in a while I have to laugh when I catch myself driving with one hand and praising with the other!
\nMr. FixIt came home when I was just finishing cleaning the pool. He was kind enough to deal with back flushing the pump for me so I didn’t have to keep getting out of the pool to do it. There is a decided turn in the temperatures that have put the unmistakable tinge of fall in the air. Mr. FixIt said the temp was 54 yesterday morning and very foggy when he left to work on the porch he’s building with a friend.
\nAnd today is church day…my favorite day of every single week! See you this evening for Sunday Evening Prayer Circle!
\n❤️
\n“Yet we hear that some of you are living idle lives, refusing to work and meddling in other people’s business. We command such people and urge them in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and work to earn their own living. As for the rest of you, dear brothers and sisters, never get tired of doing good.”\n\n \n", "date_published": "2019-08-25T01:30:39-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/08/25/singing-with-jesus.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","Fun","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","God","Courage","Choices","Change"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/08/20/do-you-remember-when.html", "title": "Do You Remember When.....?", "content_html": "2 Thessalonians 3:11-13 NLT
![\"Old](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/fc47069f2c.jpg\")
“Clockwise from Top Right: Phone Booth, Fireweed, Joe Pye Weed, Naked Ladies (Belladona Lily)
Mr. FixIt took the day off yesterday. I had to run a couple of errands, but I was back home by noon. The temperature was already well into the 90’s by then and I actually had the thought…”Ok, I’m done. I’m ready for FALL!” Cool, crisp days with a warm sweater, sipping a mug of cider while gazing at the changing of the leaves suddenly sounds very appealing to me. And this from a woman who hates fall because winter is right behind it. Not this year…I’m ready for this sweltering heat wave to break.
\nWe never did put the window air conditioner in the family room this summer. Mostly because we were gone a lot. And also, it didn’t get all that hot till we were ready to leave on our big trip out west. At this point, I told Mr. FixIt we should just skip that particular ordeal this year altogether. It is quite a chore getting that huge air conditioner into the window and before we know it, we won’t need it anyway. That being said, we were both tired of the heat by 5:00 so he asked me if I wanted to go for a drive with him.
\nWe love going for drives in the countryside. West Virginia has the best roads for drives and there’s always something interesting around the next bend. We kept remarking how overgrown everything is from all the rain this summer. Old abandoned houses are all but swallowed up by vines that threaten to take them by force into the woods. The Joe Pye Weed covers the roadsides with its smoky pink blossoms. Naked Ladies (Belladona Lilies) poke their heads up in the corners of rural lawns. Dark pink Fireweed mingles with Goldenrod, Queen Anne’s Lace, and Black-eyed Susans. They all look like weeds, but they are West Virginia’s cacophony of late summer wildflowers.
\nWe had no idea where we would end up. We drove past the greenhouses in Palestine and saw they are filled with baskets of mums that will bloom in October. We drove past the place where they used to produce railroad ties. Mr. FixIt said the trucks traveled by night because their loads were always way over the weight limit. He said you could tell it was the railroad ties because the heavy night air smelled of creosote long after they’d passed.
\nWe finally pulled into Spencer, West Virginia…an old town built on the backs of the oil, gas, and timber industries. There are some beautiful old houses there. At one time, the State Psychiatric Hospital was located there and if you weren’t good growing up, “you’ll get hauled off to Spencer” was fair warning to shape up. Now it’s just like any other tired, old town in the Mountain State…bored adolescent boys yelling from passing cars, bored adolescent girls giggling in the booth at Wendy’s over a series of texts and photos they were sharing. An old man climbed into a car with barely enough room for him to sit in the driver’s seat. The rest of the car was filled wall-to-wall and floor-to-ceiling with trash. Literal trash. He opened the door to the back seat and carefully placed his half-full cup of soda on top of the pile, closed the door, and got in to drive off to who knows where.
\nThe Wendy’s was impeccably clean inside so we stopped for a bite to eat before we drove on to Ripley, then past Ravenswood to Mineral Wells and on home. Mr. Fixit said it would be dark by the time we got home and he was right. I love these kind of evenings with him…away from the television, going for a drive, holding hands and laughing and telling stories. It occurred to me, one of the very best things about our relationship is…even though we’ve only been together since late 2016, we have so many memories in common. We were best friends in high school. While he lived all but a few years of his life within a 20 mile radius of where we were born, I lived two years in England and forty years in Colorado. But, I still came home for a visit every year so I had my finger on the pulse of my hometown. We lived our lives in a parallel trajectory for sixty-some years before our paths crossed for good. We have much of the same history and memories.
\nAs the sun was beginning to make it’s last glorious descent over the beautiful Ohio River, I saw this phone booth standing alone near the Wendy’s parking lot. I turned to Mr FixIt and smiled.
\n“Do you remember when…..?”
\n❤️
\n“But Mary treasured up all these things and pondered them in her heart.”\n\n \nLuke 2:19 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2019-08-20T01:30:50-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/08/20/do-you-remember-when.html", "tags": ["Family","Travel","Uplifting Stories","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Gratitude","Comfort","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Aging","Choices","Be Joyful!","Marriage"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/08/19/bowling-season-has-begun.html", "title": "Bowling Season Has Begun", "content_html": "
![\"Pink](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/6b37139a13.jpg\")
“Pink roses and strawberries…and bowling season. Somebody loves me!”
Mr. FixIt is an avid bowler. He’s been on two bowling leagues for the last thirty-five years and he enjoys it immensely. He has friends there. He has ample opportunity to talk. It’s his guy time. And, I enjoy having a couple of evenings a week to do whatever I want to do as well. Honestly, I fell asleep late in the afternoon and didn’t hear him leave. When I woke up, I caught up with my Sunday evening phone calls and chats so it was a relaxing evening.
\nWhen he arrived home, he went into the kitchen to fix something to eat and we were trying to carry on a conversation while I was in the family room. He called out, “You know…I could hear you better if you were in here with me.” Of course! Sometimes we get so wrapped up in what we’re doing, we forget the basic manners and niceties we should offer those we love most.
\nI walked into the kitchen and there on the counter was a dozen pink roses and two cartons of fresh strawberries! I am always thunderstruck when he surprises me with these lovely unexpected gifts of love.
\nI looked at him and smiled. “What’s this?”
\n“It’s been a little while since I brought you flowers. It was time.” He smiled back.
\nWhat goodness this is…this life that is sweeter than any red strawberry…softer than any pink rosebud. This is a blessing. This is God’s gift to me. This man who lifts me up and celebrates who I am. Who cheers me on and encourages me to explore and be everything I can be. This man who holds my hand in church and prays alongside me. Who holds me and comforts me when I am sick or sad. I only pray I give him this same love back every day of my life.
\nThere was so much sadness in my life after Mr. Virgo died. I swore I would never fall in love…never remarry…because the thought of going through that again was too much to bear. Then color came back into my life. And I could hear music and I could breathe and somehow I knew I could love again. I don’t know how long we have together…but it’s bowling season and I have strawberries and pink roses and my life is good.
\n❤️
\n“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”\n\n \n", "date_published": "2019-08-19T01:30:06-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/08/19/bowling-season-has-begun.html", "tags": ["Faith","Family","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Fun","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom","Aging","Choices","Change","Be Joyful!","Widow","Marriage"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/08/15/the-metamorphosis-of-grief.html", "title": "The Metamorphosis of Grief", "content_html": "Matthew 5:4 NIV
![\"Country](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/324ad776d1.jpg\")
“The Farm. Clockwise from top left: Drying the laundry on the front porch is a country thing, Elderberries, A Rose of Sharon appeared from nowhere, Life is Simple, An Appalachian Pour Over, Blue granite pan used for dipping water out of the rain barrel.
Living in the country, you see many examples of metamorphosis. Where there once was a hairy caterpillar, there becomes a moth. Where there once was a striped green worm with a spiky tail, noshing on a milkweed leaf, there becomes a monarch butterfly. Where there once was a grub with legs, crawling up a tree and developing a hard shell, it soon splits and a locust emerges to call in the autumn season…signaling it’s time for school to start.
\nJust as there is a time for everything in its season, so it is with grief. I was thinking about this yesterday while I was trimming back the wild grape vines threatening to overtake the farm. When this blog began, I was fresh in my grief. I promised you then I would be honest and speak to you from my heart about exactly what it was like…at least for me…to go through the loss of my husband. There were times when it was so painfully ugly that it had to be difficult to read. Yet, so many of you have been here from the very beginning.
\nThis blog goes through a metamorphosis every time something changes in my life. What started out as a method of pouring out my pain, morphed into learning how to navigate that. It changed and grew just as I changed and grew. It’s not just a grief blog, although there are hundreds of posts in the archives about grief. There was a time, when my grief had subsided to a nagging undercurrent, when I thought maybe I should just quit and make it all about grief. Just leave it there. But I couldn’t stop writing.
\nWriting became a part of me…as much a part of me as my hands and feet, my heart and lungs. So I decided to take you with me when I traveled, when I stepped into the dating arena, when I got married. I thought…ok, maybe I’m done now. Maybe I’ll just stop here. But, I kept living…and each new day brought a new experience, a new insight, and new lesson. And it became my devotional.
\nIn a good cake recipe, bland ingredients like flour get mixed with sweet ingredients like sugar and butter. If baked with nothing else added, you wouldn’t have cake…you’d have some hard, flat, dry cardboard. But add eggs and leavening….take your time….and mix it well….and it rises high and beautiful. My life…my stories…my experiences are the flour and sugar. The scripture at the bottom of each post…illustrating my thinking in that particular moment…that’s the leavening. The eggs. The ingredient that makes the finished product perfect.
\nI know it’s not a grief blog so much anymore, even though I touch on the topic from time to time. That’s the nature of metamorphosis. Things are always changing…even grief. The numbing pain of the first year, the sharp pain of the second year, the personal growth of my third year, the stretching of my wings in the fourth, the explorations of the fifth, and finally…being remarried in the sixth…my grief has gone through its own metamorphosis and has settled into an undercurrent. A background noise that I have become accustomed to, yet it’s still very much there.
\n❤️
\n“And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-08-15T01:30:57-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/08/15/the-metamorphosis-of-grief.html", "tags": ["Faith","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","Growth","New Ideas","Gratitude","God","Wisdom","Aging","Change","Widow"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/08/13/a-vivid-imagination.html", "title": "A Vivid Imagination", "content_html": "2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV
![\"Snow-cone](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/3818f43118.jpg\")
“The moment I saw this, I knew it was the answer to my dream!”
I was probably about ten years old when I got my first (and only) childhood bike for Christmas. I remember lusting after the sleek English racers I saw some of the bigger kids riding. Oooooo, the idea of all those gears and the trendy dropped handlebars and the hand brakes…I could just picture myself tooling around the world, peddling that bike, looking ever so sporty and sophisticated. I had a vivid imagination!
\nChristmas morning came. I jumped up out of bed in my worn and tattered flannel jammies, and ran to the living room. There, leaning on its kickstand in the middle of the living room, was a brand new shiny blue bicycle! It wasn’t an English racer. It didn’t have any bells and whistles. It was a heavy, single speed monstrosity from Sears with the label “J. C. Higgins”. It was a sturdy, reliable bike and it didn’t take me long to figure out Mom couldn’t afford that trendy bicycle. I was darned lucky to have this one and not some hand-me-down from one of my cousins.
\nI used to ride that bike all over the neighborhood. The following summer was the first time Mom let us stay home unsupervised. I played outside from first thing in the morning till I needed to be in to start supper before my folks got home from work. I remember having this intense fantasy of riding my bicycle to Canada. I envisioned panniers on the back…before I even knew what panniers were. I pictured what I would pack in there. I had read The Boxcar Children a dozen times so I knew just what I would need to survive on my own.
\nIn my ten-year-old brain, I had it all figured out. I would need money to survive so I would need to either get a job or sell something. The Christmas Wishbook from Sears arrived that fall and I ran to my room with it to figure out how I was going to raise funds for this epic adventure. And there it was! A snow-cone maker!!! My friends and I LOVED snow-cones! I figured if I had one of these babies, I could set up a stand out in front of the house and blow all those Lemonade Stands out of the water. I mean…who could resist a great snow-cone on a hot summer day, right???
\nI look back at my youthful exuberance and my little girl naïveté and smile. I was sure I would sell a gazillion snow-cones from this cute little plastic gizmo. Just as sure as I would ride my bike to Canada. Well, I never rode my bike to Canada. I didn’t get the snow-cone maker. But I’ve been on lots of adventures. And, I’ve done things I never thought I could do. And now…I’m going to get to have another GRAND adventure and they’re handing me the camper to do it in!
\nBelieve me…I know how blessed I am to get this opportunity. Between now and the middle of September when I pick it up, I need to plan out an epic road trip. I’m thinking it would be really awesome to combine this with several Meet & Greets and get a chance to meet you wonderful “Ranchers” along the way! I’m just in the formulating stage but I’m thinking this could turn out to be….
\nGinny McKinney’s R-Pod-196 Adventure!
\nStay tuned to Marshmallow Ranch for details as plans fall into place!!!
\n❤️
\n“For nothing will be impossible with God.\"”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-08-13T01:30:30-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/08/13/a-vivid-imagination.html", "tags": ["Family","Travel","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","The Grand Adventure","Fun","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Peace","Humbled","Choices","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/08/12/theres-an-adventure-coming.html", "title": "There’s an Adventure Coming...", "content_html": "Luke 1:37 ESV
![\"Adventure\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/58fb4a1326.jpg\")
“Where will my next adventure take me???”
I’ve been hinting at an adventure coming up for me this fall and now I can tell you a little more about it. The manufacturer of the R-Pod has just come out with a totally new design…the Model 196. This is the first redesign Forest River has done in the ten years since the R-Pod was first released. And, Forest River has very generously donated the very first Model 196 R-Pod off the line to the Girl Campers for our annual trailer raffle!!! Isn’t that exciting???
\nMy good friend, Janine Pettit, will receive the camper in the next couple of weeks. She will be putting a Girl Camper spin on it with some beautiful interior decor. Then, the camper goes to the Hershey RV Show. Janine and I will be at the show on September 14th for a meet and greet and to show off our Girl Camper version of the new R-Pod. After that, we head to Setzer’s RV in Huntington, WV for the big reveal!
\nAt that point, I take over and get to pull this camper wherever I want till the end of January…which of course means I’ll just HAVE to go where it’s warm over the winter! (And, yes…Mr. FixIt gets to come along…for at least part of the trip!) Stay tuned for lots of fun and excitement in the coming months! In the meantime, here is a sneak peek at the “before” in a video Janine made at the Forest River factory. This is a gorgeous camper and I can hardly wait to get her out there on the open road!!!
\nhttps://www.facebook.com/janine.pettit.5/videos/10157250788233444?s=1219785470&sfns=mo
\n❤️
\n“For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”\n\n \n", "date_published": "2019-08-12T01:30:05-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/08/12/theres-an-adventure-coming.html", "tags": ["Travel","Uplifting Stories","Strong Women","Positive Energy","Camping","Fun","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Peace","Courage","Girl Camper","Girl Campers","Writing","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/08/11/a-farm-girl-at-heartsans.html", "title": "A Farm Girl at Heart...sans Shoes", "content_html": "Psalm 91:11-12 NIV
![\"Sitting](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/ef215888e2.jpg\")
‘Sitting on the tailgate of my truck…drinking coffee and soaking up summer!”
I hate wearing shoes. I know it’s so stereotypically West Virginian, but I do not wear shoes unless I absolutely have to. Mr. FixIt emptied the truck yesterday morning so I went out with my mug of coffee and sat on the tailgate, contemplating my bare feet and the beautiful sounds of an August day in the country.
\nIt wasn’t long after I finished my morning brew when I heard Mr. FixIt start up the push mower and I knew it was time to get to work. I ran to town to fill up the gas cans. Once I got back home, I hooked up my headphones and hopped on the riding mower. It could have waited till Monday, growth-wise. But the next two days are supposed to be 95 degrees and rainy. So, you know what they say...you gotta make hay when the sun shines!\nI love watching the seasons changing here in my home state. Some of the trees already have some yellowing leaves on them. And you can tell a difference in the texture of the grass at this time of year. It’s tougher and harder to weed eat. I left home the 27th of June. There was a whole lot of growth between then and now and there are a lot of branches hanging over the edge of the fields. I’m going to have to get out there with the loppers again.
\nAs soon as I got home the other night, I could just feel the stress leave my shoulders and neck. I can sit outside and listen to the night sounds instead of the constant hum of traffic in the background. As I sat basking in the velvet night air, I thought over all the places we saw over the last several weeks. It was such a wonderful vacation. And, as always, it’s both good to be home and sad that it’s over.
\n❤️
\n“The priest answered them, “Go in peace. Your journey has the Lord’s approval.””\n\n", "date_published": "2019-08-11T01:30:44-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/08/11/a-farm-girl-at-heartsans.html", "tags": ["Travel","Uplifting Stories","Positive Energy","Camping","The Grand Adventure","Fun","West Virginia","Growth","New Ideas","Gratitude","goRVing","Peace","Girl Camper","Girl Campers","Change","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/08/08/nana-papaw-baby-boo.html", "title": "Nana \u0026 Papaw \u0026 Baby Boo!", "content_html": "Judges 18:6 NIV
![\"Great](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/28b36da160.jpg\")
“Nana needed some baby snuggles before we went home!”
We made it back to West Virginia, safe and sound..thank you, God! But, we absolutely couldn’t go home without seeing the baby! Our little great grandson arrived nearly two weeks ago and we stopped to get a snuggle. Oh, he’s so sweet! We had the bonus of our great granddaughter visiting as well!
\nI have to tell you…we are so tired. I drove all but the last 20 miles after we stopped to see the baby. Just over 5400 miles since June 27th! I figured out the other day, I have been home exactly four days since June 5th. I knew this was going to be a busy summer but this is a little crazy!
\nTomorrow’s another day. But for now…I’ve got to get some sleep. We’re both whupped!
\n❤️
\n“In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, Lord, make me dwell in safety.” Psalm 4:8 NIV\n", "date_published": "2019-08-08T01:30:56-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/08/08/nana-papaw-baby-boo.html", "tags": ["Family","Travel","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Gratitude","Love","Peace","Aging","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/08/03/basking-in-the-glow-of.html", "title": "Basking in the Glow of Family", "content_html": "
![\"Sunset](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/b7073fee5b.jpg\")
“The sun goes down on the evening before my baby’s wedding. My heart is full!”
Last night was amazing. Every fear and trepidation I had beforehand dissipated as soon as we pulled into the driveway at Hubby #2’s house. He was so gracious, as was his wife. Their house is stunning. Their dogs are the sweetest things. Daughter #1 and her family were there when we arrived and soon after, my sister- and brother-in-law arrived from Utah. Oh, my gosh! It was so exciting to see them all!
\nJust before dinner, my daughter and her fiancée arrived and we were a complete family. My brother enjoyed everyone and joined in the conversations. It really was perfect. What I learned from this: When you hand things over to God to take care of…you have to let go of it. I knew as I was driving over from Glenwood Springs…this was going to be good. This was going to be very, very good.
\nAfter dinner, Daughter #2 came to me and said, “Mama…I have something for you to do tomorrow. You’re in charge of this…and making sure he has a seat at my wedding.”
\nWith that she handed me a framed photo of Mr. Virgo. She was very close to her stepfather and losing him was so hard on her. The suddenness of seeing his smiling face…so totally unexpected…took my breath away and I started crying. I wasn’t the only one. It was a very special moment and it still makes me tearful as I write this. What a beautiful gesture…what a beautiful God moment….what love…what treasures I have in this family.
\nMy baby is getting married today. My heart is so full! Thank you Jesus for every gift you have given me in this life!
\n❤️
\n“Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away. If one were to give all the wealth of one’s house for love, it would be utterly scorned.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-08-03T01:30:27-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/08/03/basking-in-the-glow-of.html", "tags": ["Faith","Colorado","Family","Travel","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Strong Women","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom","Forgiveness","Courage","Choices","Be Joyful!","Widow","Marriage","Wedding"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/08/02/no-worse-for-the-wear.html", "title": "No Worse for the Wear", "content_html": "Song of Songs 8:6-7 NIV
![\"Old](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/80978dfcd7.jpg\")
“While once sleek and shiny, these vehicles still hold a deep beauty.”
We left Ridgway yesterday saying goodbye to our friends, Linda and Jim. We both choked up…goodbyes have always been difficult for me ever since I lost Mr. Virgo. We just don’t know if and when we will meet again and it tears at my heartstrings. I know Linda loves Colorado, but deep down, she has that Ohio farm girl in there somewhere. I loved watching her as she listened to Mr. FixIt’s unmistakable West Virginia accent and she was transported back over the years and the miles to the home of her youth.
\nEven though we didn’t go to the same high school with Linda, we know many of the same people…one of whom is Jeff. He and his wife Julie moved to the Ridgway area a couple of years ago. It’s funny how the webs of friendship cross over. Linda and Jeff were both friends with Cindy (a girl from my class) and that’s how they connected. I am friends with Cindy and that’s how Linda connected with me and the connection with Jeff was made through Linda and because he was on the boy’s gymnastics team while I competed with the girl’s team the same year. And….Mr. FixIt was on that same team with Jeff! See what a teeny tiny world it is? Jeff and Julie joined us for dinner at Linda’s Wednesday night. Mr. FixIt hadn’t seen Jeff in forty-eight years. There were lots of stories and laughs and we all had a grand time.
\nWe drove north out of Ridgway, through Montrose and Olathe (home of Olathe Sweet Corn) and on to Delta. I kept my eyes peeled for a place I found when I was on “The Grand Adventure”…that three month odyssey into the wilderness and backroads after Mr. Virgo died. It’s just a vacant lot on the main drag that’s filled with old, broken down cars and trucks. I don’t know why it attracted me that first time, but I couldn’t wait to show Mr. FixIt.
\nWe were almost to our turnoff to head east over McClure Pass when I saw them. Red vehicles…either from the faded and flaked paint or the rust beneath. Some had their hoods strapped down. Others had holes in the glass from years of being the target of vandals or the errant stone thrown back in the day when they motored down the highways of old. Mr. FixIt caught his breath.
\n“Oh, wow! Would you look at that!” A smile crept across his face and his eyes sparkled like a little boy who just found the coolest treasure stuck on a dusty shelf. I immediately pulled over and threw the truck in park. We jumped out and walked up and down the rows of derelict automobiles resting on their rims because of long ago rotted and airless tires. We peeked in through hazy windows at the scraps of stuffing clinging to the old and rusted springs of the seats inside.
\n“Oh, look! Is that a Nash? A Studebaker? What’s this one? Ford used to make a Cortina. Do you suppose that’s what this one is?” This went on and on as we dodged the large mud holes formed from the afternoon storms we’ve been getting and made our way through the maze of cars.
\nAs I looked at these rusted out hulks, I thought about beauty being in the eye of the beholder. I have to be perfectly honest…I’ve had some trepidation about the wedding this weekend. My daughter’s dad lives in a world I no longer belong to. He’s a doctor, and consequently lives like a doctor in a fine house. With fine friends. And a fine wife. Fine furnishings. Fine food. A fine life. I used to circle in that orbit, although I never really felt a part of that world, although I tried very hard to make myself fit in.
\nI have to admit. I’ve let myself be a little self conscious about my comfortable tummy and my jelly thighs and my granny-wing upper arms knowing ever so painfully how that was judged by those in that orbit. I’ve been praying about it a lot. And God whispered to me as I wandered amongst these vehicles what were once sleek and shiny and new.
\n“You don’t have to fear that world. You don’t have to feel bad for the way you fit in your body all comfy-like. You don’t have to concern yourself with what anyone else thinks of you….just remember I love you. Completely. Just the way you are. Just love them all the way I love you.”
\nYou see…the very act of feeling self conscious and judged puts me in a place where I’m being the judge. I don’t know what’s in their hearts and minds. A lot of water has gone under the bridge since those days so long ago when I circled around that orbit. It’s a foreign land to me now. I have no reason to feel “less than” anyone. I can walk right in, on the arm of a man I adore and who adores me right back. We’ve created a life that fits us perfectly and we’re perfectly happy.
\nIt’s all about love, trust, letting go, and letting God take care of the details. I’m comfortable in this life, this body…no matter where I go or who I run into. None of this is about me anyway. It’s totally about my daughter and her joy anyway. Yes…it’s all about love!
\n❤️
\n“Yet you, Lord, are our Father. We are the clay, you are the potter; we are all the work of your hand. Do not be angry beyond measure, Lord; do not remember our sins forever. Oh, look on us, we pray, for we are all your people.” Isaiah 64:8-9 NIV\n \n", "date_published": "2019-08-02T01:30:06-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/08/02/no-worse-for-the-wear.html", "tags": ["Faith","Family","Travel","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom","Forgiveness","Courage","Aging","Choices","Change","Be Joyful!","Widow","Wedding"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/07/29/abundance.html", "title": "Abundance", "content_html": "
![\"Weminuche](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/d11d631cee.jpg\")
“Heading into the Weminuche Wilderness”
Joyful abundance! Mr. FixIt is such a great traveler. I love showing him places he hasn’t seen. As a matter of fact, he told me the other night his neck hurts from swiveling back and forth, trying to take it all in. We arrived in Pagosa Springs on Friday afternoon. This is where Mr. Virgo and I lived in 2008. He was the General Manager for a 4200 acre luxury resort here and I did the marketing and catering. It was a short-lived position as our job was to try to turn their losses into profits and try as we might, it was not to be. This is the nature of being a fixer. If you can’t, they close and you lose your job. If you can, they sell and you lose your job. We didn’t really expect to be there long term.
\nPagosa Springs is a gorgeous area and I enjoyed the rugged beauty of it. I did not like the short summer, long winter, and gobs of snow. So I was just as happy to get out of there and move on. Still, it is someplace I wanted Mr. FixIt to see and experience. We went out for a wonderful breakfast yesterday morning then headed to the backroads. Mr. Virgo and I used to spend every day off exploring the many dirt roads in the Weminuche Wilderness. This is where I came when I started my grief journey in Little TOW-Wanda. I carried strands of Mr. Virgo’s silver hair into the dense woods above Williams Lake and buried them at the base of a tree, affixing a cross to mark the spot.
\nWe didn’t walk back into the woods yesterday. That wasn’t part of the deal. That was mine…my memory. As a matter of fact, as we drove deeper and deeper into the woods, I felt Mr. Virgo so strongly…as if he were gliding along with us. I told Mr. FixIt story after story. Here’s where we worked. Here’s where we shopped. Here’s where we loved to eat dinner. There’s the car wash where they had to unfreeze the doors so we could get out. That little bakery has the best pastries. This restaurant has the best coffee. My sweet husband held my hand and smiled and nodded and encouraged me to share because he knows this helps me heal and move forward.
\nThen…in the middle of the afternoon, we found out…great grandchild #3 is on the way!!! Another little boy…arriving in January!!!
\nMy heart is about to explode! THIS!!! This is what I so very nearly lost in January 2000 when I overdosed. At the time, my world was so small, so dark, so difficult and I couldn’t see anything beyond that darkness. And now…look at this! My world is so blessed with such abundance and joy, I can hardly contain myself! Babies! The Wedding! My sweet husband! My wonderful family! My health! My heart!
\nThank you…..thank you dearest Heavenly Father…for healing my family…for healing me…for giving me Mr. Virgo to show me I was worthy of earthly love…for giving me Mr. FixIt for helping me through the most difficult period of my life…and for this tremendous family, mine and his, that brings our numbers up and up and up! I’m so high on life, you have to scrape me off the clouds!
\n❤️
\n“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-07-29T01:30:54-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/07/29/abundance.html", "tags": ["Faith","Health","Family","Travel","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Hope","Positive Energy","Fun","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom","Forgiveness","Humbled","Aging","Change","Be Joyful!","Widow","Marriage"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/07/27/there-but-for-the-grace.html", "title": "There But For the Grace of God", "content_html": "1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NIV
![\"Mudslide](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/4704c77ab5.jpg\")
“Yesterday’s mudslide west of Glenwood Springs.”
I had two epiphanies yesterday. The first was the full realization that I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be. On occasion, I wonder in the back of my mind if it was the right thing to do selling my house. I sometimes wonder if I should have kept it and rented it out for income. Then, we drove through Glenwood Springs yesterday…on a Friday afternoon…on Mountain Fair Weekend. It. Was. Insane!
\nThe second epiphany was this: As we drove into town, it was early afternoon and I was going through a mental list of things to do in the area. I looked up at the gondola going up to the Glenwood Adventure Park and thought that would be fun. But the clouds coming over the Flat Tops Wilderness Area were very dark and I knew rain was coming. Scratch that idea. My next thought was to see if my friend Terri was around in New Castle so I could introduce her to Mr. Fixit. Again…I looked at those ominous clouds and I just got a cold chill. We would have to go through South Canyon to get there and I was definitely being told not to go there.
\nInstead, we turned south and headed to Carbondale. I couldn’t reach my friends who are camping in the area so I found, and took, the last hotel room available in the area. And believe me, they were charging premium prices for rooms. We are at the peak of tourist season and the hotels have to make hay while the sun shines. The rates are double…or more…what they were two years ago when we traveled through here at the same time of the year.
\nIt wasn’t twenty minutes after I decided to turn south that an emergency road bulletin came over my phone. The very road I was contemplating going over was now completely impassable with a mud and rock slide in South Canyon. If I hadn’t heeded that nudge, we would have been sitting right in the middle of it!
\nOn top of all the rest of the crazy traffic, the interstate was closed because of the mudslide and they directed the west bound traffic down through Carbondale…during rush hour…and the opening of the Carbondale Mountain Fair! It took us forty-five minutes to go two miles. I don’t ever want to live in that kind of congestion again!
\n![\"Traffic\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/ffb37d2eac.jpg\")
“Traffic being rerouted by the mudslide.”
I don’t know if it’s the fact I’ve been living a peaceful life on five acres in West Virginia, or if it’s the fact that there are a gazillion people trying to cram into a small space and have fun, but I just couldn’t take the crowds and busy, and traffic, and noise. I know I did the right thing selling my house and I am exactly WHERE I am supposed to be…and with WHOM.
\nToday, we head over Independence Pass and down through the Collegiate Peaks. Mr. Fixit is truly enjoying the scenery and that makes me very happy!
\n❤️
\n““Consider carefully what you hear,” he continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-07-27T01:30:20-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/07/27/there-but-for-the-grace.html", "tags": ["Faith","Travel","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Gratitude","Grace","God","Wisdom","Warning","Choices"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/07/26/road-trippin.html", "title": "Road Trippin’", "content_html": "Mark 4:24 NIV
![\"Loveland](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/1051e28824.jpg\")
“Views from Loveland Pass”
We got a slow start yesterday. We cleaned out the truck and packed, checked and rechecked to make sure we had everything, then almost pulled away without my brother’s package we waited for. Once we retrieved that, we were on our way! We drove over to the west side of town, down through Golden, then out Clear Creek Canyon and picked up I-70 at Idaho Springs. I love starting out my trips that way. The canyon immediately makes you feel like you’re in the mountains and you don’t have to run the gauntlet that is Floyd Hill.
\nWe exited the interstate just before the Eisenhower Tunnel and took Route 6 over Loveland Pass. We have a function on our GPS that tells you what your elevation is. It was right on…11,995 feet at the top of the pass. We stopped and took lots of pictures along the way. It was so much fun to play tourist and show Mr. FixIt some of the hidden beauty of Colorado.
\nWe dropped down into Keystone then on into Frisco. I was hoping the weather would be cooperative and we could check out the chuck wagon dinner at Two Below Zero, but it was really cool and rainy so we decided to try another time. We walked the streets of Frisco, checked out the little shops, and ate dinner at Bread + Salt. I wasn’t overly impressed, but I was hungry so it was ok.
\nThis is a Gypsy trip…one without reservations, except for the wedding stay. We sat in the truck and browsed the hotel.com app and chose a hotel in Keystone with a really reasonable price. $76…but with taxes and fees it was $92. Welcome to tourism in Colorado. The room was perfectly fine. The beds were comfy and clean, there wasn’t an exceptional amount of noise, and there’s a complimentary breakfast. You can’t beat that when you consider most of the others in the tourist towns here are upwards of $200 a night.
\nThe biggest problem that occurred was when I went to check in. I cannot find my driver’s license anywhere. I’ve searched through everything. The last time I remember having it was at the Quick Care on the 22nd. I called them and the pharmacy and they don’t have it. So now I have to see if I can get a replacement sent to me here. It’s not the end of the world and it certainly won’t ruin my fun. But I am frustrated that I’ve misplaced it.
\nI have no idea where we’ll end up today, but no matter where it is, it will be beautiful! Colorado has some stunning scenery!!! Oh…and please send up a little prayer for our family that is scheduled to grow in the next day or two. Our great grandson will make his debut in West Virginia and we can’t be there to welcome him. Prayers for a safe delivery and a healthy, happy baby, mama, and daddy!
\n❤️
\n“If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-07-26T01:30:44-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/07/26/road-trippin.html", "tags": ["Colorado","Family","Travel","Hope","Positive Energy","Fun","Gratitude","Love","God","Peace","Marriage"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/07/25/a-glimpse-of-heaven.html", "title": "A Glimpse of Heaven", "content_html": "1 Corinthians 13:2 NIV
![\"A](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/feef1d3d12.jpg\")
“A Glimpse of Heaven in the Colorado Night Sky”
I knew this would happen. I blinked and a month flew by. I left on this journey exactly four weeks ago. Time is such a weird thing after loss. On the one hand…it flies. On the other…it stands still. I got some quality time with my Colorado family. Mr. FixIt has been here almost two weeks already. The package I’ve been expecting for my brother arrived yesterday so now we can pack up and go off on a little adventure on our own before the wedding.
\nGrandma L. is still hanging in there. She is such a strong woman. She rallies and fades, rallies and fades. They moved her from her apartment at assisted living to a skilled nursing facility on Monday. She had a dream on Tuesday night. At least, she thinks it was a dream. She was lying in bed and her legs felt like stone. But then, she was standing up…strong and vital. She looked around it was so glorious. She saw a crevice and knew she was supposed to jump over it. She knew she COULD. She didn’t see Grandpa right off, but she knew she could find him easily. Instead, she decided to come back and tell us all how absolutely peaceful and grand it is. I love that she could see it all so clearly and she isn’t afraid.
\nI know she might pass away while we are gone, but I didn’t want to wear her out by adding to the number of visitors going to see her. There are other closer relatives who need to spend time with her. I was able to hug on her last Saturday at her birthday party and she absolutely knows how I feel about her. Her absence will leave a gaping hole for quite some time in the lives of those who knew and loved her.
\nWe all went out for supper last night after they moved everything out of Grandma’s apartment at the assisted living place. There were twelve of us. As I walked back to the table with my food, I paused for a moment and gazed over this beautiful family my daughter was so fortunate to marry into. Another part of my bonus family. We are so blessed…with kids and their kids and us grandparents. We are becoming the matriarchs. I thought it would take longer.
\nMr. FixIt and I will head out today for a week of touring the state. We were supposed to do this with the camper, but it’ll all work out without it. I love showing him places he’s never been! So…here we go on another road trip, y’all. Hang on!
\n❤️
\n“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-07-25T01:30:08-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/07/25/a-glimpse-of-heaven.html", "tags": ["Faith","Colorado","Family","Travel","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom","Courage","Aging","Choices","Change","Widow"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/07/22/finding-hope.html", "title": "Finding Hope", "content_html": "2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NIV
![\"Rainbow\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/3b25e386f0.jpg\")
“God’s promise.”
There have been so many times in my life when I felt I had no hope. I didn’t know about spiritual warfare. I didn’t know the enemy was the one whispering the lies about me into my heart and mind. My life had long stretches of darkness and it wasn’t until I became a Christian that I started to see light at the end of the tunnel.
\nWe went to church yesterday and took Little with us. We sat with our friend Rick and his wife Connie. The pastor is preaching a series on the elements and yesterday was about the wind. And hope. He focused on Ezekiel and the valley of the dry bones. As far as Ezekiel could see, the valley floor was covered with dry, sun-bleached bones. This represented the dried up, faithless Israelites. The Lord asked Ezekiel to speak to the dry bones. To tell them to listen to the Word of the Lord. When he did this, the bones started to rattle and come together. Tendons and muscle and skin formed and soon, they looked like you and me. But they had no life. No inner spark of hope. When Ezekiel told God he had only been halfway successful, God breathed his breath upon the bodies and they came alive and rose as a mighty army.
\nI know what those bodies felt like. I was dry and sun-bleached in my bones for such a long time. And, when I surrendered, God blew His breath…His Spirit…into me and I rose up like a mighty warrior. Whenever I begin to feel less hopeful, I look for the wind. Mr. FixIt remarked the other day…it never seems terribly hot here in Colorado. Even when the temperature nears triple digits. The reason is two-fold. The humidity is low. And there is always a breeze. You can feel it across the hairs on your arms. And when a wisp of your hair blows across your face. You can see it in the trees and grasses of the field. You can watch it even high above the earth as the clouds in the sky scud along.
\nWhen I look for the wind, I can see the breath of God as he works over us…his children. Even when I don’t see God’s promises in my current circumstances, I know He is there…working in the background. Even in my darkest moments…during the years of depression and the overdose, during a painful divorce, during the grief I suffered after losing Mr. Virgo…He was feverishly working to turn these terrible situations into something He could use for His Glory.
\nFinding hope in today’s world can be so terribly difficult. It is easy to lose hope and see no way out. If you can just remember to feel the wind on your skin and focus on some good thing in your life, you can ignite hope within your soul. Even the smallest ember can be fanned into a flame when you seek and use the Breath of God.
\n❤️
\n“The hand of the Lord was on me, and he brought me out by the Spirit of the Lord and set me in the middle of a valley; it was full of bones. He led me back and forth among them, and I saw a great many bones on the floor of the valley, bones that were very dry. He asked me, “Son of man, can these bones live?” I said, “Sovereign Lord, you alone know.” Then he said to me, “Prophesy to these bones and say to them, ‘Dry bones, hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.’ ” So I prophesied as I was commanded. And as I was prophesying, there was a noise, a rattling sound, and the bones came together, bone to bone. I looked, and tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin covered them, but there was no breath in them. Then he said to me, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Come, breath, from the four winds and breathe into these slain, that they may live.’ ” So I prophesied as he commanded me, and breath entered them; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army. Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’ ””\n\n \n", "date_published": "2019-07-22T01:30:13-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/07/22/finding-hope.html", "tags": ["Faith","Health","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom","Courage","Presence","Choices","Change","Be Joyful!","Monday Morning Motivation"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/07/21/one-small-step.html", "title": "One Small Step", "content_html": "Ezekiel 37:1-14 NIV
![\"Apollo](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/717a3ae0b7.jpg\")
“One small step…”
It was a sultry summer night…Sunday, July 20, 1969. We had been watching the news over the previous week or so about the astronauts that were going to walk on the moon. I was all of sixteen…that magical age where you’re caught somewhere between Barbies and boys. We didn’t have screens on the windows but it was too hot to leave them closed. We absentmindedly swatted away the mosquitoes as we ate ice cream and stared at the flickering grey screen.
\nHippies were preparing for Woodstock. Giggling teenagers were having slumber parties. We were rolling our hair on juice cans and wearing bellbottomed jeans. We popped our gum and knew all about Archie and Veronica’s exploits. Dad would complain about the “yippies” next door playing their drums too loud and the cars that went too fast up our dirt street. A couple of times a week, a Jeep would drive up the road spraying DDT into the neighborhood to keep the mosquito population down to a reasonable level. And once a month or so, a different truck would come and spray oil or tar down on the dusty dirt. The first day out after they sprayed, our bare feet would be covered with a half inch think glob of sandy tar turning our soles into…well, soles.
\nIt was the summer of love. My foster sister was going to school all summer in Athens to get a certificate for preschool education. She wrote me long letters and on the back of each envelope she drew a picture of a bunny and wrote “God Bless Pink Summers ‘69” in an arc above its head. The war in Vietnam was cranking up, but we were young and in love with ourselves and life in general. War was something that happened so far away, it didn’t seem to have anything to do with us. But, in all actuality, we were living in difficult, tumultuous times in this country. We were just too young to really understand it all.
\nAnd now, here we were in a darkened room, sweat trickling down our backs, waiting for Neil Armstrong to take “one small step for [a] man…one giant leap for mankind.” I remember being absolutely mesmerized by this amazing feat. This was one of those landmark moments in time. A moment when there was a before and after and nothing would be the same again. It was a unifying event and we all held our collective breath in the moment.
\nHere it is…fifty years later. Where did that time go? It seems I blinked and now I have great grandchildren. I’m feeling particularly nostalgic because I am here with my Colorado family. Yesterday we celebrated the 90th birthday of the matriarch of my son-in-law’s family. Grandma’s health has been failing this week but by golly, she rallied yesterday and seventeen of us gathered to shower her with our love and ate strawberry shortcake…her all time favorite. Afterwards, we left Grandma to get some rest and went out to dinner at The Old Spaghetti Factory.
\nIt was one of those days we will remember always…when Grandma’s sun was shining and the moon echoed with the memories of another hot summers’ night, so long ago.
\n❤️
\n“it will be established forever like the moon, the faithful witness in the sky.”” Psalm 89:37 NIV\n", "date_published": "2019-07-21T01:30:08-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/07/21/one-small-step.html", "tags": ["Family","Travel","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Peace","Wisdom","Humbled","Aging","Change"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/07/20/hand-it-over.html", "title": "Hand it Over", "content_html": "
![\"2](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/45c9d08a2f.jpg\")
“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline. 2 Timothy 1:7”
I have struggled with anxiety all of my life. It’s so, so frustrating because I know what it is. I know the feelings are real, but they stem from thoughts. I have a whole toolbox of techniques that I’ve used over the years…some helpful, some decidedly harmful, all of them ineffective to a large degree. It wasn’t until I started studying the Bible looking for answers that I have begun to find some semblance of relief.
\nI was reading a devotional about anxiety and fear this week and came across something I had never read before but it really struck home. It talked about a secondary effect of anxiety becoming “a fear of fear itself”. That sums it up so distinctly. I really HATE feeling afraid…to the point of fearing the fear. Suddenly, it just all seemed so ridiculous.
\nThe Bible talks a lot about fear and anxiety. So much so that it is apparent these feelings are prevalent in all humans to some degree. For years…decades…I felt weird about my anxiety. Like there was something wrong with me. That I was somehow flawed and no one else had these feelings. Knowing I’m not alone…even Joshua and Mary and countless others were told by God to not be afraid. That is so comforting to me.
\nI am excited about the upcoming wedding in two weeks. I’m thrilled for my daughter and her happiness. And, it’s hard to tease out the difference between the butterflies of excitement and the quaking of anxiety. It affects me physically the same and my mind can easily take off on a wild tangent which isn’t anywhere I really want to go.
\nThis most recent Bible study I read says whenever the first feelings of anxiety or fear begin to come into your mind, think of a praise instead. Turn on praise music. Sing a praise song. Thank Jesus for waking you up this morning. What I’ve been doing is telling God about all the beautiful things we’re going to do the day of the wedding. I’ve been telling Him about the pretty dresses the girls are wearing. And all the people we’re going to see that we love and don’t get to see often enough. I’ve invited Him to come along with me and to be there right alongside each of us.
\nThere’s so much in life that can change plans at the last minute. There are illnesses in families or some other unforeseen circumstances that you can’t predict. It doesn’t help to be nervous or worried, but it’s hard not to be. As Jesus said, God takes care of the birds and the fields…surely He’ll take good care of us…even in our worst moments.
\nI hand things over…repeatedly. And, it does get easier and easier to remember to give it to God first before I let my mind jump on the worry train and go off the rails. There will always be something you can worry about. That’s how the enemy steals your joy. And, there are situations in life that you can’t help but let affect you. Things like watching a loved one decline. Losing someone or something special. An unexpected diagnosis or financial difficulty. God wants to walk those paths with you. Reach out your hand and take His. He’s so much bigger than anything that troubles you.
\n❤️
\n“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-07-20T01:30:30-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/07/20/hand-it-over.html", "tags": ["Faith","Health","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Strong Women","Positive Energy","Growth","Grace","God","Peace","Wisdom","Fear","Courage","Humbled","Choices","Change"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/07/15/a-celebration.html", "title": "A Celebration", "content_html": "Philippians 4:6-7 NIV
![\"Celebrating\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/2806442ba2.jpg\")
“Celebrating a love…and a life.”
When Mr. FixIt and I got married last October, it was really a rather spur of the moment decision. I didn’t wan’t my kids to have to spend money to come out for the wedding when we were planning a trip to Colorado this summer anyway. So, I told them we would just have a dinner together with those we love and celebrate that way.
\nYesterday was our day to celebrate our wedding with our Colorado peeps. Daughter #1 organized it and we had fourteen people over for the same menu we served at the actual wedding…pulled pork sandwiches, coleslaw, chips, and drinks. In lieu of a wedding cake, and the fact that we all need to fit in our pretty dresses in three weeks for Daughter #2’s wedding, we had fruit salad instead of cake.
\nIt was wonderful to have our loved ones around us. I really wanted them to spend some time with Mr. FixIt and get to know him better…and vice versa. It was such a lovely day and everyone had a great time. And, today is my daughter and son-in-law’s 24th Weddiing Anniversary! Remembering that beautiful day and hoping they have many, many more!
\nI am so blessed to have these wonderful people in my life.
\nI ended the day with a note of sadness, however. I found out a sweet friend of mine died after a ten year struggle with cancer. Rae Ann and I connected six years ago after I joined Sisters on the Fly. She was the only Sister in my area. Rae Ann had an infectious laugh, a gravely voice, and was the best storyteller. She could make your sides split without even trying. I had the very good fortune of camping with her several times. The last time was after she found out her cancer could not be cured. She taught me so much about living the life you have to the fullest. She was camping and kayaking up to the last couple of weeks of her life. She will be dearly missed by all who knew and loved her. Rest in peace, Rae Ann. You were a shining example of living in the moment and I celebrate your life today!
\n❤️
\n“Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, \"I will never leave you nor forsake you.\"”\n\n \n", "date_published": "2019-07-15T01:30:49-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/07/15/a-celebration.html", "tags": ["Colorado","Family","Strong Women","Sisters on the Fly","Positive Energy","Fun","Gratitude","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Warning","Choices","Change","Be Joyful!","Widow","Marriage"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/07/13/revisiting-memories.html", "title": "Revisiting Memories", "content_html": "Hebrews 13:5 ESV
![\"Drum](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e517053898.jpg\")
“Daughter #2…Marching to her own drum!”
When Daughter #2 was thirteen years old, she and I took off for a three week road trip. It was epic. She was not only in that early teenager mode. We were also working on repairing the damage done from years of depression and too many prescriptions and martinis…not to mention the overdose. It took a lot out of our relationship.
\nWhen I arrived in Denver this visit, the ultimate goal is the wedding. My baby is getting married. My little Moon Pie. Only, she’s a full grown woman…out on her own…thriving…dancing to her own drum, as always. We saw each other the day after I got here and spent several hours visiting and dining out. She made me promise we would do one special thing…just the two of us…before the wedding.
\nShe wanted to go antiquing.
\nI couldn’t believe my ears. Antiquing? This poor kid was dragged, kicking and screaming, into every antique store in West Virginia, I think. And several between there and Colorado. I loved going to antique stores. She did not. So, this was new. I asked her what brought on this miraculous transformation.
\n“I don’t know. Just…suddenly, I find myself looking at antiques online. For fun.”
\nLadies and gentleman…there IS life after adolescence!!!
\nSo, yesterday was our antiquing adventure. We started out by having lunch with Daughter #1, Big, and Little. Oh…if you have children, you know what that did to my heart…sitting there with my Colorado kids! ❤️melt After lunch, Daughter #2 and I went to the Brass Armadillo off I-70 and Kipling.
\nWe walked in and she stopped in her tracks. Her eyes widened, her mouth dropped open, and she gasped.
\n“This place is HUGE!”
\nYes, my girl…it is!
\nWe wandered around for three hours. She kept grabbing my arm and pulling me over to see this or that. Lots of oooohs and aaaahs and wows. Several times she wrapped her arms around me and hugged me tight and thanked me so much for doing this with her. That’s when I realized…this was SO much more than going to see a bunch of old stuff.
\nThis was a celebration. Of healing. Of love. Of warm memories shared. Even of forgiveness. This was a bonding ritual…something only she and I could share as the wedding rapidly approaches and her life is forever changed. This was incredibly special. And we enjoyed every minute of it.
\nWe didn’t get to see 1/4th of the store before we were both fried. We left arm in arm and headed out to the truck. I drove her back to her car. As she prepared to leave she reached over and kissed me on the cheek.
\n“Thank you, mamacita. That was so much fun!”
\nYou’re welcome, Moon Pie.
\n❤️
\n“Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-07-13T01:30:54-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/07/13/revisiting-memories.html", "tags": ["Health","Family","Travel","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Fun","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Forgiveness","Aging","Presence","Choices","Change","Be Joyful!","Widow","Wedding"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/07/12/saying-goodbye-to-towwanda.html", "title": "Saying Goodbye to TOW-Wanda!", "content_html": "Psalm 127:3 NIV
![\"Camper\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/3d31846cc1.jpg\")
“TOW-Wanda…being towed away to her new life with a boy.”
Night before last, I put the camper on Facebook Marketplace at 10:00. It sold in thirty minutes! And, there were thirty people right behind the guy I sold it to, ready to step up and pay cash. I was shocked. I was forthright in explaining the camper needed work or would be perfect for a backyard she shed, writer’s nook, guest quarters, or kids playhouse. Still, the price and “camper” were enough to bring everyone out of the woodwork seeking a deal.
\nThe first person who said he wanted it was a guy who just got married on the 8th. He was so excited to get the camper, he was knowledgeable and fully understood what it was going to take to get her fixed. He wanted to fix up TOW-Wanda so he could take his son camping. He took a picture and sent it to his dad. Then he FaceTimed with his son and I could hear their excitement.
\nThis guy knew campers. He knew what it would take to really fix her right. I am so glad about that because I was worried someone who didn’t really know about them might get it and not heed my warnings and try to tow it to the mountains. We had a long talk. We negotiated a price that was fair and acceptable to us both. I told him, I could see God’s hand all over this. For me…to learn a valuable lesson about inspecting campers well before you buy them. And for him…to affordably get into a camper that he has the skills to fix so that he can be a good dad to his son.
\nYes…I lost money on the deal. But, no one got hurt…just my pride. And there’s a little boy out there who is going to be one happy camper when he gets to go out in the mountains with his dad. There is no price tag on the making of a man.
\n❤️
\n“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”\n\n \n", "date_published": "2019-07-12T01:30:35-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/07/12/saying-goodbye-to-towwanda.html", "tags": ["Travel","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Peace","Wisdom","Courage","Humbled","Choices","Change","Be Joyful!","Widow"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/07/09/a-quick-road-trip.html", "title": "A Quick Road Trip", "content_html": "Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
![\"Grizzly](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/9699bc1563.jpg\")
“I stopped at Grizzly Creek to catch a shot of the runoff from the snowmelt.”
I decided to make a quick trip up to the mountains to see my brother yesterday. We only get to see each other a few short days when I come to Colorado every summer. Bless his heart…I felt he looked better this time than he did last summer. Although he uses a walker all the time now, he seemed stronger. He is shrinking with age and the first thing he always asks me is, “Are you getting taller???”
\nMy brother has cerebral palsy and some diminished intellectual capacity. His memory has never been very good and it’s only getting worse. He thought I hadn’t come to see him in years but I see him every summer. I told him I would try to figure out how to FaceTime with him. Computers are too complicated for him, but a friend told me about something called a “GrandPad”. I think it’s just for email and pictures though. It doesn’t do video chat. We’ll work something out.
\nI was a little saddened by the way this little town I lived in for so many years has grown. There were so many people there yet I saw just about all I wanted to see in a couple of hours. The traffic is terrible. It barely resembles the sleepy little cow town we moved to in 1986. The price of progress is often quality of life. Yes, there’s a lot to do now. But that means everyone and their brother wants to come do it. Good for the economy. Bad for the working person. The price of housing is astronomical.
\nI stayed with my good friend Terri last night. We’ve known each other for many, many years and she lives right around the corner from my old house. We drove by on our way to dinner. I had visited the cemetery earlier and talked with Mr. Virgo. I was a little distressed by the overgrown weeds up there. When I mentioned it to Terri later, she pointed out the vacant lots in the subdivision. The weeds and wild grasses are nearly three feet high in some places. Like much of the rest of the country, Colorado has had a very wet and cool year which promotes overgrowth. Then, when things get really hot and dry out in August, there’s a lot of fuel for wildfires. We pray a lot about that here.
\nMy brother has a full schedule today, so I’m going to head back to Denver. The title for the camper arrived yesterday so I’m going to finish emptying it out and preparing it to sell. Four more sleeps and my sweetheart arrives in Denver!
\n❤️
\n“Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.””\n\n \n", "date_published": "2019-07-09T01:30:18-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/07/09/a-quick-road-trip.html", "tags": ["Family","Travel","Positive Energy","Fun","Gratitude","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Widow"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/07/08/quality-time.html", "title": "Quality Time", "content_html": "Acts 14:17 NIV
![\"Granddaughter](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/7efaf7e08b.jpg\")
“Little snoozing in the morning sunshine.”
Yesterday was so much fun. Little absolutely loved sleeping in the camper. She went to sleep much earlier than usual and I had to wake her up in time to have some breakfast before we left for church. She was very excited to go to “Nana’s Church.” The contemporary mega church model suits Little’s personality to a T. She sat with me and was focused on the sermon throughout. She loved the praise and worship music. She was so animated when we came out of church and declared she wants to go every week. I am highly encouraging that because she had a definite light about her when we came out.
\nAfter church, I took Little home and traded….Big came shopping with me all afternoon. We walked all over Flatirons Crossing Mall, had a delicious lunch at California Pizza Kitchen, enjoyed ice cream on our rest break between stores. She is a frugal shopper and had a wonderful time picking out just what she wanted. As I expected, they were things like athletic wear from Dick’s Sporting Goods…with a definite fashionista flair.
\nThe weather here in Colorado has been quite lovely. We have had rain just about every day and it cools things off nicely. The nights have been wonderful for sleeping in the camper with just the windows open and maybe a small fan. Daughter #2 is in the process of changing jobs and found out today her new job doesn’t start till after the wedding. That means we get some more time together this week. I’m so happy for her. This new job pays more, utilizes her degree, and sends her in a direction that offers advancement.
\nMr. FixIt is tying up loose ends at home…preparing to fly to Colorado this weekend. I can’t wait to see him! We really miss each other when we’re apart. He has mowing to do and business to attend to. I’ve been looking up things to do to replace the camping portion of our trip. I’d love to show him the Four Corners area and Mesa Verde. We’ll see what all we have time for.
\nI hope you enjoyed your 4th of July weekend and have a wonderful Monday!
\n❤️
\n“Anyone who does not provide for their relatives, and especially for their own household, has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” 1 Timothy 5:8 NIV\n \n", "date_published": "2019-07-08T01:30:19-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/07/08/quality-time.html", "tags": ["Faith","Family","Travel","Uplifting Stories","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","Camping","Fun","Gratitude","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom","Choices","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/07/07/making-little-memories.html", "title": "Making “Little” Memories!", "content_html": "
![\"Twin](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/dca5c9cc65.jpg\")
“Little’s nest in TOW-Wanda!”
Little is here! She has been at camp all week and we only saw each other for an hour after I arrived last Sunday. I spent a good deal of time with Big this week, so I could hardly wait till Little got back and came over to “camp” with me.
\nShe is my camper. No one else in my Colorado family is even remotely interested in camping. We had big plans to take the camper up in the mountains and stay a couple of days, but with the unfortunate demise of TOW-Wanda…we had to change plans.
\nI have the camper pulled around behind Ben & Sue’s house, underneath a locust tree. It doesn’t offer anything but a feeling of protection from the frequent hail storms we’ve had this week. I’m plugged into electric and water so I have all the comforts of home in my own little suite.
\nThis incarnation of TOW-Wanda has a queen sized bed with a memory foam mattress that is swoon worthy. It had a bunk bed over the queen bed that also had a memory foam mattress on it. I removed that because I couldn’t sit up without hitting my head. The little dinette collapses down to make a separate twin sized bed that uses the seat cushions for a mattress. Not comfortable for an adult, but just fine for a kid.
\nSince I’ll be selling this camper here, I went to Walmart yesterday and bought some plastic tubs with tight fitting lids. I spent a couple of hours yesterday taking things out of the camper and fitting them neatly into the storage bins and put them in the back of my truck underneath the tonneau cover. See? There’s a reason I got that before this trip!
\nWith all the extras removed, Little has plenty of room to stretch out and be comfortable while she camps with me. We went out for ribs last night. (Big is a vegetarian so Little and I have to get our carnivore cravings satisfied while her sister isn’t with us.) We had “Mamma Mia: The Movie” downloaded on the iPad to watch after dark.
\nI don’t get to see my Colorado grands very often…so when I do, I need to make deep and lasting memories with them. Camping with Little last night. Shopping with Big this afternoon. Life is so good!
\n❤️
\n“Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children.”\n\n \n", "date_published": "2019-07-07T01:30:08-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/07/07/making-little-memories.html", "tags": ["Colorado","Family","Travel","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","Camping","Fun","Gratitude","Comfort","goRVing","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Presence","Choices","Be Joyful!","Widow"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/07/05/hail-hailthe-gangs-all-here.html", "title": "Hail, Hail...The Gang’s All Here!", "content_html": "Proverbs 17:6 NIV
![\"Lilies\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/448725c33d.jpg\")
“The beauty of sunshine and lilies.”
Daughter #2 and I got a chance to spend a few hours together yesterday. We had coffee at the house then went shopping at Target. Man, that store has changed since the last time I went there. I used to shop Target all the time, but we don’t have one anywhere near where we live in West Virginia. After shopping at Walmart all these years, Target looks like an upscale department store.
\nWe went out to breakfast at Sam’s No. 3…a wonderful diner in Cherry Creek that has the most extensive menu I think I have ever seen. Eggs Benedict was my choice yesterday and it was divine. If you ever go to Denver and get to spend any time there, you really should go.
\nWe had a big family gathering with those who were in town yesterday. Lots of food and homemade ice cream. The fireworks were going off all around us. And Mother Nature provided some of her own! We had two big storms blow through with a tornado watch and lots of hail. It did succeed in cooling things off immensely, which was very nice.
\nI showed the girls the dresses I’ve bought that I could wear to the wedding and we all agreed on one. Also, I gave them the quilt I made for their wedding gift and they loved it! It was a beautiful day with my Colorado family.
\n❤️
\n“Listen to your father, who gave you life, and do not despise your mother when she is old.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-07-05T01:30:30-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/07/05/hail-hailthe-gangs-all-here.html", "tags": ["Colorado","Family","Travel","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Positive Energy","Fun","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","Forgiveness","Aging","Presence","Choices","Change","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/07/03/trailer-troublewith-a-capital-t.html", "title": "Trailer Trouble...With a Capital T", "content_html": "Proverbs 23:22 NIV
![\"Trailer](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e40fd56643.jpg\")
“Damage to the camper indicating it is no longer towable.”
Whenever I travel with one of my campers, I always circle around and do a visual safety check. I check before I head out. I check when I park for the night. And I check when I get to my destination. Saturday night I stayed at a hotel in Russell, KS. I did my walkabout when I locked her up to go inside and there was nothing wrong. Same thing the next morning before I headed out on the road for the final leg into Denver.
\nWhen I arrived at Ben & Sue’s house and I was unhooking, I noticed the front curbside corner of the camper had separated a little. It looked like a couple of screws had popped and all I would need to do is screw them back in. I was hot and tired and not planning to tow anytime soon so I decided to wait till I was better rested. The first chance I had was yesterday morning.
\nI went out and looked at the corner again. I tried to push back on the panel but it would not move. This indicated to me there was weight behind it and my original idea was not going to work. I got down on my knees and looked back at the base of the trailer where it meets the frame and this is what I was faced with. The other side looks almost as bad.
\nThat silver metal cover is the rock guard. It’s called diamond plate. It is heavy gauge and does NOT tear easily. I knew as soon as I saw it what had happened. When I first bought the camper, I notice there was about a two to three inch water stain on the mattress below one corner of that front window.
\nThese windows notoriously leak. That’s why most camper companies don’t build a camper with them anymore. I asked the previous owner when I was inspecting the camper if it leaked and she said she had never noticed it before. Maybe it happened over the winter and was new. There was another red flag…the front surface had become delaminated. There is a fiberglass material fused over the wood walls in this camper. If there is a leak, over time…the surface will come away from the wood and have a rippled appearance.
\nIt was a red flag that I didn’t understand was HUGE. I was thinking “little r”. Nope….big mama-honkin’ R! The more I camped in this new-to-me camper, the bigger that little leak got. I figured as soon as I had time, I would pop that front window out and re-caulk it. Done. Easy peasy. But it kept raining and I kept busy and then…boom!
\nWhat happened was, driving across the washboard that was once I-70 caused the board across the bottom front of the camper (that had obviously softened or rotted) to buckle from the weight of the camper body being repeatedly slammed down on it. This brought the body down over half an inch, dropping it onto the frame that comes out to create the tongue and hitch.
\nLayman’s terms? The camper is not towable in this condition. There are several scenarios that can happen here.
\nI don’t want to say I feel stupid. But I didn’t do what anyone who buys a used camper should do. I didn’t have it inspected by an RV professional. The inside showed no damage…it was pristine. All but that tiny leak. The only thing that made me feel better was this: The only way I could have known that board inside was rotten was to tear the front off the camper and you can’t do that. I had no way of knowing. It was just one of those unfortunate issues that sometimes comes with used campers.
\nI have backup campers at home. Everything will work out. I am VERY grateful nothing terrible happened on the road like the frame breaking in the middle of Kansas. This is workable…it’s not the end of the world. I will inevitably lose money on this deal, but that’s a lesson learned and an excellent teaching moment when I mentor women campers.
\nI tell my husband this over and over and over. “You get what you pay for.” I had the money to get a new(er) camper, but I went for the deal. Sometimes that “good deal” just doesn’t work out. And then again….sometimes rainbows come after the worst of storms! I wonder how God is going to use this for good? There is a reason this has happened here and now. I just don’t know what it is yet!
\n❤️
\n“It will be a shelter and shade from the heat of the day, and a refuge and hiding place from the storm and rain.” Isaiah 4:6 NIV\n", "date_published": "2019-07-03T01:30:49-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/07/03/trailer-troublewith-a-capital-t.html", "tags": ["Faith","Colorado","Travel","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Hope","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","Camping","Growth","God","Wisdom","Change"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/07/02/the-motherdaughter-dance.html", "title": "The Mother-Daughter Dance", "content_html": "
![\"Happy](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/90759fbfe0.jpg\")
“I am a Happy Camper!”
I danced with my mother. Not literally…but figuratively we went round and round and round. She always knew I loved her and I knew she loved me right back. I made sure of that. But we aggravated the heck out of each other more than I care to admit. We were still moving in that circle when she died rather suddenly at the age of seventy-eight. By that time, my own daughters were well on their way to dancing with me.
\nMy older daughter was very pregnant with my mother’s first great-grandchild and couldn’t come to her grandma’s funeral. I didn’t bring my younger daughter either because she was only nine and in school. I traveled to mom’s funeral alone half the way, meeting up with my Aunt Rosie in the Charlotte Airport for the last flight in.
\nI have good girls. They are as different as night and day and are often like oil and water, but deep down they love each other because they are sisters. I wasn’t always a very good mother to them. There was that long stretch when I was deeply depressed and nearly non-functional. I drank too much and I took too many prescription drugs. When I overdosed, it ripped the fabric of our relationship and I feared I would never, ever get them back.
\nWe danced our own dance. We went round and round and we didn’t know how to reach each other. I hurt them in ways I couldn’t even begin to fathom till I got well. Then I had to rebuild their trust in me. It was hard, painful work. There were times I was absolutely certain they hated me. But they didn’t really. I wasn’t the only one who had to learn who this new version of me was.
\nI watch Daughter #1 with her kids. I watch her face some of the same issues I faced and she handles them so much better than I did because she has a wonderful, stable marriage she isn’t also struggling to fix. I love watching her with the girls. Big is learning to drive. She is tall and athletic…a swimmer. She is bright and accomplished and dedicated. Little is part mini-me…part mini-mom. She is petite and eclectic…artistic and sensitive…bright and compassionate. She is a little shooting star.
\nLast night, I sat at swim practice with Daughter #1 and talked for a couple of hours. It was the first time in a long time that I felt like I didn’t have to hold my breath out of fear I’d say or do the wrong thing and not be the mom I should be. That is baggage I am happy to set down. I knitted while we chatted. There was a warm, easy acceptance that flowed between us and I realized I could relax now. We’re ok. It was a long storm, but we weathered it. We’re better with each other. My heart felt full.
\nHer kids are older now. She’s had some experience with life that she hadn’t had back when I let them down. I think she gets me a little better these days. We’re all a little older, a little wiser, a little softer. I think now, our dance is sweeter.
\n❤️
\n“\"Behold, everyone who uses proverbs will use this proverb about you: 'Like mother, like daughter.'” Ezekiel 16:44 ESV\n", "date_published": "2019-07-02T01:30:51-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/07/02/the-motherdaughter-dance.html", "tags": ["Colorado","Family","Travel","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Positive Energy","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Forgiveness","Aging","Presence","Choices","Change"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/06/30/americas-bread-basket-is-baking.html", "title": "America’s Bread Basket is Baking!", "content_html": "
![\"Snaps](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/4eae21c471.jpg\")
“Clockwise from top left: My rig in the summer sun in Kansas, the long straight stretch that is Kansas…look how green!, my digital laser thermometer that I use to check my hub temperatures at every stop, me looking decidedly fresher in the AM than I was by evening!”
You know you are getting into farm and ranch land when you start seeing billboards advertising bovine genetics and DEKALB seed corn. I left the Lazy Day Campground in Danville, Missouri yesterday morning about 8:00. It was a very long, very HOT day. A section of I-70 was closed at Kansas City so I took the recommended detour. I recognized it as the route I usually take anyway to avoid downtown. There is one interchange on the interstate near the city where you have to get from the right hand side onramp to a left hand side exit in less than 1/4 mile. Pulling a camper makes that a real challenge, let me tell you!!! At least it wasn’t with big TOW-Wanda on a Friday night at rush hour. We have to look for the little things!
\nWhen I was emptying the tanks on the camper before I left yesterday, it wasn’t 8:00 yet and the sun would take the hide right off of you. The temperature quickly soared to the high 90’s and by the time I was halfway through Kansas, it was 100. The low was only expected to go down to 80 so I stopped and got a hotel room. When I first got in the room, I cranked up the air conditioner and stretched out on the bed. I texted Mr. FixIt and said, “I am NEVER doing this again!!!” He texted back that I don’t have to. I’m holding him to it!
\nOk, it was the third day. It was hard. It was hot. I was tired and probably a little hungry and dehydrated. And knowing I have over 350 more miles to go had me feeling really sorry for myself there for a few minutes. But, once I rested for a while and got something to eat and drink, I felt a ton better. When I stop tonight, it’s going to be at my son-in-law’s parents’ house so I’ll be with family. It’s going to take me a week to rest up and acclimate to the altitude. Mr. FixIt will join me on the 13th so that time will pass quickly.
\nI had a lot of time to think about this as I was driving yesterday. I don’t like being this far away from Mr. FixIt. I thought about that from every angle. I asked myself if it was co-dependency. I don’t think it’s that at all. I do all kinds of things without him and I don’t need to be attached at the hip. I talked with my dear friend Deneene about this last night. She lost her husband unexpectedly about a year after Mr. Virgo died. She is also recently remarried. We decided it’s not co-dependency at all. It’s the fact that we KNOW what can happen and how quickly it can come. I don’t think it’s that I’m doing something without him. It’s that I’m doing something so far away from him and I can’t get to him quickly. THAT I don’t like at all.
\nStill, it is fun in many ways. I’ve seen some beautiful countryside. The sky was blue and wide open. I’ve forgotten what that looks like living in West Virginia. (I took the picture while driving but my phone was in a cradle and all I did was touch the screen. No eyes off the road for me!) I don’t have anything pressing to do once I get to Denver so I can relax and catch up on my rest, keep myself really hydrated to counteract the altitude, knit, write, and visit with my Colorado peeps. I could not believe how green Kansas is. They had the same long, drawn out, wet spring everyone else had. It is so hard to believe the temperature is in the high 90’s in Colorado and one week ago they had two feet of snow. Crazy weather!
\nOh, see that picture bottom right? That’s my digital laser thermometer. After burning up an axle in Indiana two summer ago, I check my hubs religiously…every time I stop and get out of the truck. I know you can just put your hand down there and feel if it’s hot, but how hot is too hot and if it IS that hot, you’ll burn the heck out of your hand. I keep watch on it and it’s always between 100-110. That’s perfect. If it goes up, it means the bearings need grease.
\nWell, I’m on the last leg of this Grand Adventure. The last leg of the first part of it, anyway! It’s just me and Jesus…making our way west!
\n❤️
\n“….“The Lord watch between you and me, when we are out of one another’s sight.”
\nGenesis 31:49 ESV
\n#Separation, #Marriage, #Adventure
\n", "date_published": "2019-06-30T01:30:10-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/06/30/americas-bread-basket-is-baking.html", "tags": ["Faith","Travel","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","Camping","The Grand Adventure","Fun","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","God","Wisdom","Fear","Courage","Aging","Choices","Change","Widow","Marriage"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/06/29/travel-lotsa-learnin-goin-on.html", "title": "Travel: Lotsa Learnin’ Goin’ On Here!", "content_html": "![\"Good](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/b74762fda5.jpg\")
“I use a French press a lot when I camp. I have a manual grinder, too.”
So, yesterday morning I took my time waking up. I do that when I travel. My Bible app has a year long study where you read the whole bible in a year. With the trip to Florida, being sick, and getting ready for this trip, I was thirteen days behind. I don’t like to get behind on that one because there’s a good deal to read every day. I spent a little extra time reading while I enjoyed a tasty cup of coffee. I chatted with Mr. FixIt for a while. I finally got on the road about 10:00.
\nThe drive was uneventful. I usually drive in silence because I do my best thinking when I drive. But I wanted to listen to music so I pulled into a rest area and tried to figure out how to connect my phone to the sound system on the truck. It took me a few tries but soon I was bebopping down the highway listening to some praise music.
\nAround 3:00, I pulled into another rest area and stretched out in front of my hillbilly air conditioner again. When I was almost to St. Louis, Mr. FixIt called. We were chatting as the GPS took me around the city. Still…it was 5:00…on a Friday…in June! Heck of a time to go through there. I wasn’t on the phone long because I needed to concentrate.
\nSuddenly, two things happened. I noticed the sky got really dark all of a sudden. And, Mavis…my GPS persona…announce I-70 was closed. Closed? Are you kidding me? How do you close a whole interstate. I had to make some quick decisions but the weather did it for me. The sky opened and I was suddenly driving through what looked like a car wash.
\nI quickly pulled off the highway and into a Denny’s parking lot. I ran through the rain and jumped in the camper. I pulled my vegetable lasagna out of my 12v slow cooker and ate dinner while I watched both an amazing lightning show as well as a band of bright red storms march toward me on the Weather Channel radar.
\nI looked through the Good Sam Camping Guide and found a campground on the other side of St. Louis. I called and they had one site left. I should have called yesterday morning but I honestly forgot it was Friday. I seldom make reservations when I travel and so far I have never lacked a place to stay.
\nBefore long, the storm was past me and I got back behind the wheel. The detour took about an hour because it was bumper to bumper stop and go traffic for 19 miles. I arrived at the campground and registered. They showed me to my site and it’s perfectly lovely. When I was at Walmart yesterday, I bought a replacement shower head for my camper. I installed it after I arrived last night. Easy peasy. And, the hot water heater worked! Imagine that! We hadn’t even tried it out yet.
\nAs soon as I could, I jumped in that teeny tiny little shower. It was easier to FIX the shower than it was to TAKE one! Once I was all done, I felt like a million bucks. If you look at the map, I am almost exactly at the halfway point. That’s great…but I still have a long way to go! I’m not going to try to make it to Colorado tomorrow. I’ll take it easy and stop in western Kansas or eastern Colorado.
\nLearned a lot of things today. 1) Make reservations if your camping on a Friday. 2) Pay closer attention to the calendar. 3) Check further ahead for weather and road conditions. 4) Changing a shower head is easy. 5) Listening to praise music is a great prep tool for stressful circumstances!
\nEnjoy your Saturday!
\n❤️
\n“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”\n\n \n", "date_published": "2019-06-29T01:30:17-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/06/29/travel-lotsa-learnin-goin-on.html", "tags": ["Travel","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","Gratitude","Grace","Peace","Wisdom","Fear","Courage","Humbled","Aging","Presence","Choices","Widow"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/06/28/road-trip-cant-keep-a.html", "title": "Road Trip: Can’t Keep a Good Gal Down!", "content_html": "James 1:2-4 ESV
![\"A](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e7be9cfe72.jpg\")
“A Shady Spot”
If you would have asked me at 10:00 Wednesday night, I would have told you (as I told you this morning) there was NO WAY I was going to leave for Colorado yesterday morning. Ahhhh…but, once I got past the icky stomach, took my tummy medicine, and slept a solid eight hours, it was a whole different ballgame.
\nBecause I was getting up and down, I slept in the guest room so I wouldn’t wake up Mr. FixIt. I awoke before dawn…around 5:00…and felt great. I read my devotionals and caught up on some correspondence then my sweetheart came to check on me around 7:00. I met him with a big smile and said I was good to go! He smiled back with relief. He doesn’t like it when I’m sick anymore that the other way around.
\nIt took a couple of hours to finish packing the truck and camper and I was on the road by 9:00. My first stop was Walmart to pick up a few things. I had some things to return. I got back to the camper and put away my purchases and got in the truck. There were my return items sitting on the front seat. Oy! I really didn’t want to cart them to Colorado so I went back in and stood in a long, slow line. But, it’s done and I was out before too long.
\nThe next and final stop was gas and a great big drink to stay hydrated on my trip. The young gal behind the counter was very excited because she is leaving on vacation today. Her very first camping trip! Well, I turned right back around and talked with her for awhile! I sure hope she has a grand time and decides to keep right on camping! Those first few camping trips are critical. You’ll either love it or hate it.
\nIt was really hot yesterday and about midway through my drive, I pulled over into a rest area to stretch out on my bed. Well, it was over 90 degrees! Of course, when you pull into a rest area, there’s no electricity, so no AC. You need to improvise. The last time I drove cross country alone, I stopped in Kansas for a rest and needed to do something to cool off. I had a tiny little battery fan and a cold pack from the freezer. It worked ever so slightly, but it wasn’t long before the cold pack was melted and that was the end of that.
\nWhen I was at Walmart yesterday, I bought two 10” fans that are powered by fan and batteries. I’ve also taken to carrying a very large bottle of water that I keep in the freezer of the camper. Went I stretched out on my bed yesterday, I sat the large frozen container in a basin and put the fan behind it. I also had three water bottles I had frozen. I set them up in front of the other fan. I positioned myself in front of the cool air and had a lovely mini siesta. Perfect! I popped all the bottles back in the freezer before I pulled back on the highway.
\n![\"Hillbilly](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/32137ec665.jpg\")
“Hillbilly Air Conditioner!”
That right there is a little hillbilly ingenuity. Appalachians are a resourceful lot. I arrived at my favorite little campground in Richmond, Indiana at around 5:30…had supper from my slow cooker and enjoyed the beautiful surroundings as the sun went down. I tried to keep from turning on the AC, but it was still 85 degrees at 8:00 and I was done with the heat by that time. I’ve never slept all night with the AC on in this little camper. It’s pretty noisy in this tiny little space.
\nI wrote early last night so I could have a good solid night’s sleep. Yesterday was a long day, but I didn’t get very far. That’s usually how it works on the first day out. For me, anyway. I monitored all the systems on the camper and the truck and everything worked just as it should so I don’t foresee any difficulties. As always, I say my prayers for travel mercies. I appreciate when you do, as well.
\nHave a beautiful Friday!!!
\n❤️
\n“Guard me, O Lord, from the hands of the wicked; preserve me from violent men, who have planned to trip up my feet.”\n\n \n", "date_published": "2019-06-28T01:30:19-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/06/28/road-trip-cant-keep-a.html", "tags": ["Faith","Travel","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","The Grand Adventure","Fun","Growth","Gratitude","Love","Peace","Courage","Choices","Change","Widow","Marriage"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/06/26/a-tidy-purchase.html", "title": "A Tidy Purchase", "content_html": "Psalms 140:4 ESV
![\"Tonneau](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/1bf18bb8d4.jpg\")
“A tonneau cover turned out to be an extraordinary pargain!”
I told you all yesterday about our great find…a tonneau cover for my truck. We installed it yesterday and it was SO easy. It only took about fifteen minutes to do. We had to trim a couple small places in order for the tailgate to close, but that was super easy to do. We didn’t realize exactly how good this deal was till Mr. FixIt looked up this particular model of cover. New, they sell for nearly $800! And the carpeted bed liner sells for almost $500! We got them both for $75!!! Ok, I’m a little excited! Such a good bargain hunter I have for a husband.
\nWe went to the farm yesterday. It appears the young man we had arranged to mow the yard…didn’t. But that’s ok. It is still mow-able without having to bale it. It is awfully wet out there. In the two weeks we were gone, the farm got over four inches of rain. We only got two at the Ponderosa. The ground is soggy when you walk out there. The house at the farm sits back in a holler and doesn’t get much sunlight. It’s nice for keeping cool, but causes a lot of problems with mold and mildew.
\nWe noticed some evidence of termites this time. The first time I’ve seen that so we need to jump on that right away. I did a deep cleaning out there because my uncle is coming for a visit while I’m in Colorado and I wanted fresh bed linens for him. I mopped the floors and dusted. Mr. FixIt cleared off the back porch and scrubbed it down. Everything looked wonderful when we were finished.
\nI had every intention of leaving for Colorado today, but have decided to wait till tomorrow. This way I don’t have to run at breakneck speed getting everything done and I can take my time. The linens have all been washed and put back on the bed. I have some items to take out of the camper…things I took camping at Blackwater Falls and won’t need on this trip. This will cut down on the weight I pull which will improve my fuel consumption.
\nOh, another thing Mr. FixIt did for me. Something was wrong with the water pump in the little camper. A water pump is supposed to turn on, build up pressure, then shut off. It only comes back on when the water pressure drops as you’re using water in the sink or toilet. Mine wouldn’t shut off. It ran on and on and was dreadfully loud. While we were in Florida, we discussed it and I ordered a new pump. It was here when we returned. Mr. FixIt installed it yesterday and it works perfectly! Now the only things I have to do is replace the shower nozzle and test out the hot water heater and we’re in business. Having your own shower when you camp is such a luxury.
\nI’m really getting excited now about the trip. I can’t wait to see my Colorado family…I’ve missed them so much! Today will be fun packing and preparing for a much needed road trip. Many of you asked yesterday. Mr. FixIt will fly out in a few weeks to join me before the wedding. Then, we will camp around Colorado and all the way back across the country. I’ve been looking forward to this trip for a whole year…I can hardly wait to get started and savor every single moment!!!
\n❤️
\n“Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall you be when you go out.” Deuteronomy 28:6 ESV\n", "date_published": "2019-06-26T01:30:58-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/06/26/a-tidy-purchase.html", "tags": ["Family","Travel","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","Camping","Fun","New Ideas","Gratitude","Comfort","Wisdom","Choices","Marriage"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/06/23/home-again-home-again.html", "title": "Home Again, Home Again!", "content_html": "
![\"Vacation](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/ec47b249b5.jpg\")
“Clockwise from top: The BEST Carolina BBQ I have EVER eaten…Phifers!, I almost finished one sock this trip, Griffen the Grey (a French Bulldog), a field of yellow lilies.”
I love a good road trip. And I love getting back to my own bed. In this case…the one in TOW-Wanda! I have missed this camper so much while we were gone. Isn’t that silly? Mr. FixIt and I were trying to explain to our friends in South Carolina the merits of sleeping in our little camper out on our property with this really great memory foam mattress. I think they got it. No matter…we made a bee line home yesterday and I barely emptied the truck before I was stretched out and writing this!
\nI got a text from Big yesterday asking if we were about to get hit with some bad storms. I thought we had dodged them, but apparently not. We stopped in Statesville, NC at an RV dealer to get something when the sky started looking really menacing. We hurried over to our favorite BBQ joint and just got seated when the rain started coming down in buckets.
\nThis barbecue place was just a chance find a couple of years ago. We stopped over night in Statesville that trip and the gal at the front desk said we had to go to Phifer’s for the best BBQ in North Carolina. Now, I’m not a huge fan of the North Carolina style sauce. It has more of a mustard base and has a distinct vinegary taste to it. But theirs? Oh…..my…..gosh. It is sublime!
\nI asked the nice BBQ lady yesterday what the best thing on their menu was. She said, “ALL of the things!” I said…bring it!
\nI had a BBQ sandwich with the slaw on it. And a side of fries. I am a fast eater. Mr. FixIt is always getting on me about that. Not yesterday. I savored every last morsel. And, I kid you not, when I beheld the last bite between my thumb and index finger…I felt sad. It was over! It ended far too soon!!! It was a heady experience that I wanted to hang onto. The sauce has just the slightest kick to it. And it seemed there were red pepper flakes in the meat itself. So my mouth held onto this delicious warmth for an hour or so afterwards. I have never experienced food in such a way before!
\nI want to get back in the car and live next door to this place.
\nIs that so unreasonable?
\nOk…ok. I’ll just have to wait till the next time, I suppose. Uber eats would be WAY over the top, right?
\nIt rained on us part of the way home but it wasn’t too bad. I almost finished knitting one sock of the pair. I caught a picture of a field of yellow lilies. And there’s little Griffen, the grey! He was just as kissable as he looks.
\nAnd here it the very best part…there was NO water in the basement!!! Thank you, Jesus…we’re coming to Your house this morning!
\n❤️
\n“Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart, for God has already approved what you do.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-06-23T01:30:48-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/06/23/home-again-home-again.html", "tags": ["Travel","Uplifting Stories","Positive Energy","Fun","Gratitude","Comfort","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Choices"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/06/21/vacations-past-present.html", "title": "Vacations: Past \u0026 Present", "content_html": "Ecclesiastes 9:7 ESV
![\"Vacation](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/8d58a1a0ae.jpg\")
“Vacation Photos: The Making of Memories”
The idea of a vacation was totally foreign to me till I was in my late twenties. My family were not big travelers. We didn’t go to the beach every summer like many of my friends’ families did. We didn’t go camping or hike or play on the river that was a mere five blocks from our house. My Grandma was only west of the Mississippi a couple of times in her life. The first was to see my Uncle Sonny get his wings as an Air Force pilot. The second was when she went to Minnesota to visit my aunt’s resort on Lake Kabetogama. Two vacations in her life.
\nWe didn’t have the money to have extravagant vacations. We visited my aunt and uncle over near the eastern panhandle of West Virginia for a week every summer. That was as close to a vacation that I ever got until I was married to Hubby #2. Our first real vacation was a road trip, car camping around Colorado. After that, we went to West Virginia several times to visit family and one year we went on a twenty mile backpack trip there.
\nThe first extravagant vacation we had was a trip to Cancun with friends the year before I had Daughter #2. We went to Hawaii once, but it was very difficult to get him away from his practice for very long. We did quick trips to DC, Yellowstone, and Disney. After he and I parted company, I traveled alone whenever I could. I took Daughter #2 on a three week road trip when she turned thirteen and took her to Mexico for her sixteenth birthday.
\nWhen Mr. Virgo came along, we had great plans to travel when he retired. We did go on a long road trip for our honeymoon. We went to Utah once, and Yellowstone twice. In the summer of 2011, I took him to West Virginia to meet my family. He wanted to take me to Europe to see all the beautiful places he had been. We were buying a camper for retirement when he died.
\nHeading out on my own again, this time with my own little camper, I found travel to be my solace…my escape…a panacea for the pain of losing my husband. I traveled a lot in those years following his death. And, I was still on the road when my Uncle Bud called me home to live on the family farm. Even living there seemed like a vacation…a dream vacation luxuriating in the memories of my loving family.
\nThen, Mr. FixIt came along. Thankfully, he was retired and itching to get out and do things. We’ve already accomplished more travel in the short time we’ve been together than I did in the last thirty years. But, is it really “vacation” when you’re retired? Yes and no. No, because every day is Saturday, to some extent. We aren’t bound by the clock and time is somewhat our own. Yes when you consider all the work our properties entail.
\nI am so grateful for the opportunities to travel and see new places. I know there may come a time in the future when I may not get to do these things, so I’m making up for lost time. I’m banking memories like a squirrel hiding nuts. Someday, I’ll look back on all this…I’ll read the pages of this blog or my book…and have some wonderful stories to tell.
\n❤️
\n“I perceived that there is nothing better for them than to be joyful and to do good as long as they live; also that everyone should eat and drink and take pleasure in all his toil—this is God's gift to man.” \n\n", "date_published": "2019-06-21T01:30:50-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/06/21/vacations-past-present.html", "tags": ["Family","Travel","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Fun","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Peace","Wisdom","Aging","Presence","Choices","Change"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/06/19/a-sweet-treatyarn.html", "title": "A Sweet Treat...Yarn!", "content_html": "Ecclesiastes 3:12-13 ESV
![\"Daytona](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/db8364f2ab.jpg\")
“Clockwise from Top Left: Hibiscus, Chasing the rain, Low Country Shrimp & Grits, Fishing Boats, New yarns & a present, interesting sand castle.”
One of my readers sent me a message the other day and said I simply MUST go check out the little yarn shop in Ormond Beach. I told her I would sure try to get there. But, I’ve purchased yarn everywhere the last year and I just was having a hard time justifying going because I knew I wouldn’t get out the door without at least two more sock yarns.
\nI was right! After receiving a little nudge from her yesterday, I told Mr. FixIt we should head to She Sells Yarn after our walk on the beach. He is such a good sport. He’ll take me anywhere I want to go. We walked in and I introduced myself. The owner (Helen) said, “Oh! You have a gift here!!!” Sure enough, there was a little package with my name on it and a jaunty “Happy Birthday” message written on the bag. Inside were little locally-made turtle stitch markers! Thank you, Cindy!!! That was so sweet of you to think of me!
\nShe Sells Yarn is a beautiful shop with a wonderful collection of yarns. I am always partial to locally raised, spun, or dyed yarns and this place didn’t disappoint. One in particular that intrigued me was String Theory Colorworks’ “Matrix”…a blend of 80% SW Merino, 10% Cashmere, and 10% Stellina (to give it sparkle…who doesn’t like a little sparkly in their socks?) This yarn is developed and “lovingly hand dyed” by a husband/wife duo living in Orlando. He is an engineer, she is a biology major. One day she asked, “Honey? Wouldn’t it be cool if…?” And the ball got rolling. She started dying yarn that night with a mathematically determined pattern that would guarantee an even repeating stripe pattern. With their backgrounds, they decided all their yarns had to have science-y names. And the rest is history.
\nThe other yarn is by Violet Flamingo Fibers of Satellite Beach, Florida. Wendy uses ethically sourced and cruelty free fibers for happy socks with good karma. The yarns are all hand dyed in beautiful colorways named after local attractions, flora, and fauna. I chose a mix of bright primary colors called Daytona Beach Boardwalk. This fingering weight yarn is a blend of 85% merino and 15% nylon which will knit up into a lovely, non-pilling sock.
\nThursday night is Fiber Friends night at She Sells Yarn so I am looking forward to toting my knitting down and chatting with some of the local makers and meeting new friends. We’ve heard there have been terrible rains in West Virginia since we’ve been gone so we are heading out Friday to drive home with stops along the way to visit dear friends. Even with my darned sinus infection, we’ve still had a wonderful, very restful and relaxing vacation. It won’t be long after we get home that I’ll be packing up the camper and heading to Colorado!
\nStay tuned in the coming weeks for some really fun and interesting developments in my world! I’m getting excited…and you should, too!
\n❤️
\n“Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!” \n\n", "date_published": "2019-06-19T01:30:04-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/06/19/a-sweet-treatyarn.html", "tags": ["Travel","Uplifting Stories","Positive Energy","Fun","Gratitude","Love","Peace"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/06/18/working-vacation.html", "title": "Working Vacation", "content_html": "Psalms 90:17 ESV
![\"Writing](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/8e433faac0.jpg\")
“I can’t think of many places that are prettier to write than at the beach!”
If writing is my “job”, then I’m always working…every day…365. It doesn’t FEEL like work. They say if you find something you love to do, you’ll never work another day in your life. And I do love to write. I once tried to calculate how many words I’ve written since Mr. Virgo died. I stopped at a million. That was a long time ago.
\nEverything I see or do becomes “blog fodder”. An opportunity to tell a story, share an insight, or discover new places together. I love telling stories. Where I find my stretch is in writing “content”….a disconnected observation without personal viewpoints involved. It’s more like news reporting. I have been contracted to do some of this type of writing and it doesn’t come nearly as easy to me.
\nBack when I first attempted writing, I asked a press writer/photographer to read some of my work and give me an honest opinion. He told me it would never be publishable. I put too much of myself in my writing. In his defense, this was before blogs. But still, he was the wrong person to ask, or take and opinion from. If I hadn’t have listened to him, I might have been writing for the the last twenty years instead of the last six.
\nPart of this new project does use my writing style, and I am most grateful for that. I am blessed that I have a husband who knew from the get go that my writing is as much a part of me as my arms or legs. He isn’t the kind of guy that needs babysitting or entertained on an ongoing basis. He has his own interests that he pursues when I sit down at the keyboard. I am careful to keep things balanced, but when I am working on a deadline, I have to get in the zone.
\nCan you think of a prettier place to sit and write than on the beach? My only problem this day was the wind and my shorter haircut. The wind slowly sent my beach umbrella listing at a forty-five degree angle. And it had my hair in my face and eyes to the point of utter distraction. I packed up and moved up to the pool area. Much less wind and reflection on the screen of my iPad, but by then, my battery was low.
\nAt that point, my only option if I wanted to get this thing knocked out was to go back indoors. It was a good thing Mr. FixIt was ready to go inside, as well. A pitcher of ice tea was made. Some peanut butter and crackers and a bowl of berries were consumed. And my sweetheart headed off to Walmart for a loaf of bread and a jug of milk so I could get back to work without distraction.
\nI write. It’s what I do. I’ve said it before…I can’t NOT write. I’ve tried. Those of you who have been with me all along can surely remember the times I’ve said, “Hey! I’m going camping and I’ll be off the grid for a few days…see ya when I get back!” Yeah, not so much. I will drive to the top of a mountain to find enough cell signal to post a story. It’s a sickness. An obsession. An addiction. But it’s one I have no intention of walking away from because the benefits I have gained from my writing has far outweighed any inconvenience it has caused.
\nTill tomorrow…be blessed!
\n❤️
\n“Beautiful words fill my mind, as I compose this song for the king. Like the pen of a good writer my tongue is ready with a poem.” \n\n", "date_published": "2019-06-18T01:30:34-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/06/18/working-vacation.html", "tags": ["Health","Family","Travel","Positive Energy","Fun","Gratitude","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Writing","Choices","Art"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/06/17/early-bird-special.html", "title": "Early Bird Special", "content_html": "Psalm 45:1 GNT
![\"Florida](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/1957e78153.jpg\")
“Father’s Day in Florida…a little slice of Heaven!”
It wasn’t that many years ago that I looked on as “old people” toddled into restaurants to eat dinner at 4:00 in the afternoon. The “Early Bird Special”. “Bonkers!” I thought. “What on earth are they doing eating at this time of day? Don’t they know how to have FUN anymore?”
\nHA!
\nGuess who can’t eat anything other than Raisin Bran after 5:00??? Yeah…what goes around, comes around, don’t it?
\nSo Father’s Day started out great. A lovely breakfast served to my sweet man…father to a great family…love of my heart. Then, we headed to the Ponce deLeon Lighthouse. We’ve been there before. It was earlier in the day…I was in much better shape…and it wasn’t so darned hot the last time. The “feels like” temperature yesterday when we arrived at said lighthouse was 98 degrees.
\nWhen you came out of the drastically air conditioned gift shop into the Florida heat and humidity at 1:00 in the afternoon, it seriously felt like walking into a sauna. And, there were signs everywhere that said “No water bottles.” Among other important things to leave behind like pets and flip flops.
\nSeriously? You want a slightly pudgy West Virginian with heat intolerance to climb up 203 steps…without water…or air, for that matter. Ok, I’ve done it before…I’m sure I can do it again. As I climbed the stairs, I got to the first landing and remembered. THIS was the lighthouse I didn’t like before. It gets narrower and narrower the further up you go till it becomes really tight. AND…they don’t open the windows so there is zero air flow.
\nThe last time I felt like this was in 1989 when I climbed up the interior staircase of the hidden inner pyramid of Chichen Itza. Very narrow, steep stairs, slippery with the dampness, only the occasional incandescent bulb hanging dimly to lead your way. Four of us entered…our good friends, Hubby #2, and me. Only two of us made it up. Me and our friend’s husband. The others backed out with feelings of claustrophobia.
\nThis felt tight and close like that and by the time I got up to that first flight, I couldn’t breathe. It was the heat and being out of and still feeling the effects of illness. There’s nothing wrong with saying, “Nope…not doing this one!” I went down and out and sat in a rocker on the front porch of the lighthouse keeper’s house, waiting for Mr. FixIt to come out on the balcony above.
\nHe snapped a few pictures and chatted with some folks from Roanoke then gave me a jaunty wave. When he came back down, he looked like a drowned rat. It was time to cool off and we headed for the air conditioned museums.
\nOnce we were cooler, we headed to the truck and drove down to New Smyrna Beach. I’ve got to tell you, driving down that narrow little street with the Father’s Day crowds didn’t feel much different than climbing that ever narrowing lighthouse with no air. I couldn’t believe how many people were crowded into such a tiny area.
\nI’ve been there before so I didn’t really need to get out. But it was Father’s Day…we do for the ones we love. I won out when we finally found ONE parking spot in a lot. You pay by entering your driver’s license number and stick in your credit card. When the fee came up in the window, I nearly fell over. $20.00! You had to pay for a full day. Nope! Not doing that either.
\nWe headed back toward our condo and we both decided we were hungry and wanted seafood. We came by Blackbeard’s Inn and remembered eating there the last time we were in Florida. We pulled in and had such a good meal. Blue crab cake and coconut shrimp with a baked potato. All perfectly delicious.
\nWhat time was it, you ask?
\n4:00
\nThe Early Bird Special!
\nsigh
\n❤️
\n“Do not reject me now that I am old; do not abandon me now that I am feeble.” Psalm 71:9 GNT\n \n", "date_published": "2019-06-17T01:30:53-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/06/17/early-bird-special.html", "tags": ["Health","Family","Travel","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Fun","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Wisdom","Humbled","Aging","Choices","Change","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/06/16/on-the-mend.html", "title": "On the Mend", "content_html": "
![\"Sunset\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/489116dcfc.jpg\")
“Another beautiful day at the beach.”
Something no one wants to do when they’re on vacation is visit an urgent care. I’ve had a sinus infection for over two weeks and even with a week of antibiotics, I woke up yesterday and was miserable. I knew if I was going to enjoy this vacation at all, I was going to need the right medication so I gave in and went.
\nI have only visited one quick care before. When I was married to Hubby #2, the doctor, we referred to them as Doc in the Box. We always kind of looked at them as “sort of” doctors. I was so pleasantly surprised by the Atlantic Urgent Care & Walk In Clinic. On a Saturday morning in the height of beach season, I was out of there in less than hour. They were professional and efficient and caring. I got the right meds, started taking them right away, and within a couple of hours, I was feeling 100% better.
\nWe went out for a late breakfast then went to the Arts & Science Museum. What an incredible display they had. They house the collection of the Root family…inventors of the Coca Cola bottle. It was really interesting. I think we had more fun in the Children’s Museum section than anything. We played with all the displays and didn’t feel self conscious at all because it was full of adults doing the same thing.
\nAfterwards, it was out for a really great meal at Giuseppe’s Pizza. Home for a nap and finished up the day sitting out on the beach till well after dark. There are free concerts and fireworks down at the pavilion about five miles away every Saturday night. We sat out and watched the fireworks and the stars. It was beautiful.
\nSo glad to feel more myself and I’m looking forward to really enjoying our vacation now.
\n❤️
\n“Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.” \n\n", "date_published": "2019-06-16T01:30:42-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/06/16/on-the-mend.html", "tags": ["Health","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Wisdom","Choices","Marriage"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/06/06/one-hour-thirtyfive-dollars-a.html", "title": "One Hour \u0026 Thirty-Five Dollars = A Haircut", "content_html": "3 John 1:2 NIV
![\"Woman](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/ba77f941e9.jpg\")
“Before and After…what a difference a haircut makes!”
I haven’t really felt like my perky self for a while. Nothing I could really put my finger on. Maybe a little tired. Maybe a little down about aging. I’ve been losing weight but avoiding the mirror. It didn’t really dawn on me till I saw pictures from the baptism a couple of weeks ago and I was up on the stage with my bonus granddaughter. Gasp! I looked SO old! I looked like my grandma. Not that that is a bad thing, but I’m talking in her 80’s. I was in desperate need of a haircut!
\nI always celebrate birthday month…not just a week or a weekend or a day. Nope…I was born in June…I celebrate JUNE! This month I turn 66. It’s only a number. I have more energy than I did at half my age. I remember when I turned 26. I was SO depressed! It had been a WHOLE DECADE since I got my driver’s license. Give me a break! Now it’s been half a century since I got my driver’s license. insert eye roll here
\nNo, it wasn’t my actual calendar age that was getting to me. It was my hair. I got lazy. I got tired of going in every six weeks and getting it cut. I got tired of sometimes having the perfect cut and other times wondering what went wrong. I got tired of spending the money on something that you just have to do over and over and over.
\nIt’s not my fault really. I saw beautiful older women on Pinterest…long flowing locks of silver hair caressing unnaturally perky breasts. Stylishly dressed. Leaning against brick buildings in downtown New York City….their jacket carelessly draped across their shoulders…their chunky boho jewelry and oversized sunglasses deflecting my gaze from anything that could barely be called crepe-y skin. No…Pinterest assured me I would look uber chic with long, silver hair.
\nThen, I took a look at myself and wondered what on earth possessed me to do such a thing. Me…in my JCPenney sleeveless summer dress made from t-shirt material. Me…of the ample upper arms and comfortable tummy. Me…of the “I know I have makeup SOMEWHERE in this house!” Me…of the Chacos and farmer tan and clip-on sunglasses and floppy brimmed had and a riding mower. Yeah…it was time for a reality check.
\nI called Michelle on Tuesday and cried uncle. I said, “You win! I’m coming in to cut it off!” I’m almost sure I heard an audible sigh of relief from the other end of the phone. “How’s tomorrow at 11:00?” She didn’t want to wait too long for fear I might change my mind.
\nAn hour. Thirty-five dollars. That’s all it took to bring back my sparkle. It’s really true…if you LOOK good, you FEEL good. I walked out of there feeling like a million bucks! It’s such a simple thing…getting a haircut. Oh, and a pedi. A MUCH needed pedi. I hadn’t had a “Me Day” for such a long time. It was way overdue and I feel so much better.
\nI sent the before and after photos to Mr. FixIt with a note…”Here’s the girl you fell in love with!” And you wanna know what he said?
\n“You’re beautiful…but, I didn’t fall in love with your hair.”
\nMy cheeks hurt from smiling.
\n❤️
\n“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:8 NIV\n \n", "date_published": "2019-06-06T01:30:12-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/06/06/one-hour-thirtyfive-dollars-a.html", "tags": ["Health","Family","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Positive Energy","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Courage","Aging","Choices","Change","Be Joyful!","Widow","Marriage"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/06/04/field-of-dreams.html", "title": "Field of Dreams", "content_html": "
![\"Field](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/da0dfc72f1.jpg\")
“My Field of Dreams.”
I know, I know…how many pictures of a field am I going to post here, right? Oh…however many times I am moved by the view, I suppose…which is daily. Every day, every hour, the view changes with the light. This was taken Sunday afternoon after the heavy rain and hail that swept through the surrounding area. I love the way the sky is slightly pink as the sun begins to set over the hill far to the left there. The air is soft with humidity and brushes the edges of the woods with a velvety glow.
\nI have a lifelong sister/friend who asked me yesterday if there wasn’t family who could come and mow this for us. After all…I’m 65. I smiled at her love and concern for me. Then I told her what I tell everyone who asks why I still mow. First, 65…nay, 66 in nine days…is young, if you ask me. Second, this is my home, too. Of course I’m going to work on it. Also, seriously…all I do is sit on a riding mower and drive around and around with headphones on listening to rock and roll music. How hard is that?
\nMy biggest reason is this…I spent my entire life praying to have exactly what I have now. I have so much joy in my heart, a few hours driving around cutting grass is the smallest of prices to pay. I truly love it! That being said, my shoulders are tired and sore when I’m done. I wish for a hot shower and a masseuse…only one of which is readily available. But it’s a good sore…a good tired. And I sleep really soundly when I’ve worked hard.
\nI mowed the big fields yesterday while Mr. FixIt was in town working. We have a lot to get done before we head out camping on Thursday. According to the weather report, we are in for a cool, cloudy weekend with the possibility of rain showers. That’s ok…we’ll have plenty to keep us busy under the canopies. I bought walls for the canopy that will hold heat in. Gail has her canopy, as well. Camping is fun, no matter what!
\n❤️
\n“Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it. Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.” Psalm 96:11-12 NIV\n", "date_published": "2019-06-04T01:30:23-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/06/04/field-of-dreams.html", "tags": ["Faith","Family","Uplifting Stories","Positive Energy","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Love","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/06/02/resting.html", "title": "Resting", "content_html": "
![\"Feet](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/ba8a03e0f5.jpg\")
“Taking a breather after a long day.”
Mr. FixIt and I have been like two ships passing in the night the last two weeks. He is still working on the porch he is building in town plus he is helping a friend move. In between, he has helped with the mowing and weed eating. He is a busy man and a very hard worker. I am very proud of him and love his work ethic. But…I’ll be really glad when the jobs that are taking him away from home are completed and we can do more things together…even if it’s more jobs that need doing around here.
\nWhile my hubby has been off and running, I have been keeping busy here as well. I finished mowing at the Ponderosa yesterday. I had a run-in with some brambles and they dragged across my forehead, yanked my glasses off, and made me say some choice words. I went out when it cooled off, swept the grass off the sidewalks, and pruned some branches and old, dead rambling rose canes. Nasty buggers!
\nI did escape yesterday morning and had coffee with my classmates. There were seven of us this time and we always miss the ones who don’t get to attend. When we were finished, I walked across the street to one of my favorite antique shops in the area. I’ve been on the prowl for old embroidered dresser scarves and the like to make something fun for the camper. I found several that were white with either blue embroidery or blue crocheted edging. Blue and white are my favorites. I also bought the coolest curved treadle sewing machine drawer that will be perfect on the dinette table to hold flowers or something.
\nAfterwards I met Mr. FixIt for the summer picnic for the plant he worked at before he retired. He worked at Ames. My mom called it “the shovel plant” because she worked there during the war making shovels for soldiers. After the war, their specialty was all manner of garden tools. Mr. FixIt gave me one of the shovels he designed and made and there isn’t a finer one around. I actually knew two people at the picnic…a rare occurrence for me. Mr. FixIt knows EVERYBODY in town!
\nWhen I was done for the day, I went in to make myself a sandwich. I glanced out the kitchen window. The luna moth is still there. And, there was a mama groundhog and three little babies out munching on the grass under the crab apple tree. I stood there for the longest time, just watching them. And thinking how blessed I am to have this slice of heaven in my life. I finally turned away, picked up my sandwich, and padded out to the camper to read for a while before Mr. FixIt came home.
\nWhat a beautiful world God has given us. Even in the midst of horrific things, there is beauty in the stillness.
\n❤️
\n“The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.”” Isaiah 40:8 NIV\n", "date_published": "2019-06-02T01:30:05-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/06/02/resting.html", "tags": ["Family","Positive Energy","West Virginia","Gratitude","Comfort","Peace","Humbled","Presence","Marriage"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/06/01/from-beast-to-beauty.html", "title": "From Beast to Beauty", "content_html": "
![\"Luna](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/81bfe2d0d2.jpg\")
“The glorious Luna Moth!”
It takes about ten days for the egg of the luna moth to hatch into a tiny caterpillar and another five to six weeks for that caterpillar to go through multiple instars (stages of growth) to reach its full size…2.5” long by 3/4” diameter. That’s a big green worm! Once it reaches its full size, it spins a cocoon and usually about two weeks later, the moth emerges, wings shriveled and damp. Over the course of several hours, fluid is pumped into the wings, they dry, and voila…one of the largest silk moths of North America emerges to grace us with its presence.
\nNormally, the luna moth has a wingspan of about 4.5” but they can be as large as 7” across. This fellow is a male. His wings angle backwards somewhat and his abdomen is smaller because he isn’t carrying the 200-400 eggs the female has. They fly in the evening and at night in late spring and early summer. They don’t particularly like when the temperature dips into the 50’s. They’ll be somewhat paralyzed until it warms up.
\nI love when I catch sight of one of these beautiful moths. You don’t see them quite as often as you used to because a type of predatory fly was introduced to control the invasive gypsy moths and they’ve damaged several species of moths, including the glorious luna.
\nMr. FixIt called me into the kitchen last night so I could see this fellow. I ran outside with my phone so I could take pictures while the light was still good. As I was coming back inside, I found the remains of a luna who wasn’t so lucky…wings scattered here and there, coated with drops of dew. Nature. It’s a rough world out there.
\n![\"Luna](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/4acaa9e388.jpg\")
“The remnants of an unfortunate demise.”
When I came out to the camper to write afterwards, I watched a video on Facebook. The premise was two former classmates run into each other in the parking lot of the grocery store. They chat and it becomes apparent one is wealthy and the other is not. The one who was not tells the other about her son getting a job after graduation and that he is thriving and so happy. The other kind of turns her nose up a bit and brags about HER son who is going to Stanford. And, as a matter of fact, he was on his way to pick her up….wasn’t that sweet? The poorer mother smiled and nodded and congratulated the other mom on her son’s great achievements. But you could see when wealthy mom left, the working boy’s mom looked a little let down.
\nI am ashamed to say, I can relate to that…however fleetingly. This is the time of year when news of graduations fill the pages of social media with our darlings’ academic accomplishments. It’s beautiful and I don’t begrudge them their joy. Not one bit. We were thrilled when Daughter #1 got her Associates Degree, majoring in drama. We told her that, and $3.50 would buy her a cup of coffee and she should go on and at least get her Bachelors Degree. But no…she and her fiancé had other plans and married a month or two after graduation.
\nAt some point along the way, she realized perhaps her parents had been right and she had an excellent opportunity to go back to school at which time she became a Special Ed teacher. Again, we were so proud. Then, somewhere down the road, she went back and got her Masters. She’s still married to her college sweetheart and coming up on their 24th anniversary.
\nDaughter #2 is brilliant…maybe more so than her sister as far as IQ goes. But she has always danced to her own music, struggled over eight years getting her Bachelors but never gave up, and now works in management in the food service industry…the love for which she received from her beloved stepfather…Mr. Virgo.
\nIn the movie I watched earlier, the Stanford son berated his mother for keeping him from his friends and let her know she was distinctly cramping his style while the poor son brings his mama flowers and tells her how much he loves and appreciates her for everything she does for him. A dramatization, for sure. But there is much truth there, unfortunately.
\nA while back, a friend from long ago posted photos of her daughter getting her doctorate. They flew to Australia to visit her where she was doing research. Her two younger daughters were married, one after the other. Beautiful. Successful. This girl and Daughter #2 had play dates together when they were babies. I had a moment of full on green envy.
\nFor only a moment. Because, in that moment, Daughter #2 called me on the phone. I sat back and listened to her go on and on about the upcoming wedding and how her dress is just so perfect and makes her look like a million bucks. We chatted about how the bouquets are being made with origami flowers from comic book pages. And she found a real Viking drinking horn at a pawn shop and that’s what they’re going to toast with! Wow! And under her dress? Tie dyed Vans…of course!
\nAs I listened to her happy voice, my mind drifted back over the many phone calls when she struggled and suffered through depression and anxiety. Really struggled. And I realized…rich, poor, Stanford, Community College, PhD, shift lead in a restaurant…none of that matters. She’s happy. There is light and life in her voice. My eyes filled with tears…from shame that I was even momentarily envious…and from sincere joy and relief that my baby didn’t end up a statistic like so many others have.
\nI still have her here…in all her quirky, wonderful weirdness. As we prepared to hang up, she gave me that sweetest gift every mama craves.
\n“I love you, mama…all over your face!”
\n“I love you too, Moon Pie.”
\nShe made it…just like the caterpillar to the glorious Luna.
\n❤️
\n“Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4 NIV\n", "date_published": "2019-06-01T01:30:03-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/06/01/from-beast-to-beauty.html", "tags": ["Family","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Courage","Change"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/05/29/gracious-conversations.html", "title": "Gracious Conversations", "content_html": "
![\"Meme\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/bc8c2490ac.jpg\")
“Let your conversations be gracious and attractive.”
I have been trying to be more conscious of my conversations of late. I try to steer clear of gossip…listening or repeating. I try to discern the difference between sharing concern or inquiring of someone’s wellbeing and telling tales out of school. I have to be honest…I haven’t always done the best at that.
\nI’m a storyteller, but I don’t want to be known as a gossip. So when I have conversations with others, I seek to be gracious. I do have my closest confidants with whom I can be brutally honest, but still be gracious.
\nIt is especially difficult to be gracious in today’s sociopolitical climate. People can be truly offensive without necessarily intending to be. And, the same goes for us. We can easily offend others without being aware of it.
\nSocial media is an excellent place to practice gracious conversation, but it isn’t always easy. I am a co-administrator for our class page on Facebook. I asked that someone be made co-administrator simply because we are aging. So many of our friends were dying, I thought if we lost our administrator, we’d lose control of the page and it’s really wonderful to catch up with our friends there.
\nI received a message from one of my classmates yesterday informing me someone had placed one of those political articles of questionable origin on our class page. She was gracious and expressed her dismay that something so obviously intended to be divisive had been posted there and would I please remove it.
\nI went to the page and didn’t do anything more than read the headlines and immediately removed the post. Then, I created a post of my own and said I had removed a political post. I reminded our classmates that there are plenty of pages that support those kinds of posts and it didn’t matter to me whose side it was on…it was not appropriate for our class page.
\nI reminded them we are only “Big Reds” when we are on that page. It’s intended to keep our classmates informed of upcoming events. All too often these days it is where we inform the class that someone has died. It’s a wonderful place to reconnect with old friends we haven’t seen or heard from…sometimes since graduation.
\nWe can stop the political diatribe from amping up by being gracious in our conversations. And, when that doesn’t work, we can disconnect and/or turn a deaf ear to the offender. Just because someone is baiting us, doesn’t mean we need to bite. I wish it were so simple always. I know it’s not. But it felt good to say, “Look, we’ll have none of that here.”
\nI was camping with a group of women a couple of years ago. Someone went on a rant about politics AND religion…in the SAME conversation. They were making disparaging comments about Jesus. Our hostess stopped her cold by saying, “I love the Lord, and I will not sit here and listen to any such talk. Let’s change the subject, please.” Simple, honest, gracious, and to the point. The subject changed and that was the end of it. I was very proud. And emboldened to have my own gracious conversations.
\nPracticing grace and kindness elevates our spirits. It lifts us above the ugliness that can creep in. Go out and practice gracious conversations this week. See what a difference it makes in your stress level.
\n❤️
\n“let the wise listen and add to their learning, and let the discerning get guidance—” Proverbs 1:5 NIV\n \n", "date_published": "2019-05-29T01:30:27-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/05/29/gracious-conversations.html", "tags": ["Health","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Growth","Grace","Peace","Wisdom","Courage","Choices"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/05/28/praying-for-others.html", "title": "Praying for Others", "content_html": "
![\"Praying](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/7cc49d4eeb.jpg\")
“Praying for others is the key to freedom.”
As time passes, my daughter’s wedding is looming in the forefront of my mind. What to wear? Well, I’ve bought three dresses…so far. It depends what suits me that day, I think. The event seems to be fast and loose so I’m not terribly worried about that part.
\nAs I headed into this, the idea of being the mother of the bride…for the last time really…filled me with delicious anticipation mixed with bits of trepidation. Her father and I have mended a lot of fences over the years and I am so proud of the way we can demonstrate good behaviors for our kids and grandkids. Long gone are the angry jabs at each other over a love gone awry.
\nI overcame the majority of the pain, anger, and resentment through fervent prayer and good therapy. Prayer was my tool. I prayed my family would be healed. I prayed the father of my child would find joy and happiness with the woman he chose. The more I prayed for HIM, the happier I became.
\nThat being said, the enemy loves to sneak in and tell me lies. He loves to remind me I’ve gained a few pounds and my ex-husband will notice. He loves to make me second guess myself and be self conscious of my body and my dress choice. He loves to whisper in my ear and tell me if I would have been a better wife, that great big estate my ex owns could have been mine.
\nLies. They are all lies. I could have been the best wife in the history of the universe and the marriage could have still fallen apart. I’m not taking 100% of that one. I’ll comfortably accept my 50%. If I even consider my weight as being something my ex would judge me for, I’m setting myself up for failure and disappointment.
\nHere’s the thing…if we look for something, we WILL find it. If I look for judgement, I’ll feel judged. If I look for criticism, I’ll feel criticized…even if it’s subconsciously. And, as soon as I feel those things, I’ll react defensively. That whole scenario is a totally no win situation. Nothing good can come from that.
\nRecently I read about a technique for recognizing the cycle of anxiety and stopping it in its tracks. The premise is, as soon as you feel the very first sensations of anxiety…even if it’s just the thought of feeling anxious…you pull back and become the observer. Recognize what is happening and say to yourself…”Hmmmm, that’s interesting. I’m having a feeling that stemmed from a thought. It is just a thought.” Then, you picture surrounding that thought in a bubble, reach out, and poke it with your finger.
\nPoof!
\nWhen you can recognize what anxiety really is, it’s much easier to step back, give it a poke, and send it on it’s way. It has been working quite well in the last few months. One would think, at the ripe age of 66 (in about three weeks), I’d have gotten a handle on anxiety long before now. Sometimes it’s the fear of having an anxiety attack that brings it on. It’s crazy…but it’s quite real.
\nThis wedding isn’t about me. His house isn’t about me. My weight isn’t even completely about me in that it was caused by taking steroids twice this year. I’m the only me I have. I am the only mom my kids have. The only Nana for my grands. I am my husband’s queen. He will think I am scrumptious no matter what I’m wearing or where I sit.
\nThis is such a relief…to let go of fear. The fear of rejection. The fear of not being good enough. The fear of doing or saying something wrong.
\nI am enough. I have always been enough.
\nDang…I love my sixties!
\n❤️
\n“But the moment one turns to the Lord with an open heart, the veil is lifted and they see. Now, the “Lord” I’m referring to is the Holy Spirit, and wherever he is Lord, there is freedom.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-05-28T01:30:31-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/05/28/praying-for-others.html", "tags": ["Family","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Fear","Courage","Aging","Choices","Change","Be Joyful!","Marriage","Wedding"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/05/26/smoke.html", "title": "Smoke", "content_html": "2 Corinthians 3:16-17 TPT
![\"Smoke\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/c7951b9595.jpg\")
“Life has a certain synchronicity. It swirls round and round like wisps of smoke.”
Mail delivery is different when you live on a rural route. When you drive out any two lane blacktop, there are dirt roads that go off up into hollers. There may be a dozen or more houses up there, but it wouldn’t be feasible to send a mail carrier up every little dirt track. So, you often see a whole row of mailboxes on the corner and everyone has to pick up their own mail. Our mailbox is across the two lane from the Ponderosa so we either walk up or stop on our way out when we go somewhere.
\nWhen I first moved in with Mr. FixIt, I seldom got any mail here. I have a post office box that I use for my business so it was just easier for me to get all my mail there. Because the majority of the mail was his, I never really saw it unless I picked it up. Mr. FixIt was throwing away junk mail one day and casually remarked, for some reason he had received coupons for cigarettes. He couldn’t figure out how in the world he ever got on their mailing list.
\nWe went into town yesterday to decorate graves on Mr. FixIt’s side of the family. We stopped to get the mail and there was another cigarette advertisement. He handed me the mail and said, “See? We got it again!” I sat there, holding the mail in my hands. For a moment, my heart skipped a beat and I could barely breathe.
\n“Is this the brand you got before?” I asked.
\n“Yes. It’s always the same.”
\nI ran my fingers over the familiar green box and smiled. Kools.
\n“You know…this is Mr. Virgo’s brand.”
\n“Whoa. That’s weird.”
\n“No…not weird. It’s just a message. A sort of hello from beyond.”
\nI don’t know how things work on the other side exactly. I know there is heaven. And I know the Bible says there is a veil between the worlds and those in heaven cannot see or connect with their loved ones on earth. I also know God loves us and wants to comfort our hearts when we lose loved ones so He sends us things that strike a chord with us. In my case…bluebirds. A particular song that’s out of place. Flickering lights. And, an ad. Of all the cigarette brands that are out there, the one that came was Mr. Virgo’s. It’s not even what I would consider a top brand. Why that one? On Memorial Day weekend?
\nI reached over and took my husband’s hand. I smiled and looked out the window at the passing scenery. I marveled at this lovely life and all its synchronicity…curling round and round like wisps of smoke.
\n“Hello, Mr. Virgo” I said softly. “Thanks for coming to see us.”
\n❤️
\n“Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-05-26T01:30:10-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/05/26/smoke.html", "tags": ["Family","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Hope","Positive Energy","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Courage","Change","Widow","Marriage"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/05/24/thunderbolt-and-lightningbugs.html", "title": "Thunderbolt and Lightning(bugs)", "content_html": "John 17:7 ESV
![\"Dew](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/7ddd99f23c.jpg\")
“Dew on the grass. Lightning bugs. Whippoorwills. It’s springtime in West Virginia.”
I saw the very first lightning bugs of the season on May 17th. It was the first night Mr. FixIt and I slept in the new camper. Then it got cold and I didn’t see any. But I saw a couple more last night. Some folks call them fireflies. We loved summer when we were kids…for so many reasons. But one of the best things was catching lightning bugs and putting them in a canning jar.
\nPopPop would poke holes in a jar lid. We’d put a little grass in the bottom of the jar so the lightning bugs would feel at home. Then us kids would run all over the yard catching the little critters when they swooped up out of the lawn at dusk. We would capture as many as we could and then take the jar to bed with us to watch the magical little lights flash in the dark.
\nSometimes before bed, my Uncle Bud would bring a watermelon out of the cellar house and cut it up in thick slices. He’d cut each slice in half so we had a semi-circle of red sweetness to cool us off. Grandma would let us use the salt shaker and sprinkle a little on before we ate it. To this day, I can’t eat watermelon without salt. We had contests to see who could spit a seed the farthest. Uncle Bud always warned us not to swallow any seeds or we’d grow watermelons in our bellies. For a long time I thought pregnant women weren’t eating watermelon the right way!
\nOnce the watermelon was finished, grandma ran a basin of warm water and we washed up and headed to bed. If it was the peak of summer, we wore little seersucker babydoll PJ’s to bed with just a sheet to cover us. We didn’t know what air conditioning was. We were lucky to have a fan in Uncle Bob’s room that sucked all the hot air out of the house. When it was cool enough, someone turned off the fan.
\nI remember so many summer nights with my jar of lightning bug on a chair by the bed, listening to the night sounds out at the farm. Whippoorwills. Owls. Peepers and tree frogs and bull frogs. When I was really little, we heard bobwhites. I think I might have heard one or two since then.
\nThis is why I love the farm. These memories. They’re as thick as cobwebs and unavoidable. West Virginia. The country. It all just brings me so much peace. I am so grateful I listened to that inner voice and came home when I did. I have never been so happy as I am here…in the home of my heart.
\n❤️
\n“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17 NIV\n", "date_published": "2019-05-24T01:30:58-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/05/24/thunderbolt-and-lightningbugs.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","The Farm","Gratitude","Grace","Peace","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/05/23/wascally-wabbits.html", "title": "Wascally Wabbits!", "content_html": "
![\"Man](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/faa61bb172.jpg\")
“Mr. FixIt…working in the garden.”
Mr. FixIt came to me the other morning with a dejected sigh.
\n“Something ate the beans.”
\nAgain? Hmpffff! Don’t they know that little piece of ground is OURS??? They have five acres. I just want this little patch. Yeah…not likely. We used the rabbit deterrent faithfully…until, we didn’t. All it took was one little rain and one lapse of memory and…poof! No more beans. I think it is the rabbits. But it could be that little chipmunk. Or deer. Or…whatever. The point is…unless you put some sort of protective fencing or netting or both around your garden, you cannot expect to provide a salad bar without getting dinner guests.
\nThat’s ok. We still have the tomatoes. Plenty of tomatoes!!! We had twelve tomato plants and one mysteriously disappeared. No footprints. No trace…just gone. So, we are left with eleven tomato plants and a couple dozen onions. We’re good.
\nI went to the farm yesterday to get the shades from the big camper. For those of you who have been around for the long haul, you will remember the first thing I did when I bought that camper was take those hideous window coverings off. If I’m going to sell the camper, I need to put them back. While I was there, I did the last load of laundry and gathered some camping items I will need in a couple of weeks when we go to Blackwater Falls with the Girl Campers. That’s one thing I like about Girl Campers…you can bring your hubby if you like. We just ask that they do something on their own while we’re there so we can have our girl time. Mr. FixIt is taking his golf clubs.
\nI’m taking the ice cream freezer. There is something so special about homemade ice cream when you’re camping. I also brought the screen house. The mosquitoes will be making an appearance before long and some people are more susceptible to bites than others. I want to make sure everyone is comfortable and has a place to sit out of the rain if need be.
\nWhen I got home, Mr. FixIt had a table saw on the back of the truck that needed to be unloaded. It was way too heavy to pick up but we used our brains over our brawn and tipped it onto a dolly and down the ramps into the garage. Perfect! Just as we were done, the former Mrs. FixIt came over to pick up a tent to go camping. I really like her and we sat for four hours visiting. Then my bonus granddaughter and the baby came over with ice cream. It was such a beautiful day!
\nI love that we can demonstrate for the younger generations that the family relationship doesn’t have to end with divorce. We just open our hearts more and let in love and healing.
\n❤️
\n“How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!” Psalm 133:1 NIV\n", "date_published": "2019-05-23T01:30:35-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/05/23/wascally-wabbits.html", "tags": ["Health","Family","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Forgiveness","Humbled","Choices","Change","Be Joyful!","Widow","Marriage"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/05/21/girl-camper-quilt.html", "title": "Girl Camper Quilt", "content_html": "
![\"Cute](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/79916c1b00.jpg\")
“The Girl Camper Quilt is almost finished!”
I spent the day yesterday at Schoolhouse Quilts. I finished sewing the border on the quilt and Carolyn did the machine quilting. I sat and visited and looked at quilting books for inspiration while the quilt was in the longarm. They make these things so fancy these days. First, she scrolled through the different patterns the machine could quilt in, then you simply put it in the rollers that hold it and push go. You do have to kind of keep an eye on it, but it’s pretty amazing how fast you can machine quilt. I think there’s probably 12 hours of work in this quilt. I do still have to hand stitch the binding down yet. It will be a prize in a giveaway we’ll be doing soon so stay tuned for details and how to enter to win!
\nWe slept in the camper again Sunday night. I am not kidding…I could sleep in my camper every night of the year. I love it that much. I love CAMPING that much. I was going through my calendar yesterday and realized the next Girl Camping event is in sixteen days. The time really flies once warm weather gets here, doesn’t it? It seems like it crawls all winter.
\nThe weather is so beautiful right now. We had rain and I swear, between the rain and the heat, you can actually HEAR the grass grow! I know starting today, we’ll have to start the next round of mowing. I don’t mind mowing, really. It’s fun to get out on the riding mower and let my mind wander as I watch the fields become groomed lawns. But when you start having to mow twice a week, it does get tiresome.
\nStill…with all the work, with all the heat and humidity and bugs and mowing…I wouldn’t trade this life for anything in the whole world! This week we clean and open the pool and mow and hoe the garden. I also will sew the binding on these two quilts and maybe even knit a little on the socks I started at camp. That plus keeping up with my writing schedule and I’ll be one busy Mountain Mama!
\n❤️
\n“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.” Colossians 3:23-24 NIV\n", "date_published": "2019-05-21T01:30:55-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/05/21/girl-camper-quilt.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","goRVing","Love","Peace","Girl Camper","Girl Campers","Be Joyful!","Art"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/05/20/a-lovely-summer-evening.html", "title": "A Lovely Summer Evening", "content_html": "
![\"Peony\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/2fe8718a19.jpg\")
“Spring? It’s more like summer here in West Virginia!”
Ok…it’s not officially summer for another month. But the temperature on the truck was 93 yesterday afternoon so that is close enough for me! Mr. FixIt and I camped in the yard beside the big building Saturday night and it was wonderful. The windows were open and a small fan on low kept us very comfortable. The mattress in the camper is better than any in the house and it’s the best night’s sleep I’ve had in a week. The climb-over-you bed configuration wasn’t a problem so I think we’re a go for the big Colorado trip later this summer.
\nChurch was wonderful…again. As I stood there, holding Mr. FixIt’s hand, praising with the other…I counted my blessings as I counted my bonus family down the pew. Afterwards was breakfast out and catching up with what’s going on in their busy lives. (They thought it was very funny that their grandpa and I camped in the yard. He does lots of new things since I came along!)
\nWe delivered a saw to his son and checked out the deck they are rebuilding. Then we headed home. I had a deadline to meet on this new writing project I’m involved with so I climbed in my little camper, turned on the AC, and got busy. In the meantime, someone came to look at the camper we are selling. When we were both finished, we did that very fun thing we love to do…we took a drive and stopped for ice cream!
\nAs we walked back in, the light was perfect on our peonies just outside the back door so I had to stop and snap a picture. It was the perfect summation of the day…soft and sweet, warm and blessed. As I write this, I am again in the little camper, the windows flung open, the frogs peeping in the creek beyond the far field. What a rich and lovely life we lead!
\n❤️
\n“The season has changed, the bondage of your barren winter has ended, and the season of hiding is over and gone. The rains have soaked the earth and left it bright with blossoming flowers. The season for singing and pruning the vines has arrived. I hear the cooing of doves in our land, filling the air with songs to awaken you and guide you forth.” Song of Songs 2:11-12 TPT\n", "date_published": "2019-05-20T01:30:50-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/05/20/a-lovely-summer-evening.html", "tags": ["Faith","Family","Uplifting Stories","Hope","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Love","Peace","Humbled","Presence","Choices","Be Joyful!","Marriage"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/05/18/quilting-and-thunderstorms.html", "title": "Quilting and Thunderstorms", "content_html": "
![\"Quilting\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/0337935aa5.jpg\")
“Sewing a quilt for my daughter’s wedding gift. The finished top below. Now it will be machine quilted.”
I was trying to remember the last time I made a quilt. I do believe it was a wedding gift for Daughter #1. They’ve been married 24 years this July! So, it’s been a long, long time. Twenty-four years ago, I had a lot more patience doing piece work than I do now. I made a beautiful king sized quilt in an intricately pieced pattern. It took me a long time to make the quilt top and I knew I would never get a quilt that big hand quilted in time for the wedding. I had heard about Cabin Creek Quilters so I took it there to see if anyone could quilt it for me.
\nThe lovely lady in the fabric room in a house WAY up a single track dirt road up a narrow holler was kind enough to do it for me. I picked it up the following summer when I came to West Virginia for a visit. I asked her what I owed her and she said $100! I refused to pay her that. I paid her $200 and that was a bargain.
\nThe quilt for Daughter #2’s wedding is different. I used precut 10” squares and decided the machine quilting would be the showpiece. Their colors are purple and green. I finished the quilt top yesterday and left it with the shop owner. She will sandwich the batting and backing fabric and sew on the binding. I’ll finish the hand-stitching on the binding myself.
\nWhile I was at the shop, I saw some really cute fabric with little campers on it. I’m going to make a throw with it. I don’t know if I’ll make another quilt with an intricate pattern again, but I might. It was really fun to sit at the quilt shop and sew all afternoon. It was reminiscent of my little needlework shop when the gals would come sit and stitch all day on Wednesdays. Those were wonderful memories.
\nIt rained terribly hard yesterday afternoon and it made the humidity go up to 90% last night. Today is supposed to get up to 89 degrees. I think I could live at 72 degrees year round and be perfectly happy. At least the basement didn’t leak! All that rain brought out the frogs. We had them calling in the yard all night. I love the night sounds here. Night before last there was a whippoorwill on the old TV antenna over our bedroom window. Believe me, they aren’t as pleasant to hear incessantly nearby as they are off in the distance.
\nI hope you have a wonderful weekend!
\n❤️
\n“Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.”” Acts 14:17 NIV\n", "date_published": "2019-05-18T01:30:21-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/05/18/quilting-and-thunderstorms.html", "tags": ["Family","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Gratitude","Love","Peace","Be Joyful!","Wedding"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/05/17/farm-life-is-a-good.html", "title": "Farm Life is a Good Life", "content_html": "
![\"Flora](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/ffd0aa4097.jpg\")
“Clockwise from top left: Grandma’s peonies, a row of tiger swallowtails, the peonies out by the road, bearded iris alongside the house, the view from the road, tiger swallowtail up close”
As I was washing the breakfast dishes yesterday, something outside the kitchen window caught my eye. I stood quietly and studied the branches in the cedar and maple trees that frame my view of the yard. Suddenly, I saw it again. A fledgling house wren just took it’s first tentative flight from the nest. It snuggled in amongst the leaves, trying not to draw attention to itself. Mama came flying down and sat beside her brave baby. Soon, she swooped down to the grass and picked up a bug and brought it back to the little one. And so begins the feeding and teaching till this little fellow can survive on his own.
\nI smiled as I dried my hands and set to my morning chores. Mr. FixIt would be home soon and I needed to get things together to go out to the farm. I packed a couple of bags and gathered the laundry to do while we were out there. I took my morning coffee out on the deck by the pool. Then I wandered over to the garden. I sprinkled the plants with rabbit repellent. I caught sight of a chipmunk darting around the corner of the big building out back and wondered if the repellent works for them, too.
\nWhen Mr. FixIt got home, I helped him get the riding mower and the push mower on the utility trailer. Why we didn’t think of doing this two years ago, I’ll never know!
\nWhen we got to the farm, we unloaded the mowers and I hopped on the riding mower. If you remember correctly, when I was mowing the farm by myself it took me a good five hours. I had to mow thirty minutes then cool off and rehydrate…over and over till I was done. I literally finished mowing in less than fifteen minutes with the riding mower! Mr. FixIt took the push mower and mowed the ditches out front and the perimeter of the yard. The edges of the lawn are too soft to use the riding mower. It could collapse the creek bank and take me with it.
\nWhen we were finished, I cooked a good supper of pork chops, lima beans, and Amish potato salad. We sat down to watch the news and there it was…bad storms coming. We were prepared to stay a night or two, but until we fix that drain at the bottom of the steps, we have to be at the Ponderosa if there is a threat of heavy rain or else we’ll have a flooded basement.
\nI washed the dishes and was getting things ready to head back home when Mr. FixIt called to me to bring my phone outside. There, on the driveway, were six or seven tiger swallowtail butterflies, intently feeding on something. I have no idea what. When I startled them at one point, they rose up and circled around and around us for several minutes in a dazzling butterfly dance. Then, just as quickly, they settled back down in the same spot. It was magical and went on for forty-five minutes or so.
\nWe finally had to say goodbye to the butterflies and head back to the Ponderosa. Sometimes farm life is a hard life. But, it’s really a good life.
\n❤️
\n“May God give you heaven’s dew and earth’s richness— an abundance of grain and new wine.” Genesis 27:28 NIV\n", "date_published": "2019-05-17T01:30:58-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/05/17/farm-life-is-a-good.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","The Farm","Gratitude","Comfort","Love","Peace","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/05/16/wednesday-evening-walkabout.html", "title": "Wednesday Evening Walkabout", "content_html": "
![\"Flora\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/fe80e31bbf.jpg\")
“Clockwise from Top Left: Abundant Blueberries, Honey Locust, Wild Grape Vine, Beautiful Peonies”
I finished mowing at the Ponderosa while Mr. FixIt was in town working on a porch he’s building. There were several areas around the edges of the fields where brush, vines and trees had encroached into my mowing space. They are the worst when they hang over and I have to try to mow under them. I bend way far forward over the riding mower, but sometimes a briar will jump out and grab me. So, last night after supper, I did my walkabout and took the loppers with me. I pruned back a lot of branches and threw them into the woods for the critters to munch on and hide in.
\nI finished the back property line before I gave up for the evening. I love how the fields look when they’re freshly mowed. They smell so good and they are all smooth and even. I snapped a few pictures as I moseyed around looking at the many varieties of trees in the woods beyond the far fields. I love this time of year. The dense foliage makes the shadowy underbrush dark and a cool breeze comes out smelling of musty earth and moldy leaves. It’s a rich aroma of sweet decay combined with cut grass, honey locust, and creek water. It’s heavenly, earthy, decadent. It makes me happy.
\nOnce my tools were put away, I climbed in the little camper, snuggled back into my favorite corner and looked out at the sun setting over the far hill. The reflections of the puffy white clouds and bluebird sky on the windshield of my truck added movement and color to the scene. These are my tranquil moments. It’s MY time. Mr. FixIt is in his recliner inside, watching the news. We both worked hard today. It makes the evenings such a gift.
\nWe are blessed beyond belief. We have a roof over our heads, food in our bellies, and love in our hearts. We have a wonderful family. We have our health. We have each other. As I was walking around the field last night, a bluebird dashed in front of me and I smiled.
\n“Well…hello there, Mr. Virgo. I’m doing just fine!”
\n❤️
\n“Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” \n\n", "date_published": "2019-05-16T01:30:23-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/05/16/wednesday-evening-walkabout.html", "tags": ["Health","Family","Uplifting Stories","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Love","Peace","Humbled","Presence","Choices","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/05/15/a-quiet-place.html", "title": "A Quiet Place", "content_html": "1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV
![\"A](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/3f3a238d7d.jpg\")
“Living in a quiet place fills me with peace and gratitude.”
Mr. FixIt had to go help his friend move some things in town yesterday so I hung out at home and “pretend camped”. I piddled around in the camper most of the day. I cleaned up and put things away. I swept and washed the floors and emptied the trash. I wiped things down and stripped the bed. While I was taking off the comforter, I noticed it was damp up by the front wall towards the driver’s side. A leak!
\nIt didn’t leak when I was parked at the campground and we had some pretty heavy rain. This leak came when I was driving through torrential rain on Monday so it has to be either around the window or something at the edge. I happily discovered the bed raises up with pneumatic lifters so I could get under there and have a good look. There were no wet places on the flooring under the bed or in any of the compartments. So I’ll have to look some more.
\nWhile I was in under the bed, I got a good look at the water system. Mr. FixIt helped me and we could not figure out why the pump won’t build up pressure and shut off. Again…more investigation is needed. In the meantime, if I can flush the commode and wash my hands and the dishes, I’m not too concerned about the rest of it. Just about every place I plan to camp will have electric and if it’s cold, I have either the electric blanket or the little space heater to keep me warm.
\nWhen Mr. FixIt got home, he staked up the tomatoes. Something happened to one of the plants. It’s just gone. The rest look good though. And the beans are coming up much better than last year. I still have a bunch of food in the refrigerator in the camper so I fixed us some supper and we sat at the dinette and ate. That made me smile.
\nAfter supper, we went for a quick walk down the road. There’s been some activity on the property next door so we moseyed over to see what’s going on. They are clearing the lot so maybe we’re getting neighbors. We don’t have neighbors within sight of the house so this is something very new for Mr. FixIt. He’s lived here over 40 years.
\nWhen we were walking back down the road, holding hands, I looked out over our field and smiled. All of my life I’ve wanted to live on five acres. And here we are! I looked around and thought of all the things I would have liked to have on these five acres over the years. A barn with maybe some animals…a cow for milk and butter, some chickens, maybe a couple of goats or sheep. A big garden. Some fruit trees. I sure would have done more with this than five acres of lawn to mow. And now?
\nI never say it’s too late to do something. But my priorities have changed. We like to travel and we’re going to be too old before too long to maintain that level of farming. No…we’re looking at simplifying now. But it’s nice to dream about what we might have done, had we been together when we were younger.
\nThis is our little slice of heaven, and so is the farm. When we got back from our walk, I jumped on the riding mower and mowed till it was almost too dark to see. I watched Mr. FixIt with the push mower in the fenced yard. I watched how the mower took the curves of the field and turned them into the swirly rows of a contemporary quilt. I watch the old yellow cat sitting at the edge of the field, eyeing me to see if I was going to sacrifice another turtle for him. Thankfully, I did not. I noticed the petals of the poplar blooms fallen as I mowed over them. I watched the robins swoop in to get the bugs the mower stirred up. I took a deep breath of new mown grass. And…I smiled.
\n❤️
\n“He brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me.” Psalm 18:19 NIV\n", "date_published": "2019-05-15T01:30:15-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/05/15/a-quiet-place.html", "tags": ["Family","Uplifting Stories","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Love","Peace","Humbled","Peaceful Moments","Choices","Change"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/05/12/what-a-hoot.html", "title": "What a Hoot!!!", "content_html": "
![\"Coffee](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/c8d8ab7051.jpg\")
“Coffee in the camper…my favorite thing about camping!”
The Girl Campers have been meeting at Beaver Creek State Park for the last three years or so. Some come for a day or two. Some come for a full week of fun. Gail is our Hostess Extraordinaire. Janine, our fearless leader and “Camper in Chief” is here with her Mister and anytime the three of us get together…it’s the Three Amigas. A good time is always to be had when we gather around the campfire.
\n![\"Woman](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/1d8c1dafe9.jpg\")
“Janine loved her socks!”
We have a Spring and a Fall “What a Hoot” event. Where did we get that name, you ask? We get to listen to the owls! We cannot call them in the spring because they are on the nest. But in the fall, we can play their calls over a speaker and call them in close so we can hear them. It’s beautiful.
\n![\"Pawpaw](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/f502ecc637.jpg\")
“The blossom of the pawpaw tree. Isn’t it beautiful?”
The park naturalist came again yesterday. He took some of the campers on a guided nature walk and identified several varieties of wildflowers. Then later in the afternoon, we went fishing. One of our gals caught a good sized catfish on her second cast. I casted fifty times and didn’t catch a thing but I had fun!
\n![\"Woman](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/8345cb17aa.jpg\")
“Sherri caught a catfish on her second cast!”
I finished knitting the socks I was working on. Janine has been marveling over them for a year. That’s how long it took me to knit them! So, I gifted them to her and she was so tickled.
\n![\"Camping](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/50fc0c0b49.jpg\")
“Some of the girls made camping journals to keep as a memento from their trip.”
Dinner last night was a smorgasbord of soups and fresh fruit. Bourbon Brownie S’mores for dessert! I didn’t have the ones with bourbon…I had mine plain. But they were gooey and decadent. Today, I get back on my diet!
\nI hope you enjoy the photos! I’ll be heading back to the Ponderosa tomorrow!
\nOh, and…it’s Mother’s Day. Moms come in all shapes and sizes and descriptions. Some of us are moms. Some of us chose not to be. Some wanted to be and couldn’t. Some were…and lost their babies in one way or another. Some lost their relationships in some way. A lot of us have lost our moms by the time we get to be my age. And, some are fortunate to yet have theirs. The bottom line is…no matter what state you are in….it’s Mother’s Day. I hope it is a good day for you and yours…even if there are tears.
\nI miss my mom…my grandma…and my “other mother”, Louisa. I’ll see you all some fine day.
\nAnd, I miss my girls. I’ll see them soon!
\n❤️
\n“Adam named his wife Eve, because she would become the mother of all the living.” Genesis 3:20 NIV\n \n", "date_published": "2019-05-12T01:30:56-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/05/12/what-a-hoot.html", "tags": ["Family","Travel","Uplifting Stories","Strong Women","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","Camping","Fun","Gratitude","goRVing","Grace","Love","Peace","Girl Camper","Girl Campers","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/05/10/my-view.html", "title": "My View", "content_html": "
![\"View](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e4f6faaa61.jpg\")
“Oh, how I have missed the big picture window over the bed!”
The thing I have missed the most since I bought TOW-Wanda Grande was the window over the bed. Propping up on pillows with a cup of coffee in the morning and looking out on the sunrise is priceless. And now, I have that back. The other things are the windows at the head and foot of my bed. The windows in TOW-Wanda Grande don’t open very wide and you really don’t get a good breeze. I love having that window open over my head and feeling the cool evening breeze wash over me. It’s also nice to hear the night sounds of frogs and crickets and whatever fauna is lurking around in the dark.
\nThe more I stay in this little camper, the more I absolutely love it. I did have a little problem. I noticed a trail of little black ants making their way up to the cabinet over the refrigerator on Wednesday night. By yesterday morning, there was an army. I opened the cabinet and took all the food out and discovered they had found an open packet of Club Crackers in a box. How can they find this stuff?
\nI pulled everything out and sprayed with a botanical ant killer and they were soon gone. It seems ants have been terrible this year everywhere. We are having a huge problem with them at the Ponderosa.
\nOther than that, and the bed being a tad bit firm for my liking, my heart just sings in this little tiny, tiny home on wheels.
\nMore girls are arriving daily and I believe all should be here by this evening. We have been knitting and talking and eating and napping. Oh, and having campfires. Gail has this new thing she bought called the SoloStove. It looked similar to the tub out of a washing machine and when you burn wood, it doesn’t smoke. You can still smell a wood fire, but just enough that it’s pleasant and it doesn’t choke the life out of you. Life doesn’t get much better than that!
\n❤️
\n“A friend loves at all times...” Proverbs 17:17 NIV\n", "date_published": "2019-05-10T01:30:03-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/05/10/my-view.html", "tags": ["Travel","Uplifting Stories","Strong Women","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","Camping","Fun","Gratitude","goRVing","Peace","Peaceful Moments","Girl Camper","Girl Campers","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/05/05/rainy-days.html", "title": "Rainy Days", "content_html": "
![\"Rhododendron](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/53c0619aff.jpg\")
“Grandma’s rhododendron is starting to bloom out at the farm. I think it might have gotten a little nipped by the polar vortex this winter, but it sure loves these rainy days!”
It has been rainy in West Virginia the last couple of days. We’ve even had some thunderstorms, which I dearly love. I remember really missing them when I lived in Colorado. The thunder doesn’t roll there like it does here. The rain held off till Mr. FixIt and I were finished changing the oil in both trucks. I sat on the mechanic’s stool, looking up at the sky when it started to sprinkle and asked God to please hold off for an hour or so. He was so gracious to do so. Thank you.
\nI was very disappointed. We had everything set up. I got the truck up on the ramps with Mr. FixIt’s guidance, and I got down under the engine and set to work. Try as I might, I simply could NOT loosen the plug in the oil pan. I couldn’t get in a good position to get leverage. The battery pack for the headlamp sat on the back of my head wrong and kept getting in my way. And for some reason, I didn’t like the feeling of that truck over my chest on the plastic ramps Mr. FixIt has. His metal ones were stolen and I just didn’t trust plastic to hold that truck up off me. It gave me the heeby-jeebies.
\nMr. FixIt took my place and, with some difficulty, finally got the plug out. I got BACK under the truck and tried to loosen the oil filter and it wouldn’t budge. I hated to admit defeat, but i just don’t have the arm, wrist, and hand strength I used to have. I climbed back out and sat on the stool handing Mr. FixIt what he needed, when he needed it. When he was finished, I held the funnel while he poured the oil in.
\n“I’m sorry.” I said, dejectedly. “I just couldn’t do it.”
\nMr. FixIt looked at me with soft eyes and said, “That’s ok, baby. That’s what husbands are for.”
\nFor one second, the feminist reared up in my head…then I stopped. I looked at this kind, gentle, yet strong man and said…
\n“Service. That’s your love language, isn’t it?”
\nHe smiled and went back to the task at hand. I didn’t even offer to try helping him when we got his truck up on the ramps. We just chatted as he told me stories or pointed out the differences between the two trucks and their filters. I sat on the stool, smiling and sending up a big “Thank You” for my many, many blessings.
\n❤️?❤️
\n“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” James 1:17 NIV\n", "date_published": "2019-05-05T01:30:13-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/05/05/rainy-days.html", "tags": ["Family","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","God","Wisdom","Humbled","Aging","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/05/02/a-trip-for-tomatoes.html", "title": "A Trip for Tomatoes", "content_html": "
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/467ce7e124.jpg\")
“Shari Sims and her precious pooch greet customers at Sims Greenhouse in Palestine, WV”
Twenty-eight years ago, Shari Sims and her husband opened a little greenhouse in Palestine, WV. It’s a tiny little blink-and-you’ll-miss-it town on the quintessential two-lane blacktop way out in the country but you’d never know it from the looks of the enterprise they’ve got going now. I counted at least four greenhouses filled to the brim with the most gorgeous flowers and vegetables.
\n![\"Succulents\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/4f95d30ce4.jpg\")
“I love the colors of succulents…so soft and soothing.”
We browsed through the many varieties of tomato plants and chose ten. Several of them were at least two feet tall and already have tomatoes set on. $14.00 for all of them! I couldn’t believe it. They also sell wholesale to businesses. We visited with several people as we looked around in the various greenhouses. Shari’s son is soon graduating and has taken an interest in the plant business and runs a separate greenhouse that raises lettuces. I’m really looking forward to that when he opens.
\nSims Greenhouse, 7460 Palestine Road, Palestine, WV ( out Rt. 14 past Elizabeth)
\n![\"Greenhouse\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/bd810bfcdf.jpg\")
“Rows and rows of the most beautiful hanging baskets and the heady aroma of petunias…enough to make you swoon!”
As we were on our way home, I asked Mr. FixIt to drop me off at the little quilt shop that opened this winter. I have decided to make my daughter and her fiancée a quilt for their wedding gift. I can sew it when I’m with the Girl Campers next week. It’s just going to be quick with 9.5” squares in shades of purple and green…their colors for the wedding.
\n![\"Moss](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/ec99eb8656.jpg\")
“Moss baskets add a lovely texture”
I have to tell you…I felt so much better yesterday. We watched the evening news last night and they said I-70 from Pittsburg to St. Louis is going to be under severe weather warnings and that’s exactly where we would have been today if I hadn’t listened to that still, small voice guiding me to stay home.
\nI worked on the camper this afternoon and have it about two-thirds ready. The issues with the propane and the water heater won’t be fixed before I go, but it’s going to be fine. I have dry-camped many, many times. I have electric at my site and a microwave. I can heat up water that way and wash my hair and “bathe”.
\nIt was really hot and humid here yesterday but we are expecting thunderstorms the next couple of days. It was 89 degrees here yesterday afternoon! May can still have some chilly days so I don’t think we’ve hit “summer” weather yet. But, my oh my….it is SO beautiful here this time of year!
\n❤️
\n“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;” Proverbs 3:5 NIV\n", "date_published": "2019-05-02T01:30:07-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/05/02/a-trip-for-tomatoes.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Gratitude","Love","Peaceful Moments","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/04/30/i-choose-joy.html", "title": "I Choose Joy!", "content_html": "
![\"Surf](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/317f78c236.jpg\")
“I’m choosing joy by choosing to remember the special moments we spent at the seashore last week.”
Even though Pastor Justin’s message Sunday morning was about choosing joy, I just had one of my “bad nights”. Yesterday’s post indicated I felt the weight of the world on my shoulders, and I did. Re-entry from vacation was part of it. Being overly tired was another. And, after being gone a week, there was a lot of catching up to do and we just heard one bad thing after another all day. It just hit me hard. Combine that with eating a greasy burger too late in the evening and I was up half the night.
\nI tried all my go-to remedies and nothing seemed to help. I was up pacing the floor. I tried snuggling with Mr. FixIt and that helped, but I was too hot. Finally, I took a Benadryl because I had been out mowing all afternoon and my head was throbbing. I settled into the guest room, opened the window to let the cool night air in, and read my Bible till I got drowsy. When I finally slept, it was sound and deep and restful…just what I asked God for in my nightly prayers. He is a good Father…His lullaby is perfect.
\nI hit the ground running yesterday and went for the MRI of my foot. I’ve had several MRI’s in my lifetime. I couldn’t believe it took a whole hour! It was an open MRI and, of course, the only thing in it was my foot. But the noises were the same. The technician turned up the music really loud and I listened to the country station for an hour. The only hard part was boredom thinking of all the things I could have been doing. Laying still on my back for an hour on a hard table wasn’t too much fun. I just used the time to have a conversation with God.
\nI needed to have fasting blood drawn from an appointment a couple of weeks ago and I kept forgetting to go in so I did that. Then I stopped at the mall and bought yet another dress for the wedding. I can’t seem to make up my mind but this one I really liked and it was 50% off. I can wear it to my niece’s college graduation this weekend and see how I like it. I even found some cute little sandals that were also half price. I’m not buying any more dresses!
\nMy last stop was Walmart for new sheets for the camper. I’m not one for keeping a lot of old sheets around. I buy two pair and rotate them till they’re worn out. I’ll bet I could count on two hands how many sets of sheets I’ve had in my life. Funny thing…they are exactly the same pattern as the sheets I bought for the big camper five years ago. I would have used those, but they were full size and the new camper ya s a queen bed. I also picked up a couple of throw rugs and a new shower curtain. Everything else will get moved from the old camper to the new one.
\nBefore we leave, I need to treat the fresh water tank with a mild bleach solution and run it through the pipes. Then I need to put some Dawn dish soap, Calgon Water Softener, more water, and a bag of ice in the black tank and take the camper for a drive to let it all slosh around in the tank and dislodge anything gunking up the works. I will drive up to a rest area up north and empty the tanks and get them all ready for Thursday. Once I get back home, I’ll make the beds and wipe down the surfaces. I’ll wipe out the fridge and the cabinets and wash the floors. Once the bathroom is cleaned, I can put down the new rugs. I’ll pack it up and we’ll be ready to go!
\nSo…today I choose joy. Even in the busy rush of life and travel preparation. Just breathe. Just breathe.
\n❤️
\n“When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.” Psalm 94:19 NIV\n", "date_published": "2019-04-30T01:30:27-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/04/30/i-choose-joy.html", "tags": ["Faith","Health","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Courage","Choices","Marriage"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/04/27/goodbyefor-now.html", "title": "Goodbye...For Now", "content_html": "
![\"Best](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/be73289f45.jpg\")
“Best Friends”
Goodbyes are so hard…especially since losing Mr. Virgo. My world perspective has forever changed and grief has colored every thought since that fateful day. I am so aware of how tenuous life is and how strong the bonds between us and those we hold most dear.
\nToday we have to say so long to our dearest family/friends as they head back home to Colorado and we head back home to the Ponderosa. We have had such a delightful week. The weather seriously couldn’t have been more perfect. Our first morning here dawned sunny and gorgeous and remained the same the entire week until a band of severe thunder storms came through last evening. It rained hard into the night and brought cooler temperatures but today is supposed to be sunny with a high around 70 so it will be perfect traveling weather.
\nWhile grief and death are not in the forefront of my thoughts anymore, there are certain things that have changed because of my loss. Now, when I see a scene, I see it through the eyes of a widow and know the scenes I wish I had pictures of. As we watched the sunset in a quiet cove along the sound in the Cape Hatteras National Seashore the other night, I looked back. I noticed Ben & Sue turn to take in the last of the golden light as the sun dipped below the horizon over the glassy surface of the water. I smiled as Sue reached for Ben’s hand and I reached for my cell phone to snap this picture. I added the location and date and sent it to her.
\nWe do not know when our time will come, but we do know statistically that women outlive their husbands. When Mr. Virgo died, I really had fewer photos of him than I thought. I wanted to make sure Ben & Sue had all the special events of the week recorded for posterity.
\nAs we drove down to the beach last weekend, I kept thinking…”It’ll be over in an instant and we’ll be driving back home.” And, here we are. But…oh, my. We made some beautiful memories together this week and I will cherish this time together for the rest of my life.
\n❤️
\n“How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!” Psalm 133:1 NIV\n", "date_published": "2019-04-27T01:30:17-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/04/27/goodbyefor-now.html", "tags": ["Faith","Family","Travel","Grief","Positive Energy","Fun","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Aging","Peaceful Moments","Choices","Be Joyful!","Marriage"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/04/25/the-tourists.html", "title": "The Tourists", "content_html": "
![\"OBX\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/d03084391b.jpg\")
“A day in the life of an OBX tourist.”
It is so much fun to see a place through new eyes. Although this is only my fourth trip to the OBX, I’ve seen all the sights multiple times. Sharing them with some of my Colorado family has been such a joy.
\nYesterday, we took off a little earlier than usual, picked up a quick breakfast at McDonald’s, stopped to buy some cold medicine to keep me upright, and headed to the Elizabethan Gardens over on Roanoke Island. I think that is one of my very favorite places on the OBX. It’s only a mile around the gardens, but there is so much to see. It’s also interesting to compare one year to the next as far as the bloom. Last year we were at the peak of the camellia bloom and this year we were just past. Some of the trees had already lost all their blossoms. Many of the azaleas were just past their prime as well this year but there were a few rhododendron in full bloom which is such a treat. The gardens need about fifty more gardeners to clean up the winter detritus but other than that, it was gorgeous. And, it was a glorious day! About 78 degrees with a nice breeze off the sound. Such a treat!
\nThe next stop was the aquarium where we slowly browsed our way through, reading the information placards and taking photos. We especially enjoyed the Turtle Hospital and the educational area where we petted the sting rays. Afterwards, we stopped at High Cotton for ribs, collard greens, slaw, hush puppies, and sweet tea. My favorite place but yesterday wasn’t my favorite visit there. I’m going to chalk that up to having a cold and my tastebuds were off.
\nAfter we returned to the condo and I took a quick nap, we high-tailed it over to the sound side to catch another beautiful sunset. Sitting on the deck of the Sunset Grille, a cold beverage in hand, my sweet man and two of my dearest friends in the world…it doesn’t get much better than this!
\n❤️
\n“He who made the Pleiades and Orion, who turns midnight into dawn and darkens day into night, who calls for the waters of the sea and pours them out over the face of the land— the Lord is his name.” Amos 5:8 NIV\n", "date_published": "2019-04-25T01:30:07-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/04/25/the-tourists.html", "tags": ["Family","Travel","Positive Energy","Fun","Gratitude","Love","Peace","Peaceful Moments","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/04/21/easter-sunday.html", "title": "Easter Sunday", "content_html": "
![\"Curratuck](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/81f365f422.jpg\")
“The sunset over the Curratuck Sound:
I don’t know if it’s because I’m getting older…or maybe it’s gaining a deeper connection to God…but Easter this year seems to have a much, much deeper meaning for me than ever before. I have a close church family relationship…probably for the first time in my life. And I have Mr. FixIt and my bonus family to go to church with. Whatever the reason, this Easter is completely different…personal.
\nWe arrived at the beach yesterday afternoon and did our obligatory stop at the grocery store. We weren’t at the condo more than half an hour when my son-in-law’s parents arrived. Oh, my…I love them dearly and was SO excited to see them. Ben & Sue are the salt of the earth. Good, hardworking people with great character and a terrific sense of humor. I’ve known them now since 1993 or so. I’ll tell you what…my daughter won the lottery when it comes to her husband and in-laws!
\nSue and I never really talked about faith much till the last couple of years and it has been wonderful to share that part of myself with her. We have a lot of wonderful discussions and I am so happy to have them here with us this week.
\nWe found a church right across the street that has an 11:00 service today so we won’t miss Easter.
\nMay you all have a blessed Easter! And for my Jewish family and friends…Happy Passover!
\n❤️
\n“He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ”” Luke 24:6-7 NIV\n \n", "date_published": "2019-04-21T01:30:31-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/04/21/easter-sunday.html", "tags": ["Faith","Family","Travel","Positive Energy","Gratitude","Grace","God","Peace","Holiday","Wisdom","Peaceful Moments","Choices","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/04/19/good-friday.html", "title": "Good Friday", "content_html": "
![\"Flowering](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/9a1b0c334b.jpg\")
“My grandma’s pretty posies…I love to visit them.”
I ran to the farm yesterday to pick up my laundry I left hanging to dry. I took a quick walkabout to see Grandma’s posies. She loved them so much and I always feel so close to her when I see them.
\nGrandma loved Easter time. Her flowers were beautiful and she almost always had all of her family together to go to church. I feel terrible that I won’t be attending church with the kids this weekend, but there is a church right across the road from the condo so we will still get to go to an Easter service.
\nThe bags are packed. Going to the time share is much like camping…we take extra linens and pots and pans because the one’s there are somewhat lacking in substance. We also bring some dry goods with us because groceries down there are so expensive. So, the truck will be packed first thing in the morning and we’ll hit the road no later than 9:00.
\nSmall group last night was wonderful. I talked to the girls about Passover and the rituals around the Seder meal. I brought some traditional foods for them to taste. They weren’t crazy about the gefilte fish!
\nKathy spoke about Easter. She told how Jesus washed the feet of the Disciples. Then, she prepared a basin and pitcher of warm water and washed all of our feet. It was a humbling experience. When she was done, I stepped forward and invited her to sit so that I could wash hers. I followed her example and told her the beautiful attributes Jesus sees when He looks at her. I thanked her for being such a shining example of a humble servant for all of us to see. And I told her how much I dearly love her.
\nWhat a wonderful way to start out our week!
\n❤️
\n“It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.” “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.” “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!” Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean. When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” John 13:1-17 NIV\n", "date_published": "2019-04-19T01:30:21-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/04/19/good-friday.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Prayer","Strong Women","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom","Humbled","Peaceful Moments","Choices","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/04/18/the-beloved-eastern-redbud.html", "title": "The Beloved Eastern Redbud", "content_html": "
![\"Redbud\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/fd35591695.jpg\")
“I couldn’t get a good photo driving today, so I found this one through Google. This is what the redbud trees look like with the fresh, spring green of new growth. Stunning!”
I think I would be hard-pressed to choose just one singular thing that I love the most about West Virginia. There are so many things to choose from…my grandparents’ farm, the lush green woods, the beautiful Ohio River, the sounds of peepers and the numerous birds including whip-poor-wills and owls and mockingbirds. They are all so incredibly beautiful. But, if I had to choose just one thing, it would be the redbud trees in the spring.
\nThese purply-pink flowering trees burst forth in early April bringing breathtaking views around every bend. They tend to stick close to roadways and the stunning shock of pink against the bright spring green of the new growth makes me catch my breath and utter oohs and aahs like watching the Fourth of July Fireworks. They are at their peak this week and I am sure we will have quite the show on our drive south on Friday.
\nWe are both SO looking forward to getting away. We finished the first big mow of the season yesterday and we are so sore we can hardly move. By having the far field brush hogged, our mowed acreage has increased to six acres at the Ponderosa. For those who don’t know, a brush hog is a powerful mower you pull behind a tractor. It cuts down grass much like cutting hay and if you want to return the field to regular mowing, you have to keep after it. However, it isn’t easy mowing. The ground in uneven and choppy and you about lose the fillings in your teeth when you run over it with the riding mower. It will take a while for the grass that grows to look more like a lawn and less like a pasture.
\nThe roughness of mowing, as well as it being our first cutting of the season, has my shoulders, neck and arms screaming. Not even a hot bath could help. Hopefully sleep and NSAIDs will do the trick.
\nMy appointment at the orthopedist went well. He wants to do an MRI of my foot to check for stress fractures. That will be done as soon as we get back from the beach. Today will be spent packing during the day. This evening, I will be reading the Passover Haggadah to my small group from church. I love remembering the Jewish holidays.
\n❤️
\n“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,” Colossians 3:23 NIV\n", "date_published": "2019-04-18T01:30:18-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/04/18/the-beloved-eastern-redbud.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Positive Energy","West Virginia","Gratitude","Love","Peace","Change","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/04/17/a-good-tired.html", "title": "A Good Tired", "content_html": "
![\"Spring](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/4bcb6b5b9c.jpg\")
“Spring flowers make my heart sing!”
Now that the taxes are done, submitted, and accepted, our attention can turn to other things….mainly, mowing. With the rains we received over the weekend, the grass growth was remarkable and it couldn’t be put off another day. We had a neighbor brush hog the far field last fall when we were preparing for the wedding. That field is really rough and needs to be mowed really regularly or we’ll have to resort to the brush hog again. I got about half the field mowed at the Ponderosa then we had to head for the farm. Mr. FixIt mowed while I hauled dropped limbs and did laundry. It was 7:30 by the time we were done and ready to head back home.
\nThis is the kind of tired that feels good. When you do a good solid day’s work and you have something to show for it. When your muscles are sore and you’re hungry and you know you’re going to sleep soundly…that’s a good day’s work. We still have much to do to prepare for our trip but once we are there…it’s beach time, baby. I can’t wait to see Ben & Sue…my son-in-law’s parents. They are joining us for the week and it’s going to be SO much fun. They are the dearest people and we can’t wait to show them all around the Outer Banks!
\nI do have a favor of you. I have an appointment with the orthopedist today for this pain I have in my foot. I think it’s a Morton’s Neuroma and if so, I will likely need a shot in the ball of my foot, which…as you can well imagine…I am not looking forward to. I am preparing myself with lots of prayers and meditation. Please add me to your prayer list that everything goes smoothly, the pain is little to nonexistent, and that whatever they do, it takes care of the pain and I can get back to exercising regularly! Thank you in advance!!!
\nI’ll let you know how it went!
\n❤️
\n“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.””\n\n \n", "date_published": "2019-04-17T01:30:15-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/04/17/a-good-tired.html", "tags": ["Health","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Hope","Positive Energy","The Farm","Growth","Comfort","Courage","Aging","Choices","Change"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/04/16/evidence-of-healing.html", "title": "Evidence of Healing", "content_html": "Jeremiah 29:11-14 NIV
![\"Lighthouse\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/3664c7c6cf.jpg\")
“A memory from a time long ago and far away…”
I know April is a hectic time of year what with my daughter’s birthday and taxes being due. I was also quite busy this spring writing and editing my book. And, our annual trip to the Outer Banks is this weekend so my mind was preoccupied. As I sat down at the computer yesterday to write my post, I was confronted with one of those Facebook memories complete with scads of photos….of Mr. Virgo’s and my Honeymoon.
\nI couldn’t believe it. It was on the 7th and it never once crossed my mind. I remember one year I almost forgot. It was probably four years after his death and I felt so terribly guilty because I nearly went the whole day without thinking about it. This time, it was a whole week PAST the anniversary and I may not have remembered at all if I hadn’t seen the photos. But, I didn’t feel guilty. I actually felt somewhat relieved.
\nThere was a point in my grief when I thought I never would feel even somewhat normal again. I didn’t believe I would ever feel joy or freedom and certainly not romantic love again. Yet, here I am. On the other side. I’ve no doubt I still have my moments. NOT remembering seems monumental in some way.
\nNot focusing on or remembering an important anniversary doesn’t mean I have forgotten Mr. Virgo…or anything about him. It just means time has passed and I am healing. I’ve moved….forward. I wish I could have had some serious reassurance four or five years ago that so much healing could occur in what is a relatively short time in grief years.
\nThis time fourteen years ago, we were driving up the west coast on Highway 1. I wanted to stand on the beach with my husband. Fourteen years later, I’m packing to leave for a trip to the east coast so that I can stand on the beach with my husband.
\nIronic.
\nThe whole thing makes me smile. It makes my heart soften. It makes me ever so grateful to have known…and to now know…such great love.
\n❤️
\n“Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth— for your love is more delightful than wine.” Song of Songs 1:2 NIV\n", "date_published": "2019-04-16T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/04/16/evidence-of-healing.html", "tags": ["Family","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Love","Wisdom","Choices","Change","Be Joyful!","Marriage","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/04/15/hummers.html", "title": "Hummers!", "content_html": "
![\"Hummingbird\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/411c83e0f8.jpg\")
“The hummingbirds are back!”
They’re baaaaaaack! I was stretched out in TOW-Wanda, relishing my very satisfying afternoon nap, when I turned over and gazed out this great big, beautiful front window at the stunning pink flowers on the shrub nearby. That’s when I saw her…a lovely iridescent hummingbird, hovering around the heady floral aroma…getting some much needed nourishment from her migration. My heart leapt for joy! I do so love this time of year…the day I get the taxes done for another year!
\nThis time…I promise…THIS time I will keep my records straight. I will make sure enough is withheld for taxes. I will NOT put it off till the very last minute! I promise!
\nYesterday was a coffee day for the girls from my class and it was such a beautiful day. So many of them couldn’t come for one reason or another and we missed them. Mr. FixIt came and met me at the local library and we sat down to get our taxes done. It went pretty fast because I had most everything completed the day before. We just tidied up loose ends and ended up filing jointly. It saved us some money.
\nWhen I finally hit “send” and the returns went flying through the wires on their way to the IRS, I breathed a HUGE sigh of relief. I turned to Mr. FixIt and said, “Steak! Give me steak! And a baked potato! And broccoli!!! He grinned ear to ear. He was just as glad to have the taxes over so he could get his wife back instead of Godzilla!
\nWe hit traffic coming through town. It was the Easter Parade! I haven’t been to one of those in decades. I rolled the window down and heard the high school marching band going by. I could see them through a parking lot as I sat in traffic. Children rushing for thrown candy. Balloons being carried through the crowds. And finally…the Easter Bunny. It made me realize…since my littles are either too far away, or too big, or too little for the Easter Bunny, I hadn’t even given the furry guy much thought, even with all the store displays. Today after church, we are taking our great granddaughter to the mall to see the furry guy himself. Then I can give the baby her book…Baby’s First Book of Bible Stories. We bought it for her Baby Dedication and forgot to bring it with us. And, we won’t be here for Easter…we’ll be at the beach. There is a church right across the street from out condo so we can still go to services.
\nThe steak was fabulous. Then we went to the park to walk. I couldn’t walk more than half a mile with this painful foot. I have an appointment Wednesday with the Orthopedist to determine what’s going on. I think it’s a Morton’s Neuroma. Let’s lay odds if I’m right or not.
\nWe got home and I fell asleep in the camper…I really LOVE having a window open right above my head! Beautiful, beautiful day!
\n❤️
\n“I know every bird in the mountains...” Psalm 50:11 NIV\n", "date_published": "2019-04-15T01:30:16-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/04/15/hummers.html", "tags": ["Family","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Gratitude","Grace","Humbled","Peaceful Moments","Choices","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/04/14/darkness-into-light.html", "title": "Darkness into Light", "content_html": "
![\"Palm](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/fdc47d0300.jpg\")
“Looking back, I am humbled by my deliverance.”
The stress of doing taxes this week made me sit back and reflect how differently I cope now as opposed to twenty years ago. Back then, I felt like that guy on Ted Mack’s Amateur Hour. You know the one…he twirled plates on top of sticks. First one, then two, then five…and eventually, he had about twelve of them spinning. He ran from one stick to another, desperately trying to keep all the plates spinning without crashing to the ground.
\nI did a great job spinning plates till…I didn’t. I burned out. I hit the wall. There were lots of reasons why, but the bottom line was…I didn’t have good coping skills. I had an alcoholic father. I seriously should have known not to push the drinking thing. But, more and more, I relied on alcohol to prop me up.
\nI had situational anxiety. Going to a party? I’d have a drink in the bathroom while I put on my makeup and called on “Ginny the Party Girl” to step forward…emboldened by a beer. Going to the game with the hospital administrator and his wife? Drink LOTS of beers. Hosting a dinner party for the medical staff? Wine…more wine! It got worse and worse.
\nWhen my marriage started to fall apart, I was terrified. I had no idea how to cope because I worshiped at the altar of my husband. I only had a cursory relationship with God and I didn’t know Jesus at all. I was relying entirely on someone fairly unreliable….myself. When thing became difficult between me and my husband, I started drinking about an hour before he was due home so I could get through the evening. Many times I just got too wasted to cook so I went to bed, leaving my family to fend for themselves.
\nAt the very end of our marriage, I found myself standing in a closet in the dark, drinking really expensive tequila straight from the bottle. I knew…KNEW in that moment that I was in dire straits. Unfortunately, when you are in that place, it’s really, really hard to pull yourself out of it without some help. I was just functional enough to fool people into thinking I still had it together…but I did not.
\nOur last Thanksgiving, my best friend’s husband caught me sneaking into their kitchen during dinner and drinking shots of tequila. I fell asleep on their couch while all the guests were at the table having dessert. I was desperately ill, but I was also an embarrassment. My husband didn’t know what to do with me. When I overdosed a couple of months later, I made the decision for him and I went away to get the help I needed.
\nNow, as a Christian, I know that God uses all things for my good and for HIS glory. Last week in church, I said my usual prayer…”Lord, if you have a message just for me, please deliver it through Pastor Justin.” And, in his message, God sent this…
\n“God will use your experiences for your good. He will use them for His glory. Your experiences are your story and your story has power. It has the power to change people. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there and share your testimony.”
\nI smiled.
\nGod himself told me in that moment that, no matter how bad I got…no matter how messy my life was…no matter how dysfunctional I had been…He had saved me. HE came for ME! He left the 99 and came for the ONE. And when He found me, He carried me on His shoulders back to the flocks and announced to all…”Look, I’ve found my lost sheep! Come! Help me celebrate!”
\nI know God has great things in store for me. I anticipate the unexpected, just like Christine Caine preaches in her book, Unexpected: Leave Fear Behind, Move Forward in Faith, Embrace the Adventure. Yes, sometimes the unexpected is bad. But, sometimes it is amazing. I could never in a million years have imagined back when I was in the throes of torment…where I’d be today. I am so incredibly grateful that Jesus never gave up on me. He pursued me relentlessly because He had a plan. He knew what I was capable of. I am so humbled by His Love. Through Him, I can turn a dark and painful time into a testimony of the Goodness of God
\nOn this…Palm Sunday…remember the triumphal return of Jesus to Jerusalem is also the beginning of Holy Week. It is the true beginning of the end of His earthly walk. May you all be blessed and humbled in the coming week.
\n❤️
\n““What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off? And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off. In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.” \n\n", "date_published": "2019-04-14T01:30:27-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/04/14/darkness-into-light.html", "tags": ["Faith","Health","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom","Forgiveness","Courage","Choices","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/04/13/always-be-humble-and-kind.html", "title": "Always be Humble and Kind", "content_html": "Matthew 18:12-14 NIV
![\"Dandelion\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/47d484a1bf.jpg\")
“I love when God sends me a not-so-gentle reminder to chill out!”
As I’m writing this, I’m propped up in bed, the windows flung wide, the peepers peeping their springtime love song. It is 10:30pm…I just finished a long and particularly grueling day sitting in front of my computer, doing my taxes. One frustration after another…but I doggedly pressed on with only a couple of short tempered outbursts. Finally…finally I got it all filled out and pressed “send” only to find out, yet again, my laptop won’t connect to the internet. I mean…it SAYS it’s connected, but I get a page that says “Cannot find page. Check your internet connection.” It works elsewhere, just not here. So, I said enough is enough for one day and I will pick it up tomorrow….today to you.
\nIn preparation for a day that could be stress-filled, I spent an extra long time in scripture before I got out of bed. I read my devotionals. I listened to a little praise music. I put on the full armor of God. And still, after twelve hours in front of the screen, I found my stress level rising. Poor Mr. FixIt steered clear of me most of the day and when he did have to sit with me, he was very loving and supportive. Good man.
\nWhen I finally called it quits for the day, I was too tired to even go out to TOW-Wanda to write…something I really look forward to when the weather is warm. I came into the bedroom to write, fully prepared to let loose a diatribe about how darned frustrating it is to spend a whole day on the taxes only to find out you have to pay a BOATLOAD. I climbed into bed, set up my little lap desk, opened my iPad, and God smacked me right between the eyes.
\n?
\nThere, staring back at me was a picture of a woman squatting down in front of an absolutely emaciated young child…so tiny and frail and nothing but skin and bones. She’s holding a water bottle up to the child’s lips….the little one with her head tipped back, gratefully taking a sip as she clings to a crust of bread in her tiny hand.
\nI am humbled…ashamed of my anger and frustration that I felt only seconds before.
\nLook what I have. A roof over my head, food on my table, clean water and air, a warm bed to sleep in, health, family…God.
\nYes, paying a big tax bill was not what I expected. But you know what? Just two weeks ago, God gave me a hefty settlement check for the accident I was in two years ago. I had a brain bleed, but can walk and talk. I lost four months of my memory, but my family didn’t have to lay me in the ground. And that check will cover my taxes and then some.
\nThere is always something to be grateful for. ALWAYS.
\nThank you, God…for your provision. And for the stern reminder of how good I have it. You are a good, good Father.
\n❤️
\n“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.” Ephesians 4:2 NIV\n", "date_published": "2019-04-13T01:30:37-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/04/13/always-be-humble-and-kind.html", "tags": ["Faith","Prayer","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","God","Wisdom","Anger","Humbled","Presence","Choices","Change"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/04/11/memory-recall.html", "title": "Memory Recall", "content_html": "
![\"Memories\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/d3b170c5cd.jpg\")
“Photos of childhood memories can bridge the miles between you and your children.”
Sometimes it’s hard to reach my kids, both literally and figuratively. They have busy lives. Jobs, families, houses…they don’t have a lot of time to visit with their mom. I get that. I was in their shoes. So, instead of whining about it and pulling more than a nominal guilt trip, I have taken to sending them pictures of things I find on Pinterest. Not just any old thing. Things that will stir a memory of their childhoods and make them smile whether they have time to talk or not.
\nOne such photo was this one. It is identical to the kitchen we lived in when she was little and her daddy was in medical school. She remembered the sink, she said. But I know, if she remembered the sink, she thought of all the times I canned our food and baked our bread. She might have thought of the times we set up the tent in the backyard so she could have a sleepover. I’m sure she thought of the slumber party I let her have in the Vanagon camper with the pop top. We were still finding peanut M&M’s months later. Maybe she thought of the Christmas Eve Blizzard when we spent the day pushing people out of the ditch in front of the house. Or the time she rode her bike on the church parking lot down the street and almost put her eye out on a tree branch.
\nI miss being close to my kids. Maybe by this time, if I hadn’t have found Mr. FixIt, I might have been back there…or at least spend more time in Colorado. But, just as my girls have lives…so do I. I just have to make the most of the time I do have with them when I am there.
\nI spent yesterday at the farm again. I made great progress on the paperwork I’m doing. Tomorrow I can wrap it up and we can do our taxes and be done with it. I promise myself every year that I wont procrastinate next year…and here we are. Down to the wire yet again. Maybe next year!
\n❤️
\n“But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.” 1 Corinthians 14:40 NIV\n \n", "date_published": "2019-04-11T01:30:10-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/04/11/memory-recall.html", "tags": ["Colorado","Family","Uplifting Stories","Positive Energy","West Virginia","Growth","New Ideas","Gratitude","Grace","Love","Wisdom","Aging","Choices","Change"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/04/08/a-room-with-a-view.html", "title": "A Room With a View", "content_html": "
![\"Camper](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/b5cce7f1dc.jpg\")
“This was the biggest selling point on this camper.”
I could hardly wait to get home yesterday afternoon. We had a beautiful day….the baby dedication at church was lovely and we had a family breakfast afterwards. Then we ran errands. It rained while we were in church and again while we were eating breakfast. Then it was dark and cloudy all afternoon. We got home about 4:00 and I made a bee line for TOW-Wanda III and a much anticipated Sunday afternoon nap. I was no sooner tucked in till the sky opened and the sound of rain on the camper roof lulled me quickly into a deep sleep.
\nWhen I woke up…this is what I saw and I smiled from ear to ear. This window. I love all the light in this camper and this window takes the cake. I can prop myself up in the corner with my lap desk and iPad and be a totally happy camper!
\nI remember all the times in Little TOW-Wanda when I sat like this, propped up with a mug of good coffee and a stack of magazines…staring out a window like this and letting God’s nature heal my broken heart. Oh, how I’ve missed this. To turn over and see the sky. To gaze at stars as I drift off to sleep. I’m itching to get off on adventures but there’s stuff to be done first.
\nToday we are heading to my friend’s house to pick up the camper she’s giving me. I have no idea what shape it’s in so we’ll see. Then there’s taxes. The bathroom is coming along…Mr. FixIt has plumbing to do before we can move the rest of the shower stall in. I need to clean out TOW-Wanda Grande and get her on the market. I need to clean out the truck because we leave the 19th to head to the beach. The first mowing at the Ponderosa occurred this weekend. That means the yard at the farm is going to need mowed this week, for sure.
\nAnd off we go. This is the time of year when we hit the ground running. That lazy nap yesterday, stretched out in my little new-to-me camper looking through my big picture window at the rain on the flowering bushes, will just have to hold me over for a while.
\n❤️
\n“Dear friend, guard Clear Thinking and Common Sense with your life; don’t for a minute lose sight of them. They’ll keep your soul alive and well, they’ll keep you fit and attractive. You’ll travel safely, you’ll neither tire nor trip. You’ll take afternoon naps without a worry, you’ll enjoy a good night’s sleep. No need to panic over alarms or surprises, or predictions that doomsday’s just around the corner, Because GOD will be right there with you; he’ll keep you safe and sound.” Proverbs 3:21-26 MSG\n", "date_published": "2019-04-08T01:30:31-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/04/08/a-room-with-a-view.html", "tags": ["Faith","Family","Uplifting Stories","Positive Energy","Camping","Fun","Gratitude","Comfort","Presence","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/04/07/towwanda-iii-day-cleanup.html", "title": "TOW-Wanda III: Day 1 - Cleanup", "content_html": "
![\"Camper](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/0ce5aedbab.jpg\")
“The first thing that had to go was the bunk bed over the main bed.”
The first thing I did yesterday…after coffee, of course…was head out to the new camper. I could hardly sleep the night before, I was so excited. I didn’t realize how very much I missed my first camper till I got a load of this one! I hooked it up to electric and checked out the systems again. The air conditioning worked fine. I cleaned the filter screen in the AC unit so it works more efficiently. The fan, lights, and microwave. I haven’t checked the refrigerator yet.
\nMr. FixIt was kind enough to bring a ladder and some RV cleaning products out to the camper for me as well as a hose and scrub brush. I started scrubbing with an RV wash/wax combo and followed up with a Norwex cleaning cloth and Norwex cleaning paste to get the black streaks off. I rinsed it well and checked inside…NO LEAKS! Yesssss! No leaks is a good thing…especially with a 2007 camper. This thing is built exceedingly well.
\nThe camper is a Cikira Classic Cruiser 18FB…which roughly translates to an 18 foot camper with a front bed. From what I can find, Cikira RV wasn’t around for very long, but I don’t think that was because they lacked a quality product. If this camper is any indication, the quality is excellent. The RV industry isn’t easy to break into. But more importantly, look at the date of my camper. The economy in 2007 was booming and people were traveling a lot. Then 2008 came and the bottom fell out of the market. No one was spending money on anything extra. I know…that’s when I had to close my needlework shop. Hobbies like camping and needlework are the first to go when it comes to extraneous expenses.
\nOnce I had the outside walls scrubbed down, I opened the awning and gave it a good wash. I left it open to dry in our beautiful 72 degree weather and closed it up before dusk so it wouldn’t gather the dew. Then it was time to head indoors. The first thing that had to go was the bunk bed overtop the main bed. The previous owners had a 10 year old daughter who loved the bunk above, but it was too confining to lay underneath it and I knew I would hit my head every time is sat down. The bunk was secured with sturdy angle iron and the plywood base was screwed securely to it. I removed the twin size memory foam mattress and Mr. FixIt helped me carry it down to the storage room. We can use it for an extra if we have overflow company.
\nThe front piece of the bunk bed was a long piece of heavy angle iron attached to a decorative wood front. I removed that piece but left the other three pieces of angle iron connected to the three walls above the windows. This way, if we ever need the bunk bed again, we can pop it back in easily enough. Taking that bunk out opened up the entire bed area and made it much more comfortable, roomy, and light. By this time I was fried so I gave in and snuggled up on my new bed and took a nap.
\nSo, our blessings continue. Our great granddaughter is being dedicated to Jesus in church this morning! My heart is so happy!
\n❤️
\n“And he took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them and blessed them.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-04-07T01:30:52-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/04/07/towwanda-iii-day-cleanup.html", "tags": ["Faith","Family","Uplifting Stories","Hope","Positive Energy","Fun","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","God","Choices","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/04/06/what-a-crazy-week.html", "title": "What a CRAZY Week!", "content_html": "Mark 10:16 NIV
![\"Camper\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/2922b63151.jpg\")
“The perfect little camper!”
When I started out this week, I never dreamed I’d be the owner of SIX campers by the weekend!!! What??? Yes, that’s right…S-I-X campers! Ok, when Mr. FixIt and I started dating, he had two campers (a hybrid and a 27 foot Jayco) and I had one (a 30’ Starcraft). Then, by fall I bought our fourth camper…a 1967 Franklin I named “Joy”. She is still out at the farm and I need to get her over to the Ponderosa so I can work on her some more.
\nI picked up the little camper yesterday and I’m telling you…she’s a little cream puff. She is immaculate inside with a Sealy memory foam mattress. (Color me happy!) Mr. FixIt went with me to check her out carefully and he agreed I got a good deal on a great little camper. Hooking her up was easy peasy. We stopped at the first gas station and checked the air pressure. This is especially important every single time you tow. Remember the blowout I had coming home from Blackwater Falls a few years ago? It was caused by undetected low tire pressure. I learned a valuable and expensive lesson that day. All four tires were low. This happens when a camper sits for a while. We pumped them all up and headed for home.
\nThe second test would be to see how well Frieda pulled this camper. I was sure she would do well, but this is an 18’ camper. I’ve seen different weights. An online spec sheet says 3740 and the tag on the trailer says 4200. There are some steep hills on the drive home so I watched carefully. Frieda towed that trailer like a boss and the transmission temp didn’t get up over 197 degrees which is perfect. When we got home, I felt the hubs and they were barely warm to the touch so that is wonderful.
\nI pulled the camper around to the side of the house where the water connector is. The exterior surface is fairly dirty and dull. I wanted to see how it would clean up. I used my Norwex cloth and cleaning paste on a two-foot square section and it looked brand new when I was done. When it started getting dark, I went in the camper and stretched out on the yummy mattress. It’s wonderful! I opened the rock guard from the front window and it is exactly like my first camper…a Sportsmen Classic by K-Z RV.
\nI loved my first camper and I’ve got to tell you…I love this one more. If my first camper would have had a dinette with a separate bed, I never would have gotten rid of it. This one has exactly what I’ve always wanted and I’m thrilled!
\nNow, a friend has a 30’ camper that she is giving me and we are going Monday to bring her home….making SIX campers. Mr. FixIt has one for sale now and TOW-Wanda Grande will be on the market as soon as I get her emptied and cleaned up.
\n“Hi, my name is Ginny…and I have a camper addiction.”
\nThis was absolutely, without a doubt, a prayer answered. This camper is more economical, practical, safer to tow….Thank You, God!
\nOh, an update on the bathroom. We managed to go another day without killing each other. However, we did end up having to cut a big chunk out of the drywall to get the bottom piece of the shower stall inserted. AND…there was yet ANOTHER trip to Lowes. Mr. FixIt’s measuring is impeccable. I am not kidding…that opening isn’t 1/16th of an inch bigger than the shower base. I am in the presence of engineering greatness…seriously!
\n❤️
\n“In their hearts humans plan their course, but the Lord establishes their steps.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-04-06T01:30:47-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/04/06/what-a-crazy-week.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Prayer","Positive Energy","Camping","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Downsizing","Choices","Change"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/04/05/the-third-generation.html", "title": "The Third Generation", "content_html": "Proverbs 16:9 NIV
![\"Small](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/7e5accb133.jpg\")
“Introducing TOW-Wanda III”
I’ve spent a lot of time in my big camper so far this year. She has been my office and sanctuary where I sequester myself and write. And lately, I’ve spent an inordinate amount of time thinking about how she came into my life. It was the year after Mr. Virgo died. I sold my house and traded in Little TOW-Wanda for TOW-Wanda Grande. She was fancy-schmancy, let me tell you. When things didn’t work out on the farm like I thought they would, I lit out with this behemoth and hauled her all over the country…writing about it all the way. I lived for months at a time on a hill overlooking the beautiful Ohio River. I camped in my son-in-law’s parents’ driveway in Denver and on my friend Sue’s property overlooking Mesa Verde. I towed her from South Dakota to South Carolina and all points in between. But to just hop in and take her camping spontaneously became a chore. A major chore. It was literally like pulling a house and I didn’t go camping nearly as often as I would have liked.
\nI was visiting with my very wise and experienced friend, Janine Pettit of Girl Camper fame over the weekend in Huntington. I told her I was thinking of going out to get a bigger truck because my camper was just too beefy for her in the mountains. I loved her response. Simple, direct, and too the point.
\n“Ginny, you don’t need a bigger truck. You need a smaller camper.”
\nStopped me cold. It had never seriously occurred to me to downsize the camper until that moment. Suddenly, it made perfect sense. As with all things, I talked to God about it. I told him I would be able to get out and reach more people if I wasn’t so bogged down with the big camper. I told him what I needed in a camper….a bathroom with a toilet and shower, a kitchen with a good sized fridge, a dinette, plenty of storage, and a comfy bed with windows like my first camper. I’ve always been so sorry I traded her in. If I would have known the thing with my aunt at the farm wasn’t going to work out, I never would have gotten such a big camper. That being said, I still wanted a camper with more than one bed. I also wanted a camper with fiberglass sides instead of that rippled aluminum. Those can get dented up so easily with hail and errant branches. Then, I just left it with God. If He wanted me to have a little camper again, He would bring her to me. I knew this…I felt it.
\nYesterday morning, I picked up my phone and I “accidentally” hit the FB Marketplace button and up popped the cutest little camper. I almost couldn’t believe it. I haven’t measured her yet but I think she is about 18’ long…exactly the size of Little TOW-Wanda. It has the fiberglass sides like I wanted. It has a bathroom with a toilet, sink, and shower. It has a kitchen with a full-size refrigerator/freezer, a double sink, a two-burner stove, and a microwave. It has a dinette that will turn down into a single bed. It has a double bed and a bunk bed over it…both with a memory foam mattresses. And, get this…it has the very same window configuration Little TOW-Wanda had. It is absolutely perfect and it cost 1/3 the price of a new one of comparable size with a better floor plan than any I’ve seen.
\nI showed the picture of the camper to Mr. FixIt and told him I was going to text the owner. It had been on FB an hour. I was the first to contact the gal and I went to see the camper last night. I couldn’t believe it. It was exactly….EXACTLY…what I asked for! God is SO good! After carefully inspecting the camper, I told her I’d take it and gave her a little earnest money to hold it till she gets the title for me.
\nI have been trying to think of a name. I was thinking I should call her Pollyanna. But that just doesn’t fit right. Here’s the thing. My main camper will always and forever be “TOW-Wanda”, no matter what she looks like. It’s how I take my mama with me. She would have loved traveling and having her little house with her. Therefore…meet “TOW-Wanda III”.
\n❤️
\n“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.” Proverbs 16:3 NIV\n", "date_published": "2019-04-05T01:30:09-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/04/05/the-third-generation.html", "tags": ["Travel","Uplifting Stories","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","Camping","Fun","West Virginia","Courage","Girl Camper","Girl Campers"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/04/04/renovations.html", "title": "Renovations", "content_html": "
![\"Vintage](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/c33e463b03.jpg\")
“There’s something about vintage kitchens that speaks to my heart.”
I came across this picture on Pinterest the other day. I don’t…CAN’T…spend as much time on Pinterest as I would like to. I have too many irons in the fire right now and I know what a black hole Pinterest is. It’s a candy store for creatives and I get SO lost. I pop in there every day because I get notifications. Almost always, there’s something on my landing page that I might pin if it’s an idea I’m working on, thinking maybe there WILL be a time when I can be a bit more leisurely. I look at my notifications, then I’m out of there…1-2 minutes, tops.
\nThe reason this particular picture grabbed my attention was a memory. Hubby #2 and I moved into our first house a couple of blocks from the medical school and this cabinet, and one just like it on the opposite wall, was in our kitchen. It formed a walkway into the breakfast nook where you sat in front of a big picture window.
\nThe view out the window was unremarkable, but that kitchen was one of the coolest in any house I’ve ever lived in. It was big and roomy with tons of storage space. It had a window over the kitchen sink which is always a must have for me. To this day, I cannot remember if the countertops were red or green…but I definitely remember that vintage style. It spoke to me…even as a young woman.
\nYou don’t find vintage kitchens like this much anymore. We are a throw away society with a newer is better attitude. The young wives of the ‘80s wanted new and better and hopefully not avocado green or harvest gold or that hideous brown copper toned color. No offense…if that’s what you have or what you love, but it was an affront to my sensibilities then and it remains so today. There is NOTHING nostalgic about that for me.
\nSpeaking of renovations, we are still in the throes of redoing master bath at the Ponderosa. I have never been married to a man that could fix or build anything. Seriously, if anything got built or renovated or decorated, it was my doing. I’m the one with the power tools. Well, I was. They all were stolen when someone broke into my storage unit and broke my heart. Mr. FixIt knows how to do everything. He didn’t get his name for nuthin’.
\nHere’s the thing. When I fixed up my mom’s house to put it on the market, I did the entire house myself except for installing the kitchen cabinets, connecting the gas for the new range, and updating the electrical service to the house. I tore the kitchen out to the walls and did it all…set the sink, installed a garbage disposal, new GFI outlets, plumbing, laminate flooring, under cabinet lighting, tiled the backsplash and entryway, coped the baseboards and quarter-round molding. I also refinished the hardwood floors, switched out all the ceiling light fixtures, put in a new doorbell and doors and storm doors, painted the entire inside, changed out the bathroom fixtures, tore the entire floor out and installed a subfloor, underpayment and linoleum, new baseboards and quarter round, a new toilet, took out the old medicine cabinet and installed a new mirror and lights and tiled the backsplash.
\nIn other words…I know my way around a renovation project.
\nThe thing is…I probably didn’t know enough to be intimidated. I just did it. And if I didn’t know how to do something or what tool I needed to do it with, I just consulted the knowledgeable staff at Lowes or read one of my helpful how-to books. I wasn’t picky. If it looked good, that was my bottom line. I thought it turned out great. Anyone who saw it thought it turned out great. And…I did the whole thing in about 4 months…by myself, for the most part.
\nThen I married “The Man With The Engineer’s Brain”.
\nHave you ever asked a man with an engineer’s brain to do something? They will do it. Perfectly. Absolutely perfectly. They will spend an inordinate amount of time drawing up plans…perhaps even doing so on a CAD program on the computer than costs more than the budget of small countries. They will print out the plans and study them and make notes. Then they will go back in and edit said plans. Then…once they are satisfied with the design, they will start the shopping process. The frugal engineer will have his/her supplies mapped out and listed by store according to price. This you will buy here. That you will buy there. All in good time.
\nFinally, the work begins. There will be measuring sessions. That will last a totally unpredictable amount of time. More notes will be taken and perhaps the CAD plans will be altered and reprinted. The flooring alone took several weeks. In a bathroom half the size of a good walk-in closet. Then there came the drywall. The patching. The sanding. The next coat of patching material. The second sanding. The third coat of patching material and the necessary sanding. Then came the painting. First the ceiling. Two coats. Then the walls. At least two coats.
\nI came in to see how it was going after the second coat of paint dried and Mr. FixIt was sanding…again.
\n“What on earth are you doing???”
\n“I didn’t like the way that looked. I don’t like satin paint. You can never get it to look good. I’m fixing this spot.”
\n“Cool. I’m going back out to the camper write now. Love you!”
\nNow we are at the point where we are installing the shower. He measured and calculated and remeasured and recalculated many times and finally…finally…we went to buy the fiberglass shower stall on Monday. That thing weighed a ton. We had to take it apart in order to get it in the house. Once inside, we took the protective coverings off and it was not only scratched, but it had several cracks in the fiberglass surface. So, we had to cart it back outside, put it all back together, and take it back to the store to exchange it. Once home, we had to take it apart again to get it in the house. Thank GOD it didn’t have any cracks because I just might have said a few choice words.
\nI could have had this bathroom done in two…three weeks tops. But I can guarantee you, it would not look nearly as perfect as the bathroom Mr. FixIt is building. I’m more of an instant gratification kind of gal so this has been a real learning opportunity for me in patience and appreciation. It’s coming along though. It’s definitely coming along.
\n❤️
\n“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-04-04T01:30:42-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/04/04/renovations.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","New Ideas","Gratitude","Comfort","Wisdom","Humbled","Presence","Choices","Change"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/03/31/girl-campers.html", "title": "Girl Campers", "content_html": "Romans 12:12 NIV
![\"Campfire](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/96c3806a19.jpg\")
“Aren’t these the cutest little campfire cupcakes?”
There is something so special about camping with a bunch of gals. You may not have met them yet, but they’re going to be your new BFF’s before the weekend is over. I’ve been involved with the whole camp-like-a-girl movement since Mr. Virgo died and I got my first camper. I was first introduced to Sisters on the Fly and along the way, I met and got to know Janine Pettit.
\nJanine has been a girl camper (little “g”) since she was a child and traveled with her parents on camping vacations. Along the way, Janine was asked to write a series on the GoRVing blog about amazing women campers. The RV industry recognized there was a whole demographic they weren’t serving well and Janine was just the person to bring on board to reach them. She’s personable, fun, and extremely knowledgeable about all things camping.
\nAlmost four years ago now, Janine started the Girl Camper Podcast which has become an incredible resource for women hoping to get into camping but may not be sure where to start. You may recall I have been interviewed several times on Janine’s show and I am always honored to attend her events. I meet some of the most wonderful women.
\nI went to Milton, West Virginia yesterday to visit with my tribe. Janine was in from New Jersey for a Camper College at Setzer’s RV in Huntington. Camper College is an event an RV Dealer sponsors with Janine and the gals get a couple of hours to ask questions and learn more about campers and their operation. Gail Bable is the Camp Host for Beaver Creek State Park in East Liverpool, Ohio and she is one of my home girls.
\nI love going to these events because you get to see gals you haven’t seen for a while and you always get to meet new people. I was standing in the kitchen visiting when Gail came up to me and drew my attention to the two women sitting on the sofa.
\n“Ginny, I overheard those two gals chatting. They are both widows.”
\nI walked right over and sat with them. I could see they were emotional and wiping away tears.
\n“What are we talking about, girls?”
\n“Dead husbands, I’m afraid.”
\n“Ahhhhh….yes. I have one of those. I’m Ginny McKinney. It’s so nice to meet you.”
\nWe sat and visited for a bit and exchanged info. One is a published author and the other is a blogger and about to head out full time in her new Little Guy Max camper. You never know who you might meet along the way and how you might be able to help each other.
\nMy good friend, Cherry, brought the cupcakes that look like little campfires. Aren’t they the cutest things??? Janine handed out some swag…collapsible fans, sunglasses, bottle openers. A good time was had by all and of course there was enough food there to feed a small army. I left after dinner to head back home so I could get up in time for church this morning. What a fun, fun weekend!
\nIf you haven’t followed Girl Camper yet, do head over to her Facebook page and her website. It’s such a loving, warm community of women.
\n\n❤️
\n“...a sweet friendship refreshes the soul.” Proverbs 27:9 MSG\n", "date_published": "2019-03-31T01:30:57-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/03/31/girl-campers.html", "tags": ["Travel","Uplifting Stories","Strong Women","Positive Energy","Camping","Fun","West Virginia","goRVing","Girl Camper","Girl Campers"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/03/30/getting-healthy.html", "title": "Getting Healthy", "content_html": "
![\"AdvoCare\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/ee749bfded.jpg\")
“It’s time to get healthy with AdvoCare’s 24 Day Challenge!”
I went to the doctor last week for bronchitis and had to do that thing I’ve dreaded the most…I had to step on a scale! I haven’t weighed myself in ages…mostly because I just find it so demoralizing. I am past the caring what others think of me thing. However, I do still care what I think of myself. I don’t feel healthy when I weigh this much. My feet hurt. My bladder leaks. My acid reflux is abysmal. The whole thing makes me pretty darned cranky.
\nUnfortunately, I’ve had to take steroids twice in the last six months and that wreaks havoc on my weight. However, I can’t just blame this weight gain on medications. Writing this book kept me sequestered in my camper for the last two months. And when I write, I nibble and nosh without thinking much about it. Winter brings the blahs and comfort food gets me in trouble in a hurry.
\nIt’s time to do something about it. I did check into a weight loss program that a friend of mine is one. She has had a dramatic weight loss and looks wonderful, but her program is $400 a month and that is unreasonable for someone on a fixed income. I have decided to do what worked for me last time and just ordered the Advocare 24 Day Challenge. It’s time. It’s not too terribly expensive and if you work it, it really gives me that jump start I need to get me going. If any of you are interested in doing it with me, you can send me a private message and I can send you the link to purchase what you need. If you followed along with me three years ago, you saw what a difference it made.
\nIt’s a new season. I need to stay active and physically fit so I can maintain my fun girl camper lifestyle! I’m going to be 66 this summer…it’s time to really take serious control of my health!
\n❤️
\n“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.” \n\n", "date_published": "2019-03-30T01:30:01-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/03/30/getting-healthy.html", "tags": ["Health","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Wisdom","Aging","Choices","Change","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/03/29/my-friends.html", "title": "My Friends", "content_html": "1 Corinthians 9:24-27 NIV
![\"Whitetail](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/79b3f02211.jpg\")
“The little whitetail deer of West Virginia are so delicate and fine boned compared to the larger mule deer of Colorado.”
Thursday nights have been fun the last three weeks because I’ve spent the evening at the local pizza shop…munching on yummy pizza and people watching. Last night, my friend Charlotte came to have dinner with me and catch up. Charlotte and her husband, my second cousin Rick, are the couple that took my farm cats down to their barn to live. She says they are doing really well. As a matter of fact, four or five beautiful ducks showed up recently and have taken up residence with the cats and a plethora of roosters. A lot of times, people end up with more roosters than they need to get the job done and they end up down at Charlotte’s barn. She has quite a menagerie now. Next week, my small group meetings begin for our Spring session so I won’t be hanging out at the pizza joint for a while.
\nThe other night, I came out to the camper with Mr. FixIt’s headlamp on my head. As I was unlocking the door, something caught my attention and I turned to my left. The light swept across the big field and it looked like the lions of the Serengeti out there. Nothing but eyes shining back at me from just above the grass level. There must have been a dozen deer bedded down out there and at first, it was downright spooky till I figured out what they were.
\nWe don’t have any new babies yet. It won’t be long before we see little spotted fawns gamboling about in the fields of The Ponderosa. Once in a while, we sleep out in the camper now that the weather is getting warmer. When Mr. FixIt joined me the other evening, a huge possum was standing just outside the camper and about scared the stink out of him. The furnace was running and I had the music on so I didn’t hear him yelling.
\nI haven’t smelled any skunks out yet. The birds are starting to nest in the eaves. We have had a problem with swallows nesting in the chimney so we need to get it covered before too long or they’ll be back. I noticed the mockingbird was back this week. It sits on the old TV antenna above our bedroom window, its distinctive call sounding like a multitude of birds. I’m waiting to hear the whip-poor-wills and the owls.
\nTonight is the women’s conference at my church and I’m really looking forward to going with my bonus girls. Afterward, I’m headed to the Girl Camper weekend and the Camper College near Huntington. A fun girl’s weekend!
\nMr. FixIt is making great progress on the master bath now and the flooring is about to go down. He did a wonderful job on the drywall. That is something I never did in all of my renovation projects. It’s hard to handle a full sheet of drywall by yourself. Fortunately, he only had to patch a few places. Hopefully we get this project done soon as there are many more in the lineup and the weather is getting nicer every day. We are about to head into our warmest week yet and it’s none too soon!
\nHappy Friday, everyone. I hope you are going to go out and enjoy this beautiful spring weather in your neck of the woods!
\n❤️
\n““But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.” Job 12:7-10 NIV\n", "date_published": "2019-03-29T01:30:06-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/03/29/my-friends.html", "tags": ["Travel","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","goRVing","Grace","Peace","Girl Camper","Girl Campers","Change","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/03/27/the-ponderosa.html", "title": "The Ponderosa", "content_html": "
![\"Farm\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/38ed537d80.jpg\")
“The Ponderosa is the land I have dreamed of all my life.”
I’ve still been recuperating from this bronchitis/cold/virus/allergy thing. Kind of laying low, taking care of myself. To keep from re-infecting Mr. FixIt (he already had this last month), I’ve been spending a lot of time out in TOW-Wanda…resting, reading, writing, napping, cogitating. It has been very good for me to spend so much time in my little house on wheels. It certainly made winter go by MUCH quicker!
\nAs I was writing this yesterday, I was stretched out in my “sun room”…the slide-out in my camper. It is actually the dinette, but it collapses down and makes a twin-sized bed and I actually have a mattress in there. I have piles of pillows and comfy blankets all around so it’s a nice little cocoon in which to snuggle and write and dream.
\nAn e-mail came in while I was writing and it took me back probably ten years or so. It was from a site called Land Watch. Many years ago, I was trying to convince Mr. Virgo that it would be a very good idea to move back home to West Virginia. He humored me and looked at the farms and land I found. He half-heartedly searched for B&B’s for sale here and in the surrounding states. But, he came from Pennsylvania…he lived a long time in Florida…all with the goal of ultimately living in Colorado. His Nirvana. I think if push came to shove, he would have moved here for me…but he wouldn’t have been happy. God had different plans anyway because he took Mr. Virgo to His home before I could take him to mine.
\nAs I looked at that e-mail and thought of all those times I dreamed of having a few acres in West Virginia, I looked out the windows of TOW-Wanda at the fields and far hills of the Ponderosa and smiled. I have what I have always dreamed of having. A faith-filled life. A wonderful family…biological and bonus. And land…a garden, grass, trees, flowers. TWO farms, actually. I’m doubly blessed. I had no idea ten years ago I would realize my lifelong dream but it wouldn’t look at all like I thought it would. It’s funny how life plays out.
\nI took the liberty of blurring out some identifying features in the photo above. There’s a neighbor up at the top there…I blurred out their home. And I blurred out the roads and route numbers that were on the map. But it gives you an excellent view of the Ponderosa. All that green there? That’s what we mow! This satellite image was taken at least two and a half years ago because the maple is still in the front yard. It fell in late 2016 or early 2017. You can see the curved drive where there are two campers parked. My TOW-Wanda sits where that blue dot is on the map.
\nNature is getting ready to show off…things are getting green. The trees are starting to bud. The forsythia are blooming, as are the daffodils. They were stunted somewhat by the polar vortex, I think. They are much shorter than usual. We were walking through the yard on Monday and realized it won’t be long till we need to mow it. It will be at least a month before we get the pool ready. As I am writing this, the sun is shining. We are at our high for the day…51 degrees. We are going to our Alma Mater’s Girl’s Softball game this evening to watch one of the granddaughters play. It is a good life we live and I still have to pinch myself sometimes to believe I’m really here.
\n❤️
\n“He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters,” Psalm 23:2 NIV\n", "date_published": "2019-03-27T01:30:52-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/03/27/the-ponderosa.html", "tags": ["Family","Uplifting Stories","Hope","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Presence","Choices","Change","Marriage"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/03/26/widowed-or-single.html", "title": "Widowed or Single?", "content_html": "
![\"Widow\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/825ec8b655.jpg\")
“Has the mental image of ‘widow’ changed all that much?
One of my friends shared a post with me yesterday. Ironically, it turns out I know the woman who wrote it. And, I know her well enough to understand what she meant by what she said about being called a widow. The writer, Jan, said she didn’t like the term “widow” because it conjures up this preconceived notion of “old” and “feeble”. As she says, we live in an era where ageism runs rampant. Our gray hair and social mores puts the widow in an unenviable position on more levels than grief alone.
\nJan says she hates going into doctor’s offices and filling out the forms, having to select widowed or single. She has taken to saying she is “single-by-death” because, she DOES feel single. I’m all for changing the vernacular and the image of widows. Of course, the early throes of acute grief is a time where most of us feel old beyond our years, lost, destined to a life of lonely sadness. After that period of crisis, we do begin…in our own time…to heal and move forward. I don’t know any widow who wants to be looked down on and pitied. In this day and age, widows aren’t a bunch of doddering old ladies wearing black and sitting in the corner crying all the time.
\nI hated the term widow, too. I thoroughly resented it at first because I was very, very busy trying to pretend he didn’t die. Calling me a widow just turned a spotlight on my spectacular ruse and left me with nothing but shadow puppets of my former life. I sometimes rebelliously referred to myself as “single-by-chance” simply because I hated the word death as much as I hated the word widow. “Single-by-chance” could cover a lot of situations…death, divorce, break-ups. I liked it. But eventually, I just went with widow and tried to show what one looks like by pulling a huge camper across the country alone and dancing on the bar at Coyote Ugly and going into the wilderness and backroads of Colorado for three months…alone.
\nIn researching photos for this post, I Googled “widow”. There was a plethora of images of spiders and Scarlet Johansson in a black latex catsuit with the occasional Civil War era tintype of a haunted woman in black thrown in for good measure. This got me to thinking…if Google is any indication, maybe the world isn’t as obsessed with the word “widow” as widows themselves are. Widowhood and grief are lonely pursuits. We are singular. We are rather myopic. We have lost half of our whole. At least, we have for a while. Eventually, half reduces itself…bit by tiny little bit.
\nI was widowed…singled-by-chance…surely not by choice. Now that Mr. FixIt and I have married, when I relate my story in my work as a speaker and a writer, I say I was widowed. I suppose in the absolute vernacular, I am a widow. But that is a far smaller piece of who I am today than it used to be. I think that’s the way it should be…for me.
\nThat’s the beauty of language and social norms. We can change things. We can change the words and the images of who we are in the world today. Who we are and how we want to be seen. What works for one may not work for another. Be who…or what…you are. Empirical evidence says…I am a Child of God…first and foremost. The rest is superfluous.
\n❤️
\n““Cursed is anyone who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow.” Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”” \n\n", "date_published": "2019-03-26T01:30:29-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/03/26/widowed-or-single.html", "tags": ["Faith","Health","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","God","Peace","Wisdom","Courage","Choices","Change"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/03/23/the-bodega.html", "title": "The Bodega", "content_html": "Deuteronomy 27:19 NIV
![\"The](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/655e4cad4e.jpg\")
“Coffee at The Bodega”
I decided to treat myself yesterday and stopped in the brand new coffee house that just opened. The Bodega. In Spanish, bodega actually means grocery store. But a broader meaning is a meeting place where you get supplies. I knew when I walked into this sweet storefront…this wasn’t your average run-of-the-mill coffee house. There was something special going on here.
\nThe atmosphere is soft, inviting, with a great big overstuffed sofa with a soft blanket and pillows. Next to it was a huge, supple leather chair. Small tables, fresh flowers, and a sort of fresh vintage farmhouse vibe made the place very comfortable. I ordered one of the homemade cinnamon rolls and a latte. Both were delicious. The staff were warm and inviting and are willing to accommodate the Coffee Divas when we gather for our monthly caffeine infusions.
\nAs I sipped my latte, I caught the music overhead…worship music. I have been immersing myself in praise music lately. I find my spirit uplifted and my writing goes much more smoothly when I get into the Word and Praise more. Then, when I am actually writing, I listen to the Nature Sounds station on Pandora. If I listen to praise music while I write, all I want to do is sing!
\nThe owner of the coffee shop was a missionary in Honduras for some time. While there, they had a gathering place where they received their marching orders for the day. They called it The Bodega because a lot of good things came into and went out of their doors. When she came back to the states, she took some time to heal and ponder how she could create such a place here. There are so many within the surrounding area who need loved on and lifted up.
\nAfter countless “what ifs” she decided to just go for it and jumped in with both feet and thus, The Bodega was born. The owner is looking forward to seeing what kind of great things God has in mind for this little oasis. And so am I.
\n❤️
\n“He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” Mark 16:15 NIV\n \n", "date_published": "2019-03-23T01:30:29-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/03/23/the-bodega.html", "tags": ["Faith","Health","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Peace","Peaceful Moments","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/03/20/from-wounded-to-awakened.html", "title": "From Wounded to Awakened", "content_html": "
![\"Meme\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/2030fde3ac.jpg\")
“Awakened Women know from whence they came. Overcoming brokenness takes a great deal of hard work and patience.”
It would probably be safe to say most of us have been wounded in one way or another in our lives. You don’t get to 65 without some bumps and bruises. I spent so much of my adult life as one of the walking wounded. Growing up with an alcoholic father, being subjected to sexual abuse, experiencing brutality at the hands of a teacher, and getting the pee scared out of me by a traveling preacher were the foundation of fear that wounded my little girl psyche. That led me down a path of self destruction that nearly ended my life.
\nKathy, my small group leader, posted this meme in our group chat yesterday. When you are the wounded woman who has become awakened, you don’t always understand the significance of the steps involved to heal. It’s easier when you watch others achieve their own healing. That’s when you understand just how far you’ve come. In other words, sometimes you really don’t get something till you see it in black and white.
\nI was sitting with Mr. FixIt at breakfast yesterday when I saw this meme. I had just been talking to him the other night about how different I feel with him than with any other person I’ve been with. I am totally at home. Comfortable in my own skin.
\n“You see the list on the left?” I said. “That was me before Mr. Virgo. Actually, I was still a little bit like that while I was married to him. But now? Now I’m firmly planted in the list on the right. You didn’t do that. I didn’t do that. GOD did that. Ok…I had to choose God first. Then I had to ask him to fix me. But HE’S the one that did the fixing. He’s the one who sent the right therapists, the right doctor. He’s the one who gave me the courage to find my voice.”
\nHe “gets” me. He’s the one who gets to reap the rewards of my awakening. I remember back when I was separated from Hubby #2. I knew he had this good, kind, gently, emotive man inside him. He knew I had the potential to embrace everything in the list on the right. We just couldn’t bring those things out in each other. We needed to go through what we went through to become who we are.
\nOur daughter is getting married in August. Mr. FixIt and I will be attending the wedding being held at my ex’s somewhat palatial estate. I’ve never been there but I’ve seen pictures. The “me” that used to live in the left hand list would walk into that house feeling less than…unworthy…apologetic…falling all over myself to make a good impression, to look a certain way, to act a certain way in order to gain approval. The woman I have become is awakened. I know my value. It doesn’t come from anything…or anyone…earthly. I needn’t apologize for anything. I speak gently to myself.
\nI have to admit…the first time I saw a picture of my ex’s house, I burned with envy. For just a moment. The thought was, ‘That should have been MY house!’ Which was immediately followed by, ‘Yes, dear one…but HE comes with that house.’ There’s definitely a reason we aren’t together. We are both much better off apart.
\nThis has been a long….LONG time coming. And, I’m finally…finally…finally there. ❤️
\n“for the light makes everything visible. This is why it is said, “Awake, O sleeper, rise up from the dead, and Christ will give you light.”” \n\n", "date_published": "2019-03-20T01:30:19-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/03/20/from-wounded-to-awakened.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Positive Energy","Growth","Wisdom","Aging","Choices","Change"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/03/15/heaven-sent.html", "title": "Heaven Sent", "content_html": "Ephesians 5:14 NLT
![\"Spring\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/449a532d1a.jpg\")
“I know it isn’t officially spring, but….this is good enough for me!”
Beware the Ides of March, they say. March 15th hasn’t always been my favorite day. For instance, this was the day Hubby #2 told me he wanted a divorce. Not one of my better days. This was also the day of Mr. Virgo’s viewing and Rosary which knocked all previous bad days out of the bad day competition up to that point. I think the 16th nudged ahead of that one.
\nNow though…now is different. Even though it’s not officially spring in West Virginia, you can’t tell Mother Nature that. Yesterday was stellar with a temp of 79 degrees at 4:00pm. After watching videos of the bomb cyclone that tore through Colorado on Wednesday, I was ever so grateful to sit in TOW-Wanda and write. The sounds of the peepers serenaded me as the stiff breezes rocked the camper gently. I even rubbed it in by video chatting with my favorite peeps in Denver and showed them the sunshine and open windows in my camper. Yeah…they don’t like me much right now….can’t understand why. insert eye-roll here
\nWe all have good times and bad times in life that cycle up and down. I don’t forget the bad times. In the throes of acute grief, you honestly don’t believe you will ever feel joy again so it comes as a surprise when you first feel it. You even feel guilty because, after all, how can you possibly laugh when your person died? Eventually, one smile brings two. Laughter slowly replaces tears. Warm memories eventually move the pain of loss a little further back in your mind till eventually, even one day after the angelversary, you can feel the sun on your face and appreciate a warm spring day with undeniable joy in your heart.
\nLife is good. God is great. Spring is here. Joy abounds. Breathe. If these things aren’t here for you yet…hang on. They’re coming. ❤️
\n\n “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength.” Proverbs 17:22 NLT\n", "date_published": "2019-03-15T01:30:41-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/03/15/heaven-sent.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Hope","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Presence","Peaceful Moments","Change","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/03/12/angelversary.html", "title": "Angelversary", "content_html": "
![\"Handsome](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e057599f53.jpg\")
“Remembering Mr. Virgo”
Last year, I removed the date of Mr. Virgo’s death from my calendar so I would no longer receive reminders on my phone. After all, I’m not likely to forget such an event as that anyway. I do have a hard time remembering the exact date of my mom’s death and my grandma’s and my dad’s. I know approximately when they occurred but I have to look it up if I need to know the exact date. Not so with Mr. Virgo’s. I’ll never forget that…or him.
\nIt was six years ago today that we set out to buy the travel trailer to take us into retirement. It was a beautiful sunny day with a hint of spring and we had everything to look forward to. Although I had been having premonitions all week, it was still a shock when he died so suddenly.
\nThis was something I didn’t believe I could recover from. I swore to my girls that I would never, ever get married again because I couldn’t go through this a second time. Yet, here we are…six years down the road and I’m married again…to an equally wonderful man. I’ve been blessed with good men in my life.
\nMy friend Deneene lost her husband in March a few years after me. I began to mentor her through the widow experience when she was going through a particularly rough patch. We don’t get to see each other much anymore as she has moved to South Carolina with her new love. We connect frequently via chat and yesterday, she sent a note telling me she was thinking of me and the angelversary of Mr. Virgo’s death. She asked how I was going to commemorate this day. Last year, when I removed the alarm from my calendar, I thought five years was enough of that. I figured I wouldn’t want to do anything special anymore. But, once I thought about it, I decided I was wrong. Time doesn’t change the facts.
\nIt’s interesting at this point to think of my marriage to Mr. Virgo. He has now been gone the same amount of time we were married. And, just because time has passed, and just because I’m crazy in love with Mr. FixIt and I’m happily married, doesn’t mean my love for this wonderful man I shared my life with has diminished. Daughter #2 called me yesterday and we talked for quite some time about this. When we lose someone so special, our hearts expand at some point. My heart is much, much bigger than it was when Mr. Virgo died. There are spaces there with the names of every person I have truly loved. Those spaces do not become smaller in order to allow room for other to come in. The vessel itself had to grow.
\nAs time has passed after each loss, those spaces that remain from the love lost aren’t empty shells. I’ve filled them with love and memories like filling a beautiful vase with thousands of blooms…only these flowers will never die. There were times, especially with the divorces, that I held onto bitterness and anger, but those things did not serve me. Filling each space in my heart with love has been my saving grace.
\nI am so blessed to be married to such a wonderful man who does not expect me to clean house and rid myself of those spaces in my heart. I would never expect him to do so. If you have truly loved someone, no matter what the end result of the relationship, filling those rooms full of flowers can set you free.
\nSo, I’m at the farm. I’m writing and drinking good coffee and eating chocolate hearts. And I’m counting all my blessings for a heart filled with blooms by remembering my life with a good, kind man. ❤️
\n“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.” Psalm 73:26 NIV\n", "date_published": "2019-03-12T01:30:19-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/03/12/angelversary.html", "tags": ["Family","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Courage","Choices","Change","Marriage"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/03/11/tap-tap-tap.html", "title": "Tap Tap Tap", "content_html": "
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/3206152c59.jpg\")
“Typing away…tap, tap, tap!”
I am back to work on the book. I’m editing the first rough draft and it’s going really well, actually. My prayer going into this was to have a cheerful heart and find joy in the process. It’s amazing what a change in attitude can do in making a normally arduous task into something of a pleasure. Fresh eyes and a little distance gives you a new perspective and it’s easier to identify where the story needs polishing.
\nI took yesterday off. Grandma always instructed us to keep the Sabbath. She told me if I ever sewed anything on Sunday, I’d spend all of eternity picking it out with my teeth. I can approach editing with more joy than before, but that doesn’t mean I want to spend all eternity doing it! We went to church with the family and then brunch.
\nI bought the piece to fix the toilet at the farm. I need to fill the propane tanks for TOW-Wanda. Then I can hole up in the camper and write. Oh…and I finally took down the Christmas tree. I figured it was time with the spring forward thing!
\nWe had such a lovely warm day yesterday. We got out of the truck after church and the peepers were singing! That is definitely the harbinger of spring. We made it through another winter!
\nOh, I wanted to tell you about something that happened last week. Actually, it started about a month ago. I had a small mole on my temple that suddenly started to grow. I didn’t think much of it, but when it became tender and was really getting quite noticeable, I figured it was about time to call the dermatologist to go in and have it taken off.
\nThen I heard a sermon on healings. The premise was to not only pray for the healing….but to believe in the healing and thank God for it as if it had already occurred. Last week, I placed my finger on the growth and thanked God for taking it away for me. I just believed it was gone. I really wish I would have taken a picture of the growth for proof because…in two days’ time, it quite literally dried up and fell off! I run my fingers over the smooth skin where this growth was and I am just so amazed. Power of suggestion? Placebo effect? Nah…I’m going with divine intervention! Isn’t that amazing? ❤️
\n“Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise.” Jeremiah 17:14 NIV\n", "date_published": "2019-03-11T01:30:31-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/03/11/tap-tap-tap.html", "tags": ["Faith","Health","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","God","Wisdom","Humbled","Choices","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/03/09/spring-ahead.html", "title": "Spring Ahead", "content_html": "
![\"Daylight](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/1321da6ab9.jpg\")
“Daylight Savings Time begins at 2:00am tomorrow!”
I sat down yesterday to browse my calendar when it struck me…it’s, like…MARCH! Not only that, it’s over a week into it already. This winter was SO much easier to take so I have to think about what I’ve done differently and do it again next year.
\nWe kept the tree up. Ok…it’s STILL up. It’s not decorated but no one who comes out our road and sees the white lights twinkling through the window really knows that. I love the white lights. They make me happy and if that’s all it takes, then I’ll leave the darned tree up all year round! Ok. I’m not going that far. Maybe it should come down tomorrow. After all, tomorrow night when we go to bed, we turn the clocks forward and Daylight Savings Time begins. I think that should be the new benchmark…the tree goes up the weekend after Thanksgiving and comes down when we spring forward!
\nI spent the entire month of February out in TOW-Wanda. You have no idea what that did for me. My mood stayed up and I felt like I was camping, even though I was out in the field and didn’t actually sleep in the camper. So, I guess this means I have to write a book every February from now on. That works for me!
\nThe writing itself kept my mind occupied and off the fact that we were in that long, dreary stretch of wasteland called winter. I poured myself into my book and before I knew it, 75,000+ words had poured out of my fingers.
\nWe planned and executed projects around the house. Having goals helped make the time pass more quickly.
\nAll of these things kept me looking forward and boosted my spirits. I took breaks away and spent time at the farm which is always my happy place and helped immensely. We have a lot of fun things planned in the coming months. There’s going to be camping trips and gatherings with my friends. My niece is graduating from college in Indiana. We’re going to meet my son-in-law’s parents at our time share in the Outer Banks. We’re going to fit a trip to Florida in there somewhere. We have friends in South Carolina and Tennessee that we want to see. My daughter is getting married in August in Colorado. And we have a new great grandchild coming around the time we get back from the wedding.
\nIt is going to be a fun and busy summer and those are the months I want time to slow down to a crawl!
\nDon’t forget to set your clocks ahead tonight when you go to bed. We’re heading into spring time!!!! ❤️
\n“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.” Ecclesiastes 3:11 NIV\n \n", "date_published": "2019-03-09T02:30:54-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/03/09/spring-ahead.html", "tags": ["Travel","Uplifting Stories","Positive Energy","Fun","Gratitude","Change"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/02/27/writing-and-praying.html", "title": "Writing and Praying", "content_html": "
![\"Praying](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/ee2361d011.jpg\")
“Prayers, Praises, and Persistence”
I was a little worried when I went out to TOW-Wanda yesterday morning. Were the words going to come? Or was I going to hit another roadblock like I did Monday? I gathered my gear, grabbed my coffee, kissed Mr. FixIt, and headed to “the office”.
\nOnce the furnace was on, I slipped out of my shoes and climbed into my little writing nook. I took a few moments to gather my thoughts and figure out a plan of action. Holding the warm coffee between my hands, I closed my eyes and prayed.
\n“Lord, thank you for all these words you’ve been sending me. Thank you for this comfortable place to write in and call my own. Thank you for trusting me to be your hands. Lord, I’m not sure what happened yesterday. My friend Gail says you were just giving me a day of rest. Whatever it was, Lord…please make me a vessel. Use me in whatever way you can. I promise I’ll do what you say. Amen”
\nI sipped my coffee and was about to open the document app and resume writing the book when I felt the nudge.
\n“Find your verse.”
\nThis is something I do when I want to hear personally from God. When I’m having a specific issue, I ask God to help me find my verse…the one he speaks through. If I have my bible, i just open it to the spot that feels right, close my eyes, and point. That is my verse, and 99.9% of the time, it speaks to me directly regarding whatever issue it is I’m dealing with. I can do the same thing with the app.
\nWhen I opened my app yesterday, chose a book, then chose a chapter, the Parable of the Persistent Widow came up. I kid you not. I took one look at it and laughed with glee.
\n“Awwww, Jesus…you are SO good. Would you look at that? How do you expect people to believe this?”
\nIt’s true. The parable was told to the Disciples to remind them to pray and to never give up. You can’t make this stuff up…he answered me right there. So, I prayed again.
\n“Ok, Lord…here I am praying and I’m never going to give up. I just feel like I’m supposed to be going somewhere with this book but I’ve lost my direction. I’m giving it back to you. Guide me where you want this to go.”
\nJust then a dear friend texted me and asked me to give her a call. She said, “I just want to tell you how proud I am of you. You’ve been talking with God. AND…you’ve also been listening to the Holy Spirit as he guides you through your book. You’re doing a great job. Keep it up!”
\nSometimes I wonder if other people can hear my chin hit the floor as much as I can. Not only did he send me a scripture saying “Keep praying! Never give up!” He nudged a friend to reach out and say, “You’re doing a great job. Thanks for listening to the Holy Spirit!” Hokey smokes!
\nI scrolled back and found the exact spot where I went off the rails. I highlighted the words from that point to the end, cut, and pasted them into a new document I entitled “Extras” and saved it. I’m not going to throw those 12,000 words. They may come in handy in another book. I’m back to 52,422 words with a goal of 60,000 to 80,000. I also have a Mission Statement for my book so I know more specifically what to ask for.
\nI don’t want to overwhelm you with God stories each and every day. There are days when other topics seep in, but even then, the underlying story is how God works into it. I also know the timbre of my writing has changed. But, when something so profound gets set down on a platter in front of me, how can I NOT share that? I still shake my head when things like this happen, even though I absolutely KNOW where it comes from. So, here’s my Worship Wednesday post! ❤️
\n“One day Jesus told his disciples a story to show that they should always pray and never give up. “There was a judge in a certain city,” he said, “who neither feared God nor cared about people. A widow of that city came to him repeatedly, saying, ‘Give me justice in this dispute with my enemy.’ The judge ignored her for a while, but finally he said to himself, ‘I don’t fear God or care about people, but this woman is driving me crazy. I’m going to see that she gets justice, because she is wearing me out with her constant requests!’” Then the Lord said, “Learn a lesson from this unjust judge. Even he rendered a just decision in the end. So don’t you think God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly! But when the Son of Man returns, how many will he find on the earth who have faith?””\n\n \n", "date_published": "2019-02-27T02:30:39-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/02/27/writing-and-praying.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","God","Wisdom","Courage","Presence","Writing","Choices"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/02/26/go-with-the-flow.html", "title": "Go With the Flow", "content_html": "Luke 18:1-8 NLT
![\"Go](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/43f57cada3.jpg\")
“When the words don’t come, you have to go with the flow.”
I took Saturday and Sunday off from writing, other than my usual daily blog post. I didn’t get home from town till around 3:00 Saturday afternoon and I decided to give the rest of the day to my sweetheart. Sunday was church with the family and we weren’t back home till late and with the power outage, I needed to focus on keeping the generator running while Mr. FixIt was bowling.
\nI got up early yesterday, grabbed my coffee and headed out to my “office”…aka TOW-Wanda. I sat down and looked at my screen. I wrote about 1200 words, but I wasn’t feeling them. What was wrong? I sat and stared out the window. Two buzzards circled above the yard. Perhaps searching for carrion along the roadside. The sun was bright and totally belied the freezing temperature. The furnace blasted out warm air as I snuggled under my favorite camper blanket.
\nWhat was wrong with me? I’ve been writing prolifically for the past three weeks. Suddenly, I hit a road block. I picked up my phone and looked at the calendar. That can sometimes bring up a memory that’s lurking around the edges of my mind. Ahhhh…Monday. I had to be at the funeral home at 1:00. They were laying my coffee mate’s husband to rest. I hate funerals. I’ve been writing about Mr. Virgo’s funeral. I’ve been at the funeral home twice in a week. I pushed my iPad away and leaned back on my stack of pillows and took my mind through the process I have to go through since Mr. Virgo died.
\nThis isn’t your pain.
\nYour husband didn’t die this week.
\nYou aren’t laying him in the ground.
\nYou don’t have to say goodbye again and again and again.
\nYour role here is to support your friend.
\nI sighed and tucked my writing tools in my big blue bag. There would be no writing this day. That’s ok. It’s important to be flexible…change course when the moment insists…to go with the flow. You can’t force something like writing or your reader will know in a heartbeat. Just because it didn’t flow in that moment, doesn’t mean the supply is gone. It just means someone else needed my heart for a while. ❤️
\n“And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. So encourage each other with these words.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-02-26T02:30:56-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/02/26/go-with-the-flow.html", "tags": ["Faith","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Hope","Positive Energy","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Peace","Wisdom","Presence"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/02/23/i-have-a-voice.html", "title": "“I Have a Voice”", "content_html": "1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 NLT
![\"Woodcarving\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/566f4de725.jpg\")
“I Have a Voice” woodcarving by Evelyn Jimenez
I have met some of the nicest people through my blog. One is a widow named Evelyn. She became very ill after losing her husband and very nearly died herself. Evelyn is a woodcarver, which I find endlessly fascinating. I’ve tried my hand at carving but I haven’t had the right tools for the job. I really would love to try again sometime…in my SPARE time. sigh
\nA few weeks ago, I saw a little faceless woman she carved and titled, “I Have a Voice”. This little round woman struck my heart. I went for a very long time in my life without a voice. I felt like the faceless woman, being told I wasn’t good enough or I was stupid or I was too fat. When you hear these things over and over and over from someone who is supposed to love you, you soon come to believe them as true.
\nI wanted my own little faceless woman to remind me that I am no longer without a voice. I wanted to remember that time when I was without a face so that I might recognize other faceless women. Instead of making me sad when I see her dejected little hands stuffed in her pockets, I smile because she might just be hiding cupcakes in there.
\nAnd…I know. I know she has a voice in there. I know because I had a voice inside…even when it was stifled. We can always say “I wish I would have known then what I know now.” For me it’s more like “I wish I would have known then WHO I know now.” I think if I’d known then how much God loved me, I would have loved myself more. And, if I’d loved myself more, I wouldn’t have allowed myself to be treated so poorly…even as a young child. Hindsight is 20/20. The best thing I can do now is mentor young women and make sure they know they are precious and loved and deserving. ❤️
\n“The desert and the parched land will be glad; the wilderness will rejoice and blossom. Like the crocus, it will burst into bloom; it will rejoice greatly and shout for joy. The glory of Lebanon will be given to it, the splendor of Carmel and Sharon; they will see the glory of the Lord, the splendor of our God.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-02-23T02:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/02/23/i-have-a-voice.html", "tags": ["Faith","Health","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom","Fear","Forgiveness","Courage","Presence","Choices"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/02/18/memories.html", "title": "Memories", "content_html": "Isaiah 35:1-2 NIV
![\"Mother](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/7dcdf3348d.jpg\")
“Mother Earth News was my manual for a good life.”
Daughter #1 texted me this photo yesterday of Mother Earth News magazine. She said “I didn’t know they still published this.” I looked at the text and smiled. It hit my “mom feels” for a number of reasons.
\nFirst, because I just wrote in my book the other day about a time when the Mother Earth News magazine was a huge part of my life. Second, because she remembered it. And lastly….she is a very busy adult, teaches full time and moms my two beautiful granddaughters and lives in Colorado…we don’t get to share moments like this very often.
\nI was a frustrated farm girl in the big city of Denver while my husband was in medical school. I read Mother Earth News like an instruction manual for life. I baked our bread, made homemade granola, yogurt, and even tofu. I canned fruits and vegetables, made jams, jellies, relishes and pickles. I would have raised chickens if city ordinances would have allowed it back then. When we bought our first home on two acres, I set out to make it a little farm. That didn’t really work out so well because of the semi-arid climate. But I certainly had fun trying.
\nThe fact that my daughter remembered my penchant for this magazine just tickled me to no end for some reason. It helped me reach back across time to her youth. It was a hundred lifetimes ago…and it was just yesterday. It’s the simple things that bring the most joy, isn’t it? ❤️
\n“Also take with you every sort of food that is eaten, and store it up. It shall serve as food for you and for them.\"”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-02-18T02:30:54-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/02/18/memories.html", "tags": ["Family","Uplifting Stories","Positive Energy","Gratitude","Peace","Wisdom","Peaceful Moments","Choices","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/02/17/another-peaceful-day.html", "title": "Another Peaceful Day", "content_html": "Genesis 6:21 ESV
![\"Deer](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/99ad6300be.jpg\")
“Deer grazing outside my window in TOW-Wanda.”
I have now spent eight out of the last ten days in TOW-Wanda and I have to tell you…I feel like a million bucks! Usually by this time of year, I’m ready to pull my hair out with boredom. I usually become less content with each passing day, even though the daylight is becoming longer…the long, dark nights shorter. The only two things I have done differently this year is leave the tree up and spend long hours in my camper.
\nThere is a reason girl campers like their little houses on wheels. They offer us a safe sanctuary in which to create. Some of us haul our sewing machines out to the camper in the fall and sit out there happily sewing quilts, clothes for the grandkids, linens for the home, gifts for family and friends. Some knit and crochet, weaving prayers and stories into their creations. Some cross-stitch or needlepoint, creating marvelous pictures from colorful threads.
\nSome gather friends to join us for tea or drinks, showing off our fancy little playhouses. Some have sleepovers with the grandchildren, bringing up the next generation to adore our little campers in the same way we have. There are as many different varieties of girl campers as there are travel trailers and we celebrate each and every one of them every time we tow.
\nMe? Well, as you well know…and I’ve told you repeatedly this week…I write in TOW-Wanda every chance I get. I turn on Pandora, find the Nature Sounds channel, and listen to raucous rainstorms, salient sea breezes, flighty feathered friends chirping in the forests. I’m instantly transported from the chill of wintery West Virginia into another place, another time. My little twinkle lights glow above me…the view out the windows revealing a stoic blue heron near the creek or a browsing herd of deer making their way across the lawn. Yesterday, I watched the moonrise over the hills to the east of the Ponderosa and I counted my blessings in that very moment.
\nI’ve written 30,560 words on my book as of last evening. Words that take me to corners of my mind I sometimes wish were never there. And to places and times that I cherish dearly. These words stir something in me…always. But they are just feelings now. They aren’t happening in this moment. That’s how I keep them from poking me now with little barbs…trolls with sharp sticks…fairies with tiny wands…giants with hammers. They aren’t happening now and God is bigger than any poking thing in our lives.
\n30,560….encouraging words, painful words, funny words, sad words, terrifying words, loving words. This thing is happening! ❤️
\n“A gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-02-17T02:30:01-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/02/17/another-peaceful-day.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","Fun","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","goRVing","Grace","God","Wisdom","Courage","Humbled","Presence","Peaceful Moments","Girl Camper","Girl Campers","Writing","Choices","Change","Art"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/02/16/verbosity.html", "title": "Verbosity", "content_html": "Proverbs 15:4 ESV
![\"Keyboard\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/c0127c9aeb.jpg\")
“I’ve typed over 25,000 in seven days, not including my blog posts. Crazy!”I fixed my coffee and stepped into TOW-Wanda at around 10:00 yesterday morning. By 4:30, with only one short break, I had over 25,000 words written over the course of seven writing days. I think that’s got to be some sort of record! For me, anyway.
\nIt made me curious…what is the average word count for authors? Turns out, Google knows everything. Ernest Hemingway churned out 500 to 1000 words per day. Stephen King claims he types upwards of 2000 words per day. One thousand words per day is the average for bloggers. Twenty-five thousand words in a week isn’t counting the blog. Holy cats!
\nA memoir, or autobiography, is in the same category as a novel and should be between 80,000 and 89,000 words. It’s important to keep track of your word counts. Too few words and you aren’t giving your readers enough. Two many, and you’re trying to emulate War & Peace and it’s snoozeville. Anything over 100,000 is more expensive for a publisher to produce so it’s important to try to land somewhere in these guidelines.
\nSo, I’m at 25,000 words. If I can continue at the current rate, I could have the rough draft done in less than a month. That would be awesome. Thanks for hanging in there with me! I’ll be back out there today. My plan is to just take Sundays off. ❤️
\n“\"Have you understood all these things?\" They said to him, \"Yes.\" And he said to them, \"Therefore every scribe who has been trained for the kingdom of heaven is like a master of a house, who brings out of his treasure what is new and what is old.\"”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-02-16T02:30:18-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/02/16/verbosity.html", "tags": ["Faith","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","Fun","Growth","Gratitude","God","Wisdom","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/02/14/on-lovingunconditionally.html", "title": "On Loving...Unconditionally", "content_html": "Matthew 13:51-52 ESV
![\"A](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/b684a7cb67.jpg\")
“I am a Christian AND I love everyone… unconditionally.”
The other day, a West Virginia delegate made a series of ugly and disparaging comments about the LGBTQ community. He compared them to terrorists and the Ku Klux Klan. He was interviewed later and given an opportunity to clarify his position, and it was actually SO much worse than what was originally reported. When asked what he would do if his son or daughter came home and told him they were gay, the delegate said if it was his daughter, he would take her for a pedicure. If it was his son, he would take him hunting. And if, upon their return, they still said they were gay…he would take them out and “see if they could swim”. The interviewer was aghast and asked, “Are you saying, you would take them out and try to drown them???” He just looked at her with a sinister grin and didn’t answer.
\nI was sickened, on so many levels. First and foremost, that he has this kind of hatred in his heart and calls himself a Christian. Second, that he would turn away from his children, or worse…do them physical harm. And, finally…it HAD to be a West Virginian. Why did he have to come from MY state? The answer is, because there are people like him in every state.
\nHere of late, I have been so uplifted and fortified by my faith, I have been shouting “Hallelujah!” from the rooftops. And that’s how I feel…excited by the ways I see God move in my life. Excited about the opportunities to share my stories of his love and provenance. Then, this week…I received this wedding invitation. And I was reminded, I may be giving people the wrong idea about who I am in my faith.
\nSome people may equate my bold Christian joy with the kind of person who denigrates those who are unlike them, like that delegate from West Virginia. Nothing could be further from the truth. I do not discriminate against anyone. I’m not perfect, but I certainly try to emulate Jesus at every turn. He loves everyone. He does not see people from the outside. He looks at their hearts. After raising my daughters in the Jewish faith, I was appalled when Daughter #2 came home from school crying because the kids called her a “stupid f****** Jew”. I held her close and tried to explain ignorance and intolerance and bigotry. It broke my heart.
\nI respect all faiths, save for those who kill people in the name of their god. I respect all people, save for those who kill or maim or injure children or animals. When I raise my voice in praise for Jesus, I don’t want it to exclude my love for others who don’t believe as I do. I don’t want to walk ahead of and ignore the one who is still looking for God. I don’t want the Muslims and the Jews and the Seiks and the Hindus and even the atheists…anyone of any faith…to think I do not love them equally. I look for, and see, the God in all people. That divine spark that comes from somewhere far beyond the stars. That sign of something far greater than any of us here.
\nI also embrace the LGBTQ community as my fellow human beings, who house that same divine spark as me. It is not my place to judge anyone…not even that delegate from West Virginia. Everyone will be judged by their maker in the end. It’s not my job. At the same time, I’m going to tell you about this amazing Jesus who rules my life. And, I’m going to show you, as best I can by the way that I live, how a good and loving and forgiving Father has changed me. The two can, and in my humble opinion SHOULD walk hand in hand.
\nBecause, you see…that wedding invitation we got in the mail this week? That’s from Daughter #2 and her fiancée…a very kind and loving woman who has helped my baby become a better version of herself. They are getting married in Colorado in August. They love each other completely… unconditionally. How can I not do the same with both of them? This is my child. We love who we love. It is not my place to judge. You may do what you wish, but I do pray I will always, always, always land on the side of love. Because that is the way Jesus loves me.
\n***If you don’t agree with me, that’s ok…I won’t judge you either. I know this is a hot topic for some, but this is my house, my rules. We speak with respect here. This is a case where we’ll take my grandma’s advise…”If we can’t say anything nice, we won’t say anything at all.” ❤️
\n“As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-02-14T02:30:27-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/02/14/on-lovingunconditionally.html", "tags": ["Faith","Family","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Hope","Positive Energy","Fun","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom","Choices","Be Joyful!","Marriage","Wedding"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/02/13/words.html", "title": "13,318 Words!!!", "content_html": "Romans 14:1-4 ESV
![\"IPad](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/25bb271069.jpg\")
“Making progress, writing in TOW-Wanda.”
I have a perfectly good laptop I can use for writing. As a matter of fact, all of the writing I have ever done for this book has been on the laptop as Word documents. Over the years, I have become accustomed to using my iPad for all of my posts for my blog. I’ve also used my phone, much to my son-in-law’s surprise. He can’t imagine typing out an e-mail on an iPhone, let along an entire essay! I say, where there’s a will, there’s a way.
\nThis is my third generation iPad. I don’t know if I’ll ever buy another one. I suppose, if this one becomes obsolete, I’ll have to, but this one works just fine. When I bought it, I found a wonderful case that has a built in keyboard, It folds up exactly like a laptop so it’s perfect for me. It’s light and portable. All my photo editing apps are on it. It’s really all I use anymore.
\nAfter taking Sunday off for Church and yesterday off to catch up with errands, I was looking forward to getting out there in TOW-Wanda and writing. I have Pandora radio on my iPad and I love to listen to Nature Sounds Radio. It runs through different scenarios, most often rain and thunderstorms, ocean sounds, and occasionally a campfire or crickets. In the evenings, if I write in the living room while Mr. FixIt watches TV, I wear my Bose sound cancelling headphones with the nature sounds and I can write uninterrupted. The same in the camper, unless it’s actually raining. Then I’ll just listen to the rain on the roof.
\nIt was in the mid-‘50s yesterday here at the Ponderosa. What a treat that was! This really hasn’t been a bad winter at all. An added benefit of listening to these summery nature sounds is how easy it is to fool my brain into thinking it’s not wintertime! Usually January literally c-r-a-w-l by in the slowest way, but this year that was not the case. I can’t believe tomorrow is Valentine’s Day.
\nSpeaking of Valentine’s Day, my sweetie brought me a dozen creamy white roses Monday evening. They are in my Mikasa vase on the living room table where I can see them as I write. What a sweet man! I bought him a watch for his birthday and told him it had to count for Valentine’s Day too since both occur in February.
\nIt feels good to be moving along on my book again. I’m doing something different this time…besides writing it on my iPad where I’m more comfortable. This time I’m taking the advice of some seasoned writers and just writing the whole story straight through without worrying about editing along the way. I am so accustomed to writing these essays every day and keeping a close eye on the editing. It is a bit of a challenge to just…write. It goes a lot faster, though. I’ll have to say that.
\nI like the app I write with. It’s called Pages and keeps track of your word count. This is something that’s useful in knowing when a chapter is long enough. It’s also helpful to know your total word count for publishing reasons. The average novel is 60-80,000 words. If that’s the case, I’m really making good progress. The person I am working with on this says to just get it written, then we’ll worry about who’s going to publish it.
\nAnd here it is…hump day already. Hope you all have a really great day. I’ll be writing some more! ❤️
\n“The words of a man's mouth are deep waters; the fountain of wisdom is a bubbling brook.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-02-13T02:30:53-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/02/13/words.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Peaceful Moments","Writing"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/02/09/the-farm-and-me.html", "title": "The Farm and Me", "content_html": "Proverbs 18:4 ESV
![\"window\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/75abbe2a77.jpg\")
“The Farm is my ultimate happy place!”
If the weather hadn’t turned colder yesterday, I would have spent the night out in TOW-Wanda last night. But, with a low of 17 degrees forecast, I opted for the next best thing and headed to the farm! I made sure Mr. FixIt had everything he needed, filled him with more cold meds, propped him up in his recliner with a cover and a heating pad and made my escape. He still has some potato soup to warm up and I promised I’d be back sometime today. I could sit and watch him suffer and watch TV, or I could write. With his full support, I chose writing.
\nAnd write I did! As of the time I am typing this post, I’ve written 7141 words since Thursday morning at 11:00. That’s a lot of words! The goal when you write is just to get the rough draft down. Write it all out…worry about editing later. That is the most difficult part for me. I want it perfect the first time so I don’t have to go back over it again. I don’t know anyone that works for.
\nI stopped at my cousin’s barn on the way out here yesterday to leave 80 cans of cat food and a 40 pound bag of dry cat food. Yes, I was prepared for the winter and had just purchased all that a few days before the cats were moved to their new home in the big barn. So, they were gifted cat food aplenty! I was thrilled to learn the kitties are hanging out there and haven’t wandered off. I saw Kitty Boy, the young short hair. My cousin said they were both there last night when he fed them. There are six roosters down at the barn and they all get along fine. This makes me happy!
\nThe farm is my time machine. Every time I get to stay here, I am swept back to my childhood. I get to feel all those really great feelings again. This farm and TOW-Wanda are my happy places. Right now, as I write this, I am propped up in Grandma’s bed. I cracked the window open when I first got here so I can hear the water running in the creek. We’ve had a lot of rain this week so the runoff is pretty high.
\nI’ve been really surprised we haven’t lost more trees out here. There are mudslides all around these parts this time of year. The ground freezes hard and when it thaws, it’s aerated. Then the heavy rains come and the ground gets so saturated, all it takes is a good windstorm and trees get uprooted. Mud and rocks slip down, sometimes covering the road…sometimes taking the road along with it.
\nAs Mr. FixIt came home from bowling Thursday night, he called me to say there was a huge tree lying across the road at the top of a hill less that two miles from the house. He managed to turn around and, knowing every backroad within fifty miles of here, made a quick shortcut that would bring him back out on the two lane just past the tree. We were asking on the phone as he drove when he said, “Whoa, whoa, whoa!” I asked what was wrong and he said he drove right into standing water on the road. He wasn’t driving too fast…it was just there before he knew it. It’s easy to see how people can get caught up and swept away in high water when you have little to no warning it’s ahead. Thank goodness, he got right through and was home in no time.
\nI stopped at the Piggly Wiggly on the way to the farm and picked up a few things. I had a small steak and baked potato for dinner. Yummmm! I’ll spend today writing and doing laundry before I head home. I hope you all are planning a wonderful weekend! ❤️
\n“My heart is stirred by a noble theme as I recite my verses for the king; my tongue is the pen of a skillful writer.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-02-09T02:30:22-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/02/09/the-farm-and-me.html", "tags": ["Faith","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","God","Courage","Peaceful Moments","Writing","Choices","The Cats","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/02/08/im-writing-again.html", "title": "I’m Writing Again", "content_html": "Psalm 45:1 NIV
![\"iPad](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/a0fa5b1c9e.jpg\")
“Writing again…this time I mean it.”
About a year ago, I set my book on the back burner at the urging of my agent. She wanted me to focus on increasing my social media presence. And, while taking a break from working on the book was welcome, that time hasn’t made a huge difference in how many people follow my blog or Twitter or Instagram accounts. People come, people go. Maybe you need this for a season. Maybe for a reason. But things just stay the same overall.
\nI’m not complaining…not by a long shot. I love sharing my thoughts and stories here on the daily. But I found myself spending entirely too much time knitting and my book still sits. Sigh. It’s not going to write itself. If it were, it would be a best seller by now.
\nMy accountability team contacted me yesterday and gave me the kick in the butt I needed…with an order. Five hundred words by 5:00 Wednesday afternoon! I got up earlier than usual yesterday. I made sure Mr. FixIt had everything he needed. I packed up my bag with my iPad, headphones, iPhone, and reference materials, grabbed a drink and my umbrella, and headed out to TOW-Wanda.
\nI extended the slide-out which normally holds the dinette. I have the table lowered and a twin mattress on top. I grabbed the pillows off the bed and propped them up at one end. I turned the furnace on to ward off the chill. I jumped in, covered up with the softest minky throw, propped my portable desk on my lap, and dove into my Pages app and started writing. I designed my book cover. I finally took a leap and typed in the title…something that has been eluding me for years. (Shhhh…it’s a secret. I can’t tell you what it is.)
\nSix hundred ninety words later, I turn off the iPad and looked off into the gloomy afternoon. The rain pounded on the roof, pelting the windows with a sound much like bacon frying. A sudden flash of lightning and a quick clap of thunder told me the storm was getting closer and intensifying. In the early days of trailer camping, a thunderstorm caused me to worry I might get electrocuted. I’m sure you aren’t as protected in a camper as you are in a house, but I’ve long since let go of the fear of storms. I leaned back and smiled. I pulled the soft minky material up under my chin and allowed my mind to drift along till I heard a tapping at my door. Mr. FixIt was leaving to go bowl and wanted to give me a hug. He’s feeling better, thank goodness.
\nSoon after he was gone, I gathered up my things and headed back inside. The sky was clouding up again and I knew I was going to need to be inside to keep an eye on that leaky drain downstairs that overflows when it rains. It was a good day. A productive day. Six hundred ninety words down. Who knows how many to go. ❤️
\n“\"Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: Write in a book all the words that I have spoken to you.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-02-08T02:30:45-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/02/08/im-writing-again.html", "tags": ["Faith","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","Growth","Courage","Presence","Peaceful Moments","Writing","Choices"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/02/06/i-need-that-joy.html", "title": "I Need That Joy...", "content_html": "Jeremiah 30:2 ESV
![\"Joy](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/f029b30bde.jpg\")
“I Need That Joy…down in my heart!”
I love, love, love the way God works in my life! It’s like an elaborately woven tapestry with bright colors here and dark colors there…never seeing what’s developing in the picture till you get some perspective. That’s when you start to see how this thread that was pulled over here is causing that thread to move over there. And then you see…you really SEE. And you know beyond a shadow of a doubt…it is GOD!
\nCase in point. We were standing in the lobby Sunday waiting for the doors to open and head into church. I was talking with my step-daughter about my blog and how my spiritual walk began to blossom within it. I explained how the enemy really started attacking me when I opened up my heart and started praising God in my writing and adding scripture to my posts. I attended my very first Revival and was baptized in the Spirit which took things to a whole new level. Pastor Matt told us one night to take back our homes and our properties and to banish the enemy from the premises. The next morning, I got Grandma’s old bible from the buffet and walked around the perimeter of the yard, hands outstretched, shouting praises without shame. I informed the enemy he had no dominion over me or my house and I showed him the boundary. It’s one of my favorite stories and it was the first time I had shared it with my bonus family.
\nSoon, we went into the sanctuary and were seated. Pastor Justin gave a wonderful sermon about patience. At one point, he started getting animated and talked about banishing the enemy from our homes and properties. I sat back and smiled and thought, “Here it comes!” He went on to say, “Take your bibles and walk around the perimeter of your property and send the devil packing!” My step-daughter and I whipped around and looked at each other, mouths gaped open, and laughed out loud. I love it when that happens. And when you are attuned, it happens a lot. You just have to pay attention. I was so glad God showed them he was there!
\nI told you earlier this year new things were coming. I still can’t talk about the specifics yet, but I knew there were a couple of associations I had to sever before I could move forward into the new project. I’ve waffled, I have to admit. Because a “bird in the hand is worth two in the bush”, as my grandma used to say. I prayed about it and told God I put all my trust in him and I know he will open the new doors where he wants me to go. I hit “send” on the last e-mail and immediately, Spirit told me to turn on the Christian radio station I was listening to earlier in the day. I did, and the worship song “Joy” by King & Country came on. Now, I’ve never heard that song, but listen carefully to the lyrics and you will hear God saying, “Yes! Things were critical and you made a choice. Now…feel the JOY!”
\nWow…these kinds of things really pump me up! My body was humming like I was plugged into an outlet. And, in all actuality, I was. I was getting recharged by the Holy Spirit. I couldn’t help but feel that “joy, joy, joy, joy down in my heart!” More to come down the road as the journey continues. ❤️
\n\n“Clap your hands, all peoples! Shout to God with loud songs of joy!”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-02-06T02:30:12-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/02/06/i-need-that-joy.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","God","Wisdom","Courage","Choices","Change","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/01/27/building-up-my-stash.html", "title": "Building up my Stash", "content_html": "Psalms 47:1 ESV
![\"Hand-knit](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/277709f330.jpg\")
“Eighteen hand-knit cotton dishclothes are perfect for impromptu gifts.”
Yesterday was a decompression day. Taking care of and loving on lots of people this week left me needing a day that was all about me, for the most part. I’m almost finished with the cotton yarn I bought to knit dishcloths. There’s probably enough to make a couple more. I have eighteen in my stash. I like having these around for impromptu gift giving. I also get a bar of lavender soap every time my doTerra order comes around and I don’t need vitamins. I put these things all away to have ready for birthdays and hostess gifts.
\nI have this whole bonus family through marrying Mr. FixIt and I am thrilled to say the grandkids are going to church with me today! Mr. FixIt and I will go at noon then when he bowls this evening, I’ll take the grandkids with me and treat them out to dinner after church. I wanted to spend some quality time alone with them. Bonding time is important in step-families…even when the kids are all grown up. I’m so excited…I can hardly wait!
\nI told you I would let you know if I slept well again when I practiced handing everything over to God before bed. Well, I did and it was amazing how fast I fell asleep…and stayed asleep all night. I think I’m onto something here!
\nWe haven’t been to church for two weeks because of bad weather. I can hardly wait to get there today…twice! Have a blessed Sunday, dear ones. I’ll see you this evening for Sunday Night Prayer Circle. ❤️
\n“Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-01-27T02:30:49-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/01/27/building-up-my-stash.html", "tags": ["Faith","Family","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","God","Peace","Wisdom","Courage","Choices","Change","Be Joyful!","Marriage"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/01/26/happy-feet.html", "title": "Happy Feet", "content_html": "Proverbs 17:6 NIV
![\"LL](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/8d5ddecbd8.jpg\")
“I love my new Happy Camper Slippers!”
My new slippers arrived yesterday! Yes…I had to have them. They are so cute and comfy. And they make me smile!
\nI’ve had an interesting week ministering to my family, loving my kids through life issues, being a mentor to the grandchildren. Missing the Colorado family. Sharing the Gospel. And the love. It’s been a challenge AND it’s been incredibly rewarding. And, I’m totally whupped tonight as I write this.
\nI have had a lot on my mind this week and I haven’t slept well. So, Thursday night I did like they suggested in Goliath Will Fall. When I laid down in bed, I told God I had worked on this stuff long enough. I said, “Here, I’m giving this to you to work on tonight. I’m going to sleep.” And I did. I mean…it really worked! I slept ten hours straight. I haven’t done that in ages but I’m going to try it again. I’ll let you know how it works.
\nI love how my posts have been stirring people to write to me with their own stories of faith and family. I love how someone writes of a painful situation they are going through and soon, there are others who have chimed in to support them. It warms my heart that God trusts me with this ministry…to my family, to my friends, to my readers. I am grateful for all of you. And for a God that trusts someone like me with such a wonderful gift. ❤️
\n“But I do not account my life of any value nor as precious to myself, if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-01-26T02:30:46-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/01/26/happy-feet.html", "tags": ["Faith","Family","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Positive Energy","Gratitude","Grace","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Courage","Choices"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/01/25/thoughts-on-conflict-fear.html", "title": "Thoughts on Conflict \u0026 Fear", "content_html": "Acts 20:24 ESV
![\"Proverbs](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/8661a28774.jpg\")
“Look for the gold in people. There’s enough dirt in the world.”
The other day, we touched on conflicts and how to resolve them peacefully. We all have seen our fair share of conflict in our lives and had dealt with it in the best way we knew how with the knowledge we had at the time. Sometimes it’s worked out ok…sometimes not. The good thing is, we can always continue to learn and grow and get better at the sticking points in life.
\nWhen you are dealing with marriage, here is the single most important thing I have learned. When you find yourself frustrated with your spouse…and you WILL at some point…mind your tongue when you are talking about him with others. If all you do is spout negative things, it won’t be long till that is all you will ever see in him/her. It doesn’t take long to go from speaking these things to outsiders to berating your spouse with all the things they do that tick you off. I can guarantee you…if you feed that beast, it’s all you’ll get back.
\nI learned with Mr. Virgo…once I started to notice something he did that bugged me, that was a sign I wasn’t praying for him enough. Same for Mr. FixIt. We all need grace. It’s a wonderful habit to practice with your spouse or other family members.
\nI had Bible study last night. We talked a little bit after last week’s study about the book “Goliath Must Fall” by Louie Giglio. Last night’s “giant” was FEAR. The first question we were asked was…”How well do you sleep?” Wow. Sometimes really well. Those are the times when things are going well and I really don’t have much to worry about. Other times, I lie awake all night long, staring at the ceiling, working something over and over, turning it this way and that, puzzling over how to…what? Fix it. Manipulate it. Control it. I rehearse conversations ahead of time with not only my dialogue, but that of the other’s as well. As if I have some sort of control over how another person thinks, acts, or responds.
\nSometimes I lie there and worry about an event that isn’t going to happen for eight months. “Will I have the extra weight off before the wedding? What will I wear? What happens if it’s really hot. I don’t do well in heat.” All I have accomplished in that scenario is set myself up for failure and robbed myself of sleep and God’s joy.
\nLast night’s lesson was this…when you lay down to sleep and the things to worry about start lining up…just hand them over to God and go to sleep. He loves you no matter what. He’s bigger than all of the giants. Trust him to work on your problems while you’re asleep. Then you awaken refreshed and can live in God’s Glory.
\nThere is a fine line between anger and fear. Giving your conflicts to God, praying for others, letting go of your fears…all elements that can help lead to a peaceful night’s sleep. ❤️
\n“Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-01-25T02:30:09-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/01/25/thoughts-on-conflict-fear.html", "tags": ["Faith","Family","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Grace","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Anger","Fear","Forgiveness","Warning","Choices","Change","Marriage"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/01/22/action-v-reaction.html", "title": "Action v. Reaction", "content_html": "Ephesians 4:31-32 ESV
![\"MLK\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/1beb3f1755.jpg\")
“The Reverend Doctor Martin Luther King, Jr.”
Growing up in the chaos of alcoholic dysfunction made me a reactionary from an early age. There was a lot of anger in my home growing up. Lots of fighting, yelling, slamming, throwing, crashing. I never witnessed my father hitting my mother. He only hit me once. When he did, he came at me from behind and I stood up to him. I stuck my chin out and told him, if he was going to hit me he’d better hit me like a man and do it face to face. I’ll never forget the utter look of defeat on his face in that moment. He dropped his fist to his side, went over to the steps, sat down, and cried. He never went after me again. But, the damage was done. It was done long before that day.
\nI learned to be the peacemaker. To smooth things over. To mediate when things got out of hand. I was the bystander. I acted. Unfortunately, when the anger was directed at me, I reacted. I automatically went into defense mode. I made excuses. I deflected. I diverted attention. I manipulated. It was decidedly unhealthy and took far too many years to come to a head.
\nThe first pivotal moment of my life…that moment when there is a definite line in the sand that separates “all things before” from “all things after” was the overdose. That was when I really did the work necessary to effect permanent change in my life. It’s when I learned about codependency. Before that, there was no clear boundary to define where others ended and I began. I was too busy weaving a web that would hold everything together.
\nLearning about boundaries was a love-hate exercise. I loved finding my voice and standing up for myself. I hated confrontation. I loved the release healthy boundaries gave me because I didn’t have to try to run everyone else’s lives for them. I hated feeling like a fish out of water.
\nIt took a lot of practice. It still does. I still have to remind myself occasionally that I don’t do anyone any favors by not setting boundaries and demand they are respected. I didn’t spend seven hard years in therapy for nothing. Fortunately, Mr. Virgo came into the picture after I had these skills in place and he offered an excellent practice field.
\nAfter sixty-five trips around the sun, I’ve learned enough to know it’s a whole lot easier to carry love than it is anger, hate, discord, dysfunction, or codependency. When I approach any situation from a place of love, my walk becomes more Christ-like. And anytime I lead with “What would Jesus do?”, I am already winning. Conflict is inevitable in life. The only control we have is in how we react to it. ❤️
\n“For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-01-22T02:30:08-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/01/22/action-v-reaction.html", "tags": ["Health","Family","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Peace","Wisdom","Anger","Fear","Forgiveness","Courage","Presence","Choices","Change"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/01/20/the-poet-from-darkness-into.html", "title": "The Poet - From Darkness into Light", "content_html": "Galatians 1:10 ESV
![\"Meme\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/37653c9994.jpg\")
“Think before you speak. Read before you think.”
\"maybe death isn’t darkness, after all, but so much light wrapping itself around us — as soft as feathers\"\n\nHow I let a treasure like Mary Oliver slip through my fingers, I’ll never know. It’s an excellent example of realizing how very much I do not know. The internet has been filled with loving tributes to this gentle woman with the expansive heart…her pen trimming away the excesses of flowery verse and going straight for the pit of your stomach. Her words are like magic…painting pictures of love and kindness and tenderness. Nature was her cathedral. Poetry was her torch.\n~ Mary Oliver
Oliver loved Whitman and Emerson, Shelley and Keats. Growing up in a dysfunctional home in Ohio, she ultimately settled in the wilds of New England, wandering through her woods and harbor…taking notes and penning phrases along the way. She has been compared to Emily Dickinson. Her poetry is filled with both darkness and joyous light. Her life partner, Molly Malone Cook, was her constant companion for over forty years, as well as her literary agent. After Molly’s death in 2005, Oliver continued on in Provincetown, Massachusetts until finally relocating to Florida. She rarely gave interviews because she valued her personal privacy and wished for her work to speak for itself. Mary Jane Oliver passed away on January 17, 2019 of lymphoma. And the world lost a valuable treasure.
\nIn researching Oliver’s work, I became introspective. How often do we think, once we have arrived at “a certain age”, that we somehow have attained a level of knowledge that we can, at the very least, term “well rounded”? I know a little bit about a lot of stuff, but there is SO much out there I haven’t a clue about. We cannot possibly learn everything, but how sad that I didn’t know Mary Oliver and her brilliant poetry during times in my life it might have soothed my heart. How joyful that I still have the opportunities to continue learning and growing.
\nWe are but a sum of our life’s experiences, are we not? The other night, I had a troubling dream. A recurring dream about a hopeless situation which will never be resolved nor totally understood. Not in this lifetime anyway. And whenever I have this dream, I am left feeling an ache in my heart…bereft over a loss I had little control over. It leaves me out of sorts for days and colors my every interaction, thus leaving the stains of old hurts smeared onto others who have no knowledge of my pain. It’s unfair and senseless. As I drove to town yesterday, I had a conversation with God. I asked Him to please step in and be an intermediary…to block this dream, and even the thoughts of the events that precipitate it. To take away the memories that come back and haunt me year after year. As I pleaded with God, I literally felt the old, familiar ache physically leave my heart. A weight was lifted and the cloud in my mind dissipated. I immediately thanked Him. Then…I let it go.
\nPoetry. Prose. Words. Prayers. God. They have such power to release you from the bondage of the past…if you let them. If you feel them and taste them and speak them. They can breathe life back into the sore places of your soul. ❤️
\n“If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.”\n\n \n", "date_published": "2019-01-20T02:30:58-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/01/20/the-poet-from-darkness-into.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Courage","Presence","Writing","Choices","Change"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/01/19/german-comfort-food.html", "title": "German Comfort Food", "content_html": "1 Corinthians 13:1-3 ESV
![\"Kielbasa](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/924cffb50b.jpg\")
“Kielbasa, kraut, and mashed potatoes…German comfort food.”
When we were having coffee yesterday morning, Mr. FixIt asked if I wanted to go to the movies in the afternoon. My mind went over the list of things that needed to be done and I politely demurred. He turned on the weather report and they’re predicting a ton of rain turning to snow over the weekend so he wisely decided to go to town and rent a snake to clear the drain out back.
\nWe have a stairway that goes down into the basement. There is a four inch pipe in the bottom of that stairwell and it drains into a pipe that travels over a hundred yards out to the creek. About every two years, that drain needs to be snaked out so the water doesn’t back up and run into the basement. Also, there is a ditch out at the creek bank that always gets filled in when the spring runoff overflows. It’s an ugly, backbreaking job that no one likes, but it has to be done. With heavy rain in the forecast, it was best to get it over with.
\nWe headed to town and ran some errands before we picked up the snake at the rental place. I overheard the young man who was helping Mr. FixIt lift this monstrosity into the back of his truck.
\n“Who’s going to help you unload this thing?”
\n“That little lady sitting in the front seat up there.” Mr. FixIt sounded confident and proud.
\nWe stopped at the store on the way home and I don’t believe, even at Thanksgiving, I have ever seen so many people. The parking lot was filled. People were circling round and round. There were no carts. And the checkout lines were twenty deep. Mr. FixIt and I looked at each other like, “What the heck?”
\n“They’re predicting snow!” I said. “Let the games begin.”
\nI told him to just drive around and I’d be back out in a jiffy. As I headed into the store, the line from Hunger Games went through my mind.
\n“May the odds be ever in your favor!”
\nI scooted to the back and bought the two items I needed. Non-alcohol beer and a chuck roast. I’m easy. I waited two minutes and hit the self-checkout and was out the door in a flash. There were people in there with multiple jugs of milk and loaves of bread…as if they were anticipating being stuck in their homes for weeks. When we stopped at the discount grocer earlier, I planned ahead by buying an extra bag of flour in case I got a hankerin’ to bake something. It’s crazy what a snow forecast does in West Virginia. It’s a good thing it’s the weekend. I’ve seen them cancel school based on a forecast.
\nI used to kind of think these people were weenies when they cancelled school at the first sign of snow. After all, I lived in Colorado for forty years. If you don’t get out and go someplace when it snows, you’re going to be stuck in your house from October to May. But I’ve got to say, in these people’s defense, driving here in winter is NOTHING like Colorado. There, you can drive 55 in a whiteout blizzard, not that you SHOULD. Here, you don’t dare touch your brakes going 25 or you’ll be in a ditch in a heartbeat. The roads are twisty-turny and hilly. And they have this thing called black ice. It looks the same as wet pavement and it’s deadly. I get it now…people don’t want to go out in it. And school busses have no business hauling our babes through it if it can be prevented.
\nWhen we got home, I had to help Mr. FixIt unload that drain snake. I am telling you what…that sucker was HEAVY. Fortunately it’s on wheels so when we got it out of the truck all we had to do was wheel it to the back stairwell. Then we had to walk it down the stairs. Oy! Once it was down there, I went on inside and Mr. FixIt got to work. After some time, I didn’t hear the machine anymore so I went to see how he was doing. I found him out at the creek bank digging out the ditch. Living on five acres without city sewer isn’t always easy. That was a lot of hard work. I helped him get the contraption back up the steps and into the bed of the truck.
\n“You’re a hard worker,” he said.
\n“Thanks for telling me that, but you’re the one who did the tough stuff. I’ll fix you some supper while you clean up.” I smiled as I patted his bum when I walked by.
\nGerman comfort food seemed to be the perfect meal for the hard workers last night. I boiled kielbasa to leach out some of the salt then tossed it in a skillet with some melted butter. I drained the sauerkraut and added it to the skillet, stirring occasionally so it would brown but not burn. I made mashed potatoes and served the kielbasa/kraut mixture on top. Oh, it was heavenly! It was a good day’s work and that is so satisfying. ❤️
\n“Let the favor of the Lord our God be upon us, and establish the work of our hands upon us; yes, establish the work of our hands!”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-01-19T02:30:11-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/01/19/german-comfort-food.html", "tags": ["Faith","Family","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Positive Energy","West Virginia","Gratitude","Wisdom","Courage","Humbled","Presence","Choices","Marriage"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/01/16/little-vintage-campers.html", "title": "Little Vintage Campers", "content_html": "Psalms 90:17 ESV
![\"Little](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/0ff7e9e0da.jpg\")
“Little vintage campers…how many people were IN this thing?”
Yesterday, Mr. FixIt and I were having breakfast when he picked up his phone to show me something. He watches Facebook Marketplace closely because, you know, you never know when you might need one more thing, right? Anyway, there was an ad in there for a 1969 Shasta Compact camper. Swoon! Anyone who knows anything about campers knows Shasta is kind of a status symbol for campers. This particular one was being converted into a food trailer, but it’s too small for the job so the people are trying to unload it. It’s gutted already, no leaks, towable, new tires, and only $500. Not bad.
\nWe contacted the gal and as one might imagine, she already has people coming to look at it, so the chance of me even getting to see it are pretty slim. And, like I need another project! Anyway, if I get to see it, I’ll take pics and show you.
\nThinking about tiny little campers got me to looking at vintage camping art and photos. Look at this tiny little camper. Now, look at how many people there are camping. Wow! It’s like one of those clown cars where clowns keep coming out one after another! Cars were a lot heavier and more powerful back then so you would see the family car pulling a really big trailer. Do you remember the movie Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz made called The Long, Long, Long Trailer? It was huge but they pulled it with a convertible!
\nI never camped as a kid, but I remember going over to a friend’s house and they had a camper. Us kids were allowed to go in it and use it like a playhouse. I remember being absolutely mesmerized by it and I wanted one in the worst way. I was always married to non-campers till Mr. FixIt came along. Now we have four campers between us and I am preparing to convert an old minivan into a mini campervan. Oh yeah…I REALLY need another camper! ?♀️
\n❤️
\n“For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.'”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-01-16T02:30:55-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/01/16/little-vintage-campers.html", "tags": ["Travel","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Sisters on the Fly","Positive Energy","Camping","The Grand Adventure","Fun","Growth","Gratitude","goRVing","Love","Girl Camper","Girl Campers","Choices"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/01/15/the-difference-between-with-and.html", "title": "The Difference Between “With” and “Without”", "content_html": "Luke 14:28-30 ESV
![\"Arid](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/49b5021677.jpg\")
“The Difference Between With and Without”
I rarely write a post about a specific scripture. I usually write something then find the scripture that best illustrates my thinking. It makes me search more. It makes me read more and study the Word more. It keeps me engaged. This post is different. I was chatting with Danielle the night I was asking her questions about her addiction and overdose. When I told her how happy I was she was getting her life together at 24, I shared my story and told her I felt robbed of nearly a decade of my life. She shared a scripture with me and I made note of it. I have meditated on it for over a week and now I’m ready to share it.
\nI have always believed in God so therefore, I have never lived a day without Him. I will have to say though…Jesus didn’t live in MY house until 2004. By that time, I had already gone through two broken marriages. I had two beautiful daughters. And one broken mind.
\nI didn’t realize how desolate my life had become. I just knew I was shriveling up and dying on the vine. I became broken in my second marriage and, for whatever reason, we couldn’t seem to end it. We became more and more distant and I self-medicated in order to cope. Unfortunately, I was seeing a psychiatrist who did more harm than good and I couldn’t seem to end that either.
\nI knew what I needed. I needed Jesus. But I was married to a Jewish doctor. I took my little girl to Hebrew School every week. I organized all the Jewish celebrations in our small town. I had formally converted to Judaism. I had actually stood before a Beth Din…the Jewish tribunal court…and renounced Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior.
\n“Jesus would NEVER want me now.” I thought to myself.
\nToward the end of that marriage, I laid in bed every night and talked to God. I told him, if anything happened to my husband, I would become a Christian. I consoled myself with thoughts of singing in church…of praying…of reading my Bible. But I just couldn’t do that AND be married to the Jewish doctor. He would leave me.
\nLittle did I know he’d been thinking of leaving for at least five years before he told me. I was hurt. But I was also angry. If we could have both been brave and honest, we could have avoided the pain of the last five to seven years and gotten on with our lives. It would have had far less of an impact on my children…especially Daughter #2 who was just nine years old when I overdosed and we subsequently ended our marriage.
\nI felt robbed. Robbed of time. Robbed of happiness. Robbed of my marriage. And robbed of the Joy of having Jesus in my life…although I couldn’t articulate it as such at the time. When Danielle quoted Joel 2:25, my jaw dropped. It spoke of Redemption. It spoke of Replenishment. It spoke of Fulfillment. And the thing that spoke most to my heart was…the end of shame.
\nI was raised by a father who used shame as his preferred tool of control. Blame and shame were my lifelong companions, and renouncing Jesus had become the number one shame of my life. Before I even realized I needed Him, I was yearning for His unconditional love. Thankfully, I was saved and forgiven and made new. I didn’t have to wait for anything…I just needed to get out of my own way.
\nI loved the fact that as I ministered to Danielle, she ministered to me and told me God would repay me for the years the locusts ate. And He has…oh, my goodness. He has repayed me many, many times over. Far more than I ever deserved. As the calendar turned to another year, I could feel a shift in my relationship with God. No longer a “baby Christian”, I feel I have moved from an observer AT church to BEING the church. It’s a change in perspective and feels like a new level of maturity. It’s hard to describe, but I feel it and I believe it to be real. This is one of the wonders of walking with Christ. I’ve left the arid, desolate landscape of “without” and I’m walking in the lush, verdant landscape of “with”. ❤️
\n“I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten, the hopper, the destroyer, and the cutter, my great army, which I sent among you. \"You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, and praise the name of the Lord your God, who has dealt wondrously with you. And my people shall never again be put to shame. You shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the Lord your God and there is none else. And my people shall never again be put to shame.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-01-15T02:30:47-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/01/15/the-difference-between-with-and.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom","Forgiveness","Courage","Humbled","Presence","Choices","Change"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/01/14/the-water-crisis.html", "title": "The Water Crisis", "content_html": "Joel 2:25-27 ESV
![\"Running](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/36c4208b96.jpg\")
“If a crisis occurred and you didn’t have modern conveniences…would you know what to do?”
An alert went out to a good portion of the residents of my home town Thursday evening. There was a boil water advisory. This happens when there has been a water main break or something of the like. It seldom lasts more than a day. Not this one. What started out as “north of the Kanawha River” became “all PUD customers” overnight. Water was coming out of faucets anywhere from clear to partly cloudy to brown. Some people had no pressure at all. Others had a dribble. Still others seemed unaffected but a ban is a ban.
\nIt was interesting to watch Facebook as people became more and more concerned. There really wasn’t a very good explanation given to allay the fears of the citizenry. And, given we live in Chemical Valley, imaginations ran wild. It really could have been anything. Some said it was still ok to shower. Some said not. Others said it was ok to wash your clothes but when they did, large brown spots stained them. Now, I’ll have to admit…this situation did not affect me personally because we live out in the country away from that particular city water system. But, I’ve lived through things like this many times and it is not only a major inconvenience….it can be downright scary.
\nIt happened fairly often in Colorado. Just about every year when the spring runoff brought an over abundance of silt down into the city water intake, the filters were soon overwhelmed and our water got murky. There would often be a boil water advisory. My cousin has to haul water to fill a cistern since they live on the side of a mountain here in West Virginia. When they get a good hard rain, their water turns a murky reddish-brown. Out at the farm, there is a rainwater catchment system in place, but it’s been decades since the cistern has been cleaned or the filter changed. The point being, there are lots of folks who have to boil water on a regular basis. Or they just resort to buying water or taking empty jugs to a family member’s house to refill them. That’s what I did after Mr. FixIt and I started dating. I had about a dozen one gallon jugs I threw in my truck and I filled them when I visited him in town.
\nFor those of us more accustomed to living a more primitive life, these things are par for the course and you just roll with them. But city people who rely on the immediate availability of fresh water at the turn of the faucet get rattled. I don’t blame them. We are creatures of habit and we become complacent in our consumption of utilities. This is such a first world problem. So much of the world’s population has no access to fresh water, let alone electricity, gas, internet, phone, and groceries.
\nWhat would (will?) happen to us if the unthinkable happens and it all goes away??? Will you know how to collect and filter water? Will you know how to produce and preserve food? Will you be able to provide housing and clothing for yourself and your family? Will you be able to gather fuel to cook and keep warm? Do you have skills or goods for bartering? I worry that the last generation to really have those skills is getting too old to provide them. So, here is what I posit. If you have skills, pass them on to young people…your children, grandchildren, great grandchildren.
\nThis isn’t meant to cause an alarmist response. I don’t think something like this is imminent. But it cannot hurt to stock up on some extra jugs of water in case there is an emergency in your area. Parkersburg’s boil advisory wasn’t lifted until last evening. That made three full days without tap water for a pretty good-sized town. I’m not saying you have to go full on survivalist, but knowledge is power. Be prepared…or as prepared as you can be. ❤️
\n“Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-01-14T02:30:26-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/01/14/the-water-crisis.html", "tags": ["Health","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Wisdom","Courage","Presence","Warning","Change"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/01/13/the-kitchen-window.html", "title": "The Kitchen Window", "content_html": "Proverbs 27:1 ESV
![\"Kitchen](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/c8e921eb4c.jpg\")
“The view out my kitchen window at the Ponderosa allows me to watch the birds at the feeder.”
When I was growing up, I spent as much time out at my grandma’s farm as I possibly could. I never minded washing dishes at Grandma’s because there was a big window over the kitchen sink. I’ve moved many times over the years and was always so pleased when the kitchen had a window over the sink. It didn’t really matter the view…as long as I could see out and open it for some fresh air, I was a happy camper.
\nI was thrilled when I found out Mr. FixIt’s house has a window I can gaze out as I wash the dishes. He keeps a bird feeder full for me so I can watch the birds fly in and out of the surrounding trees and brush to light just beyond where I stand. Yesterday, there were several cardinals. There’s nothing prettier than the flash of a redbird swooping in and landing just in front of me. Their brilliant scarlet plumage against the new fallen snow is breathtaking. They say a cardinal is a sign a loved one is visiting from heaven. If that is true, our house was a busy place yesterday. There were also chickadees, tufted titmice, a pair of mourning doves, and the occasional downy woodpecker added to the mix.
\nIn the late summer, early fall, the deer gather under that tree you see out there in the yard and eat the fallen crabapples. In the late spring, Mr. FixIt puts up the hummingbird feeder and fills it for me. He loves the birds as much as I do.
\nWe didn’t get the snow that was predicted…as least not by the time of this writing last night. Mr. FixIt has half the bathroom subfloor put down in the master bath. He came in from checking the mail and handed me a package…a canvas print of Daughter #1 and her family. Now I need to plan a family portrait wall!
\nIf it’s slick this morning, we’ll stay home and watch church on TV. I must say, it was very nice to not leave the house at all. It was a beautiful day filled with knitting and love. It doesn’t get much better than that! ❤️
\n“I know every bird in the mountains, and the insects in the fields are mine.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-01-13T02:30:17-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/01/13/the-kitchen-window.html", "tags": ["Family","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","Gratitude","Comfort","Love","Peace","Presence","Peaceful Moments","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/01/10/johnny-jaxxa-story-of-devotion.html", "title": "Johnny \u0026 Jaxx...A Story of Devotion", "content_html": "Psalm 50:11 NIV
![\"Doggy](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/407d5c451c.jpg\")
“Rosie (L), Jaxx (C), and Johnny Boy (R) celebrate Johnny’s 4th Gotcha Day!”
We talk a lot here about death and dying, loss and grief. We talk about losing our parents…aunts…uncles…cousins, our siblings, our children, our friends, and our spouses. We don’t talk a whole lot here about when we lose our beloved fur-babies…those wonderful fur-covered angels that grace us with their presence for a few short years, only to be yanked away far, far too soon.
\nLosing our beloved pets affects most of us the same way as losing a human member of the family. Our hearts break. We grieve. We are lost. We get the same brain fog. The same yearning. If you are an animal lover and have ever been fortunate enough to share your life with a companion animal, then you know what I am saying is true.
\n![\"Sick](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/095a9d9d44.jpg\")
“Johnny Boy arrived so sick with Parvovirus we didn’t think he would live.”
My first dog as an adult was an Aussie/Blue Heeler mix named Boofer. She was brilliant. The only dog I truly did not have to train. I just talked to her and she knew exactly what I wanted from her. And she would do her level best to please me. She had to be put down at the young age of seven after a diagnosis of a pituitary tumor. We managed her symptoms with medication as long as we could but when she went blind, it was time to set her free.
\nAnimal owners know their time with their fur-babies is limited. Boofer was gone too soon. Old Mama Kitty was at least 23-24 years old. Sidney was 14…a big, goofy black lab who owned my heart during a really dark period of my life. Mr. Virgo showed up with a 10-year-old Yorkie/Maltese mix named Cricket who lived to be seventeen. She died just three months before Mr. Virgo did. That was my last dog. I just didn’t have it in me to do it again and my lifestyle isn’t conducive to pet ownership.
\n![\"Boxer](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/5cdb6f2e1b.jpg\")
“Johnny Boy is absolutely CRAZY over kittens! He has to have one…always!”
My friend Aimee is the Grande Dame of animal rescues. If it moves and squeaks, oinks, meows, moos, neighs, or barks…Aimee has to bring it home. Her husband rolls his eyes when another goat or chicken or rabbit or puppy makes an appearance at their West Virginia homestead. It’s all a show…he adores Aimee and if she needs to rescue another dog, she rescues another dog. As she says…she married well.
\nFour years ago, Aimee fostered little Johnny Boy…a mastiff-boxer mix who was dreadfully thin. They soon found he was also dreadfully sick. Johnny nearly died….several times…of parvovirus and parasites and any number of problems. They went to every length to save this little guy’s life. When he got through the initial illness, Johnny Boy started having trouble walking. His joints became swollen and painful. They finally discovered he had a very rare disease of the epiphyseal joints in his legs. After a trip to the State Veterinary School in Columbus, a treatment was finally found and Johnny boy began to thrive and grow.
\nThen, just before the holidays, Aimee found hundreds of little bumps under Johnny’s skin. Again, Johnny Boy does nothing halfway and it took quite some doing to get a diagnosis. When they did, it was not good. It was a rare cancer and there is nothing they can do for him. So, Aimee decided Johnny Boy’s end of life would include the very best days ever.
\n![\"Bonded](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/ff3b6c6414.jpg\")
“Johnny & Jaxx…BFF’s Forever!”
A few months ago, Johnny’s BFF…Jaxx…moved to Florida with his human person. And Johnny was devastated. When they found out Johnny Boy doesn’t have a long time to live, Jaxx’s owner drove him from Florida and left him in Aimee’s care for as long as Johnny needs him. Johnny and Jaxx are insanely bonded. I mean…they FaceTime each other. Seriously!
\nThe other night, Aimee threw Johnny Boy a four year “Gotcha Party” to celebrate and Johnny, Jaxx, and Rosie donned their party hats and sat in the little chairs around the table. They ate scrambled eggs for supper and had Pupcake for dessert. I loved watching the video!
\nAimee posted a video yesterday that shows Johnny having a little trouble breathing. His type of tumor releases histamines and they make his nasal passages swell which in turn makes it difficult to breathe. She knows this is the beginning of the end. And, trust me, she will never let Johnny Boy suffer. When it is his time, she will let him go peacefully. In the meantime, she suffers the anticipatory grief knowing Johnny’s time on earth is short. Yet, she shares him with us…and with Jaxx. I SO love this crazy mutt who came in and stole all our hearts and showed us what loving a rescue is all about. He truly is made of love and sunshine. ❤️
\n“The righteous care for the needs of their animals, but the kindest acts of the wicked are cruel.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-01-10T02:30:03-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/01/10/johnny-jaxxa-story-of-devotion.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Positive Energy","Gratitude","Grace","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Courage","Humbled","Aging","Choices","Change","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/01/09/into-the-light.html", "title": "Into the Light", "content_html": "Proverbs 12:10 NIV
![\"1](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/9e7393dd0c.jpg\")
“For He called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.” 1 Peter 2:9
I’ve kind of had a theme going here the last few days given the time of year it is. I still sometimes sit in awe when I look back to where I was nearly twenty years ago. This is how we know how far we’ve come…by looking back in wonder. I struggled so long with a spirit of depression. When the veil lifted and I walked back into the light, it was surreal. Supernatural. Which is exactly what it was, this lifting.
\nI am always consciously monitoring my mental state in the winter. I never, ever want to go back to that dark place again, so I carefully check myself often. Am I keeping up with personal hygiene? It’s one of the first things to slip. Am I sleeping too much? Not enough? How’s my temper? I get cranky when I get blue. Am I comforting myself with food? Am I eating out of boredom? Am I getting out and doing fun things and engaging with people? These are all problem areas and can signal depression.
\nWe had the fourth day in a row of warmth and sunshine yesterday. As a matter of fact, it was 64 late yesterday afternoon. The sun peeked in and out all day. It was glorious. I went out to visit TOW-Wanda. I plugged her in to charge up the batteries. She needs a good cleaning. I had company in there during the wedding and I never really cleaned much after that. One thing that really lifts my mood in the winter is to spend a couple of days in the camper, so I’m getting her fixed up.
\nBeing prepared for the grey days of winter can go a long way in warding off the blues. Keeping healthy foods in the house and limiting sweet snacks helps you make good choices when you want to cozy in with a bag of chips or a plate of brownies. Chilled, fresh oranges are sweet and juicy this time of year. If you really want a salty snack, the tiny bags of popcorn can hit the spot without overloading calories. I don’t want to count calories. I just want to remain mindful of what’s going in. And try to move more.
\nCleaning out a closet or that one junk room you’ve been ignoring can lift your mood and give you a sense of accomplishment. Or, starting a new project. We just started working on the master bathroom this week. It will be fun to see that take shape. Whatever it takes to keep you from hibernating and falling into a deep, blue funk is worth the effort to put towards keeping in the light. ❤️
\n“The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.””\n\n", "date_published": "2019-01-09T02:30:10-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/01/09/into-the-light.html", "tags": ["Faith","Health","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Love","Wisdom","Courage","Choices"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/01/08/transformation.html", "title": "Transformation", "content_html": "Deuteronomy 31:8 NIV
![\"God](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/3b3a208d73.jpg\")
“God often uses our deepest pain as the launching pad of our greatest calling.”
Grief comes in a variety of circumstances. My first experience with grief was when my Pop-Pop died just after I graduated from high school. I was devastated. I lost a job I desperately needed when Hubby #2 was in his first year of Medical School. The rehab center where I worked was experiencing some financial difficulties and I was let go. I felt it was personal until the next month when fifty more staff members were given their walking papers. I guess misery DOES love company. I grieved deeply over that loss because I loved the job, for one thing. For another, I was young and had never experienced anything like that. My next major grief experience was the overdose and subsequent loss of my marriage and the alienation of my children. That was horrifying. Then I lost my grandma, my dog, and Mr. Virgo in less than a year.
\nEvery time I’ve faced grief, I’ve thought my world would end. I couldn’t figure out how to live after those losses. And every time, I survived. Not only survived, but eventually thrived. I learned skills from coping with grief. Grief chiseled me into the person I have become. And as painful as it was to go through, God came in and used that pain as a launching pad of my greatest calling…my mission, as it were.
\nI’ve been having some meetings and there are exciting changes coming in 2019. Nothing I can talk about yet, but I can see God’s hand all over it. I was talking about it with Mr. FixIt the other night and told him I’ve been praying for these exact things…I have to walk forward into this new territory. Don’t worry…I’m not going anywhere. Just more fun and excitement I can’t wait to share with you all! ❤️
\n“Whenever, though, they turn to face God as Moses did, God removes the veil and there they are—face-to-face! They suddenly recognize that God is a living, personal presence, not a piece of chiseled stone. And when God is personally present, a living Spirit, that old, constricting legislation is recognized as obsolete. We’re free of it! All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-01-08T02:30:50-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/01/08/transformation.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Peace","Wisdom","Courage","Change"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/01/05/thwarting-a-spiritual-attack.html", "title": "Thwarting a Spiritual Attack", "content_html": "2 Corinthians 3:16-18 MSG
![\"Psalm](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/4f4b01e30d.jpg\")
“Man says…show me and I’ll trust you. God says…trust me and I’ll show you.” Psalm 126:6
So, I was minding my own business, tucked under my blanket, happily knitting when I got a text . My dear friends Janine and Gail and I have a chat room where we visit just about every day. Janine was traveling through and was stopping at Gail’s to spend the night. I was three hours away but I wasn’t going to miss out on seeing my good friends. Impromptu road trip!
\nI got here just after dark. Janine had her friend Diane with her and I was thrilled to meet her. Another friend, Jan, came to join us and we just had a grand time. Diane is a devout Christian and is a PR person. Jan is a retired pastor. You can imagine our entire evening was talking about our stories and how God has worked in our lives.
\nI was standing in the kitchen giving Diane my testimony about finding Jesus when I started feeling ill. It worsened over the hour and I headed upstairs with a bucket, just in case. Everyone had gone to bed so when I came to Janine’s door I tapped.
\n“Janine?”
\n“Yes, dear.” She opened the door wide. Her smile quickly faded when she saw me. “Ginny? What’s wrong?” She came into the hall and touched my arm.
\n“Janine, I’m being spiritually attacked!” I knew it as sure as I knew my own name. I was suddenly, violently ill.
\nI spent the prior twenty-four hours pretty immersed in Jesus. I watched War Room…a powerful movie about spiritual warfare. Then I came to Gail’s and spent a whole evening talking about very powerful, spiritual things. There were five very strong women engaged in animated spiritual conversation.
\nJanine and Diane came into the room and laid hands on me and prayed fervently. Within a half hour, I felt much better.
\nIf you don’t believe in such a thing as spiritual warfare, I am here to tell you it’s a very real thing. The enemy does not like when powerful, spiritual women start professing faith like we were. But his power is in whispering lies and making you believe things that are not real. We sent him packing. A whole army of angels surrounded me and kicked his butt! We can just rejoice in that for a while, ok? I believe! ❤️
\n“Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.””\n\n \n", "date_published": "2019-01-05T02:30:25-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/01/05/thwarting-a-spiritual-attack.html", "tags": ["Faith","Health","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom","Fear","Forgiveness","Courage","Girl Campers","Choices"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/01/04/snatched-from-the-jaws-of.html", "title": "Snatched From the Jaws of Death", "content_html": "Matthew 16:23 NIV
![\"Young](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/d0dc64b37d.jpg\")
“She was snatched from the jaws of addiction and saved by the Blood of Jesus.”
She’s just twenty-four. Yet she was addicted to heroin for six years. And occasionally she did meth. On April 14th, she overdosed on both and landed in the ICU for four days on life support. She wasn’t even out of the ER when she popped up on my radar. I’m in a small group at church with someone who knows Danielle very well. The text came in begging for prayers to save this beautiful girl.
\nAnd pray we did. Our whole church prayed for her. Actively. Daily. There were prayer warriors stationed at the hospital. There were friends and family talking with her. They wanted to connect her with someone who could help her in this fight. And they wanted Jesus in Danielle’s corner.
\nShe resisted, as you might imagine. At first she said she’d talk to him. Then she wouldn’t. And finally, just before discharge, she relented. I’m unsure of the exact timeline, but I know it wasn’t long till this beautiful girl was saved in a parking lot with many prayers surrounding her.
\nThe change that has come over Danielle is remarkable. When you see her today, and see the light of Jesus on her, it is so hard to imagine her shooting heroin into her veins. She has attended a faith-based residential program three times. These weren’t three dropouts. This was three separate sessions. Because, as anyone who has been set free of the demon of addiction can tell you, it’s never a one and done situation. It is a life-long learning process. And she is committed.
\nA couple of days ago, Danielle took a plane to Hawaii to attend discipleship training. When she arrived, her luggage was somewhere in Dallas. When she got to the campus to check in, she found out there had been a miscommunication and she was short on funds…four figures short on funds. She reached out to her church family and we raised the funds in about three hours. There is no way to hide God’s work in this. And it is so obvious the enemy doesn’t like it. He tried to throw a wrench in the works at every turn but our God is a mighty God. It wasn’t long till the enemy was put in his place.
\nLast night, I watched War Room. I’ve always considered myself to be…if not a prayer warrior…then at the very least, a fervent prayer. Oh, my…that movie has me planning a War Room of my own! People like Danielle remind us of the power of prayer. I am so proud of her hard work and her willingness to keep plugging at this. I can’t wait to see what she learns in discipleship training. I cant wait to see what God has in store for her! I’m so happy God plucked her from the jaws of death because I know He has plans for her…to prosper her and not to harm her. ❤️
\n“I must go on boasting. Although there is nothing to be gained, I will go on to visions and revelations from the Lord. I know a man in Christ who fourteen years ago was caught up to the third heaven. Whether it was in the body or out of the body I do not know—God knows. And I know that this man—whether in the body or apart from the body I do not know, but God knows— was caught up to paradise and heard inexpressible things, things that no one is permitted to tell. I will boast about a man like that, but I will not boast about myself, except about my weaknesses.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-01-04T02:30:51-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/01/04/snatched-from-the-jaws-of.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom","Courage","Choices","Change","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/01/03/we-rise-by-lifting-others.html", "title": "We Rise by Lifting Others Up", "content_html": "2 Corinthians 12:1-5 NIV
![\"Meme\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/8e3f5780ef.jpg\")
“Blowing out someone else’s candle won’t make yours shine brighter. Remember that.”
Have you ever had someone in your life that went out of their way to put you down? Of course you have. We all have. I was in a long term relationship that was like that. Comments like, “You aren’t wearing THAT are you?” “Well, THAT was stupid!” These things take a toll on you after a while. It took a long time, and a great deal of therapy, to learn those things were said by a person who was egotistical but still suffered emotional injuries from a less than demonstrative childhood.
\nIt happened with my dad. It happened with most of the men I’ve been involved with. Men who suffer so they must make YOU suffer in order to feel better about themselves. The wounds run deep.
\nMr. FixIt and I have a different kind of relationship than I’ve ever experienced. I am much more free to express my feelings with him than I have been with anyone else. I think part of that is age. Part is setting the ground rules early in the relationship that we can say anything. I’m still learning how to govern that. Too much freedom and some things come out sounding unkind. Many a truth was said in jest.
\nWe rise by lifting others up. I know from experience what that constant needling feels like and I don’t ever want my sweetheart to feel less than loved to the max. At the same time, there are moments in any relationship when you have to blow off steam. That’s fine, as long as you fight fair. Life is just so darned short. I want to really live it…not walk on eggshells like I did in the past.
\nI pray every day that I will give my very best to my husband and my family, to my friends and acquaintances. I strive to be my best self, but I don’t beat myself up when I fall short. I just try again the next day. It’s called being human. ❤️
\n“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-01-03T02:30:15-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/01/03/we-rise-by-lifting-others.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Peace","Wisdom","Courage","Choices","Change"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2019/01/02/hope-and-joy.html", "title": "Hope AND Joy!", "content_html": "Ephesians 4:29 NIV
![\"Paul](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/a8bc2d62bd.jpg\")
“The world is changed by your example, not by your opinion.” - Paul Coelho
The other day I said my word for 2019 would be “Joy”. Then I decided it really should be “Hope”. Well, we all know it is a woman’s prerogative to change her mind and I’ve decided to have TWO words this year…Hope AND Joy! No reason I can’t strive for both and they go hand in hand, right?
\nI was looking through my photos from the last year. I try to use my own photos for my blog but sometimes something comes along that I just need to share. That is the case in today’s meme.
\nOne of the photos I saw yesterday as I was preparing to write this post was one of my sweet Uncle Bud, devoted husband of my Aunt Viv who died the day after Mr. FixIt and I got married. I was so worried about him the last couple of years. As Aunt Viv’s dementia worsened, he got less and less sleep and had absolutely no time to take care of himself. The last two years he also had the added responsibility of caring for his sister…the elderly aunt I originally came to West Virginia to try to help. I really hated that hers and my inability to get along added an extra burden on him, but it couldn’t be helped. She and I were oil and water. Or probably more accurate, gasoline and a match.
\nEvery week, I called my Uncle Bud to see how he was doing. And all too often I suggested perhaps they should seek some sort of alternative to caring for both women in the home, virtually unassisted. And every time, he patiently replied, “We’ll see.” I realized long back, this is not my place to butt in, so I tried to stay out of it. I wasn’t always successful, but I tried.
\nWhen my aunt finally passed, I realized…that was his sweetheart. The love of his life. He took vows that he would love her and care for her in sickness and in health. While no one would have held it against him if he would have placed either of my aunts in a nursing home, this was just not the way he was raised and he has a huge heart. He simply could not do that for his wife. And now, I am sure, he will care for his sister as long as he possibly can.
\nWhen I came across a picture of my Uncle Bud yesterday, I had to smile. Here was this 80-something year old man whom I adore, hunched over his brand new smart phone. Apparently, someone felt it was time for him to ditch the old flip phone he’s been using forever and come into 21st century technology.
\nI can just imagine what he must think. I remember when I got my first laptop. I brought it to West Virginia to show my grandma. I signed up for AOL specifically so I could use the internet anywhere. I plugged it into her phone line and rang up the dialup modem. After the beeps and boops, up it popped. We sat there for hours looking up stuff. She was intrigued, but I don’t think it really sank in what she was looking at. It was all a mystery to her.
\nAs I head into the new year armed with “HOPE” and “JOY”, I want to remember always that it is my example, not my opinion, that will change the world. It takes a village to change things. And if we all work together, we can raise the collective vibration of the planet to a place of awareness and peace. If we strive to go high when others go low, we can set our sites on a common goal…one of peace and mutual understanding. When we keep God at the center, he equips us with all we need to succeed. This is my prayer…my most fervent hope, in order to find infinite joy! ❤️
\n“But after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who calls you to share his eternal glory in union with Christ, will himself perfect you and give you firmness, strength, and a sure foundation. To him be the power for ever! Amen.”\n\n", "date_published": "2019-01-02T02:30:31-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2019/01/02/hope-and-joy.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Comfort","Grace","Peace","Wisdom","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/12/31/saying-goodbye-to.html", "title": "Saying Goodbye to 2018", "content_html": "1 Peter 5:10-11 GNB
![\"Mother-daughter](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/8929a444f4.jpg\")
“A mother-daughter duo singing worship songs to close out the year.” Photo Credit: The Warehouse Church
We had a special celebration at church yesterday. Instead of having the kids over in their area, they joined the adults. And, instead of hearing a message from Pastor Justin, we ended the year with an hour of praise music and communion. It was a special treat to see the children of our worship team on stage singing with their parents. This little gal was amazing and it warmed my heart to watch her.
\nAs the old year fades, we cannot help but look over the last twelve months and review what we have accomplished. It is easy to be critical of what we perceive as mistakes. The woulda-shoulda-coulda’s can creep in, and that really doesn’t serve us well. Looking back with a hopeful heart takes practice.
\nI was telling someone yesterday that I was glad to have 2018 over with. But when I really gave that some thought, I realized that’s just wishing your life away. There were some very sad things that happened this year, true. I lost three people I loved very much…all within two months. Their deaths saddened me greatly and I have learned enough about life to know…the greater the love, the deeper the grief. I was blessed to have these three in my life to love and love me back.
\nThen, there were all these health problems I had to deal with. They were a major pain, but when I look back I realize I was so blessed to have insurance. I know there are people who can’t afford to see a doctor and let medical issues go till it’s too late. I was blessed with knowledgeable physicians and excellent hospital care. I cannot complain.
\nThe highlight of my year, of course, was getting married to my best friend. Mr. FixIt is my rock…my life partner…my playmate. My life is so much happier with him in it and I gained a bonus family!
\nSo, I won’t wish away time. I will remember Aunt Viv, and my cousin Tom, and my “other-mother” Louisa with much love…keeping their memories alive by saying their names. And I will cherish the gifts God gives me daily…love, insurance, health, good doctors, a roof over my head, food on my table, a loving family, and a man who thinks the sun rises at my feet. As I head into the new year, I will tuck this one away with solemn gratitude.
\n❤️
\n“Praise the LORD, my soul, and do not forget how kind he is.”\n\n \n", "date_published": "2018-12-31T02:30:50-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/12/31/saying-goodbye-to.html", "tags": ["Faith","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Love","Peace","Courage","Humbled","Presence","Choices","Marriage"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/12/30/gwendolyns-journey-with-arthrogryposis.html", "title": "Gwendolyn’s Journey with Arthrogryposis", "content_html": "Psalms 103:2 GNB
![\"Arthrogryposis\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/1ccabb6501.jpg\")
“Baby Gwen was born with arthrogryposis…a rare congenital anomaly that causes some joints in the body to be stiff and bent in odd directions.”
A few months ago, I asked you to pray for my friend’s little baby granddaughter and you all stood up and joined hands and prayed hard. Baby Gwen came into this world a beautiful little flower…but some of her petals were damaged. She has arthrogryposis…a rare congenital defect that affects multiple joints. There are typically joint contractures which may be stuck in one position. The muscles surrounding these joints may be weak, stiff, or even missing altogether. Little Gwen’s left leg was bent backwards and lay across her tummy. Her feet and hands are turned inward and her little chin is drastically receded.
\n![\"Meme](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/9e03ffeb7c.jpg\")
“Her damaged petals are what made her more beautiful than all the other flowers.” A. J. Lawless
As Gwen has grown, some of these contractures have needed to be addressed more urgently. Because her lower jaw recedes, she cannot drink from a bottle. She eventually had a stomach tube placed to get tube feedings directly into her stomach. And, because she can’t swallow, her normal saliva can choke her to death. She has to have someone awake with her 24/7 in order to suction her airway when her secretions get in her way. Between her airway and tube feedings, physical therapy and doctor’s visits, little Gwen is more than a fulltime job. I’m telling you this though…God couldn’t have given her to a better family than the one she’s in.
\n![\"Leg](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/df63439bd8.jpg\")
“Gwen has had a series of casts placed on her legs to bring them down into position for surgical repair.”
The latest surgery was a tendectomy. This will clear the way for eventually walking. I know it’s hard to imagine her ever walking when you look at that newborn picture, but she has had a series of casts as well as the surgery and her legs are down much closer where they need to be. She is just now being able to coo and gurgle baby gibberish and it makes your heart soar when you see her in a video. Her huge, sensitive eyes look into your very soul. She is the sweetest little thing.
\n![\"Stomach](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/411351c86c.jpg\")
“Baby Gwen is fed through a tube placed surgically into her stomach because she cannot swallow well enough to eat.”
Gwen’s parents are young. Mommy had to quit her job to stay home with the baby. With all the expenses that go along with a situation like this, there is also a Go Fund Me page to help with daily expenses and challenges. I rarely share this kind of thing, asking for donations, but I know this family personally. They are a wonderful, close knit family who needs a little extra help. It’s the end of the year. If you find you need to donate a little more, or if the Spirit moves you, please consider helping this young family out.
\n![\"Arthrogryposis\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/3c75e2863d.jpg\")
“The muscles in Gwen’s arms and hands are weak and she is just now learning to ‘hold’ toys.”
You can find Gwendolyn’s story at:
\nhttps://www.facebook.com/GwendolynsJourney/
\nYou can find their Go Fund Me page at:
\nhttps://www.gofundme.com/gwendolyn-strong
\n![\"Baby](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/9663d5261f.jpg\")
“I look forward to every post as I follow Gwendolyn’s Journey. This baby will never be told she can’t do something…they will just find a way.”
“As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been born blind. His followers asked him, “Teacher, whose sin caused this man to be born blind—his own sin or his parents’ sin?” Jesus answered, “It is not this man’s sin or his parents’ sin that made him blind. This man was born blind so that God’s power could be shown in him.”\n\n", "date_published": "2018-12-30T02:30:15-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/12/30/gwendolyns-journey-with-arthrogryposis.html", "tags": ["Faith","Health","Family","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom","Courage","Humbled","Presence","Choices"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/12/29/looking-for-the-light.html", "title": "Looking for the Light", "content_html": "John 9:1-3 ICB
![\"Sunset\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/7ba6044c5c.jpg\")
“Looking for the Light”
In the next week or two, one after the other…folks will be taking down their Christmas lights. My goodness, I know people who take their decorations down as soon as the last present is opened! Me? Well, if I didn’t have to dust the darned thing, I’d leave my tree up all year. Oh, I love my tree! Mr. FixIt picked out two or three trees and sent me pictures of them when I was in Colorado that first Christmas we were dating. I chose the one I wanted and he picked it up on sale after the holidays. He’s such a good man!
\nThankfully, we are past the winter solstice, and the days will incrementally reward us with more and more light. But it will be a while before we really notice it. Until then, I will hang on to my sweet, white lights on my tree. And my scented candles. And my battery operated candles that automatically turn on and off. And the little candles in each window that stay up all year. And the accent lamps. There are no curtains on the windows so I can squeeze out every moment of light every day. I crave light.
\nIn the past, I have fallen victim to the habit of saying, “I hate winter!” “I hate the cold weather!” “I hate the snow!” Well, you know what? Whether I hate it or not, it is going to be here. Defeatist jargon steals joy. Either way, hate or joy, it’s still going to be dark and cold. So why not choose joy? Why not change the negative self chatter to something like…”There is joy in this moment.” There is joy in that sunbeam, no matter how briefly it shines. There is joy in the snow…no two snowflakes are alike. There is joy in the trees as they stretch their naked arms up into the sky, their roots settled in for a rest before they burst forth with their gift of green.
\nThis transformation of my thinking doesn’t come in a straight line. I’ve found myself being decidedly grumpy occasionally over the last couple of weeks. Then I remember my word…presence…and I come back. It may be a forever battle, but my war cry will always be “Joy!”
\nThat is my word for 2019. Joy!
\n“These people who live in darkness will see a great light. They live in a place that is very dark. But a light will shine on them.” Isaiah 9:1-2”\nMatthew 4:16 ICB\n", "date_published": "2018-12-29T02:30:33-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/12/29/looking-for-the-light.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Peace","Wisdom","Courage","Presence","Choices","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/12/27/the-story-of-the-traveling.html", "title": "The Story of the Traveling Bowling Shirt", "content_html": "
![\"Bowling](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/dc7d5d4ea9.jpg\")
“The Traveling Bowling Shirt once belonged to Bill T. And…I found him!!!”
In 1986, Hubby #2 finished his Residency in Internal Medicine and joined a practice in a small mountain town in Colorado. We were thrilled to have that long seven-year stretch behind us and were looking forward to building a life on the Western Slope of Colorado.
\nWe rented a five bedroom house on two acres just outside of town. With a lease option to purchase, it was the foot in the door we needed to step into home ownership eventually. We were young and happy…in that way you are when you are poor as a church mouse but are too naive to know it. We had to count our pennies in those early years and with a daughter going into seventh grade, we bought our clothes at resale shops.
\nThere were several really great consignment stores in our area and one of my favorites was a place called Miser’s Mercantile. I went there at least once a week or so to browse through the clothes. A lot of the women from Aspen would bring things in and you could get some great bargains. I once bought a wool coat from Nordstroms for $20! Anyway, I came across this really campy bowling shirt one day and I absolutely had to have it. I wore it a lot over jeans…tied at the waist. When my daughter got old enough to raid my closet, the shirt became hers. I really missed it when she took it with her when she left home and set out in the world. Daughter #1 has been married for twenty-three years. This shirt went with her all the way to Long Island and back to Denver and she still has it.
\nMr. FixIt has been on two bowling leagues for nearly forty years. Last week, I went to his league Christmas parties with him. On Sunday night, a bunch of us were talking about the old bowling shirts embroidered with the Sponsor’s logo on them…your name over the pocket. You don’t see them much anymore. I remembered “the shirt” and I’ve never forgotten the name…Bill T. (I’m only using the first letter of his last name to protect his identity.) Whenever the shirt was worn, we always said a kind word about “Good Ol’ Bill T”. I picked up my phone and did a quick search on Facebook…and, there he was!!! It HAD to be him…he worked in the bowling industry and he lived in Pennsylvania.
\nI sent my daughter a text and asked if she could send me pictures of the bowling shirt. Then I sent them on to Bill T with a note explaining how I came to own the shirt and was this THE Bill T. About an hour later, I received a lovely reply.
\n“Hi Ginny, this was my shirt from early/mid 1980s when I bowled in the Berks County Major League at Bowl-O-Rama in Reading, Pa. Crazy that it has survived over 30 years and traveled so far. I kept it for a few years after switching teams in that league and gave the shirt to a special needs bowler when I started working in that center. I am pleased to see that the shirt has brought comfort in some way to you and your family, and glad you reached out to me with the story. Thank you and Merry Christmas to you and yours!”
\nIt really WAS our Bill T! I told him I felt like I’d known him forever…like he was a member of our family. I told him it was really interesting that the shirt made it all the way to Colorado. It was also interesting that he had given the shirt to someone with special needs. My brother has special needs and has participated in Special Olympics Bowling for over fifty years. AND, the daughter who now owns Bill T’s bowling shirt teaches Special Ed. AND…now I’m married to a life-long bowler and I was writing from the bowing alley!
\nWas this all just coincidence? Sort of like throwing dice or casting lots? I don’t think so. I think these sorts of things are God winks. Circles of life that wind round and round. The story of a traveling bowling shirt that has touched the lives of special people, special bowlers, on both sides of the country. I love how God works….even when it’s something as simple as a story that connects people across the miles through a bit of thread, a lot of smiles, and a warm heart. ❤️
\n“People throw lots to make a decision. But the answer comes from the Lord.”\n\n", "date_published": "2018-12-27T02:30:47-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/12/27/the-story-of-the-traveling.html", "tags": ["Family","Uplifting Stories","Positive Energy","Fun","Gratitude","Comfort","God","Presence"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/12/18/say-i-love-you-with.html", "title": "Say “I Love You” With a Little Yarn \u0026 a Lotta Love", "content_html": "Proverbs 16:33 ICB
![\"Knitted](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/c4a7ec551b.jpg\")
“Hand knitted dishcloth with the ASL sign for “I Love You” in the pattern.”
Yesterday’s post had me thinking about quick, last minute gifts for the holidays. I was in town Sunday afternoon so I stopped at Walmart and picked up some cotton yarn. Those cute patterns for dishcloths had me thinking I’d like to whip up some.
\nMr. FixIt had to go to town yesterday to help a friend build something and do a little Christmas shopping. I elected to stay home. I asked Alexa to play “Soft Christmas Music”, turned up the stove in the family room, grabbed a cup of coffee, and curled up by the tree. I pulled up the fox fur blanket that I had made from the coat Mr. Virgo gave me years ago. And I set to knitting.
\nIn the comments on yesterday’s post, my friend Jamie told me someone made her a dishcloth with the ASL symbol for “I Love You” knitted into it. I asked for the pattern and her friend sent the link. I still have the remnants of grief brain so I had to really concentrate on the pattern. I had to take out a row every now and then when I couldn’t remember where I was in the pattern. But before too long, I had one finished! I’ve started a second dishcloth from one of the pattern in the link I included yesterday.
\nThe other day, Daughter #2 called and said she missed my cooking. I asked her what dish she loved the most. Turkey Tetrawhatzit…my version of Turkey Tetrazzini. So, before Mr. FixIt got home, I put some of the frozen turkey from Thanksgiving in a pot with a little water and simmered it till I could shred the meat with a fork. In an electric skillet, I sautéed half an onion, some sliced mushrooms and celery in a little butter. I added a drained can of mixed veggies. When the turkey was shredded, I tossed it in the skillet with about a pint of the drippings from the pan I roasted the turkey in. While that simmered, I cooked some egg noodles. I mixed up some flour in some of the broth and thickened the turkey mixture, stirred in a cup of sour cream, and brought it just to a simmer then added the drained cooked noodles. Topped with a little shredded Parmesan and…voila! Turkey Tetrawhatzit! Comfort food at it’s best…and it made me think of my daughter. Mr. FixIt said…”Send her a picture!” I did…then called her so she could “join us for dinner!”
\nIt was a lovely day…peaceful, comforting, homey, warm with a big dash of “I Love You!” ❤️
\n“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”\n\n", "date_published": "2018-12-18T02:30:47-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/12/18/say-i-love-you-with.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Prayer","Hope","Positive Energy","Fun","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Holiday","Wisdom","Humbled","Art"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/12/17/forgiveness-equals-freedom.html", "title": "Forgiveness Equals Freedom", "content_html": "Psalms 23:6 ESV
![\"Meme\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/7b8df47345.jpg\")
“Forgiveness=Freedom”
I’m not sure what I expected when I became a Christian in 2004. Lightning? The parting of the sea? Enlightenment? Thunder? I do know what I received was life altering. I received a healing to my very core. I felt like every cell in my body had been made new. It was remarkable.
\nWhen I was a baby Christian, I was like a sponge. I knew God, and loved Him. I knew Jesus, and finally embraced Him. But, when it came to the Holy Spirit, I was clueless. I had no idea exactly who He was, how He worked, what His function was. As the years have gone by, I’ve learned more and more and have developed my relationship with the Holy Trinity. And once in a while I get a big A-Ha moment that shines a light on some aspect I didn’t understand before.
\nI’ve long known and understood when the Holy Spirit talks to me. Those “nudges” that move and steer me in a certain direction are an indication of His presence. When I worship or hear a particularly moving sermon or scripture and I get goose bumps…that’s the Holy Spirit. All those years when I felt a knock on the door of my heart to let Jesus into my life? That was the Holy Spirit. I get all that now. And sometimes when I call out to Him and get the answer in moments, it reiterates just how close the Holy Spirit is….He lives inside us. He is that aspect of God that touches our hearts and minds with an intimacy only God can provide. I had that experience this weekend.
\nWe had lunch with some of the local residents who live near the farm. Over lunch, my elderly aunt became a topic of discussion and I recounted how difficult that time had been. Then at church yesterday, Pastor Justin spoke on forgiveness. True forgiveness breaks the chains that are holding you prisoner. I thought back to my conversation of the day before and realized, I still had a spirit of unforgiveness as I was holding some resentment and hurt in my heart over some of the things my aunt said and did while I was trying to help her. In retrospect, I was quite filled with “You have no idea what she put me through!” That resentment, however small, is the poison I keep drinking yet she is totally unharmed.
\nAt the end of services, Pastor Justin did an alter call and asked those to come forward who wished to let go of resentments and hurts and embrace a spirit of forgiveness. He came to each of us and laid his hands on our heads and prayed over us. I left feeling completely changed…yet again.
\nDo you have someone you are harboring a spirit of unforgiveness for? Is there someone who has hurt you that has left you saying, “I’ll show you!”? If so, this is a beautiful time to just let it go. Pray for those who have hurt you. Seek ways to praise them in public for the blessings they have given you…even if that blessing is the insight you gained from their unkindness. And, this is the season of giving. Send them a card. Stick a $5 gift card for coffee or to a restaurant. Tell them, “You know, I just wanted to let you know what a blessing you have been this year.” Or “I know you’ve gone through a rough patch and I just wanted to reach out and tell you I’m thinking of you.” Forgiveness goes a long way toward uniting us. I’m not saying send a gift card to your abuser. Or even reaching out for conversation with someone who physically or emotionally abused you. But you can still pray for them. The spirit of forgiveness in you just might bring you a new level of peace and healing of your own. ❤️
\n“bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”\n\n", "date_published": "2018-12-17T02:30:42-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/12/17/forgiveness-equals-freedom.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Hope","Positive Energy","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom","Forgiveness","Courage","Humbled","Choices","Change"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/12/15/the-farm-sharing-my-happy.html", "title": "The Farm: Sharing My Happy Place", "content_html": "Colossians 3:13 ESV
![\"Handknit](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/492d8e6180.jpg\")
“I knitted this little beaded evening bag many years ago.”
There is only one thing better than spending time at the farm. Spending time at the farm with Mr. FixIt! I asked him Thursday if we could go out for a couple of days and he is such a sweetie. We don’t quite have the amenities at the farm that we have at the house, but he’s a real sport. Usually we pack enough stuff for a month-long safari, but we’re getting better at it. Dinner was Hamburger Macaroni (SO simple…brown 1# hamburger with a med. onion chopped, stir in a can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes and a can of drained corn, add a few cups of cooked elbow macaroni and a couple slices of Colby cheese, a little red pepper flakes, garlic salt, pepper, and oregano…stir and serve. Comfort food when served with homemade peanut butter cookies! Yummmmmm!
\nI was going through some of the things I saved and brought with me from Colorado. I chatted with my knitting buddy, Gail, yesterday. I told her about a little purse I knitted many years ago. When I was going through a box, I ran across this pretty little beaded bag. I remember the day I went to the Convention Center in downtown Denver for a bead show. There was a lady from Evergreen selling reproduction silver plated purse handles, Japanese silk, seed beads, tiny little double-point needles, and patterns for the most darling little evening bags. I bought enough supplies to make four.
\nThis was the first one I made. It was tedious to make, I will not lie. To start with, you have to transfer all these little beads to the silk. The beads come on something called a hank. It’s several strands of beads in a loop, and the ends of the threads are all tied together in a knot. Each loop had to be very carefully removed from the hank without dropping one end. If you drop it, alllllllll the beads slip off and go everywhere. Don’t ask me how I know that. ?
\nWhen you slide the beads from the thread to the silk, you sometimes find a bead whose hole is too small for the silk. In that case, you take a pair of pliers and gently squeeze the bead till it breaks. You have to be careful because the sharp edge of a broken bead can cut the silk, then you’re in a serious mess. Strand after strand, you slide and pull them along till you have the required number of beads on the silk thread. Once the beads have been threaded on, you wrap them around and around the ball of silk ill you get back to the beginning. You have to stop and unroll this often and slip the beads further down the thread so you have room to knit. Did I tell you it was tedious?
\nI made this one and another just like it for my cousin’s daughter. She was born with cancer in her spine and had major surgery and treatment as a very young child. When she turned sixteen, I made her the little bag to carry to her first formal. I have enough to make two white purses…one for each of my daughters. The intent was to give each their purse for their weddings. The oldest has been married since 1995. Her purse isn’t finished yet. Did I tell you they are quite tedious to make? I thought I did.
\nI love having this. I used to display it in a curio cabinet that now sits in Colorado waiting for me to bring it here one day. Maybe next summer I will tote it home. In the meantime, it sits on the dresser in our room and I pick it up every now and again, just to remember I once did very tedious work. ❤️
\n“as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.””\n\n", "date_published": "2018-12-15T02:30:12-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/12/15/the-farm-sharing-my-happy.html", "tags": ["Family","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Gratitude","Comfort","Art"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/12/14/the-geminid-meteor-shower.html", "title": "The Geminid Meteor Shower", "content_html": "2 Corinthians 8:15 NIV
![\"Shooting](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/86c10c64da.jpg\")
“The night sky holds endless fascination for me.”
”We are stardust, we are golden, we are billion year old carbon, and we got to get ourselves back to the garden...”\n\nI have always been fascinated by the night sky. Ever since I was a very little girl and my dad woke me up and helped me into my coat to go outside in the middle of the night. We went out to see the Northern Lights. I’ve been smitten ever since. I think that’s one reason I love to camp so much…there’s usually a clear night sky at least one of the nights in the woods.\nCrosby, Stills & Nash
When I was a single mom living in my first house on my own, I packed a thermos and a couple of sleeping bags in the car. I woke up Daughter #2 in the middle of the night and said, “C’mon…we’re going on an adventure.”
\nWe drove up to the ski area, turned off the car, and spread the sleeping bags on the hood. We leaned back against the windshield and sipped our hot cocoa and watched the Persied Meteor Shower. She still talks about that to this day.
\nLast evening, I got a call that my wedding rings were ready to be picked up. I lost a diamond a couple of weeks ago and the service warranty covers that. I could have waited, but I’ve missed my rings, so I drove into town to get them. Afterwards, I went to the bowling alley to visit Mr. FixIt then we grabbed a bite to eat together. On the way home, we stopped to pick up a Christmas gift and some new baking pans. As we were driving out the country road home, Mr. FixIt was behind me in his truck. He called me and I said…”I SAW IT!” It looked like something out of Star Wars! Meteors were falling everywhere. BIG ones!
\nWhen we got home, I told him to park his truck and meet me in mine out in the lane that goes through the field. I turned off all the lights, rolled down the windows, and we sat there for the better part of an hour….staring at the sky.
\n“There’s one!”
\n“Wow…did you see THAT one?”
\n“OMGosh! This is so cool!”
\nGod’s 4th of July…another memory made! ❤️
\n“and the stars in the sky fell to earth, as figs drop from a fig tree when shaken by a strong wind.”\n\n", "date_published": "2018-12-14T02:30:35-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/12/14/the-geminid-meteor-shower.html", "tags": ["Family","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Gratitude","Peace","Humbled","Presence","Peaceful Moments"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/12/12/feel-your-feels.html", "title": "Feel Your Feels", "content_html": "Revelation 6:13 NIV
![\"Christmas](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/29e69ca1ec.jpg\")
“These are some of my favorite Christmas memories.”
As I sit and write this post, Mr. FixIt is in town helping his daughter with something and I am getting ready to address Christmas cards while listening to carols on Pandora. I just had my coffee and a couple of the Oatmeal Raisin Cookies I made yesterday. Another heavy hoar frost has the branches of the forsythia decorated with fuzzy white crystal fingers outside the window where I am perched. The mechanical angel on top of the tree is gently moving her wings and arms as she nods her head slowly. It’s a peaceful scene here on the Ponderosa.
\nAs I was baking my grandma’s Oatmeal Raisin Cookies Monday, I was reminiscing about Christmases spent out on the farm. Grandma seldom had any extras around because money was always tight living off the land. But, as Christmas approached, you could be sure to find certain special treats brought home from the Five & Dime in Harrisville in small brown paper sacks.
\nI especially remember the Christmas candies Grandma always set out in a special glass dish. Ruffled ribbons, chocolate straws, peppermint sticks…all conjure up the warmth of my grandma’s house at Christmas.
\nMy Uncle Bob had a developmental disability and lived at home all his life. Every Christmas, Bob would walk back on the hill with Grandma and select a tree to drag back down to the house. They were sparse little Charlie Brown trees. I thought they were kind of sad and pitiful back then because ours was always a big, full tree we selected from the lot down at the Shopping Center. Looking back with 65-year-old eyes, I’d give anything to go back and see the ornaments and sweetness of my childhood Christmases on the farm.
\nMr. FixIt and I have an artificial tree. He purchased it for me the first Christmas we were dating. I was in Colorado and he was walking around the mall when he saw Sears had their trees marked down drastically. He called and asked if I wanted one. He sent several photos and I selected a slim tree with feathered tips on the needles that make them look frosted. It’s prelit with white lights. No twinkling for me. And no colors. I like white light…and lots of it in the wintertime. It helps with my winter blues.
\nKeeping these memories alive helps comfort me in times of great loss. When I conjure up images of my grandma, my mom, my cousin, my aunt, my other mother…it reminds me while they are away from me physically, I have them with me always in my heart. Christmas isn’t always a happy occasion when you are actively grieving. Holding the memories close can help ease that pain and gives you the outlet you need to process your grief. Feel your feels, I always say. ❤️
\n“My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.”\n\n", "date_published": "2018-12-12T02:30:17-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/12/12/feel-your-feels.html", "tags": ["Family","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Gratitude","Comfort","Love","Peace","Holiday","Presence"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/12/11/kitchen-comforts.html", "title": "Kitchen Comforts", "content_html": "Isaiah 32:18 NIV
![\"Roses\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/42d0bf36e4.jpg\")
“Mr. FixIt brought me roses.”
When I’m struggling with grief, a day in the kitchen does wonders for me. Mr. FixIt knew I hadn’t slept well the last couple of nights since learning the sad news of Miss Louisa passing away, so he was gracious and let me sleep in as long as I wanted to yesterday. I must say, when I awoke around 11:00, I did feel much better. I padded into the kitchen to make my coffee and greet my sweet man in the family room…steaming mug in hand.
\nI snuggled into the loveseat and wrapped my blue fox blanket around me. The Christmas tree was decorated and standing to my left in front of the big picture windows. The gas stove was cranked up and putting off some decent heat. The heavy frost still laid white on the grass and trees in my view. And, amazingly, the forsythia had several bright yellow blooms on them casting a stark contrast to the grey palette of December.
\nI sipped my coffee while Mr. FixIt read the paper. The TV droned quietly in the background…some fourteen year old was answering questions on a game show. I tuned it out as I stared at the decorations on the tree and took inventory of my feelings. The pain I felt when I heard the news of yet another loss was easing a little and shifting to the lonesomeness of not being able to pick up the phone and call whenever I want. It is familiar turf for me.
\nAfter a while, I sighed and went into the bedroom to dress. Mr. FixIt put on his insulated coveralls and went outside to work a while. I carried my second cup to the living room and sat down to knit on a pair of socks. I texted my friend Gail who is touring Europe to see how she is doing. My friend Janine sent me a text to remind me she was going live at 3:00CST. I put my phone away and turned Pandora to “Traditional Christmas.” I spent the next hour or so in quiet meditation, my hands wrapping the wool yarn around the needles with the muscle memory of a skill I learned in my youth.
\nI decided to mix up a batch of oatmeal raisin cookies and was pulling the last batch from the oven as Mr. FixIt came in from the cold. I turned on the kettle and he had a nice cup of tea as he ate a cookie, still warm from the oven. He watched me move around the kitchen, cleaning up the bowls and baking pans. I sensed his eyes on me. This is the relationship we delight in. I looked up from wiping the counter and he smiled.
\n“You treat me so well.”
\nI smiled back. A knowing smile. An appreciative smile. This is the part of him that is like Mr. Virgo. He loves and appreciates me and is quick to tell me. I love that.
\n“I like spoiling you,” I grinned. He laughed, gave me a little pat as he tucked his mug in the kitchen sink. He pulled up his coveralls and went back outside. I watched him as he walked out the door. How can a coverall make a man look that sexy? I smiled as I tucked the towel in the door handle of the oven and turned out the light. I had another hour to knit before I started supper.
\nWhen I was at the farm the other night, I brought home a pot roast from the freezer. When it was thawed, I cut it in cubes. I put about a cup of flour in a gallon ziplock bag with some salt and pepper and dropped in the cubed roast. I tossed the meat in the flour, rubbing the pieces through the bag to ensure they were well coated then dropped them into a hot skillet with a little oil in it. When the meat had been seared on all sides, I removed it and put it in my electric pressure cooker. I put in a can of beef broth and a can of water, replaced the lid and pressure cooked the roast for 55 minutes. Once it was finished, I let it cool for about twenty minutes without releasing the pressure. I released the pressure carefully and removed the lid. The meat bubbled in a nice thickened gravy and smelled divine. I poured the meat and gravy out into a large storage container and set it on the counter. When it was cool enough, I popped it in the fridge to be used during the week for meals and sandwiches.
\nYesterday, I cooked up half a bag of egg noodles. I took out half the meat and gravy and placed it in a saucepan on low heat to warm up. I sautéed a whole package of sliced mushrooms in two tablespoons of butter. Everything was ready at the same time so I drained the pasta, and put it back in the pan, poured the beef and gravy in with the sautéed mushrooms and added 3/4 cup of sour cream. I gave it a quick stir and called Mr. FixIt to the table for supper.
\nA day like that is soothing to the spirit. It reminded me that, while I miss those I have lost, I have skills in place that I did not have when I lost Mr. Virgo. It is not lost on me that I have the added blessing of this sweet man to be my companion and helpmate to love and support me as I navigate the losses. I kind of feel like I’m cheating…I don’t have to grieve alone like I did when I became a widow. That kind of grief is so much harder than this. I am grateful. ❤️
\n“‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.””\n\n", "date_published": "2018-12-11T02:30:08-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/12/11/kitchen-comforts.html", "tags": ["Faith","Family","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Courage","Presence","Choices","Change"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/12/07/finding-a-friend.html", "title": "Finding a Friend", "content_html": "Revelation 21:4 NIV
![\"Two](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/04377e5285.jpg\")
“I met one of my readers last night for dinner when she came through town! So nice to meet you, Jo!”
I often receive private messages from readers with comments, suggestions, questions, and sometimes seeking a little extra love and support if they are going through something particularly tough. This was the case when I heard from Jo. Her husband had been recently diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Like me, she knew she needed to put something joyful in front of her to get through what she knew was coming. She was experiencing anticipatory grief.
\nJo was intrigued by my camping escapades and how I used my little camper travels to help me navigate grief. She joined Sisters on the Fly and borrowed a Class C RV from a friend. While her husband was still well enough to go, she took him camping. They enjoyed that trip, but her husband made her promise not to buy that particular RV. It was older, and he knew repairs would be coming soon. He didn’t want her getting stranded somewhere or to be saddled with extra expenses so she promised.
\nWe talked about getting together in the spring, then spring turned to summer and Jo’s husband continued to worsen. Then, after 45 years of marriage and countless sessions of chemo and radiation, her sweet husband passed peacefully, November 17th, surrounded by his loving family at home. A wake was held in Virginia last weekend and Jo made arrangements to have a second wake in Indiana with her eight siblings and their families this coming weekend.
\nWhile she could have flown to Indiana, Jo decided to drive, much to the dismay of her family. Not a week as a widow and she was already being told “You’re too old!” “You can’t do that alone!” Luckily, this tiny woman with the spiky white hair is feisty and put the kibosh on that. She informed them that, not only was she going to drive to Indiana…alone…she was going to start looking for an RV. They were aghast! She had another reason for wanting to drive. She knew she would be traveling through West Virginia and she wanted to meet me.
\nJo contacted me early this week and told me she would be heading through my area Wednesday and she wanted to take me to dinner. I jumped at the chance. We met at Texas Roadhouse and talked for FOUR hours! We talked with the ease you feel when you have a lot in common with someone. We told stories, asked questions, and laughed the evening away. One particular story tugged at my heart strings and made tears sting my eyes.
\nWhen her husband was so ill, Jo’s friends and family kept asking what they could do to help. There were far too many casseroles and plates of cookies already so she decided to start “The Toothbrush Crusade”. You see, even though they had owned and operated a Christian school together for the last twenty years, Jo’s husband was not a believer. So, she asked everyone to pray for her husband’s salvation while they were brushing their teeth. That was around two minutes, at least twice per day that people would be praying for him. I’d love to say her husband was struck by the Holy Spirit and proclaimed his faith before he died, but that isn’t the case. He did tell her he would believe “for her”, but we know that isn’t how it works.
\nWe do not know what goes through the mind in the moments before death. I reassured Jo that, even though we believe, we do not know the mind of God and we are not telepathic. People’s faith is personal and between them and God. She had done everything she could to bring him to Christ. She understands now she has to just wait till she gets there and finds out for herself. My hope is that, in those final moments, he saw a fork in the road and made a choice to move towards the light.
\nAs the evening drew to a close and we ate the last of the dessert we split between us, we proclaimed ourselves as friends for life. Jo and I posed for the obligatory photo to commemorate the occasion, gave a good long hug, and went our separate ways till we meet again. I so enjoyed our time together. The last thing Jo said when she turned to leave was, “Keep doing what you’re doing…you have no idea how much you are helping people.” I quickly replied, “I’m just the transcriptionist. It’s all God’s doing!”
\nAs I got in my truck to head home to Mr. FixIt, I said…”Lord, I always ask you to bring me the words to write and the people on the other side of the screen who need to read them. Thank you, Lord, for showing me they are there.” ❤️
\n““Why do you ask me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” “Which ones?” he inquired. Jesus replied, “ ‘You shall not murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not give false testimony, honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’ ””\n\n \n", "date_published": "2018-12-07T02:30:13-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/12/07/finding-a-friend.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Sisters on the Fly","Positive Energy","West Virginia","Gratitude","Grace","Humbled","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/12/01/grandma-lois-very-best-chocolate.html", "title": "Grandma Lois’ Very Best Chocolate Cake", "content_html": "Matthew 19:17-19 NIV
![\"Homemade](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/29ce6b3fa8.jpg\")
“Homemade chocolate cake…Grandma Lois’ recipe.”
My son-in-law’s Grandma is one of the sweetest and feistiest women I know. Grandma Lois is 90 and now lives in a nursing home. But up to just a few years ago, she drove herself around in her little Ford and assisted in a grade school classroom several days a week.
\nGrandma Lois and Grandpa Bud had an upholstery business. She was always a hardworking woman. She didn’t stop working when her husband passed suddenly. She’s the matriarch of a wonderful, salt-of-the-earth family. I tell people when Daughter #1 got married, she won the lottery with these wonderful people.
\nGrandma was a member of a womens’ social club. One gathering had everyone bring their favorite recipe on a card to exchange. This is the recipe she received that day. My son-in-law LOVES chocolate cake and this is the family’s go-to chocolate cake for special occasions. I took this one with me to my cousin’s for Thanksgiving and I’ve had many requests for the recipe. I always check with the source before I share old family recipes and they were happy to let more people enjoy this yummy cake.
\nI’ll make another one to serve for drop-in company here at the Ponderosa. Hope you enjoy it!
\nFavorite Chocolate Cake
\n3 cups flour
\n2 cups sugar
\n2 tsp. Baking soda
\n1/2 tsp. Salt
\n1/4 to 1/2 cup cocoa
\nSift together the above then add -
\n2 eggs
\n1 cup Wesson Oil
\n2 T. Mayo
\n3 tsp. Vanilla
\n1 cup sour milk (add 2 T. Vinegar to milk & let sit 5 min.)
\nOR you can use one cup buttermilk instead
\n1 cup boiling water
\nPut all ingredients in bowl; put boiling water in last. Beat 2 minutes or so.
\nBake in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
\nLet cool in pan for 10 minutes then tip out on a cake rack to cool. Slice “domed” top from each layer before frosting with your favorite icing.
\nMakes two good sized layers.
\nIf making cupcakes, bake for 20 minutes.
\n❤️\n“Then he gave a loaf of bread, a cake of dates and a cake of raisins to each Israelite man and woman.”\n\n", "date_published": "2018-12-01T02:30:46-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/12/01/grandma-lois-very-best-chocolate.html", "tags": ["Family","Uplifting Stories","Positive Energy","Fun","Comfort","Love","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/11/28/your-chance-to-win-a.html", "title": "Your Chance to Win a Camper!", "content_html": "1 Chronicles 16:3 NIV
![\"“The](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/8b803175f5.jpg\")
“The Little Max by Liberty Outdoors”
My good friend, Janine Pettit, has gone camping since she was a little girl. When her kids were heading off to college, Janine decided to be an ambassador and help women learn everything they needed to know to get out and “Go Places and Do Things!”
\nI met Janine in the Spring of 2015 in Nashville. She had been a blogger for goRVing.com for quite some time, and asked if she could interview me. We had an instant rapport and I have subsequently appeared at least three times on her podcast talking about my journey.
\nOne of the sponsors of the GirlCamper Podcast is Liberty Outdoors with their Max and Mini Max campers. This past summer, Liberty Outdoors loaned Janine a camper to haul around the country and give feedback on the design. After pulling this gorgeous little camper over 10,000 miles across 14 states. She camped over 60 nights this summer! And now, it’s YOUR chance to own this little beauty!
\nLiberty Outdoors has generously donated this Mini Max to the Hold You Foundation, a non-profit that assists parents in making ends meet when they are caring for a seriously ill child. The camper is being raffled off and you can buy a ticket by clicking on the following link. Who know? This little beauty just might end up being yours!
\nFingers crossed!
\n\n“Abraham traveled from there south to the Negev and settled down between Kadesh and Shur. While he was camping in Gerar, Abraham said of his wife Sarah, “She’s my sister.””\n\n \n", "date_published": "2018-11-28T02:30:15-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/11/28/your-chance-to-win-a.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","Camping","Fun","Growth","Gratitude","goRVing","Girl Camper","Girl Campers","Choices"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/11/22/nothing-like-the-last-minute.html", "title": "Nothing Like the Last Minute", "content_html": "Genesis 20:1 MSG
![\"Fresh](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/526c5ab0ee.jpg\")
“A fresh turkey takes the guesswork out of thawing.”
We were going to leave yesterday to travel to my cousin’s for Thanksgiving dinner but they have a loved one in the hospital and wouldn’t be home till late. We decided to leave bright and early this morning as that would give us another day to prepare for our company coming Saturday.
\nMr. FixIt and I bought a 25# turkey in preparation for 14 guests and plenty of leftovers. We bought said bird early last week. I pulled it from the freezer and put it in the fridge in the garage on Friday. I figured it would be totally defrosted in the ensuing eight days. Well, yesterday morning it was still hard as a rock. I mean, maybe the slightest icy give under the skin, but that’s it. No way that monster is going to be ready for Saturday’s guests. Heck, it might not be ready for CHRISTMAS at that rate.
\nI pulled the turkey from the fridge and let it sit in a galvanized tub on the basement floor till I realized the temps are supposed to be down in the twenties over the next few nights. That thing will never make it and since we’ll be gone for a couple of days, I can’t put it in the sink with water or leave it out of the fridge in case global warming shifts into high gear before Friday. I made the decision…I had to go to town and buy a fresh turkey. On the day before Thanksgiving. In a small town. My chances of meeting success were drastically slim.
\nI left Mr. FixIt and his vacuuming (for the fourth or fifth time this week…I’m not sure there are fibers left in this carpet. But, I digress.) and headed to town. The first store I come to…besides Dollar General…is Walmart. Since Dollar General most assuredly doesn’t carry fresh turkey, I elected to stop at Walmart. I didn’t hold out much hope and I was totally prepared to have to drive all over town. I sent up a little prayer and said, “Lord, you know I’ll drive all over town to find a fresh turkey but I sure would love it if You would make sure I find one at the first store I come to?” Sure enough, there was my turkey…and everything else I needed!
\n![\"Homemade](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/df4beec72a.jpg\")
“Homemade chocolate cake…Grandma Lois’ recipe.”
I came home and baked a cake for today. My son-in-law’s mom makes this cake all the time. Her mom got the recipe in an exchange at her ladies club years ago. It uses buttermilk, mayonnaise, and boiling water and it is the BEST chocolate cake I think I have ever had!
\n![\"Hydroponics](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/1cf7b3e746.jpg\")
“Butter crunch lettuce…one hour from harvest to table…in November! Hydroponics rule!”
Later in the day, my friend Diane posted she had just bought some hydroponic lettuce produced in our tiny little town. I asked where I could get some and she brought a head over as a gift. It was fabulous and I can assure you, this is where I’ll be purchasing my salad greens this winter. And…NO fear of E. Coli! Win-win.
\nI hope you all have a wonderful holiday. May your turkey be tender and your gravy lump-free! I am thankful for all of you!!! ❤️
\n“Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever.”\n\n", "date_published": "2018-11-22T02:30:28-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/11/22/nothing-like-the-last-minute.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Gratitude","Love","Holiday","Wisdom","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/11/20/driving-down-the-road.html", "title": "Driving Down the Road", "content_html": "1 Chronicles 16:34 NIV
![\"Country](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/a658a5bc1a.jpg\")
“Country roads…take me home!”
Remember this summer when I shared the pictures of how terrible the road was out to the farm? The compressor station back behind the farm is finished. No more heavy trucks hauling super heavy loads out the road and back. It was a long year. They started building the road out to the station site this time last year.
\nThe road had gotten so bad I was really afraid I was going to blow a tire or break an axle or, at the very least, knock my truck out of alignment. I just had to drive really slow and try to dodge the worst parts or come to a complete stop if there was oncoming traffic.
\nI was told by multiple sources that our road would not be fixed until the routine paving time came up on the schedule. I was also told the county did not negotiate road repairs into the contract with the company building the compressor station. Essentially, I figured good, hard working, lower income West Virginians would get screwed again.
\nIn late summer, a local company came in and cut out large rectangles of mangled asphalt and rebuilt the base. But, they didn’t put anything on top so it was no time before these big rocky rectangles became just as bad as the road was before. Pretty soon, someone else came in and blacktopped over those messy rocky rectangles and I thought, “Good! At least there aren’t deep holes anymore. I can live with this.”
\nWhile we were gone on our honeymoon, my cousin’s wife, Charlotte called to give me an update on the kitties. Then she said, “Wait till you see what they’re doing to the road! You won’t believe it!” I rolled my eyes. What now? “They’re paving it!!!”
\nSure enough, each time I’ve gone out since the wedding, a little more and a little more was blacktopped and things were finally improving. I went out yesterday and they are not only finished…the lines have been painted and a very nice shoulder has been laid down. If I could have done a jig, I would have…but I was driving.
\nI didn’t have to yell and scream at a meeting. I didn’t get upset other than grumble under my breath and complain to you all a little bit. I didn’t have to write letters or threaten law suits. I just talked to God whenever I drove over that wretched road and said, “Lord, please place it on the hearts of the people responsible for making this mess to come back here and make it right. This isn’t fair to all these people out this little old road. They work hard and most of them don’t have much. Please make this right.” I have no idea who actually ended up getting this job done, but I am grateful for a good, solid road going out to the farm now.
\nPrayer works. Even in the most ordinary things. ❤️
\n“The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride. Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools.” Ecclesiastes 7:8-9 NIV\n", "date_published": "2018-11-20T02:30:21-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/11/20/driving-down-the-road.html", "tags": ["Faith","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Wisdom","Humbled","Presence","Choices","Change"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/11/19/loving-what-is.html", "title": "Loving What Is", "content_html": "
![\"Woman](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/bbd34fe274.jpg\")
“Snapchat filters make me see the beautiful woman inside. The mirror makes me see the beautiful Child of God that I am on the outside!”
I love my grandkids. I don’t get to see them and interact with them enough. Big is 14. Little is 11. Both are at the age where their interests lie elsewhere. Still, Little and I engage in bouts of “Let’s top each other in Snapchat.” She always wins. She does the cute and funky filters that twist your face up or adds bunny ears and whiskers. I go for glamour shots that take away my wrinkles and gives me the face of a super model. Vain? Not really. More like seeing the woman I feel like.
\nI’m sixty-five. Even in my primest of prime years, I was never super model material, but I could turn a head or two. I still can, if truth be told. Just ask my new, still-smitten husband. He thinks I’m the most beautiful woman on the planet! And, when I bask in his love-light, I feel even MORE beautiful. Isn’t that lovely?
\nWhen I look in the mirror and I see the wrinkles, the graying hair, the sagging skin, the cellulite I realize I am not looking at myself correctly. I am listening to the enemy whisper…”You’ll never be enough.” Instead…I change my focus. And you know how I do that? I listen to Jesus.
\nHere’s what Jesus tells me.
\n“You are altogether beautiful, my darling: there is no flaw in you.” (Sol. 4:7)
\n“You will be a crown of splendor in the LORD’S hand, a royal diadem in the hand of your God.” (Is. 62:3)
\n“Those who look to him are radiant, and their faces shall never be ashamed.” (Ps. 34:5)
\n“For we are God’s masterpiece…” (Eph. 2:10)
\n“…Created to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do.” (Eph. 2:10)
\n“Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her!” (Lu. 1:45)
\n“God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day.” (Ps. 46:5)
\n“She is worth far more than rubies.” (Prov.31:10)
\n“But by the grace of God I am what I am.” (1 Cor. 15:10)
\n“See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands…” (Is. 49:16)
\nThis is your time. God is within you. You are inscribed on His hands. Did you hear that? On his HANDS! He will fulfill his promises to you. You do your part…believe. Leave the rest up to God. Do you seriously believe the Almighty who created the stars in the sky does not count the hairs on your head? You are precious in His sight. Really.
\nNow, go out there and hold your head up high on this Monday morning. Smile at that person in the mirror. Need I remind you that you are a beautiful, perfectly imperfect image of God? You are loved. You are cherished. You are coveted. You are protected. You are awesome. There is ONLY ONE YOU.
\nI know. You may not be feeling it. You may be going through some pretty tough times right now. You may feel discouraged. You may be facing a crisis. You may be battling demons. You may be in the dark throes of grief. God has put it on my heart there is someone out there I need to tell this to so listen carefully. This is not the end of your road. He has a purpose for you that you haven’t even imagined yet. Don’t quit. You cannot fail as long as you do not quit. That miracle might just happen in the next five minutes, so stick with us here. Reach for Jesus’ hand. He will never, ever turn his back on you. He will never leave you. He will never cut you down or say mean, hurtful things to you. He will never make you feel small. He will never make you feel “less than”. He will meet you right where you are and love the stuffin’s out of you. Trust me on this.
\nYou are a child of God. ❤️
\n“...And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?” Esther 4:14 NIV\n", "date_published": "2018-11-19T02:30:47-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/11/19/loving-what-is.html", "tags": ["Faith","Health","Uplifting Stories","Prayer","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","God","Peace","Wisdom","Forgiveness","Courage","Humbled","Choices","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/11/16/the-bad-news-vs-the.html", "title": "The Bad News vs The Good News", "content_html": "
![\"Young](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/02f7c222d6.jpg\")
“This young man defeated the odds with determination and perseverance.”
You and I both know the news is heavily sensationalized in order to sell. The competition to get the most readers quite often outweighs deserving recognition of “feel good news”. Feel good stories get shuffled back in the paper to Section D, page 12, below the fold.
\nI read a story yesterday. You may have seen something in late summer about a young woman who ran out of gas on an interstate off ramp. She reported a homeless man offered her his last $20 to buy gas. She was so taken by his selfless generosity, she and her boyfriend started a Go Fund Me page to reward this man and help him get off the streets. In this day and age, with so much bad news coming at you in every direction, we all wanted to celebrate this kind man’s honest gesture.
\nMoney flooded in and soon the Go Fund Me account had over $140,000 in it. It wasn’t long till things started taking a twist. The man who was supposed to be the recipient of this windfall sued the young couple and said they were holding onto the money for themselves and he wasn’t getting what he deserved. After a thorough investigation, the whole thing unraveled as a scheme cooked up by three people who knew each other for several months after meeting in Las Vegas. They are all charged with fraud and theft and I don’t know what all. It’s a sad thing to see thieves take advantage of well meaning folks with such a ruse. It harms legitimate attempts to help deserving people who are down on their luck.
\nWhen I am overwhelmed by the badness of bad news, I go looking for GOOD news. Stories that uplift, reward, honor people who make a difference. People who are often the unsung heroes. The humble and kind folk who don’t draw attention to themselves. I found one such story in Richard “Tre” Jenkins. This young man spend the majority of his childhood moving from one homeless shelter to another. Somewhere around the sixth grade, he realized…unless he wanted history to repeat itself, he wanted his future offspring to have a better childhood. He was already smart, but he kicked it into overdrive and started working hard at school. He enrolled in after school programs that helped him improve his writing and then applied for a scholarship to a college prep high school for children of poor, single-parents. He received that scholarship then applied to, and was accepted by…Harvard University on a full ride scholarship.
\nHis uncle did set up a Go Fund Me page to help him with expenses that are not covered by his scholarship such as books, a laptop, and other essentials. Hard work should be rewarded and acknowledged.
\nFor every bad news story…look for the good news stories that blow them out of the water. Don’t believe there is no good in humanity. Don’t buy that. Often the bad news stories that are being put out there are being done so on purpose…to provide a smokescreen. To divert our attention from something else going on that maybe someone doesn’t want you to know about. Paranoid? I don’t think so. Every time I hear something absolutely outrageous, there’s usually someone behind the screen, pulling the strings. Sort of like the Great and Powerful Oz…just a pathetic old man yelling into a microphone from behind a curtain….hoping you won’t see how small he really is. ❤️
\n“They will have no fear of bad news; their hearts are steadfast, trusting in the Lord.” Psalm 112:7 NIV\n", "date_published": "2018-11-16T02:30:22-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/11/16/the-bad-news-vs-the.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Courage","Choices"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/11/15/the-art-of-giving.html", "title": "The Art of Giving", "content_html": "
![\"Shopping\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/d10672485e.jpg\")
“Shopping for warm blankets with my small group.”
I love this time of year. However, the first Christmas after Mr. Virgo died, I was so incredibly lost. I went to Denver to be with my family because I couldn’t bear to be alone. I think that’s pretty common among those who have lost a spouse.
\nThe holidays were so special to my late husband. He lived for Christmas especially. He planned all year. He paid attention to what I needed or wanted and he was incredibly generous with gifts…too much so, really. But it gave him such joy to see the look on my face when I opened something from him. He just wanted to keep seeing that look.
\nThat first lonely Christmas, one of the layers of the onion peeled back and revealed my days of receiving his well thought out gifts were over and it was just another beautiful thing torn from my life. I was bereft. I wanted something special from him, and since that was impossible, I decided to do something special for me.
\nI was driving down a busy Denver street the week before Christmas when I felt the gentle nudge of the Holy Spirit.
\n“There…go there.”
\nI looked to the right and it was Walmart. I dutifully turned in and parked. As I was walking in, I heard….
\n“Pay it forward.”
\nI went to the layaway desk and inquired how I could pay off someone’s layaway. Unfortunately, they had called in the layaways the week before so whatever hadn’t been paid for was returned to the shelves. Not to be deterred, I went to the ATM, withdrew some money, bought a card, and sat down to write a note in it. I told the recipient about this gentle man who loved Christmas and the joy of giving. I told whoever was going to receive this that I was giving them what he would have given me. Then I sat down on the bench at the front of the store and waited for the next instructions.
\n“Go back there. To the left…you’ll find them there.”
\nI headed for the back left and found the toy department. I wandered around and saw several shoppers but none stood out. I went around the corner of an aisle and there they were. A young mom and dad. They pulled a toy from the shelf, looking hopeful. Then they looked for the price, looked at each other, looked defeated, and put it back. They did this several times as they moved slowly down the aisle. There was very little in their cart.
\nI roamed back and forth, acting like I was very interested in something, but all the while trying to listen without being too obvious. What I wanted was for the woman to wander away from her bag for a moment so I could slip the envelope in and be on my way with the young couple none the wiser. She was a smart girl…she never left her bag for a moment. Finally, I decided I just had to move forward or I was going to look like a crazy stalker.
\nI walked up to the woman and said, “Here. I think this is yours.” I handed her the envelope with the bills stuffed inside. She was puzzled. She looked up from the envelope and our eyes met. I smiled warmly, pulled her to me in a mom hug, and whispered, “Merry Christmas.” Then, before she could let it register, I turned on my heel and walked away straight out of the store, without looking back.
\nI got to the car and my knees were shaking. I would have loved to have seen her face. But then she would have wanted to thank me or maybe even refuse the gift. Neither of which I wanted. I put the car in gear and headed to meet my family knowing I had shared something special with someone who needed it. I remember when I was a poor, single mom…trying to do the best for my own little one with very, very little resources. It felt good to give.
\nThe church I attend is huge, so in order to have that sense of a “church family”, we have small groups that meet for several weeks per session. The group I belong to has such amazing, strong Christian women. We are in a chat group and we offer prayers and support to each other as we share and learn and grow in the Lord.
\nThis year, our Pastor challenged the groups to find a service project and complete it by the end of the session. We couldn’t decide on just one so we supported two. The Women’s Care Center and the Mission for the homeless. Last night we met at a discount store in town and loaded three shopping carts full to overflowing. We bought children’s clothes, long john’s, hats, and 20 blankets and wheeled our purchases to the foyer. There, we stood around the carts and placed our hands on the bounty and prayed…out loud, in the store, in front of God and everybody. We asked for God to bless these items that they would doubly warm the recipients. We asked that they feel God’s love for them when they wrap themselves in the blankets. Then we headed for the mission.
\n![\"Bags](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e6279481f6.jpg\")
“The bounty!”
When we came in, laden with bag after bag of stuff, the man behind the desk said, “What have we here?”
\n“Blankets! From The Warehouse Church!!!” We said, in unison.
\n“Oh, my gosh…that’s exactly what we needed. I ran out of blankets this evening!”
\nI smiled. I kinda felt Mr. Virgo grinning…poking me in the ribs.
\n“See, babydoll! That’s what I’m talkin’ about. It’s better to give than to receive. Giving is an art form.”
\nYes…I do love this time of year. ❤️
\n“Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: “They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.”” 2 Corinthians 9:7-9 NIV\n", "date_published": "2018-11-15T02:30:37-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/11/15/the-art-of-giving.html", "tags": ["Faith","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Love","God","Wisdom","Humbled","Presence","Choices","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/11/14/cold-weather-comfort-food.html", "title": "Cold Weather Comfort Food", "content_html": "
![\"Creamed](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/fa73837aca.jpg\")
“Creamed Tomato Gravy…one of my grandma’s specialties!”
Grandma canned tomatoes like it was going out of style. The shelves in the cellar house were brimming with home canned goodies to savor over the winter. Tomatoes, green beans, corn, big chunks of tender beef, pickles, picalilly, pickled beets, peaches, applesauce, apple butter, preserves, jams and jellies shone like jewels and were EVER so welcome on the dark nights of January and February. Bins of potatoes and apples as well as braids of onions would be divvied up to last till the first harvest in late spring.
\n![\"Biscuits\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/d5e86f906c.jpg\")
“Light and Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits…my favorite!”
One of my favorite meals Grandma fixed was Creamed Tomato Gravy over Buttermilk Biscuits. I’ve never replenished my canning supplies after they were stolen from my storage area in Colorado, so I haven’t canned anything in quite some time. I did take the last of the ripe tomatoes in late summer and stewed them then froze two batches in the freezer. I’ve been promising Mr. FixIt this yummy comfort food for weeks now, but this is the first chance I’ve had to slow down and bake some biscuits.
\nMr. FixIt had to leave his truck with the mechanic Monday, so we are down to one vehicle this week. This means we get to spend the week together uninterrupted! We threw ourselves into cleaning house yesterday in preparation for company coming for Thanksgiving Dinner. We are still catching up with laundry as well as pulling blankets out for winter. It was a lovely, relaxing day nesting, cooking, and watching it try to snow. This tomato gravy over hot biscuits fresh from the oven were just what the doctor ordered! For dessert, we buttered a couple more and slathered on a healthy portion of Mixed Berry Jelly by the gal at In a Jam. My lifelong family/friend, Judith, gifted us six jars as a late wedding gifts which she swears is not a gift….just a “thinking of you”. She had the Chief Jam Maker at In a Jam make labels with our wedding picture on it. Actually, the one I’m using as a profile picture. Such a thoughtful person she is!
\nThe peace of days like this is not lost on me. Relaxing, puttering, cooking, knitting, writing, throwing in a couple loads of laundry and hanging out at home with my new husband is so delicious. You never know how much something hurts till the pain goes away, do you? ❤️
\n“She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:” Proverbs 31:27-28 NIV\n", "date_published": "2018-11-14T02:30:08-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/11/14/cold-weather-comfort-food.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Positive Energy","West Virginia","Gratitude","Comfort","Love","Presence","Peaceful Moments"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/11/13/pennies-from-heaven.html", "title": "Pennies from Heaven", "content_html": "
![\"Penny\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/0ae614176b.jpg\")
“Found pennies…is it God reminding us to trust him?”
How many of you seem to find an inordinate number of coins since your person died? Ever since I was a little girl, I’ve found coins…sometimes every day…sometimes several times a day. You’ve all heard “See a penny, pick it up. All the day you’ll have good luck!” When you marry in England, you wear “something borrowed, something blue, a lucky sixpence in your shoe.”
\nMr. FixIt and I found a penny one time that had the shape of a cross cut out of it. That was quite the find! Since Mr. Virgo died, I’ve found more and more coins. I’ve been told they are “angel pennies”…placed in your path to let you know your loved one is thinking of you. I don’t know if that is the case, but it’s a sweet sentiment.
\nWhen I pick up any coin, I turn it heads up and read what is stamped along the edge. “In God We Trust”. I read this and smile. It’s like God is sending me a little reminder…”Trust in me. Stop worrying about whatever is rumbling around in that brain of yours and place your trust where it belongs.” I put the angel pennies I find in special places…my night stand, the dash in my truck, the pocket of my coat or jeans. These found coins continue to remind me as I come and go to remember who’s got my back. Who loves me more than all others. Who has saved me.
\nMy guess is…you will never look at a penny the same again. And you just might find yourself seeing more and more of them. ❤️
\n“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.” Matthew 10:29 NIV\n", "date_published": "2018-11-13T02:30:10-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/11/13/pennies-from-heaven.html", "tags": ["Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Love","God","Forgiveness"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/11/09/remaining-hopeful-in-a-hopeless.html", "title": "Remaining Hopeful in a Hopeless World", "content_html": "
![\"News](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e5176b3168.jpg\")
“When the news is on fire, how do you stay hopeful?”
We awoke yesterday to the news of yet another mass shooting. We are only three days out from another season of hateful politics. Glaciers are melting and species are disappearing. Computers can generate images that are easily passed off as truth. China just released the first AI news anchor. There will come a time when we won’t be able to tell what’s real and what isn’t. There’s so much death and destruction, murder and mayhem, and just pure evil in this world. How do you remain hopeful in a world like this?
\nI was reading some comments yesterday on a news post. One after another, people expressed hopelessness. I just read that a college student was supposed to go to the place in Thousand Oaks but she had homework. As a child, she went to a school in Colorado where a gunman broke in, took hostages, and eventually killed a girl then himself. She asked her mother why death followed her so much. There were people at the dance hall who had been at the concert in Vegas that was attacked. How on earth do you remain hopeful in circumstances like this?
\nCompound all this with grief and it is SO easy to become hopeless. To succumb to sadness and depression. I mean, here I am…the perennial cheerleader…the veritable Pollyanna, as Mr. Virgo called me. I’m weary of all this negativity. It’s beyond negative. It’s evil.
\nI can’t just stick my head in the sand. I can’t stick my fingers in my ears and yell “LA LA LA LA LA I CAN’T HEAR YOU!” I can’t cover my eyes and pretend I don’t see what’s going on. That isn’t productive. It isn’t healthy. And it’s not realistic. Granted, I don’t watch TV so one might say I am practicing avoidance. I say I’m being selective. I choose my media outlet based on who I feel gives the most fair and unbiased news reporting. I cross check sources and references. I Google things I am skeptical about. I practice critical thinking. En masse. It’s tedious. It’s time consuming. But it’s the only way I can keep my senses from being barraged and eventually overwhelmed.
\nI look at the world through the lens of my faith. I am a Christian. And I am a Liberal Democrat. I have not looked up the statistics, but I am sure I am in the minority…looked at distrustfully by both sides. And therein lies the problem. Sides. Division. US against THEM. Divisiveness is encouraged. Chaos is a smokescreen. The enemy is very, very busy now.
\nWhen I find myself feeling mired down by all the hatred in the world, I remind myself…I’ve read the Book. I know how this story ends. The light prevails over darkness. Faith, hope, and love. God tells us love is everything. It is behind every commandment. We are to love God with every ounce of strength we have. And, we are to love our fellow man as we love ourselves.
\nThe enemy whispers doubts and delusions. Yes. There are evil things happening. Yes, there is darkness all around. But, I can put light out there. I can find ways to bring God’s light into the world. I can carry the love of Jesus in my heart and let Him shine through my thoughts and actions. And if I can do that, others can do that. The enemy wants me to believe I am the only one trying to make the world a better place. He says things like, “Why are you even bothering?” He is whispering lies meant to break me, to discourage me. But I won’t be discouraged. I’ll WALK STRONG as long as there is a breath in me. I will always look up. I will seek God’s face. I will ask for his comfort and guidance. I will pray for discernment to show me what is true and what is not. But most of all, I will trust Him. Because of His promises to me. He has never, EVER failed me. And that, my friends, is how I remain hopeful in this fallen world. ❤️
\n“If your enemy is hungry, give him food to eat; if he is thirsty, give him water to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head, and the Lord will reward you.” Proverbs 25:21-22 NIV\n", "date_published": "2018-11-09T02:30:21-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/11/09/remaining-hopeful-in-a-hopeless.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Grace","God","Peace","Wisdom","Courage","Presence","Choices","Change","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/11/06/living-in-a-small-town.html", "title": "Living in a Small Town in the Hills", "content_html": "
![\"WV](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/7e0331305c.jpg\")
“The colors are a bit past their prime, but still lovely.”
I am from West Virginia originally. I was raised about 30 miles from where I’m standing at this moment. My grandparents’ farm is 22 miles away. Both much shorter “as the crow flies”. I left here when I was nineteen years old and lived first in England for two years then Colorado for forty. It wasn’t until Mr. Virgo died that I headed back to my roots in these beautiful hills.
\nMy first year was spent out at the farm on seventy-four acres. You talk about quiet and peaceful. Other than the oil and gas traffic on the road, it’s dead out there. The little store closed this summer. The only thing open now is the tiny post office.
\n![\"Pumpkins\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/560a870b59.jpg\")
“Fall decor lines the driveway.”
I remember when I was married to Hubby #2, the doctor. I lived a different life then than anything my family could even approach experiencing in terms of finances and the ability to experience travel. I was talking with one of my high school sister/friends one night and apparently I was acting in a way which warranted a dressing down. She reminded me, in no uncertain terms, where I started out in life and not to be so snooty. She was absolutely right. I had gotten a tad big for my britches.
\nWidowhood changed me in many ways…not the least of which was living a small, quiet life in a camper with only 5% of my belongings dragged with me. Moving to the farm was a continuation of the much simpler, more humble, and highly satisfying life I have come to know since my return to my roots. And now, I’ve married into this sweet little town I’ve come to love.
\nI went to the Post Office yesterday to pick up the mail held for us. As I stood in line, the two women at the front wrapped up a conversation as the clerk called her name.
\n“I hope we run into each other again real soon!”
\n“”Well, lets just plan on lunch so we don’t have to leave it to chance!”
\n“That’s great!”
\nHugs.
\n“You tell your mama hey for me, will ya’?”
\n“Sure will!”
\nMy heart smiled. I picked up my mail and headed to the local mom and pop grocery store. I was standing at the meat counter waiting for the gal to weigh out my two pounds of fresh ground hamburger and slice the Colby Longhorn cheese I’m so fond of. An older woman came up to the counter, walking gingerly.
\n“Whoooo-ooooo! Honey, it’s gonna rain tomorrow. I can guarantee it. My joints are hurtin’ me somthin’ awful today. I tell my son, I say…’Boy…don’t you go huntin’ tomorrow ‘cause it’s gonna rain!’ He listens. He’s a good boy.”
\nMy heart smiled even bigger.
\nThe gentleman from behind the meat counter went up to run the second register during the “big rush” at 4:00. He’s one of two brothers who own the store.
\n“How have you been doing today?” He reminds me of a preacher. Clean cut, kind to a fault.
\n“Great! We just got home from our honeymoon last night!” I said.
\n“Wonderful, wonderful! And where did you go?” His smile was warm and engaging.
\nI told him we started out with the WVU - Baylor game then headed to Colonial Williamsburg and on to the beach.
\n“Oh, I remember a trip to Williamsburg when I was in Junior High. What a beautiful place that is. And what beach did you go to?”
\n“We went to Salvo and got a beach house.”
\n“Oh, that’s just fine. I’m so happy for you!” He didn’t miss a beat as he continued to check me out, take my payment, and sack up my purchase. The only thing missing was an apron and a garter on his sleeve….maybe sawdust on the floor, penny candy and pickles in barrels by the door.
\nI do so love living in a small town. I am not lacking for anything. This is the life I’ve wanted for at least the last thirty-five years. I was telling Mr. FixIt last night what all I would have wanted to do had we married at 35 instead of 65. I would have had chickens…goats…rabbits…and a barn. Maybe a milk cow. There would have been barn cats and a trusty dog.
\nThere are five beautiful, flat acres here…plenty of room to have that hobby farm I always dreamed of. I think I’m past all that now. Oh, I could still do most of that, but it doesn’t make a bit of sense to invest a bunch of money in fencing and structures at our age. We have different interests now…like, traveling, camping, and not being tied down by animals.
\n![\"Brush](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/566a20f2f9.jpg\")
“The neighbor came and brush hogged the back acre.”
No, this life is perfect just the way it is. Our tractor was delivered today after getting warranty repairs. They just don’t make things like they used to. The guy that brought it out to the Ponderosa showed us how cheaply the wheel sprockets are made. He says they have replaced a lot of them. I went out in the field and mulched most of the leaves that fell in that section. Mr. FixIt lined all the pumpkins and gourds from the wedding all along the driveway. The mums in the backyard are already well past their prime. The leaves are still brightly colored but we are rapidly hitting “past peak” status.
\nWe are already making plans for Thanksgiving and before you know it, Christmas will be here, as well. Even though our lives have a tendency to get busy and hectic, especially in mowing season, there is plenty of downtime to reflect on our many blessings. I hope you all are having a wonderful day! ❤️
\n“Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so.” Genesis 1:11 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-11-06T02:30:49-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/11/06/living-in-a-small-town.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Aging","Choices"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/11/03/adding-to-my-yarn-stash.html", "title": "Adding to My Yarn Stash!", "content_html": "
![\"Yarn](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/50a5ae2b85.jpg\")
“Yarn is one thing I am willing to accumulate. I love knitting socks as gifts and the Lord loves a cheerful giver!”
There are very few things I will buy anymore. Besides food and the occasional piece of clothing, I just do not shop like I used to. Working so hard at downsizing, and going through the emotional roller coaster that caused, keeps me from accumulating too much. One place I do add is yarn for socks.
\nOnce I closed my needlework shop in 2006, I really didn’t do any stitching or knitting. I burned out on fiber arts because it became “work” for me. It wasn’t fun anymore. Then, after losing Mr. Virgo, I just couldn’t concentrate enough to focus on anything as intricate as a pattern. I couldn’t even read a book. My creativity had suffered a fatal blow when grief took over my brain.
\nWhen we were down here at the Outer Banks last spring, I went into a wonderful yarn shop in Kitty Hawk called Knitting Addiction. ( knittingaddiction.com ) I explained that I hadn’t knitted in a long time but that I had made socks before. I really enjoy them because they are a fairly quick project I can work on while we travel. It’s easy to knit on them in the warm months of the year because they are small and you don’t get overheated. And, they look pretty darned impressive when you are finished. They make a nice gift, too.
\nI was really excited when they predicted rain for yesterday because I told Mr. FixIt the first rainy day of this trip would be our exploration day. Our first stop was Stack ‘em High…our favorite pancake place down here. As soon as we were adequately stuffed, we headed to our favorite antique store and browsed around. Again, I like to look…not buy. Unless it’s a good bargain on a quilt. That I will usually spring for. I love quilts.
\nWhen we finished at the antique store, we headed straight to Knitting Addiction. Mr. FixIt has learned to leave me to my own devices in a yarn shop because I love to walk around and feel the yarns, examine the contents, browse the patterns, and see what kind of new fibers and colors are available. I was happy as a clam. I chose several skeins and had a lovely chat with the shop owner. It pleased me to see her doing well after suffering a couple of big losses last year. Her partner and her beloved dog both passed. She had a new rescue dog…a sweet but slightly skittish mutt named Carolina Jane. Carolina came from an abusive home so she is quite leery of humans…especially men. This is her forever home and she is blossoming from all the love that is being showered on her every day.
\nThere was a second yarn shop I didn’t know about further down the island, but the selection was much smaller. There was the addition of some cross stitch patterns featuring local attractions like lighthouses, but for some unexplainable reason, one corner was filled with kitchen stuff. I did buy two skeins of sock yarn there, as well.
\nI’m pretty much set for knitting material for the winter now. I wish I could knit really fast and get a bunch of socks made by Christmas, but I don’t see that happening. I love giving them away as gifts because they are always appreciated.
\nToday is our last full day at the beach. We usually drive home all in one day when we head back. It will be raining again today so we are heading to a lighthouse down the island from here. Mr. FixIt’s son-in-law passed away a year ago June and his ashes have been spread at the beach down there. We are going to pay our respects. Mr. FixIt is really good about visiting with people who have died so he will introduce me to George today. Then we will come back and start packing so we can get an early start tomorrow. The week flies way too fast when you come to the beach.
\nOh, and don’t forget to set your clocks back tonight! If not, you’re going to be sitting in the parking lot at the church for an hour in the morning. ❤️
\n“And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” Hebrews 13:16 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2018-11-03T01:30:50-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/11/03/adding-to-my-yarn-stash.html", "tags": ["Travel","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Love","Downsizing","Choices","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/10/23/my-west-virginia-sisters.html", "title": "My West Virginia Sisters", "content_html": "![\"Girlfriends](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/50f17734b8.jpg\")
“My West Virginia sisters.”
I didn’t have a sister growing up. I had girl cousins that meant the world to me. I had sister friends in high school that were very important to me. Then life got in the way and I lived in England for two years, then Colorado for forty. Sometimes I would see high school friends when I came to WV for family visit. And we would touch base and reminisce at high school reunions. But it wasn’t until I moved back home that I developed a tight network of girlfriends who are as close as family.
\nWhen I first returned to my hometown, I asked a friend how often the girls get together for coffee…assuming they, like me, gathered with other women at least monthly…if not weekly. I was dismayed when I found out this wasn’t a “thing” here. I was sad for all those potential relationships that had fallen by the wayside. I thought of all the events in a lifetime that hadn’t been shared…all the times when support was needed that only a really good girlfriend can provide. So, I set out to introduce my gal pals to the joys of coffee.
\nNot coffee, literally…but “coffee” as in a gathering for talk therapy and laughter and sharing and support. I’m happy to say we get together monthly at a historic hotel and kibbutz. We have become so close and we all look forward to seeing each other at least once a month. Sometimes more.
\nI was thrilled so many of our classmates could come to our wedding. And to have the ‘71 Divas join us was icing on the proverbial cake. Our photographer, Elizabeth Adams, had so much fun taking our pictures and she did an excellent job in capturing the joy and love and laughter of the day. Here’s my favorite picture of me and the Divas admiring my turquoise boots. What a hoot! I love these gals! ❤️
\n“Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.” Proverbs 13:20 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2018-10-23T01:30:37-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/10/23/my-west-virginia-sisters.html", "tags": ["Family","Strong Women","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Gratitude","Love","Aging","Wedding"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/10/21/live-a-good-life.html", "title": "Live a Good Life", "content_html": "![\"Autumn](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/a8ba6147d5.jpg\")
“Live a Good Life”
When we were decorating the tent for the wedding, I went around the house, the buildings, and the farm looking for decor I could use. There was so much more I could have put out there, but frankly, I realized we were just going to have to haul it all back into the house afterwards. I decided to just keep it simple.
\nI was standing in the kitchen giving some last minute directions to my wonderful friend, Charlotte, when I looked up above the kitchen sink and saw this sign. I took it down and handed it to Mr. FixIt and said, “This goes out by the front of the tent to greet our guests!” It’s our daily reminder to “Live a Good Life.”
\nThis has been the busiest, jam packed week we have had since we started dating. So much has happened, I’ve really just started processing it all. Aside from the changes that come with marriage, and the death of a dear family member, something else has been rattling around in my head wanting attention.
\nIt wasn’t so much what WAS there. It was more…what WASN’T there. Namely, that dogged undercurrent of grief that has simmered just beneath the surface of my life for the last 2,049 days. I know grief is not something you “get over”. I know it’s something you “get through”. It is something you learn to walk around without falling into that giant hole in your heart. It is something you learn to deal with in time. I honestly had no idea it would change with the commitment of another marriage.
\nIt seems the act of marrying has caused a…shift in the force, so to speak. Maybe it’s the high of the wedding itself, but I don’t think so. Maybe it’s a gift from God for being obedient. Maybe it’s a natural progression of things when significant life changes occur. Maybe it’s just the Evolution of Grief.
\nWhen there are significant milestones in life, like your child’s wedding, or the birth of a grandchild, and your person isn’t there, it causes their death to come front and center. You think about how much he would have loved to see that. How much your son or daughter misses their dad. How your grandchild will never know that grandparent. It reminds you of an emptiness.
\nThat was totally missing last weekend.
\nOh, I thought of Mr. Virgo that day. Of course I did. I even had a quiet moment before the wedding when I silently thanked him for having been in my life. However, I wouldn’t have been getting married that day if he were still alive. And, I love Mr. FixIt SO much. I can’t imagine my life without him. It wasn’t like I had to say to myself, “Don’t think of Mr. Virgo!” He just…wasn’t there.
\nThat kind of surprised me, actually. Because, like I said, I honestly didn’t know what to expect. It’s never occurred to me to ask other widows who have remarried how it affected their grief. So, like I’ve done from the beginning, I feel what I feel and I write about it. The feeling has persisted all week. Mr. Virgo is still here, but he’s standing much further away. Because…just as I stepped out the door to walk across the field and marry my sweet Mr. FixIt, I looked up and told Mr. Virgo…”Don’t worry about me now. I’ve got this!” ❤️
\n“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-10-21T01:30:04-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/10/21/live-a-good-life.html", "tags": ["Faith","Family","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","God","Peace","Wisdom","Courage","Choices","Change","Wedding"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/10/20/a-whirlwind-week.html", "title": "A Whirlwind Week", "content_html": "
![\"Wedding](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e554329253.jpg\")
“Our photographer know how to capture love and joy!”
I can’t believe it’s been a week since the wedding! So much has happened this week with the cleanup and the funeral and more cleanup! Our friends came by yesterday to get their quilts and extension cords we borrowed. I vacuumed the pool, cleaned house, covered the hay, emptied the truck, made a quiche for supper. And…I got more wedding pictures. I spent all evening playing with them so I didn’t get much else done.
\n![\"Cross\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/13c8039a13.jpg\")
“Our cross.”
I need to get both campers dumped and winterized this weekend. We need to winterize the pool and get the last of the burn pile finished so we can mulch the area with grass seed and hay. We have to mulch the new dogwood tree Mr. FixIt planted for me this summer. There are gutters to be cleaned and trees and brush to be cut and hauled. All before Thursday when we leave for our honeymoon! I’m tired just thinking of it.
\n![\"Happy](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/a6709cd6de.jpg\")
“Happiness is dancing with your new husband!”
So, in the meantime, here are some more wedding photos to enjoy! ❤️
\n![\"Cross](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/1428ec1fcf.jpg\")
“The lucky penny for my shoe, and something old/something new…the blue topaz earrings Daughter #2 gave me years ago.”
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,”
\nColossians 3:23 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2018-10-20T01:30:05-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/10/20/a-whirlwind-week.html", "tags": ["Hope","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Gratitude","Love","Wisdom"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/10/17/here-comes-the-bride.html", "title": "Here Comes the Bride", "content_html": "![\"Bride\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e7004d7ea3.jpg\")
“One of my favorite moments…locking eyes with a fellow widow whom I mentored…knowing we BOTH have found our second-chance loves.”
It all went so fast. Here we are, just a few days after the wedding and I don’t remember all the details. That happens to every bride, I think. You throw so much into the planning, and so many last minute details happen the day of the wedding. Friends and family came at 2:00 to help me get ready. The ceremony was at 4:00. The girls were still messing with my hair when I asked the time. 3:20! I still hadn’t put on make up or dressed!
\nI don’t wear a lot of make up ordinarily…and when I do, it’s not much. Throwing that on was no big deal. I slipped on my boots and my new daughter and granddaughter helped me into my dress. In no time at all, I was ready. The music wasn’t. I told them I didn’t care…I’d walk out singing “Here Comes the Bride” if I had to…I was ready….REALLY ready!
\nThey helped me out to the tent…one carrying my train…the other hoping for the music to start. And, it did! Just as I got to the tent, I looked up and there was my sweet friend, Deneene. She was one of what looked like a whole sea of smiles and cell phones pointed at me. I looked at her with a knowing smile. You see, Deneene was referred to me when she was a relatively new widow herself. I was a couple of years ahead of her. I mentored her for the next couple of years. I was for her what I wished I’d had. Someone who had recently walked the path and could relate. Someone who could say this is perfectly normal. Someone to hold out a hand…not to pat it, but to offer a lift up. Then, Deneene met HER new love. And we walked this new territory together. She caught that knowing look in this picture. I think it is one of my favorites. Because I’m looking at another widow in love. I’m looking at my friend that helped me as much as I helped her. I’m looking at hope and joy and strength and perseverance and courage and reflecting it all back.
\nWe all are nothing more than the sum of our life experiences. I was ready to marry…every time I married. But I didn’t know then what I know now. Now I know what love is. I know how fragile life is. I know how to face the unimaginable and still live. I know how to live alone when it’s impossible to breathe. I know how rare it is to find someone so incredibly compatible. I know SO much more than I knew when I married Mr. Virgo. This man, this love, this marriage will reap the benefits of that knowledge and experience. I am so grateful to be where I am today. It is only through God’s grace and love that I found my way through the darkness. There may still be darkness ahead…but now there is hope. ❤️
\n“And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.”
\n1 Peter 5:10-11 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-10-17T01:30:13-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/10/17/here-comes-the-bride.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Hope","Positive Energy","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","God","Wisdom","Courage","Peaceful Moments","Choices","Change","Be Joyful!","Wedding"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/10/13/sparkles-and-sunshine.html", "title": "Sparkles and Sunshine", "content_html": "
![\"Sparkly](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/10c7f09daf.jpg\")
“My fancy earrings from Daughter #2…perfect for the wedding!”
“Always be humble, gentle, and patient, accepting each other in love. You are joined together with peace through the Spirit, so make every effort to continue together in this way.” Ephesians 4:2-3 NCV\nOur good friends, Dianne and Bobby came over to the Ponderosa yesterday and helped us decorate the tent for the wedding. We moved the forty bails of hay and made rows of seating. We strung five hundred white twinkle lights above. We set up the serving tables and hung the cross at the front. We have the extra bales out front and I finally found a use for these two pieces of rustic decorative fencing I’ve had for years. The quilts are all in plastic tubs to keep from gathering moisture. The pulled pork goes in a slow oven in the morning and the fried chicken goes in the smoker to heat up.\n
The soft drinks and water are already in the big galvanized washtubs chilling outdoors overnight and ice will be added in the afternoon. My sweet friend Deneene came from South Carolina and arrived at 4:30. We went to town to fill up two big propane tanks for TOW-Wanda because I ran out of propane in the middle of the night. It was REALLY cold by morning! We dropped the tanks back off at the Ponderosa then we went to the farm to get Mr. FixIt’s white dinner jacket. As I was leaving I saw my mom’s quilt peeking out from under a stack of linens and grabbed it. I also brought the big box of fireworks we bought for the wedding.
\nAnd now, the day is here. I found a bag with a bunch of jewelry in it when I was at the farm yesterday. Last night I was showing my friend Deneene something in the bag and ran across these earrings. Daughter #2 bought me these for Christmas many years ago. I never had an occasion to wear time so they have been tucked away in a safe place…just waiting for the most special occasion. I sent my daughter this picture and asked if she remembered these. I told her I finally have a special occasion to wear them. You’re supposed to have something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. I haven’t borrowed anything yet, but the center stone in these earrings is the palest ice blue topaz, they’re old in that I’ve had them for years and they’re new in that I have never worn them. My daughter said that made her all fuzzy inside. I wish my girls could be here. But we will celebrate when we get to Colorado next.
\nToday! TODAY!!! I’m marrying my best friend today. The sweetest man on the planet. I’ve never been more ready, more prepared.
\n“Thank you, Jesus…for every gift, every blessing, every friend and family member. Bless those who cannot join us today. Bless my cousin Tom and his wife Suzy as he fights the ravages of mesothelioma. Bless my Uncle Bud and cousins as they sit with their wife and mother as she inches toward her final journey home. And Bless all these wonderful people who come here to read about how You impact my life. Lord, thank you for the gift of love from Mr. Virgo. Thank you for letting lightning strike twice and bringing me Mr FixIt. This is a love affair for the ages!
\nAnd, as always…To God be the Glory.
\nAmen”
\n❤️
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-10-13T01:30:02-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/10/13/sparkles-and-sunshine.html", "tags": ["Family","Uplifting Stories","Prayer","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom","Choices","Change","Be Joyful!","Starting Over","Wedding"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/10/12/the-side-effects-of-obedience.html", "title": "The Side Effects of Obedience", "content_html": "
![\"Sunset\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/9559411218.jpg\")
“Sunset over the Ponderosa.”
“And love means living the way God commanded us to live. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is this: Live a life of love.” 2 John 1:6 NCV\nI went to small group from church last night. We have a fall series and a spring series of meetings. There are different groups to fill different needs and we are all encouraged to join a small group. In a huge church, it’s difficult to feel a bond with individual members of the church family. Small group gives us the chance to make friends, learn from God’s Word, and experience fellowship. I love the gals in my small group. We always have great discussions and we always share praises and prayers at the end.\n
It’s been four weeks since Mr. FixIt and I decided to get married and set the date. Four weeks since I made the decision to live separately from him till the wedding. Even though I came back to the Ponderosa last week, I’ve been staying in TOW-Wanda. I was chatting with the gals at small group about it and got to thinking on the drive home about how this exercise has changed me.
\nFirst…I just FEEL different. It’s hard to describe. I feel honorable. Obedient. Peaceful. Good…in that good way you feel when you have done the right thing. It wasn’t easy. And it wasn’t necessarily comfortable. Some didn’t understand why I was doing this. That offered me the opportunity to share. I’ve had the opportunity to pray with others over this. I have even been an example to one woman who had a thought then heard my testimony and realized God was answering her question.
\nSometimes the decision to be obedient to God has as much to do with the people in your path as it does to you yourself. God orchestrates our lives and places us where He needs us. We miss the opportunity to experience the blessings from that if we choose to ignore the prodding, the poking, the whispering of the Holy Spirit. I’m really glad I’ve done this. It has given our wedding a new depth and meaning.
\nThe whole time I lived here before this, Mr. FixIt always talked about this being “our house”. And, while we did make some changes and redecorated, try as I might…I couldn’t get past considering it HIS house. Now, one of the side effects of my obedience is seeing this place as our home. Not HIS house…our HOME. Big difference.
\nYesterday was rainy and we just did some things around the house. I picked up my wedding band from the jeweler. It is purposefully different. When I tried it on, my mind flashed back to my last wedding band. I smiled.
\nMr. FixIt shampooed carpets. I took the pulled pork out of the freezer and put it into the fridge in the garage to thaw. We sat down and made some lists. We have friends coming today to help decorate the tent and whatever else we need to do. Mr. FixIt will go to town and pick up some food items we need for the reception. I have to run to the farm because we left his white dinner jacket out there.
\nWe are organized. We are (fairly) rested and relaxed. And, we are SO excited!
\nOMGosh! You guys….TOMORROW!!!!! ❤️
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-10-12T01:30:03-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/10/12/the-side-effects-of-obedience.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom","Choices","Change","Wedding"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/10/07/the-glory-of-love.html", "title": "The Glory of Love", "content_html": "
![\"Sunset\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/ee3b95ba0c.jpg\")
“Sunset over the Ponderosa.”
“Therefore, since we have these [great and wonderful] promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, completing holiness [living a consecrated life--a life set apart for God’s purpose] in the fear of God.” 2 CORINTHIANS 7:1 AMP\nWhat beautiful sunsets we get to see here on the Ponderosa! I was just heading back in the house after dining al fresco with Mr. FixIt when I notice the light changing. I turned around and caught this. With the hill behind the house, we don’t catch the setting sun itself. However, if there are clouds, you can catch the reflection and oftentimes it is so stunning it takes you breath away.\n
I got a bit of a late start this morning and by the time I got out to clean the smoker, it was already 88 degrees. Sitting in the sun scrubbing furiously is all it took to knock me down. I had to go lay down in the air conditioning in TOW-Wanda till it cooled off outside and I cooled off inside. We drove to town for a couple of things and picked up hamburger for supper. Mr. FixIt tried to burn the brush pile again and it just will not burn. Too green, too wet…who knows? Not sure what we’re going to do now with two charred piles of blackened brush. Some will burn…just not much. I finished the inside of the smoker at dark and will clean the racks tomorrow while Mr. FixIt bowls.
\nMy good friend Diane hunted down some hay for me so we’re picking that up this afternoon after church. Now I’m on the hunt for some cutter quilts. A friend of mine told me where I might find some. Now it’s just a matter of having the time to go look. sigh
\nAs you can see in the picture, TOW-Wanda is tucked in there under the maple tree by the building. I’m staying out there till the wedding. I am determined to see this through. A commitment is a commitment.
\nI’m looking forward to church today. I need the break…and the soothing calm I get from worshiping with our church family. I am not at all nervous about the wedding or marrying Mr. FixIt. There is just so much we would like to get done beforehand. We were talking as we drove to town last night. I suggested we go get massages before the wedding. Don’t you think that would be a lovely idea?
\nSix days!!!!! ❤️
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-10-07T01:30:18-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/10/07/the-glory-of-love.html", "tags": ["Faith","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","God","Wisdom","Courage","Choices","Wedding"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/10/03/instant-gratification.html", "title": "Instant Gratification", "content_html": "
![\"Monarch](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/5abc39baad.jpg\")
“The only monarch butterfly I have seen in WV in the four years I’ve been back, and it was lying dead in the field. I was to harvest milkweed pods this year and try to bring some monarchs back.”
“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.”\n\nSo, yesterday I told you I’m a “risk-taking storyteller”. I’m sure it’s no surprise to any of you who have been following me for some time if I tell you…I am also “Instant Gratification Girl”! If I can’t get it done yesterday, I’ve been known to pitch a hissy fit. Patience has never been my forte. \nEphesians 4:1-3 ESV
I stopped praying for patience a long time ago when I figured out God was sending me MANY situations in which to practice. I know I’m not fooling Him one bit, but I do thank Him for what little patience I DO have.
\nI may have told you this story before. I’ve told so many, it’s hard to remember. When I was a little girl, I desperately wanted a pair of black, patent leather Mary Janes. Mom took me to the shoe store and the only pair they had left was a half size too small. When my mom told the man we’d keep looking. I had a major meltdown. To my little overdramatic self, that meant I would NEVER, EVER get them! Mom caved and bought them for me and forced me to wear them for a month till I was broken of that behavior.
\nWell, maybe.
\nMonday evening, I went over to Mr. FixIt’s and mowed till it got too dark to do it safely. I went in to get a cold drink and was sitting on the sofa when I saw them. An army of stink bugs! Do you think either of us could have possibly remembered what arrives in WV on the 1st of October? Nooooooo. Hot on their stinky little heels will be the Asian Lady Bugs. Oy! Both of these little boogers swarm en masse and I can just imagine myself walking down the aisle looking like a Ninja as they swarm and land in my hair!
\nBreathe.
\nOmmmmmmmMyGosh!!!!
\nI put an urgent message out on FB. “Is there anything to keep these things at bay for a few hours?” I got lots of suggestions, including changing the wedding date. No! Absolutely not! I want my “patent leather shoes”, darn it!
\nHere’s how I’m going to deal with this. We’ve managed to pull together a beautiful wedding in less than a month. The average cost of a wedding in the US today is $27,000. Ours is going to be gorgeous for far less than 10% of that. (Did I tell you I used to do this for a living? Mr. Virgo taught me well!) Everything is ordered. The tent comes the 10th giving us plenty of time to decorate it. I’m going to smoke the pork butts this weekend for the pulled pork, bag it and pop it in the freezer till Wednesday. Then late Saturday morning it goes in a slow oven to finish off. I have plenty of helpers coming that Friday and Saturday. I have a final fitting on the dress next Wednesday and it will be ready to pick up Friday. We can get the coleslaw and buns that afternoon. The sodas go in the fridge Friday and on ice in the galvanized tubs Saturday. The photographer arrives at 2:00. The cake gets delivered at 3:00.
\nSee? Everything that I CAN control is under control. The rest of it I can do nothing about. Weather OR bugs. And…it will be perfect. I was thinking about this “instant gratification” thing and my word for the year….presence…popped into my head. This is my last wedding. Seriously. I’m never doing this again. I want to stay in the moment and memorize it all. We want to enjoy this, not stress out about it. So, that’s just what I’m going to do.
\nI really didn’t like those patent leather Mary Janes anyway. ❤️
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-10-03T01:30:13-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/10/03/instant-gratification.html", "tags": ["Faith","Family","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Presence","Peaceful Moments","Choices","Change","Wedding"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/10/02/im-a-risktaking-storyteller.html", "title": "I’m a Risk-taking Storyteller", "content_html": "
![\"Inspired](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/b894b6b5cb.jpg\")
“I am willing to risk being wrong.”
“He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap. As you do not know the way the spirit comes to the bones in the womb of a woman with child, so you do not know the work of God who makes everything. In the morning sow your seed, and at evening withhold not your hand, for you do not know which will prosper, this or that, or whether both alike will be good. Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun. So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember that the days of darkness will be many. All that comes is vanity.” \n\nLet’s face it…I’m a risk-taker. I wasn’t always. I stood at the edge of many a precipice, leaning forward just enough to deem the venture far too scary to attempt. And, being a perfectionist compounded the issue with my “If I can’t overachieve, I will not try” personality. This has kept me from experiencing many incredible moments that, at the very least would have been entertaining, and more than likely would have changed my life. But, change wasn’t something I was interested in. \nEcclesiastes 11:4-8 ESV
I remember when my 20-year marriage was falling apart. I had been in therapy for depression stemming from a past filled with abuse, both to me and by me. Sexual abuse. Emotional abuse. Alcohol abuse. Prescription abuse. When my ex-husband was at the end of his rope, he had some therapy of his own to gain the tools he needed to take care of himself. He was changing right in front of me and it scared me more than anything else had. Because I knew where this was headed. My long-standing abandonment issues assured me I would be alone and destitute and living on the streets. Of course, that never happened, but I distinctly remember him saying something to me and asking him just how much he was going to change because I didn’t like it. I can look back on that moment now and realize he was actually saving my life, but at the time, I was horrified.
\nWhen I found myself dangling by the end of my own rope, I was forced to change or die. I’d love to say it was an easy choice and I moved right on by the huge crevasse that had opened in my life, but that was not the case. I overdosed and came as close to death as I care to go at this point in my life. And that was, as they say, the bottom of the barrel.
\nI wasn’t a Christian yet, but I saw a tunnel before me of the most beautiful shade of cobalt blue surrounded with rays of gold…like a giant eclipse of the sun. While I was in this tunnel, my dead grandma came to me and stood by my side. She sternly told me, “Get back down there, young lady! You have work to do!” It took me five years and the death of my mother and the prayers of some really great people to find Jesus and my life changed in an instant. Not that my circumstances were ideal and I didn’t still struggle. I did. But I felt every cell in my body come alive and become new. It was…THE change. The really BIG change.
\nMy fear level plummeted. I became a risk taker. After two failed marriages, Mr. Virgo came into my life and I plunged off the cliff of a third marriage holding hands with a wonderful man. We enjoyed seven years of this bliss before he died suddenly as we were planning our golden years. Grief chiseled me into who I am today. Stronger, to be sure. Softer, more empathetic. Grief became my story…and I’m an avid storyteller.
\nNow, here I am…about to jump off the cliff again. My fourth marriage. I swear, it’s my LAST marriage. Daughter #1 has taken to calling me “Liz”. Someone asked me the other day if I was scared. My answer was, “Heck no! I’m marrying my very best friend whom I’ve known for fifty years. Bring it on!” I realized a couple of days later what she meant….
\nWas I scared of losing Mr. FixIt like I lost Mr. Virgo?
\nI pondered. This is why no one likes to talk about death and grief. It hits too darned close to home. Am I worried that Mr. FixIt will drop dead in front of me? I’d be lying if I said no. Am I willing to risk going through loss and grief again so that I can experience the love of another wonderful man? Absolutely! And you know why I say that? Because, I’m a risk-taker now. Ever since I laid everything on the line for Jesus, I’ve been firmly in the camp of “I’m willing to risk being wrong.” It took me 14 months of being engaged to Mr. FixIt to prepare for this marriage. It took standing up and adding the caveat of living separately for the month before the wedding as a sacrifice and atonement for living together before we were married. And it took the assurance of a loving God that He will always and forever have my back in all things I do. I will not be afraid.
\nThey say God will catch you and teach to you fly. I am sure there will be many flying lessons ahead, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take and a story I’m willing to tell. ❤️
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-10-02T01:30:31-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/10/02/im-a-risktaking-storyteller.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom","Fear","Courage","Choices","Starting Over","Wedding"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/10/01/the-devolution-of-man.html", "title": "The Devolution of Man", "content_html": "
![\"Fog\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/0ea5d1b829.jpg\")
“Foggy morning at the farm.”
I’m a scientist at heart. I’ve worked in medicine since I was 17 years old. I was married to a doctor for 21 years. I am a Christian. And the question of creation versus evolution is hard for me to answer completely. As a scientist, I have seen empirical evidence of evolution. It’s difficult for me to argue with DNA and carbon dating and fossils. As a Christian, I believe that God spoke the world into existence and breathed life into all things. When we read the Bible, we are interpreting it through our current base of experiences and knowledge. We read Genesis 1:26 “Let us make man in our image.” Was God talking literally? As in, the way we look today? Humans look different than they did even a thousand years ago. We are taller and certainly bigger than our distant ancestors. So, was He speaking metaphorically? Spiritually? Was He talking about attributes we are familiar with in this day and age? Was there a Big Bang? What is time? Is it measured precisely as it was in the beginning? Was a day exactly 24 hours and a year exactly 365 days? I don’t know the answer to all of these questions because, while I am continuing to learn and grow in my faith, I have not seen God personally. I experience God daily. That is different. I will leave these questions to those who are far better educated than I. Someday, we will know.
\nMy point today is not the “e”volution of man, but the “d”evolution. Devolution is defined as “perversion; deterioration of morality.” I think we can all agree this is what we are seeing on the daily in the news and on all forms of social media. It doesn’t matter which side of the aisle you sit on. It doesn’t matter what your faith, race, sexual identity, nationality, level of education, IQ, or genetic makeup is…there’s something decidedly crazy going on in the world. I’m not sure our country has seen this level of divisiveness since the ‘50s or ‘60s.
\nHere’s just one small example that I ran across the other day. There is a meme going around on FB that shows President Clinton with a blonde woman with a caption “Bill Clinton and Dr. Ford” with “WELL, WELL, WELL” written across it. Intimating what, exactly? Collusion? A mass conspiracy in the ‘90s to supplant a Supreme Court nominee sometime in the year 2018? I don’t know. The woman in the photo is actually Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democrat and a Senator from New York. Ok…memes happen all the time. Right, Left, true, false…whatever. While these things are irresponsible and show a lack of even a basic level of curiosity as to the veracity of the information being openly disseminated, my biggest problem is the responses they generate.
\nPeople I know…or, thought I knew. People who went to school with me. People who claim to be Christians. People who fight for the proper treatment of animals but absolutely, openly, viciously trash human beings who believe differently than they do. In the last couple of years, it seems we (and by “we”, I mean the collective “we”) have lost our ability to govern our tongues. The very people who are furious that God has been taken out of the classroom are lashing out with a vengeance at…I don’t know…everybody. I can let it make me crazy or depressed or angry. Or, I can choose to take the high road. I can check my own tongue and moral compass. Let me just drop a few lines from life’s instruction manual…
\nWhoever keeps his mouth and his tongue keeps himself out of trouble. Proverbs 21:23
\nLet no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. Ephesians 4:29
\nA soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. Proverbs 15:1
\nThere is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing. Proverbs 12:18
\nSet a guard, O Lord, over my mouth; keep watch over the door of my lips! Psalm 141:3
\nHere’s a good one…If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. James 1:26
\nKeep your tongue from evil and your lips from speaking deceit. Psalm 34:13
\nOh, I love this one…Even a fool who keeps silent is considered wise; when he closes his lips, he is deemed intelligent. Proverbs 17:28
\nDeath and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat its fruits. 1 Peter 3:10
\nA gentle tongue is a tree of life, but perverseness in it breaks the spirit. Proverbs 15:4
\nHas your spirit felt broken by the words of others? I know the easiest answer of all would be to get off social media altogether, but like it or not, this is how many of us keep in touch with friends and family. Oh, you can hide the posts. You can scroll right on past and not engage. But that doesn’t solve the problem. That doesn’t improve matters. That doesn’t swing our moral compass back toward true north.
\nIt’s a “sticky wicket”, as they say in England. It’s not an easy thing to do. We aren’t the moral police meaning we can’t force others to bend at our will, as they are perhaps trying to bend ours. But what we CAN do is be a light in the world. We can live by example. We cannot change others, but we can show a different way to be. And remember, the instruction manual also says this…
\nBrothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Galatians 6:1
\nAs for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him, knowing such a person is warped and sinful; he is self-condemned. Titus 3:10-11
\nIf you’re looking for me, I’ll be cleaning up my friends list now. ❤️
\n", "date_published": "2018-10-01T01:30:05-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/10/01/the-devolution-of-man.html", "tags": ["Faith","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Positive Energy","Grace","God","Wisdom","Forgiveness","Courage","Choices"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/09/30/plan-b.html", "title": "Plan B", "content_html": "![\"Ivory](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/9cf9f79748.jpg\")
“My Plan A. On to Plan B.”
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” James 1:5 ESV\nIt was so pretty on the hanger, but...true confession...I didn’t try the dress on at the Country Living Fair. For one this, there was one dressing room consisting of four curtains and a mirror and a long line. It was ninety-one degrees. And I was working the booth. I thought for sure it would fit. It was way too big, but beyond that, the style just was not flattering on me. I was SO disappointed. Then I kinda freaked a little. We live in a small town and there aren’t a whole lot of options here for purchasing formal attire. \n
I jumped on Pinterest and searched for “wedding dresses for the mature bride”. Apparently, a “mature” bride is 35 because that’s how old the women were modeling the dresses. And a lot of the dresses looked matronly. I really don’t want to look like the grandmother of the bride. I AM the bride, and by golly, I’m going to look like one!
\nI drove to town and prayed on the way.
\n“Lord, thank you for all of your provision. I want to thank you for having the perfect dress waiting for me at the first shop I stop at today. It needs to be on sale, Lord. And I don’t want to pay over $____ for it. Oh, and if possible, I want to look like a queen. Amen”
\nI pulled into the first shop on my route. We tried a couple dresses off the rack but they neither one suited me. Then Julie, the attendant, directed me to the sale rack. She said, “I think this just might work. Try this.” It was a size 12. My heart sank. I’ve put on 15 pounds from the steroids I was on for two weeks. But I was game to try.
\nShe helped me into the dress and when I came out and looked at myself in the mirror, I cried. Ok, I made a little 14 year old girl who was in the shop cry, ok? This dress is stunning. Nothing like I imagined I would have…or want. But, when I asked the attendant how much it was, it was $1.00 below the price I told God I could pay! We’re going to do a little fitting and then it will be perfect. I’m inot sharing any other details because that man of mine reads my blog and he won’t see the dress until I walk out to the tent. So you’ll just have to wait, too!
\nYou always need a Plan B and sometimes, YOUR Plan B was God’s plan all along! ❤️
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-09-30T01:30:16-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/09/30/plan-b.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Aging","Choices","Change","Starting Over","Wedding"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/09/27/not-today-devil.html", "title": "Not Today, Devil!", "content_html": "
![\"Sunset\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/5ff68dfe2a.jpg\")
“I think Mr. Virgo was smiling at me today!”
“And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, \"This is the way, walk in it,\" when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.” Isaiah 30:21 ESV\nFor those of you who have been reading this blog from the beginning, you will remember my reticence to mention God in my posts. I was very, very busy trying to make sure I didn’t offend anyone. And, of course, that is still very much my focus. But as time has passed, I have let God into my writing more and more. I always SAID I was a faith-based writer, but I really wasn’t walking the talk. That all changed one day when I got a text from God in church. That was a great story. Anyway, I’m all about Jesus anymore and I just let out what needs to come out and I don’t worry so much about it anymore.\n
Our Pastor frequently talks about what happens when you are truly a Christ follower. What happens when you make God the center of your life. He always says, “If you put God at the center of your life…are truly following him with all your heart…watch out! Because there’s nothing the enemy hates more than someone putting God before anything else. He attacks and causes all kinds of destruction and whispers lies 24/7 trying to convince you if God REALLY loved you…these bad things wouldn’t be happening. And, of course, it isn’t true. Nothing the enemy says is true.
\nMr. FixIt’s truck had a recall and when they started tearing it apart, they found all kinds of other things wrong. He’s going up today to have a look at it with the mechanics and make a decision. Then, after I helped Mr. FixIt with some things around The Ponderosa yesterday, I drove to the farm. By the time I got there, my wheels were squealing really loud. I had hit a pot hole on this wretched road just before, so I have no idea what’s going on.
\nI know exactly what is happening here. I was led by God to do the right thing and moved back to the farm till after the wedding. I can feel it to my bones that it’s the right thing to do. And then…the enemy strikes! First, Mr. FixIt’s truck then mine. In the week after we put God first. It is so clear. However, I’ll tell you like my friend, DaShara says…”Not today, Devil…I am a Child of God!”
\nI know we’re on the right path. And the enemy can throw roadblocks up every step of the way, but we will persevere. We will not be deterred by the likes of him! He who lives within me is greater than he who lives in the world. Everything will work out with an even greater outcome than previously imagined. Amen! ❤️
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-09-27T01:30:57-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/09/27/not-today-devil.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Wisdom","Courage","Choices","Change","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/09/24/the-feeling-of-prayers.html", "title": "The Feeling of Prayers", "content_html": "
![\"Feathered](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/84a08fe035.jpg\")
“When someone prays for me, it’s like a thousand feathered angel wings wrapping around me.”
“Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.” Colossians 4:2 NIV\nI will never forget when my friend Bill told me I was on his daily prayer list ever since the overdose at the end of my second marriage. I was...stunned. Here he was, a busy Emergency Room physician and a missionary in a country and location they could not reveal for fear of being killed. And I was on his daily prayer list? \n
When I finally became a Christian in 2005, the first people I told were my neighbors, Bob and Ellie. I asked them over, sat them on the couch, and told them I had accepted Christ as my personal Savior. They both immediately burst into tears and said, “Oh, we both have been praying so hard for you!”
\nWhen I revealed on Saturday that Mr. FixIt and I were getting married and shared the reason why, several of you told me you had been praying for me to hear God’s whispers and do what was right.
\nThis was astonishing to me. I have prayed for countless people and circumstances, but I don’t think about others praying FOR me. Maybe my safety and comfort and good circumstances actually came because of the prayers of others. My grandma comes to mind. I can guarantee she prayed for me. Many times.
\nHindsight tells me the gradual discomfort I felt when I was someplace on my journey I shouldn’t have been was at least partially due to the prayers of others trying to lead me back home. I once asked you here to pray for me and I felt a supernatural comfort…like a thousand feathered angel wings wrapped all around me. This is what the prayer of another feels like if you can open yourself to it. It’s physical. It’s supernatural. And it’s very, very real.
\nPraying for the happiness of my ex-husband and his soon-to-be wife allowed forgiveness which gave me peace. Praying for my children and grandchildren gives me hope for their safety and well-being. Praying for Mr. FixIt brings me reassurance of his strength and leadership for our family as we prepare to marry. Prayer can be felt by those you pray for. They may not have a clue it’s your prayers they are feeling, but trust me…they feel it in one way or another. So, keep praying. If there is someone who is lost, pray them home. If there is someone who is discouraged, pray for bravery. If there is someone who is broken, pray for peace. Prayer never hurt anyone and even though you may never see the results, it makes a difference. Because God listens. He hears. He cares. He loves us more than anything you could possibly imagine.
\nTake this into your week and be encouraged. Prayer changes things…even if it’s just inside of you. ❤️
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-09-24T01:30:49-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/09/24/the-feeling-of-prayers.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Forgiveness","Courage","Monday Morning Motivation"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/09/23/what-a-day.html", "title": "What a Day!", "content_html": "
![\"Fall](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/299c9777cb.jpg\")
“The last of the flowers at the farm.”
“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.” Proverbs 16:3 NIV\nWow...I don’t know how I could possibly top yesterday’s wonderful response to the news of our upcoming wedding. Thank you all so, so much for your kind words, your genuine joy, and certainly for all the prayers you offer me. They worked! All day long, my phone would send me a notification saying someone else had responded to my post and it really made my day. \n
As I sat down to organize my day over coffee on the front porch, my calendar reminded me the wedding is three weeks away. Two weeks and six days now, to be precise! I started gathering addresses for invitations, but I was worried people would be making plans. So, I texted a lot of people with a picture of the invite and prefaced it with…”Well…THIS is happening!” I have almost all the invitations addressed…all but Mr. FixIt’s list. Moving right along!
\nWe want a very simple, country wedding. Low key, comfortable yet still a little classy. I really wanted to do this at the farm. This farmhouse would be such a beautiful backdrop. We discussed it and decided there’s really only room for cars…or people. Not both. We decided to have the wedding in the big field over at Mr. FixIt’s house. The trees should be at their peak that weekend. We’ll have a tent down by the creek and it will be lovely.
\nIn keeping with my “Stories, not Stuff” theme, we are keeping this low cost. I mean, really…the whole thing is supposed to be about our love for each other, not a bunch of fussy foo-foo stuff. I’m not going to share all the details beforehand because there has to be an element of surprise. I will tell you this. I went online to print our invitations and when I saw how much it cost, I thought I could do much better using a local printer. I’m pretty good with graphics, so I got the invitation set up, sent it of to Mr. FixIt to get his opinion, then sent it via email to Office Depot. Fifty invitations with envelopes and rush delivery was over $100 online. Office Depot? Less than $20…including envelopes…and I was out the door in twenty minutes. Score!
\nAfter sitting scrunched over the desk all afternoon…pen in hand, I went on a walkabout and took a picture of those flowers I was telling you about the other day. They have faded out to more of a pink color now. Anyone have any idea what this is? They’re one of the last flowers here at the farm. It’s gotten cool and we are due for rain for a few days. Fall is officially here! ❤️
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-09-23T01:30:27-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/09/23/what-a-day.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","Wedding"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/09/22/a-change-is-gonna-come.html", "title": "A Change is Gonna Come...", "content_html": "
![\"Changing](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/a54ab9d557.jpg\")
“A change is coming. Can you feel it?”
“Many claim to have unfailing love, but a faithful person who can find? The righteous lead blameless lives; blessed are their children after them.” Proverbs 20:6-7 NIV\nYesterday, I told you there were some big decisions I’ve been working on the last few months. Today, I want to talk with you about one of them. The most important one. This is a REALLY long post...but hang in there with me. You won’t be sorry.\n
Not long after Mr. FixIt and I became a serious item, God started working on me. For a long time, whenever I walk into church, I say a little prayer. I always say, “Lord, if there is a personal message you have for me today, please anoint the Pastor’s words so he can deliver it to me.” Countless times, God answers my plea and the Pastor will literally come to the front of the stage, stand right in front of me, look me straight in the eye, and say something that is unmistakably personal. Something exactly about what I’ve been working on, or worrying over. I would say it’s uncanny, but what it really is…is supernatural. Our God is a supernatural God. He listens, and He communicates…through the Holy Spirit. Through a total stranger. Through your Guardian Angel. If He has a message, and you ask Him to tell you loud and clear, He doesn’t need a megaphone. He’ll beat you over the head with it if it’s something you truly need.
\nFrom the time Mr. FixIt and I got serious, I’ve been getting messages from God that we shouldn’t be living together without being married. I have to be honest…this has never bothered me before. I’m a product of the ‘60s and I never had a problem living with someone before we got married. But this time is different. It’s been wearing on me. And I think I’ve figured out why.
\nThe biggest reason is my faith has grown exponentially since Mr. Virgo died. I had to make God the center of my life in order to survive that loss. In order to not feel so alone. And God has drawn me ever so close to Him. He has guarded me and protected me. He has led me through some terribly difficult times. He has been my rock…my anchor. In the past, that has not been the case. My relationship with my husband was my focus. My relationship with God suffered and therefore I suffered. And I wasn’t even aware of it.
\nMr. FixIt and I keep God at the center of our relationship. Or…so I would love for everyone to believe. See, here’s the thing. You’re either all in with God. Or, you’re not. That’s why I’ve been feeling off about cohabitation. Now, there is the issue of widow’s benefits. I had been told when I first went to Social Security after Mr. Virgo died, that if I remarried I would lose my widow’s benefits. I’ve kept that information in my mind all this time without questioning. Until last weekend.
\nMr. FixIt and I have spent a great deal of time apart in the last month between being sick and in the hospital, camping with the Girl Campers, and going to Country Living Fair. The reason I took my camper up with me and camped alone instead of bunking with my gal pals was…I needed some alone time with God. These wonderful women I was with are two of my strongest Christian friends. They mentor me. They are sounding boards for me when I have questions. They are my fellow prayer warriors when I need them. I confessed how I was feeling and they talked with me about it.
\nWhile camping alone, I prayed deeply. I told God my worries. I told him I totally trust in Him and that I know without question that He will provide for me. But I’ve been so worried about losing my widow’s benefits because my own Social Security is paltry. I was a stay-at-home mom, so I didn’t make a lot of money in my lifetime. Mr. Virgo, however, worked in 5-Star resorts and restaurants all his career. He died before touching his Social Security. My benefits through him are far more than my own. Not enough to live in the lap of luxury, mind you. But enough to live on if I were extremely frugal. I asked God to give me a sign that I wouldn’t lose my benefits if I remarried.
\nThen, I listened. “Google. What happens to widow’s benefits if you remarry?” Simple enough, right? I mean, why didn’t I think to Google that a long time ago? Because….it wasn’t the right time. Mr. FixIt asked me to marry him just a month after we started dating. It was too soon. We needed to get to know each other more. We needed to grow together in our faith. And, I needed more time to work through my grief. This was God’s perfect timing. I Googled the question and page after page of answers came back. “If you remarry after the age of 60, you will NOT lose your widow’s benefits.” Wow! The reason it stuck in my head so long ago was, I was only 59 when Mr. Virgo died. They told me if I remarried, I would lose my benefits. But that was THEN. Grief brain didn’t allow the rest of it to soak in.
\nI sat back…stunned by this revelation. I looked up and said, “Thank you, God. That’s all I needed to know!” Then I texted Mr. FixIt.
\n“I miss you. Let’s get married.”
\nWithout missing a beat, he wrote back. “OK! We’ll set a date when you get home! What prompted this?”
\n“God.” I said.
\nSo, we set a date! Yes, my lovely Ranchers…we’re getting MARRIED!!!
\nOhhhhh….Emmmmmm…..Geeeeeeeee!!!
\nI’m all in. I can’t, in good conscience, profess my faith AND live in a way that I feel, for me, is counter to that. So I’m following my conscience and God’s clear instructions to marry this very wonderful man that He sent me. We chose October 13th as our wedding day. When I was looking through the calendar, the 13th jumped out at me. I seemed to remember it being a family anniversary. I looked up on my family tree and indeed…it was my Grandma and PopPop’s anniversary! Those two in whose bedroom I am currently propped up, writing to you! PopPop died on my mom’s birthday…August 26th. Just seven weeks before their 50th Wedding Anniversary. I know how terribly sad I was when Mr. Virgo died just three weeks shy of our 6th anniversary. I can’t imagine what my grandma went through losing her forever sweetheart so close to such a monumental event. I am thrilled we can celebrate our wedding on their special day!
\nSo, there it is, my friends. A change is gonna come. Will I still be a widow? Yes, I will always and forever be a widow. AND, I will be a wife again. Never in my wildest dreams would I have anticipated something so precious happening again. I know Mr. Virgo had a hand in this. He and God stopped at the 9th or 10th hole one day when they were playing a round of golf.
\n“Hey, look down there at that beautiful woman. Do you think we can send her someone to love who will love her back with the white-hot heat of the sun?”
\nAnd God said…”Ha! Watch this!” ❤️
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-09-22T01:30:36-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/09/22/a-change-is-gonna-come.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","God","Wisdom","Courage","Choices","Change","Be Joyful!","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/09/19/strawberry-jam-and-biscuits.html", "title": "Strawberry Jam and Biscuits", "content_html": "
![\"Berry](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/2bbb891de3.jpg\")
“Berry Baskets bring back special memories of my grandparents’ farm.”
“For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.” Hebrews 3:4 NIV\nOne of the things I stumbled upon at the Country Living Fair over the weekend were these sweet little berry baskets. Oh, my...did they bring back memories! When I was a little girl, my uncle was going to college at WVU majoring in Vocational Agriculture. He was always doing something around the farm to help my grandparents. He added the cinder block building with a cistern to collect the rainwater from the roof for drinking water. There was a well here on the property and it had wonderful, sweet water...until they capped the old oil and gas wells on the property. Something they did caused the aquifer to fracture and the water became briny and undrinkable. For a long time, we had to drive several miles with two big milk cans and haul water from a local spring. Then Uncle Bud helped my grandparents build the cistern and we finally got good drinking water on the farm again.\n
My uncle also put in a septic system, built a basement, rolled the house on top, build a cinderblock bathroom and we joined the civilized folks with indoor plumbing. I was about six years old when all this occurred. After the barn, the cow shed, and the pig stye were built, the next thing on the agenda was to try to make this land not only support us, but pay us. Uncle Bud planned out and planted a huge strawberry patch up on the hill. He and my great grandfather built a nice structure with a long window down one side. The window was hinged and opened outward to make an overhanging awning with a counter. The pickers would bring flats of strawberries to this shed to be sorted and cleaned to take to the Farmer’s Market in town. At the corner of the building was a huge water tank that collected water from the roof of the strawberry shed to be used to clean the berries.
\nThese little berry baskets took me right back to those long summer days spent out at the farm…the very farmhouse I am sitting in as I write this. Oh, those berries were the sweetest things I had ever tasted. You didn’t even need sugar. They were deep red all the way through. And they were huge! One filled my little hand. Grandma wouldn’t let me pick them because I had a tendency to eat the berries and step on the runners. Runners are what makes more plants and more plants means more berries which translates to direct profit. I was relegated to the kitchen to cook for the pickers…which served me well as I got older. I learned to cook at grandma’s elbow…standing on the red kitchen stool.
\nGrandma made big, fluffy buttermilk biscuits and would slice them open, slather them with fresh churned butter and sugar, then add a good portion of sliced strawberries. She always had a jar of top cream in the fridge and would whip that with a hand cranked egg beater and add a little sugar and vanilla. Then she would spoon out this soft whipped cream on the top of our little biscuit “shortcakes” for a dessert fit for a queen. What I would give to have one of those…made by her loving hands and served with a peck on the cheek. I miss my grandma so much and feel closest to her here in the home of her heart.
\nWe were planning to come to the farm today to mow anyway, but last evening my cousin called to say someone had been seen sleeping on the porch of the community building down the road. I started to ask if we could just come on out last night, but I stopped mid-sentence. It was almost dark and we’d already had a busy day. Mr. FixIt picked up on it though. He asked if I wanted to come out right then and I really did. We packed up the truck and off we came. It is worrisome to drive these country roads after dark. There are so many deer out at dusk and the early night hours. When we pulled into the driveway, the only company we had at the farm were four deer out on the front lawn. I was a little worried because the front porch light was burned out, but that was quickly fixed and nothing had been disturbed.
\nWe stay here often enough to let people know the place is occupied. There’s someone here every day between us and my cousins. We were going to go camping this weekend, but staying here at the farm is as good as any vacation for me. The memories are as thick as buttermilk here and there is truly no place like home for this hungry heart of mine. ❤️
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-09-19T01:30:20-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/09/19/strawberry-jam-and-biscuits.html", "tags": ["Family","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","Gratitude","Grace","Wisdom","Presence","Peaceful Moments"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/09/18/holding-things.html", "title": "Holding Things", "content_html": "
![\"Crocks\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/3666907c29.jpg\")
“Crocks waiting for a new home.”
“Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” Psalm 37:4 NIV\nI’ve been thinking a lot about my grandma lately. I’ve been so busy the last three weeks that I haven’t had a chance to spend much time at the farm. Mr. FixIt and I were thinking of going camping this weekend, but for a number of reasons...not the least of which is being just plain tired of running around...we’ve decided to head to the farm for a much needed respite.\n
The change of seasons are especially beautiful there. As things come to life in the spring and the dark grays of winter turn to buds of green, my heart soars because I’m heading into my favorite season. I’ve always had a little more difficulty accepting the changes of fall because that mean the dark days of winter are close on its heels. Mr. Virgo always told me, “It’s all in your head. It’s just a matter of what you tell yourself. If you say you hate winter, then guess what? You’re going to hate it!” He was right, of course. So, this fall, I am planning some really special things that will make the season joyful and beautiful. I’m going to do some heavy fall decorating this year. I want to get pumpkins and bittersweet, corn shocks and straw bales, Indian corn and maybe even some clear twinkly lights and dress up the farm. Won’t that be pretty?
\nI’ll take you along with me as I pick and choose. Maybe we’ll go to a pumpkin patch. Maybe we’ll find a cider press. Whatever we do, we’re going to make this season extra special so I won’t dread winter. Just like grandma’s old crocks that used to hold things, I’m going to use my heart as a vessel to hold beautiful things and make new memories! ?
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-09-18T01:30:53-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/09/18/holding-things.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","Growth","New Ideas","Gratitude","Peaceful Moments","Choices"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/09/16/country-living-fair-day-fun.html", "title": "Country Living Fair - Day 2 (Fun, Friends, and Fair Food!)", "content_html": "
![\"Two](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/92029e5425.jpg\")
“Fellow Rancher, Ruth Ann, came by to see me today at Country Living Fair! What a treat!”
“Go, eat your food with gladness, and drink your wine with a joyful heart, for God has already approved what you do.” Ecclesiastes 9:7 NIV\nYou know what? One of the sweetest things that ever happens to me at one of these events is when one of my readers steps up to me and says...”I love your blog! I’ve been reading it for a long time.” My heart melts and I just want to give them a great big hug! It happened twice yesterday! First, Ruth Ann came all the way from Cincinnati. She was so gracious and I was so happy to meet her. Then, Beth stopped by to say hello. She follows Janine’s podcast and learned about Marshmallow Ranch from my interview on Episode #5. What a sweetie. She’s young and looking forward to camping in her own trailer someday. \n
![\"Two](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/c3e5eccf30.jpg\")
“Fellow Rancher, Beth, came to see me at Country Living Fair. It’s such an honor to meet my readers!”
It was another scorcher yesterday. The truck said 93 degrees at 5:00 when I got in to head back to the campground. I got a little sunburned this time. Janine and I were sitting outside her little camper when Mary and her friend Amy stopped to visit. Over an hour later, we were exchanging e-mail addresses with promises to keep in touch. You know…sometimes you just meet someone and you know there’s a reason you’re supposed to keep in touch. That was the case with these two.
\n![\"Girl](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/f88cb4d4bb.jpg\")
“Mary and Amy listening to Janine talk about the joys of Girl Camping.”
We had an extra person with us yesterday so we got to take little breaks and walk around more. I explored the near side of the fair. I bought this cute little striped dress I’m wearing in the pictures. It was pretty comfy. Then I headed to the food court to get my supper. I had an organic, grass fed beef cheeseburger, an ear of roasted corn, and a small scoop of Buckeye Bash iced cream. Lunch was a corn cake with pulled pork, slaw, and roasted corn relish with a drizzle of BBQ sauce. OMGosh…what a treat!
\n![\"Roasted](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/bae334db4e.jpg\")
“Fair Food…Roasted Corn!”
\n
Fun, friends and fair food. Lots of sunshine. Awesome art, antiques, clothing, and crafts. And visits with Ranchers! What a great day!!!
\nDon’t forget to go to my webpage and register your name and e-mail address in the “Become a Rancher” box for a chance to win that WAY cool yurt tent!!! The drawing is Tuesday!!! (If you have already registered your name and e-mail before, you’re automatically entered!) ❤️
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-09-16T01:30:23-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/09/16/country-living-fair-day-fun.html", "tags": ["Travel","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","Camping","Fun","goRVing","Girl Camper","Girl Campers","Country Living Fair"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/09/06/girl-camping.html", "title": "Girl Camping!", "content_html": "
![\"Coleman](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/291f722491.jpg\")
“Vintage Coleman Coffee Set”
“I said, “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove! I would fly away and be at rest. I would flee far away and stay in the desert; I would hurry to my place of shelter, far from the tempest and storm.”” Psalm 55:6-8 NIV\nAs I was driving up to the campground yesterday, every mile passed filled my heart with a lightness I haven’t felt for many months. Was it getting away? A little. Not FROM Mr. FixIt...but TO my dear camping girlfriends. Some of whom I haven’t seen in a year. \n
I think the most noticeable difference was…I actually FEEL good. I haven’t felt great since last February or March. And I know I can’t prove this, but I think the antibiotic they gave me for this lung episode fixed my gastritis. It’s the first time in months I’ve been able to eat without feeling ill afterwards. And no stomach pain. I won’t jinx it by trying to figure it out. I’m just grateful it’s better.
\nI pulled into the campground at 3:00 and two of my besties were here. It’s always so exciting to see them! We all decided to take a little snooze and then go grocery shopping. We had dinner together in the big fifth wheel because it’s really hot and sticky here. It’s supposed to rain about midnight and all day tomorrow. None of us mind that a bit!
\nI’ll take pictures of the Avion tomorrow. I forgot when it was daylight. I’m sitting outside writing this at 9:00…listening to the night sounds. Haven’t heard an owl yet. They are heard here often. This is a vintage Coleman coffee set that was on the counter when I arrived yesterday. So fun to stay in a vintage camper. I don’t believe I have ever had the pleasure!
\n❤️
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-09-06T01:30:37-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/09/06/girl-camping.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","Camping","Fun","Gratitude","goRVing","Peace","Peaceful Moments","Girl Camper","Girl Campers","Choices","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/09/05/road-trip-fall.html", "title": "Road Trip #1 - Fall 2018", "content_html": "
![\"Fall](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/4cb73f7df1.jpg\")
“The leaves are beginning to change and you know what that means? Fall Girl Camping!!!”
“That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp. When the dew was gone, thin flakes like frost on the ground appeared on the desert floor. When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, “It is the bread the Lord has given you to eat. This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Everyone is to gather as much as they need. Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.’ ”” Exodus 16:13-16 NIV\nI’ve been doing everything I can to be well enough to join the Girl Campers for their fall outing. I was pretty worried last week and over the weekend as to whether I would get to go or not. With the help of my doctor and my Girl Camper friends, I am all set to go on a road trip today. Now, before you go all “mom” on me, let me tell you my plans.\n
First, I’m not pulling a camper this time. My dear friend and fellow Girl Camper Extraordinaire has kindly offered her vintage Avion for my use for the next week. For those of you unfamiliar with the Avion…it looks very much like an Airstream, but not shiny. I am so excited to get the opportunity to stay in a vintage camper! And this cuts out all worries of having a mechanical breakdown on the way to or from the event.
\nSecond, I went to my doctor’s office yesterday and got a good looking over. I’m not wheezing anymore. I’m stable on the meds they gave me and everything is under control. She gave me a prescription for a nebulizer since I cannot find mine so I can give myself a breathing treatment if I need to. I promised I would not do the extra activities and I’m taking my knitting and crafts and magazines and a couple of books. I’ll take my writing and my art supplies. Just sitting and relaxing…and no campfires near me!
\nThird, some girlfriend time is exactly what I need! Mr. FixIt is slowly on the mend. His virus hit him as body aches. No head or chest congestion. He’s hoping by Friday he will feel up to driving up and joining us for the weekend as this is a Mister-Sister trip. He loves to sit around the campfire over the weekend with the girls and they love having him. I’ll be up at camp till Tuesday morning. And I promise…I’ll be careful and there are a lot of people watching out for me so I wont get in trouble! I can’t wait to share stories from around the propane “campfire” and I love taking you all along with me!
\n❤️?❤️?❤️
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-09-05T01:30:43-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/09/05/road-trip-fall.html", "tags": ["Strong Women","Positive Energy","Camping","Fun","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","goRVing","Peaceful Moments","Girl Camper","Girl Campers","Choices"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/09/02/days.html", "title": "2,000 Days", "content_html": "
![\"Meme\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/a32a76f6bc.jpg\")
“2,000 Days”
“(For we are but of yesterday, and know nothing, because our days upon earth are a shadow:) Job 8:9 KJV\nFor a long time after losing Mr. Virgo, I marked the timeline of my grief by significant dates. The first anniversary without him came just three weeks after he died. That was a tough one. First Halloween marked when we met. The first time I celebrated his birthday alone was terribly sad. First Thanksgiving, first Christmas...the list went on and on and I was convinced when the first “angelversary” of his death came around, I could turn a corner on this grief thing. Needless to say, that didn’t happen.\n
The seconds were worse for me than the firsts. Because, the first year I was in a fog. The second year I was awake and he was still gone. It was deeply painful. It was desperately lonely. I was exceedingly angry. Each day led me forward, ever so slowly, toward…what? Healing? Peace? Acceptance? It wasn’t easy. Somewhere along the line, 1,000 days passed and I wrote about my experiences along the way. Still marking the calendar of grief.
\nNow it’s been 2,000 days. Unbelievable. It seems like forever ago. It seems like yesterday. It sometimes even seems like he was a dream and I never really had him. I think that’s fairly normal, from what I have heard from you all over the years. I can’t remember his voice anymore. I struggle to picture his hands. He’s like a really good movie that I loved and watched over and over till I memorized all the words…then lost the disk. I’ll never see that particular movie again, but I remember how much I enjoyed it.
\nI still get waves of grief. They don’t hit nearly as hard as they used to, and they don’t last nearly as long, thank God. I notice them most when I am tired or not feeling well. I’ve learned so much about myself since he died. I’ve become much stronger. My world is brighter now that I’ve passed through all those days. I have new love. But I will never lose my old love. I have them both. I am a widow and a partner. I grieve and I rejoice.
\nI have greater compassion now. For others. For myself. I know not everyone has a new love. Not everyone wants it. Women are perfectly capable of being widowed and still lead a fulfilling life. One does not need a partner to be rich in love. Women can be remarkably resilient and strong all on their own.
\nSo, it’s been 2,000 days. Remarkable…yet another ordinary day. The seas are much calmer this far from the shore. ❤️
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-09-02T01:30:41-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/09/02/days.html", "tags": ["Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Courage","Presence","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/08/08/out-of-order.html", "title": "Out of Order", "content_html": "
![\"Outhouse\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/ff7fe915f9.jpg\")
“Thank goodness today there are modern conveniences!”
“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”\n1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NIV\nBack in the day, when I was married to Hubby #2 (the doctor), it seemed like every single bug that came along, I got sick. I had a chronic sinus infection that stretched out over two years. Using broad spectrum antibiotics caused my intestinal flora to get out of equilibrium and I developed C. Difficile. That is a bug normally found in the gut, but it’s not one of the good ones. However, it’s really hard to kill. So, the antibiotics killed off the good bacteria and allowed C.Diff to overgrow and that is not a good thing. C.Diff can kill your colon. That’s one of the reasons its important not to take antibiotics when you don’t need them. And that’s why I’ve been left with a wonky gut that gives me fits much of the time and forces me to limit certain foods.\n
Arriving at 65 finally has allowed me to catch up with a lot of deferred maintenance and tomorrow I’m spending a lovely morning with my gastroenterologist. Let’s just say it’s been a busy day and leave it at that. I know this is TMI, but it’s important to have routine healthcare screenings, one of which is a colon cancer screen. I had a precancerous polyp removed in my 30’s. The doctor came in to talk to me and said it was a good thing I had come in when I did or I likely would have had colon cancer by the time I was the recommended age.
\nProbably secondary to lifestyle and diet, the age for colonoscopy screening is now 45. More people are getting colon cancer younger. Pay attention to your body. Take care of your health. You only have one you.
\nUpdate: My tests went well. As I predicted, the prep was by far worse than the actual tests considering they give you this marvelous drug called Versed which produces not only sedation, but anterograde amnesia. Meaning, you are definitely sedated but not so much that you can’t assist and follow instructions like swallow, roll over, etc. And, you don’t remember any of it if you’ve had the proper dose. Win-Win! They did find a hiatal hernia and diverticulosis which explains my symptoms. A change in medication, and eating multiple small meals and not eating late should take care of the problems I’ve been having. So good news is…nothing bad! I’ll be back in the saddle in no time! ❤️
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-08-08T01:30:02-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/08/08/out-of-order.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","Gratitude","Aging","Warning","Choices","Change"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/08/05/playing-dress-up.html", "title": "Playing Dress Up", "content_html": "
![\"Couple](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/1ef6122318.jpg\")
“Playing dress up is fun. Mr. FixIt and me…at a wedding.”
“Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love is as strong as death, its jealousy unyielding as the grave. It burns like blazing fire, like a mighty flame. Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot sweep it away. If one were to give all the wealth of one’s house for love, it would be utterly scorned.”\nSong of Songs 8:6-7 NIV\nOne of Mr. FixIt’s granddaughter’s got married yesterday. I bought an outfit when I was in Colorado. I needed something nice to wear to weddings...including Daughter #2’s when it comes around in the next year or so. It’s nice to have at least one dressy outfit, even though I don’t have very many occasions to dress up anymore.\n
Mr. FixIt came home with his tux the other day. He said he thought he would just dress at home and not bother toting it back and forth but I talked him out of that. First, he didn’t want his backside to look like he’d been sitting in a truck for an hour. And second, it was in the high 80’s…I knew he would be miserable.
\nHe carried the tux in the church and headed to the room the men were dressing in. I killed time wandering around the church, reading the guest book, and chatting with early arrivals. Then someone said, “Here he comes!”
\nI turned around and caught my breath. I’ve never seen him in a tux before. Wow! I knew there was a reason I liked this guy! Don’t men look great in a tux? They are always so dashing and sophisticated…sort of like Sean Connery. I gave him my brightest smile and stuck to him like glue all afternoon.
\nThe wedding was sweet, the bride was beautiful, the cake divine. The weather was perfect and everyone was happy…beyond the usual wedding day jitters. The Pastor told a story about the Velveteen Rabbit and compared it to marriage. We get older. We get a little worn and frayed around the edges. But we never become more genuinely real than we do when we are loved. What a lovely goal for a new marriage…to love and be loved until we are our most real selves.
\nThere’s something about weddings. They bring out the sweetness in us. They bring us closer and remind us of what’s important in life. Love. They also remind us of love gone too soon. I always think of Mr. Virgo in times like this. I reflect. And, more often than not, I smile at the memories. ❤️
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-08-05T01:30:22-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/08/05/playing-dress-up.html", "tags": ["Family","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Love","Choices","Change","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/08/03/afternoon-walkabout.html", "title": "Afternoon Walkabout", "content_html": "
![\"Hooded](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/fc64e1a155.jpg\")
“Hooded Warbler”
“Consider how the wild flowers grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you, not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today, and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, how much more will he clothe you—you of little faith!” Luke 12:27-28 NIV\nMr. FixIt and I decided to walk up the road yesterday afternoon before we headed home from the farm. The heavy truck traffic from the gas pipeline construction has eased up slightly and the road repair crew had moved back toward the bridge, so walking was a little safer and more enjoyable. I was particularly interested in a mulberry tree down the road. I wanted to check if the berries were ripening so I could make some jam and jelly. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a single mulberry on the tree. Last year at this time is was loaded so the only thing I can figure is the late freezes this spring got them. \n
Just as we headed out for our walk, this beautiful Hooded Warbler darted into the spicebush next to the porch. I have never seen one and had to look it up to find out what it was. What a beauty…and such a sweet little song it sings.
\nThe photos, in order:
\n![\"Cicada\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/0cd09c41fb.jpg\")
“Cicada”
As we walked along, I scanned the roadsides for interesting things to photograph. A cicada caught my eye, as did this black and yellow millipede. Creepy crawlies, to be sure. According to projectnoah.org, “Some millipedes emit liquid secretions of hydrogen cyanide gas through microscopic pores, so always wash your hands after handling.” Yeah…like I’m going to be picking THAT thing up! ?
\n![\"Flat](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/25a1fd5702.jpg\")
“Flat Backed Millipede”
This is the most I’ve revealed of Mr. FixIt. Six-foot-one and sweet as can be. I love this guy! ❤
\n![\"Man](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e6c77c7608.jpg\")
“Mr. FixIt…ooooh, I love this guy!”
When Daughter #1 brought her future husband to West Virginia to meet the family, we stayed in this sweet little cabin up the road from the farm. It is owned by my mother’s cousin. My aunt called it “Jack-in-the-Pulpit Inn” because of all the wildflowers around.
\n![\"Old](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/6a13faf354.jpg\")
“Jack-in-tha-Pulpit Inn”…an old log cabin down the road from the farm.”
Goldenrod or Ragweed made my grandpa sneeze like crazy. He just hated when it came in bloom, but they are so pretty alongside the roadways.
\n![\"Goldenrod\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/bffd64c18b.jpg\")
“Goldenrod”
Queen Anne’s Lace is one of my favorite wildflowers. If you look closely, you can see the “Queen’s Heart” in the center.
\n![\"Queen](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/49e269ca92.jpg\")
“Queen Anne’s Lace”
I have no idea what this little butterfly is. I spend about ten minutes trying to find out and gave up. Anyone know?
\n![\"Butterfly\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/0b299eebb8.jpg\")
“Little Brown and Orange Butterfly”
This one I know…it’s a Tiger Swallowtail.
\n![\"Tiger](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/dacde07b7f.jpg\")
“Tiger Swallowtail Butterfly”
Ahhhh, sweet Honeysuckle vines. When its hot in June, you can smell this from a mile away on a warm summer night.
\n![\"Honeysuckle\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/8630fe523e.jpg\")
“Honeysuckle”
This little guy is a Red-Spotted Purple. People often mistake these for swallowtails, but as you can see…no “tail”.
\n![\"Red-Spotted](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/3762d54e47.jpg\")
“Red-Spotted Purple”
These last two pictures show the damage to our road from all the heavy equipment running up and down the road all day long. I will be so glad when they get this pipeline and compressor station completed and the pipe liners move on down south.
\n![\"“Road](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/8dc47c0491.jpg\")
“Road damage from gas pipeline equipment,”
![\"Road](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/228c31b916.jpg\")
“Deep grooves in the asphalt from six-axle loads of rock.”
Walkabouts are fun on the farm, and I truly love sharing the beauty with you all. It’s Friday! I hope you are going to do lots of fun things this weekend. Mr. FixIt’s granddaughter is getting married tomorrow so this is a BIG weekend for us. ❤
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-08-03T01:30:25-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/08/03/afternoon-walkabout.html", "tags": ["Family","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","The Farm","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Peace","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/07/29/feeling-peaceful.html", "title": "Feeling Peaceful", "content_html": "
![\"Ohio](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/088392260e.jpg\")
“Finding peace after losing Mr. Virgo is deeper and sweeter than anything I could have imagined.”
“Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.”\n2 Thessalonians 3:16 NIV\nAs I sat thinking over what I would write about for today’s post, the word “peaceful” kept playing over and over in my mind. It made me think of this photograph that I took when I was living on high ground overlooking the Ohio River three years ago. I was blessed with the opportunity to park my camper up there and would often sit on the deck overlooking this amazing, peaceful scene. On this particular evening, the light was perfect, the sky was stunning, and everything took on a soft glow as the sun was setting. I will never forget my time spent in this beauty as I healed from the grief of losing Mr. Virgo. It was a time of testing my mettle, as well. I found inner strength I never knew I had as I lived in that camper through a particularly rough winter with no running water and up to a foot-and-a-half of snow at times.\n
I look back on that period of my life and compare it to where I am today and it never ceases to amaze me how different things are now. I have the privilege of caretaking for the family farm. I have this wonderful man in my life who brings me joy every day. I have the ability to travel to see my Colorado family. I have my campers. I still own too much “stuff” but I’m happy with my life as it is.
\nThe other evening, Mr. FixIt and I were floating around in the pool, holding hands, watching the clouds in the evening sky, listening to the sounds as the night birds and insects began their chorus. He turned to me and said, “This. This right here is perfect.” I knew what he meant. We’ve both longed for this peaceful life and love. We both feel like we’ve won the lottery.
\nI could have written about grief last night. I could have written about camping or travel or gardening. I could have written about Colorado or West Virginia or any of the numerous places I’ve been. But, for some reason, all those things seemed to pale against this overwhelming love and peace I’ve been feeling since I got home from my trip out west. Absence really does make the heart grow fonder. Being away from Mr. FixIt for three weeks brought into sharp focus just how wonderful our life is together. I love my children and grandchildren and the rest of my Colorado family and friends. But, oh my…there really is no place like “home”. ❤
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-07-29T01:30:15-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/07/29/feeling-peaceful.html", "tags": ["Family","Positive Energy","West Virginia","Gratitude","Grace","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Change"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/07/25/vaya-con-dios-colorado.html", "title": "Vaya con Dios, Colorado!", "content_html": "
![\"woman](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/c3b35b98be.jpg\")
“Goodbyes are always bittersweet.”
“The Lord makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the Lord upholds him with his hand.”\nPsalm 37:23-24 NIV\nIt is time. Three weeks ago, the time for my visit stretched long before me. And, in the blink of an eye...it is gone. Today I travel home to West Virginia. Goodbyes are always so bittersweet. Oh, how I miss my babies...big and little. How I miss my brother and the rest of my Colorado family and friends. How I miss being nearby and stopping to visit with Mr. Virgo whenever I want. But it can’t be helped. There are so many reasons why I don’t live in Colorado anymore.\n
The main impetus that led my move to West Virginia was two-fold. Economics made Colorado far out of my housing budget and caring for an elderly family member in my home state seemed appropriate. If I would have known that endeavor would have only last ten weeks, I likely would have done things differently. I may have kept my Colorado house and rented it out. I may not have purchased such a big camper. I may have more evenly split my time between Colorado and West Virginia. But, hindsight being 20/20, it is what it is and I wouldn’t have changed a thing if I could.
\nMoving to West Virginia was the path my life needed to take. I needed to feel the freedom of living on my own. I needed to feel the love and connection of caretaking my family farm, which turned out to be the ultimate conclusion of the elder care situation. I needed the social group my hometown afforded me. And, most importantly of all…destiny brought Mr. FixIt and me together! He is such a joy to have in my life and I can’t imagine him not being there.
\nOne of the downsides to living so far away is the limited amount of time my family has to spend bonding with Mr. FixIt. They don’t feel the connection with him that they felt with Mr. Virgo. You can’t develop a loving bond with someone you have a couple of dinners with over a period of a week or so. I understand that. I just hope they can understand my commitment to him and why I live where I do and not near them. It tears at a mother’s (and grandmother’s) heart when you can’t be near them always. The other side of the coin is, travel goes both ways. So do phone calls and texts and FaceTiming. It’s a new time in our lives. A new adjustment. A new phase.
\nI know where they are coming from, though. When my mom lived in West Virginia and I lived in Colorado, it used to drive me crazy. I wanted her to move to Colorado where I could help her more. I wanted her to have access to excellent healthcare. I wanted her close where I could watch over her. I guess what it boils down to is…I wanted more control. (Ahhhh, it always boils down to control, doesn’t it?) My girls saw me struggle to help my mom long distance. They don’t want to have to do that, too. I get that. But, NOW I totally get where my mom was coming from. Whereas I though she was being terribly stubborn and unreasonable, I now see she was living the way SHE wanted to live…WHERE she wanted to live. I wish I could have understood that more at the time. I think I would have been more gentle with her.
\nAt any rate…I have promises from all my Colorado family that we will make a concerted effort to reach out more and stay connected by the various media channels we have access to. And…my sweet and handsome all-time BEST friend in the whole wide world will be standing in Columbus Airport today welcoming me home with the very best hug on the planet!!! I wouldn’t trade that for ANYTHING!
\nVaya con Dios, Colorado…I’ll be back as soon as I can! ❤
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-07-25T01:30:24-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/07/25/vaya-con-dios-colorado.html", "tags": ["Colorado","Family","Travel","Uplifting Stories","Hope","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Love","Wisdom","Courage","Presence"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/07/19/a-gal-about-town-part.html", "title": "A Gal About Town - Part Two", "content_html": "
![\"Container](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/33995fef23.jpg\")
“Michelle uses livestock tanks as elevated garden containers.”
“and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills— to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood and to engage in all kinds of artistic crafts.”\nExodus 35:31-33 NIV\nYesterday’s post didn’t have very many pictures to illustrate my descriptions of Michelle’s lovely home. Michelle was kind enough to send me several photos so I could run a “Part Two” of A Gal About Town.\n
![\"Flower](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/f826d7a26a.jpg\")
“A faux wall hides an unsightly electric box. It is adorned with a salvaged window and shutters from the family farm in Kansas.”
She and I have decided we could give Joanna and Chip Gaines a run for their Magnolia money if we, too, had an adequate staff and unlimited resources!
\n![\"Outdoor](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/709b6aedaa.jpg\")
“A repurposed farm table and vintage metal chairs creates an outdoor dining space underneath a string of market lights.”
Isn’t this backyard oasis inviting? We sat out here for hours till the sun started to set and the overhead strings of market lights turned on automatically.
\n![\"Garage\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/f7e7225b93.jpg\")
“Repurposed materials adds visual interest to a garage makeover.”
![\"Corrugated](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/15c6fb9613.jpg\")
“Even the ceiling gets a makeover to hide extra storage.”
![\"Antique](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/62740ebb83.jpg\")
“An antique refrigerator doubles as winter boot storage.”
And who wouldn’t want this gorgeous garage remodel that created a unique “maker space” for the ever creative Michelle? Architectural salvage pieces mixed with family heirlooms make for an eclectic view.
\n![\"Garage\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/f17a94a8d6.jpg\")
“Antiques perched atop a modern refrigerator and freezer.”
![\"Maker](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/c8bde01f3c.jpg\")
“Stunning “maker space” in Michelle’s garage.
To top it off, we get the name of the wonderful olives we nibbled on as dinner was cooking. We drank “mocktails”…non-alcoholic concoctions made with coconut water mixed with the juice of a whole lime. Next time I’m asking for salt on the rim!
\n![\"Olives\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/fd0d009035.jpg\")
“The BEST olives!”
I hope you enjoy the added photos Michelle sent me. Several of you asked for more so I created part two of yesterday’s post. ❤️
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-07-19T01:30:41-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/07/19/a-gal-about-town-part.html", "tags": ["Colorado","Travel","Positive Energy","Fun","Gratitude","Grace","Humbled","Peaceful Moments"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/07/18/a-gal-about-town.html", "title": "A Gal About Town", "content_html": "
![\"Colorado](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/08c7eb9e2d.jpg\")
“Colorful Colorado”
“From the rising of the sun to the place where it sets, the name of the Lord is to be praised.”\nPsalm 113:3 NIV\nI met up with one of my favorite Sisters on the Fly last night for dinner. Michelle Michelle Cummings is an amazing woman. She created a business nearly 20 years ago because she couldn’t find a job doing what she loved. She now travels all over the world teaching team building to major corporations. She just returned from Beijing and I was thrilled she had a little time to spend with me while I’m in Colorado.\n
First, let me say how gorgeous her home is. Michelle is one of the craftiest women I’ve ever known. She turned her garage into a workspace that would make Joanna Gaines green with envy. She lined the walls with corrugated tin from the roof of an old barn than blew down on her parents’ farm in Kansas. She hung windows as well as her grandparents’ front door on the walls. She turned salvaged wood into a trunk to store camping chairs in. She converted an ancient fridge into winter boot storage. There is a place for everything and I’m not kidding when I say everything is in its place.
\nWe sipped on coconut-lime “mocktails” as we nibbled on fabulous green olives she found at Costco. (Maybe she’ll see this and tell us the name of the olive. They weren’t too salty and had a nice, firm texture.) We chatted as she prepared Brussels sprouts and bacon to go with a delightful homemade chicken salad. We carried our meal out into the yard and ate at the white farm table under a string of market lights. Her obvious green thumb was apparent wherever you gazed…from the beautiful rock garden bursting with colorful flowers to the elevated stock tanks holding her vegetable gardens to get them up away from the rabbits. She built a wooden wall and hung another of her grandmother’s windows, a floral wreath, and little shutters made from chippy green painted wood that had been salvaged.
\n![\"vintage](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/7e2b9dc565.jpg\")
“Vintage suitcases house craft supplies, camping gear, and Halloween costumes.”
Everything has a story. Every antique, every gift, every piece of wood or sign or windmill fan. Michelle’s Kansas roots are proudly displayed. She has a stack of vintage suitcases, some belonging to her grandmother, on either side of the piano. She keeps Halloween costumes in one. A couple have camping gear. Several hold crafting supplies like beads and yarn. Storage in plain view that is pleasing to the eye and adds to the obvious farmy esthetic.
\nOur conversation varied from Sisters on the Fly and the inimitable Maizie Morrison, Sister #0, to “The Reel Sisters”, Michelle’s recently published debut novel depicting the lives and friendship of five women fly fishers, to her travels to exotic locales. She regaled me with stories of climbing the Great Wall of China and how the Chinese bring out the grossest foods just to see what your response will be. Michelle was one of the first Sisters on the Fly I met and we became fast friends.
\n![\"Michelle](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/b6a4532798.jpg\")
“Michelle and me…writers, campers, fly fishers, Sisters.”
As I finally pulled myself away and headed home, I had to stop at a school parking lot and snap this picture of the sunset. This is what gives Colorado her nickname…”The Colorful State”. It was a lovely evening and I hated for it to end. One week left of this trip…it’s going by too fast. ❤
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-07-18T01:30:22-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/07/18/a-gal-about-town.html", "tags": ["Colorado","Travel","Sisters on the Fly","Positive Energy","Camping","Fun"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/07/17/mile-tuneuporhow-emdr-saves-my.html", "title": "50,000 Mile Tune-Up...or...How EMDR Saves My Brain", "content_html": "
![\"EMDR](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/6e179e82e7.jpg\")
“EMDR reprograms your brain.”
“Behold, I will bring it health and cure, and I will cure them, and will reveal unto them the abundance of peace and truth.”\nJeremiah 33:6 KJV\nA little over five years ago, I sat on a stool in the corner of an emergency room and watched them do CPR on my husband. It went on FOR-EV-ER. Stop. Start. Shock. X-Ray. Start. Stop. Check. Shock. Over and over and over. I sat with my hand clasped over my mouth to keep from screaming. I wrapped my feet intricately around and through the legs of the stool to keep from jumping up and running away. My shoulders slumped...my free hand dug into my thigh so I could feel something other than horror. And all of that...all of the valiant efforts, all of the shouts for more drugs, all of the hustle and bustle and orchestrated chaos could not save him. He died in spite of the best efforts of the Western Slope’s best and brightest. He died. And I could do nothing to stop it.\n
I ran away in my camper for three months. I busied myself. I “dated” a guy which turned out to be more about putting a tourniquet around my bleeding heart than it did about “love”. It had nothing to do with love. It had everything to do with escape. Then, one sunny afternoon at a fair in the park, a gentleman standing nearby choked. Like, Heimlich Maneuver choked. And I was frozen. Instead of jumping in as I had been trained to do…as I was certified to do…a movie started playing in my head as I stood in the park. Suddenly, I was back in the ER, sitting on the stool, watching them do CPR on my husband. It went on FOR-EV-ER. I mean, I KNEW I was in the park. So why was I “seeing” this rerun?
\nThe rerun scared the crap out of me. And, I immediately associated it with a medical emergency…both my husband’s heart attack and the gentleman choking on chicken. I began to dread what might happen if there was a real emergency and I couldn’t step up to the plate. I avoided being in situations where someone could get hurt or sick or…God forbid…NEED me. I suffered wave after wave…not only of grief, but also anxiety. To the point of vomiting uncontrollably for hours. Simply put, I was a mess.
\nI went to see my doctor and asked her if she could recommend a grief counselor. And when I first talked with her, she said, “Ginny, I think you have PTSD.” She told me she wanted to do something called EMDR on me. Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing. It is THE most accepted PTSD treatment. Normally, when we experience a disturbing event, our brains process it and file it away neatly in it’s appropriate folder in our memory bank and life goes on. But, when the event is associated with trauma…like watching prolonged CPR…something happens in the filing process and the memory gets stuck. It is like a video playing on a continuous loop…over and over and over. The thought becomes intrusive…meaning, unbidden. Uncontrollable. It creates fear. And it is terribly distressing.
\nAfter the first EMDR treatment, the improvement was extraordinary. It’s non-invasive and is accomplished so simply. You sit in a comfortable chair, You conjure up the image that is giving you the most trouble…no matter how painful it is. You hang onto that thought while watching the practitioner move her finger back and forth, back and forth, back and forth across your field of vision. You follow her finger with your eyes. The rapid eye movement actually reprograms your brain. It can make the memory fade. It can change it into something else. It can process it and let it go into the file with all the other memories. And it can release you from the pain of seeing it over and over and over.
\nI really did well. My anxiety level was lower. I had few, if any, real panic attacks. I still dealt with grief waves, but not the horrifying repetitious movie starring CPR. Then, about a year and a half ago, I started having episodes of anxiety again. About once a week or so, I would spend the night sick as a dog. I couldn’t keep anything down. I began to dread going places. I began to fear medical situations again. What began slowly, started cranking up more and more and with every insult to my central nervous system, it got worse. Surgery cranked it up. The episode with my aunt with dementia cranked it up. Flying cranked it up. Being away from Mr. FixIt cranked it up. I texted my grief counselor, Karen, and told her I thought I needed an EMDR tuneup so we scheduled it to coincide with my trip this week to visit my brother.
\nAs I caught up with her yesterday, I told her about Mr. FixIt and how happy we are. We talked about all the really good, positive changes that have come into my life. Then she asked what happened a year and a half ago that started the cycle again. I told her about the car accident. She asked what it was about that that triggered me and I surprised myself by bursting into tears. I sobbed and covered my face.
\n“I thought I killed her!” I cried.
\n“Who?”
\n“The young girl in the backseat! Her head was lolled over, her face was bloodied. Her mama cradled her head in her hands and begged her to wake up. The man who was driving ran at me screaming, “You killed her! She was supposed to turn 17 this week!!!””
\nI sobbed and Karen put her hand on my knee.
\n“Oh, Ginny…that had to be terrifying.” She comforted me with her soft, caring voice. “I think that’s it. I think that is what has prodded your PTSD awake.”
\nJust like grief, you don’t get “cured” of PTSD. It can raise it’s ugly head just like unexpected waves of grief can overtake you at any given moment.
\nWe did a session of EMDR. We repeated it eight times or so. With each subsequent series of back and forth movements, it felt as though someone were turning down the volume knob like a radio in my brain. The first series resulted in me feeling immediately calmer. The second made me feel like I had taken a step back and I wasn’t sitting in the driver’s seat of the truck. I was in the back seat. The third set had me standing behind the truck. The fourth set had me even further behind the truck…like zooming out on a long camera lens. I was surprised by the fifth set. I had a flash of the young girl going to prom. The implication being…she was fine and healthy. Each subsequent set of movement took me further and further into this relaxed, soft, safe place. It is remarkable something so simple can have such a huge impact.
\nI had not cried about the accident up to that point. I had not processed, or even acknowledged, the trauma of thinking I had killed someone. Of being verbally and physically challenged by the other driver. And we all know that unprocessed trauma, like unprocessed grief…festers. It does not serve us to grit our teeth and white-knuckle our way through these episodes. From now on I will be proactive and get the help I need instead of trying to handle it on my own. I can’t tell you how much better I feel. When I got home from the mountains yesterday, my son-in-law’s dad made the observation that even my voice was different…relaxed, easy, slower. There is no shame in admitting you need help to work through something. We women think we are supposed to have it all together. I told a friend the other day that I just want to be normal. She smiled and said, “Sweetie, you ARE normal. Everybody has something they have to deal with. What you want is perfection!’ Ahhhh…she knows me well.
\nNone of us are perfect. Ask for help if you need it. Don’t try to just get by with a stiff upper lip. Just “getting though it” is no way to live. ❤
\n", "date_published": "2018-07-17T01:30:47-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/07/17/mile-tuneuporhow-emdr-saves-my.html", "tags": ["Travel","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Growth","New Ideas","Gratitude","Comfort","Wisdom","Fear","Courage","Choices","Change"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/07/15/your-difference-is-your-beauty.html", "title": "Your Difference is Your Beauty", "content_html": "![\"Meme\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/9d26193c5d.jpg\")
“Your DIFFERENCE is your BEAUTY.”“But the Lord said to Samuel, \"Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.\"”\n1 Samuel 16:7 ESV\nI came to the mountains yesterday to visit my brother and some friends one more time before I go back to West Virginia. The rest of my visit is booked with the Denver family, so this is my last trip here for a while.\n
The traffic coming out of Denver was terrible. It seems everyone and their brother had the same idea to head to the mountains for the weekend and a normally three hour trip took four-and-a-half. Seriously though, if you have to get stuck in traffic somewhere, I can think of far worse places than the middle of the Rockies. I had my praise music cranked up and sat staring at the beauty all around me and my heart was full.
\nWhen I arrived in Glenwood Springs, I turned onto 8th Avenue and the first parking spot opened up. I smiled and thought of my dad’s second wife. Whenever we drove someplace and a parking space opened right when we got there she said, “Thank you, Lord.” I did the same. I wandered around the downtown area and saw some people I have known for years, having lived in the area from 1986 to 2014. I browsed the little shops. I ran into a friend who recently lost her husband and finally got to give her that big hug I’ve been wanting to share.
\nI was looking for a dress for Mr. FixIt’s granddaughter’s wedding in August, but couldn’t find anything I liked. So I wandered down the street to one of my favorite restaurants…a little Cajun place with great jambalaya and beignets. My wait person arrived and took my order. This was a person whose gender is ill defined. Delightful, friendly, efficient, attentive and…different. I have a daughter who is outside of a binary gender identification. Her pronoun is feminine. Sometimes her look is, too. And sometimes it is not. She has always been unique.
\nAs I watched my waitperson, I thought about this small town and how difficult it was just fifteen years ago to be different than the other kids. My daughter suffered terribly at the hands of bullies. Today, I believe those kids who were marginalized in the past are being embraced more readily by their peers.
\nDelightfully stuffed, I figured in a generous tip and wrote the following on the receipt.
\n“Your difference is your beauty. I hope you have a wonderful day! ❤”
\nYou never know whose life you may touch when you are out and about. Whether you agree with a person’s lifestyle or not, always choose kindness.
\n❤
\n\n
\n", "date_published": "2018-07-15T01:30:58-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/07/15/your-difference-is-your-beauty.html", "tags": ["Faith","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Grace","Love","Wisdom","Courage","Choices"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/07/13/little-me.html", "title": "Little \u0026 Me", "content_html": "
![\"Nana](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e7407d0a24.jpg\")
“Little & Me”
“For by me your days will be multiplied, and years will be added to your life.”\nProverbs 9:11 ESV\nI make it a point to spend one-on-one time with the grandchildren when I visit them in Colorado. Little is my “maker” so yesterday we baked her daddy’s birthday cake. She “painted” on the iPad for quite a while. Then she stayed the night with me over at her paternal grandparents’ house where I stay when I am here.\n
I love the frankness of this child. She tells long tall tales but she also speaks truth that cuts to the chase. She has a way of feeling great empathy and is forever the champion of the underdog. She made me promise to take her to church while I am here. We listened to praise music as we drove around yesterday.
\nToday will be spent doing some sort of art project…not sure what yet. Tonight we celebrate several birthdays and an anniversary. I head to the mountains again this weekend for a good visit with my brother. Just about every day of the rest of my trip here is spoken for. It will be over before I know it. But, we’re making memories here, and that’s the name of the game! ❤️
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-07-13T01:30:21-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/07/13/little-me.html", "tags": ["Colorado","Family","Travel","Positive Energy","Fun","Gratitude","Love","Presence","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/06/27/its-popsicle-time.html", "title": "It’s Popsicle Time!", "content_html": "
![\"Popsicle\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/f8094cb46b.jpg\")
“There’s nothing more soothing than a Popsicle when you are recovering from surgery!”
“For I will restore health to you, and your wounds I will heal, declares the Lord...'”\nJeremiah 30:17 ESV\nI cannot remember a time in my life that didn’t include Popsicles. One of my earliest memories is my mom breaking a twin pop to share with my brother on a hot summer day. Orange was always my favorite, but grape runs a close second. Or is it cherry? I never liked banana. Other than that, it was fair game.\n
As I was recuperating from this surgery, some things became apparent to me. The last time I had surgery was in 1999 when I had my sinuses done. Not a pleasant surgery with nasal splints and sleeping sitting up in a recliner. But still, I was 46. It was a relative walk in the park. As we…ummmm, “ripen”…we don’t bounce back quite as fast as we used to. Anesthesia and 3-4 Vicodin over a 24 hour period and I was toast. The pain was well-controlled, but I just hate the feeling narcotics gives me so I switched to Tylenol. Everything was going along pretty well, except I was really tired. Then, Monday night the pain hit. A burning, stabbing pain deep in the area where the tumor was removed kept me awake all night. I finally drifted off around 5:00am and slept a couple of hours.
\nAs I lay there awake, I read the Bible, did my devotionals, caught up with everyone on Facebook, chatted with my son-in-law’s mom in the middle of the night, and Googled “pain after excisional biopsy of the breast”. It seems to be pretty normal to get to the fourth or fifth day and start feeling some pretty significant twinges in the surgical area. For one thing, all the numbing and anesthesia is completely gone. Things are starting to knit back together and that means some nerve pain as you heal. The area where my tumor was is directly behind the nipple and that is some pretty tender territory. Remember nursing? That little baby latching on with jaws of steel could send you through the roof. Imagine getting sliced and diced in that general area and no sweet baby to distract you.
\nI gave up trying to sleep and headed to town with Mr. FixIt for several errands. When we were finished, we went to the farm so he could finish mowing. I spoke with my uncle on Monday and he and my aunt (his and my mom’s sister) are coming Thursday for an overnight visit. I needed to get the house in tip top shape for company so I spent the afternoon fixing up the three beds with fresh sheets, airing out the house, and sweeping up a winter’s worth of dead Asian Lady Bugs in the upstairs bedrooms. I washed bedding and fluffed and primped everything to perfection. I’m really looking forward to them coming and staying the night. It’s my first family company since I took over the caretaking duties at the farm. This is the aunt who lived at the farm for years and it is her first visit back since she went to live with her brother. I want her to enjoy it and feel pampered.
\nI’ll make them some yummy treats for Thursday. His favorite is yellow cake with penuche frosting. Hers is butterscotch pie. I’m so excited to see them! We’ll drive up the new road behind the farm that goes out to the compressor station they are building. That might be bittersweet for them. I know it is for me.
\nAnd now, the news we have all been waiting for. I received my biopsy report yesterday. The tumor was indeed a fibroadenoma. It is the most common benign breast mass. Benign = NOT CANCER! The other day I was talking about when I was prayed over and anointed. And it turns out to be benign. I want to point out something. Yes, God can still heal. He can perform miracles. AND…there are plenty of wonderful, GOOD Christians who pray faithfully and they still get cancer. Cancer doesn’t play favorites. It doesn’t discriminate. It doesn’t care if you are rich or poor, black or white or any other color of the rainbow. It doesn’t care if you’re a Christian or a Jew or a Muslim or an atheist. It doesn’t care. Something triggers cells to multiply abnormally. It’s as simple as that. My faith tells me God can answer prayers. And sometimes…unfortunately…the answer is no and a bad diagnosis comes. It is one of the horrible thieves that rob us of life and health. I am very grateful that my (and your) prayers were answered in a positive way. Thank you so much for caring. Now I don’t have to worry about that anymore. Just rest and heal and head to Colorado in a week!!! ❤
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-06-27T01:30:05-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/06/27/its-popsicle-time.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Hope","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Peace","Wisdom","Humbled","Presence"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/06/24/let-freedom-ring.html", "title": "Let Freedom Ring!", "content_html": "
![\"Freedom](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/0683c845fb.jpg\")
“Let Freedom Ring!”
“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.”\nGalatians 5:1 ESV\nI just finished writing July’s post for the Sisters on the Fly blog. I wrote about the many freedoms we are blessed with beyond Independence Day. The audience for that blog is women campers. There is a certain reservation in my writing there as I am paid to do so. Therefore, I am somewhat constrained in my topics. I always check in with them ahead of time, find out what their theme of the month is, and write accordingly. It’s not like this blog where I speak my heart and my truth. So I’ll write the “Marshmallow Ranch” version of that blog here.\n
Independence Day. The 4th of July is coming soon. Images of family gatherings, cookouts, baseball games, fireworks. That’s what it’s all about, right? Well, yes…and no. In 1776, our forefathers of this nation set forth a document that outlined our beliefs pertaining to our independence from Great Britain. Man made laws that apparently gave us our freedom. However, we were given freedom long, long before this document was drawn up. At least…we were given the choice.
\nWe were given freedom from the weight of our past. Our sins. I am reminded of a weight I used to carry that I finally put down eighteen years ago. In the ‘80s and ‘90s, I had a problem. I was a doctor’s wife and as such, I was highly over treated medically. I was given drugs freely and when I cried out for help, I was stifled. I was given more drugs and more drugs. I took up drinking with a vengeance. I was dying as fast as I could and it wasn’t fast enough so I took two bottles of pills and almost finished the task.
\nThank God, I am a different human being now. I got the help I needed. I found the people who listened. And I got away from the situation that sent me down that path. On occasion, I get a reminder of what that life was really like. Case in point…I had surgery on Thursday and was given a narcotic pain reliever. In such a case, I will take these…reluctantly. But, let me tell you…I am EXTREMELY cautious. I do not like how they make me feel. I don’t like the fuzziness. I don’t like the disconnection from my surroundings. I hate the dry mouth and the upset stomach. And I hate the feeling I get when I stop taking them. Even just taking them for 24 hours, I feel a sinking darkness that comes over me. For the life of me, I cannot understand how I could have taken so much of this stuff back in the day. I couldn’t function. I wasn’t participating in life…in the lives of my family. It is just a sad reminder of what we all went through because a referral pattern is a terrible thing to waste. I was a doctor’s wife, after all. His colleagues had to go above and beyond. It was a brutal time.
\nI will not submit to the yoke of slavery that drugs and alcohol brought into my life. I am judicious in my choices and stand firm in that because quitting was, aside from losing Mr. Virgo, the most difficult thing I ever had to do. Not the quitting itself. I was delivered from that immediately. Navigating the devastation it left behind in my family was where I struggled. It was horrible for everyone involved. I am grateful for this new life…this healing I was given when I gave up and asked Jesus to take over. I will celebrate my Independence Day as January 6th…the day of my overdose. The day I stepped into the void and came out again. Let freedom ring! ❤
\n“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”\n2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV\n \n", "date_published": "2018-06-24T01:30:46-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/06/24/let-freedom-ring.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Wisdom","Courage","Humbled","Presence","Choices","Change"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/06/21/flying-my-kite.html", "title": "Flying My Kite", "content_html": "
![\"Flying](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/ff97c180d0.jpg\")
“God is the tail of my kite…He anchors me.”
“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”\nHebrews 11:1 KJV\nWhen I was a little girl, my daddy always brought me a paper kite at the beginning of summer vacation. It was in a long, narrow plastic sleeve. You got two flat sticks, one long...one shorter...with slots cut in each end. You got a sheet of thin paper and some string. You fastened the two sticks in a cross shape first. Then you stretched your string around from end to end of the sticks, making a kite-shaped frame. You laid the frame on the paper and folded the edges over the string and glued them closed. Once the glue was dried, you attached string loosely from top to bottom and from side to side so you had something to attach the kite to the kite string with. The last thing you did was affix a tail. They didn’t give you this. You usually used some scrap material you had handy. You tore the material into two or three long strips about an inch wide. You cut one or two of the long strips into shorter pieces...maybe 4-5” long. These you tied every 6 inches or so down the long strip. Then you attached that long strip to the bottom of your kite and it became the tail.\n
Have you ever tried to fly a kite without a tail? You can’t. The wind picks it up then it goes around and around in frantic circles until it crashes down to the ground. My dad taught me you had to have an anchor so your kite would fly high and true.
\nLife is like that, isn’t it? You need something to anchor you in life or you just go around and around in circles. I spent a lot of my life unanchored. I crashed and crashed and crashed…over and over. I have heard it said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting different results.” If this is true, how many of us are “insane”?
\nThe secret to flying a kite successfully is letting go. You send the kite up in the air till the wind catches it, then you hold on to this little, tiny string. Not too tight…not too loose. You let the string out as the wind lifts the kite higher and higher. The anchor kept the kite upright and steady.
\nIn my life, I found the only logical thing to do was to make God my anchor. It was He who was the most reliable. He wasn’t going anywhere. I had to participate. I had to hold the string and keep a watch on it as best I could. I had to do what I could to steer it from hazards like trees and electrical wires. I had to learn when to let it out, and when to reel it back. But, I had to let go of the tail. I had to let God do His thing so I could fly high and strong.
\nToday, I am having surgery. It’s not big deal, really. It’s called a “wire-guided excisional biopsy of the right breast”. This lump will be removed and sent to the lab where it will be prepared and observed under a microscope. The pathologist will review the slides and a diagnosis will be given. I am firmly convinced it is benign and we are just exercising an abundance of caution. That being said, no surgery is without risks and I will be getting general anesthesia. I’m not worried though. Because…I understand the risks, I have confidence in my doctors, and I have a really strong tail on my kite. God has this. If it’s good news…awesome. I’m done with it and can get on with my life. If it’s bad news, then God will use whatever comes my way to teach me, mold me, humble me, and remind me to come to Him when things are hard. It really is that simple.
\nI know this because I have faith. ❤
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-06-21T01:30:13-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/06/21/flying-my-kite.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","God","Peace","Wisdom","Presence","Choices"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/06/20/the-infamous-blueberry-harvest.html", "title": "The Infamous Blueberry Harvest", "content_html": "
![\"Blueberry](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/238d96e0be.jpg\")
“The blueberry bush on The Ponderosa.”
“Make no mistake about this: You can never make a fool out of God. Whatever you plant is what you’ll harvest.”\nGalatians 6:7 GW\nMr. FixIt has a blueberry bush. I’ve never raised blueberries, nor have I seen a blueberry bush. But, he has one and he’s darned proud of that thing. He’s been babying it for years. He had a cage around it to keep the birds and deer away from his beloved blueberries, but over time, the wood rotted and the gizmo collapsed over the winter. This spring, Mr. FixIt (who happens to be a mechanical engineer) drew up plans for a fool proof contraption to replace it. He decided to use PVC pipe, which is brilliant. It won’t rot or get termites. He took off for the hardware store and came back with everything he needed, including bird netting to put around the whole thing. Sixty-five dollars later, he had this impressive cage build and anchored to the ground. There was NOTHING going to ruin his berry harvest this year.\n
The first day I came home and saw this thing out in the field, it vaguely resembled a teeny-tiny batting cage. It really stood out with the stark white of the PVC against the lush green backdrop. So, Mr. FixIt went back to the hardware store for green paint for camouflage. It turned out to be John Deere green, but it was a darn sight better than it was before.
\nWe have checked this little bush every week and were thrilled to see the first green berries begin to form. Finally, yesterday…Mr. FixIt announce it was time to harvest the berries! He asked if I wanted to come along and being that I am ever watchful for blog-worthy moments, I trotted along behind him with my camera. He carried the mixing pitcher that I use for making pancakes. I was excited. I bought pie crusts in anticipation.
\n![\"Blueberries\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/71dd117bfa.jpg\")
“Fat blueberries, ready to harvest!”
With great fanfare, Mr. FixIt carefully lifted the cage off the bush so he wouldn’t knock off any berries, and we set to picking. Well…HE set to picking. I documented the event for posterity. He finished and I peeked into the pitcher. There were forty-nine berries. Well, there were fifty, but one was under-ripe so we tossed it. I pulled out my phone and brought up the calculator. $65.00 for the PVC contraption. $5.00 for the paint. 49 berries. That comes out to $1.53 per berry. Not bad. It reminds me of the Great Tomato Harvest of 2010.
\n![\"Blueberries\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/213b6cabf8.jpg\")
“The Great Blueberry Harvest of 2018!”
Mr. Virgo and I decided we wanted to grow tomatoes. We saw those Topsy-Turvy hanging baskets for growing tomatoes and decided that was the perfect thing for the patio of our rental home in Denver. I bought two of them, because…after all…the commercial showed a huge bumper crop and I’m picturing making salsa! I bought two really big tomato plants because Colorado has such a short growing season and I needed a head start. Add a bag of topsoil and you’ve got $75.00 invested in this little gardening project.
\nMy first problem was trying to plant the tomatoes in the containers. The gigantic root ball would not fit in the small opening in the bottom of the Topsy-Turvy thingy so I had to squeeze and mash the roots up to get it to go through. I filled the container with top solid from the top…about a half bag each. Then I hung the whole shebang from two “S” hooks at the edge of the covered patio. I dragged the hose over and gave them a good soaking and went in the house. When Mr. Virgo got home, I told him to go out and look at my handiwork and he called for me to join him. Apparently, when you add multiple gallons of water to half a bag of topsoil and a tomato plant, things get pretty heavy. The “S” hook stretched out and both the plants and the containers were now lying in a muddy mess on the patio.
\nI picked up the first one and the plant had broken clean off at the roots and wasn’t salvageable. I picked up the second one and half-dragged it out to the old swingset where I wired it up so it wouldn’t fall again. I babied that thing all summer and by the first frost I had….one tomato. My $75 tomato. I could relate to Mr. FixIt’s disappointment.
\nWith thoughts of warm blueberry cobbler and ice cream dissolving right in front of me, I assured Mr. FixIt his berries would taste delicious over our cereal and we will revel in their sweetness. And, we still have a really sturdy blueberry cage to protect NEXT year’s bumper crop! ❤
\n![\"Blueberries](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/bbbb2d0daa.jpg\")
“What it lacked in volume, it made up for in flavor!”
![\"Watermelon\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/a171132158.jpg\")
“My all time favorite summer thing…watermelon!”
“The LORD is responsible for this, and it is amazing for us to see. This is the day the LORD has made. Let’s rejoice and be glad today!”\nPsalms 118:23-24 GW\n#1. Watermelon! OMGosh! When I was pregnant with Daughter #2, I craved watermelon....in January. It’s hard to find good watermelon in the winter but when I did...it was heavenly. I keep looking for the sweetest, juiciest watermelon every year and I have to say, I only get it about two or three times all season. So much of the food I love doesn’t taste like it used to. Partially due to aging taste buds. But I think all this genetic engineering and hybrids have ruined the flavor of so many foods.\n
#2. Hard rains in the late afternoon leaving the evenings cool and breezy. The added bonus of fog clinging to the hillsides is divine. This was Sunday evening. A perfect ending to Father’s Day…playing in the field with Mr. FixIt’s son and one of his grandchildren.
\n#3. Camping. I really love being able to just pull up stakes and head for the hills. I’m hoping to get my little ‘67 Franklin fixed up by next summer so those quick getaways are easier.
\n#4. Visiting my Colorado family. I miss the kids so much. The bigs and the littles. And my brother and friends. It’s hard to be away from them. I’ve never gone this long without seeing them that I can remember. I’ll head west on the Fourth of July!
\n#5. Floating in the pool. I’ve never had a pool. I’ve had a couple of hot tubs, but that’s totally different. Mr. FixIt has a pool and on days when the heat index has been particularly high, going out there with a cold beverage just after the sun goes over the far ridge is truly divine. We stay out till dark, floating and talking and solving the world’s problems. I will miss this when the snow flies. (The water was 89 degrees. It felt like a bathtub, but it was wet!)
\n#6. Sitting on the front porch. Mr. FixIt bought me a rocking chair for my birthday. We went back and got a second one so we can set up the front porch now. The porch is covered and there’s nothing like sitting out on a porch while it’s raining in the summertime.
\n#7. Cookouts. We have only had a couple of cookouts this summer and I am hoping to have more soon. We both love to entertain.
\n#8. Sleeping with the window open. I sleep with the window open year round, even if it’s just cracked a little bit. I need the air. I love hearing the night sounds…crickets, frogs, the whippoorwill, the occasional fox barking or deer snorting.
\n#9. The lush, lush green of summer foliage. West Virginia looks like a jungle about now. My grandma used to say every summer at this time…”We are knee deep in June!” And we are. The garden, the flowers, the shade trees, the thick grass…all heavenly to me.
\n#10. Sun-dried sheets. If you have never had the joy of sleeping on sun-dried sheets, you are honestly missing one of the best things about summer. Nothing smells as good as sheets that have dried in the wind. The summer sun seems to kill any latent bacteria that may be lingering in the fibers and bleaches white sheets till they shine.
\nThe earth holds you close this time of year. The heat, the humidity, the lush green, the smell of freshly cut grass and hay fields, the sweet smell of honeysuckle on a cool evening breeze, the crisp sweetness of summer’s freshest fruit, the feel of clean sheets on dewy skin, the kiss of sun on your face, the splash of freckles across your nose, the wind in your hair driving with the window open, the shock of walking from sweltering heat into air conditioning, the taste of a cold beverage after mowing, the feel of the ground on your bare feet, the sense of adventure when you travel, the crackle of a campfire, the hoot of an owl in the woods nearby. Grief takes all these things away from you. And…one by one…they ease back into your life with an intensity you never noticed before. You never take them for granted again once they return. Summer is truly deep and rich and good. ❤️
\n![\"Fog](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/8422d911bd.jpg\")
“I love how the fog clings to the hills after a hard rain cools us down.”
\n
\n", "date_published": "2018-06-19T01:30:08-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/06/19/knee-deep-in-june-my.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","West Virginia","Gratitude","Grace","Love","Peace","Presence"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/06/18/sunday-wanderings.html", "title": "Sunday Wanderings", "content_html": "
![\"Bedding](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/c45713b6a1.jpg\")
“Zucchini and straightneck yellow squash for the garden.”
\n
“Whatever has happened before will happen ⌊again⌋. Whatever has been done before will be done ⌊again⌋. There is nothing new under the sun.”\nEcclesiastes 1:9 GW\nAfter church and our weekly breakfast out yesterday, we headed to Rural King to look for some more zucchini and yellow squash seeds. For some reason, ours did not germinate. We looked all over that store and couldn’t find any seeds. It was impossible for their vast selection to have been sold so we asked the manager. Turns out, they keep their seed displays only to a certain date, then they donate them to FFA (Future Farmers of America), FHA (Future Homemakers of America), and 4H. I think that’s wonderful, but it left me without zucchini and squash. I have these really great pickles I make with them. You know when you let zucchini and squash get ahead of you and you end up with some really BIG squash that could be mistaken for the Goodyear Blimp? Those squash. You cut them in half, scoop out the pithy, seedy part, and cut the rest into half-inch cubes. Cut onions the same way. Using any typical recipe for bread and butter pickles, mix the green zucchini, yellow squash, and onions with the pickling mixture and process them the same way. OMGosh! I could eat a whole jar of those with a fork!\n
![\"Tomato](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/c421211135.jpg\")
“The tomatoes are growing like crazy!”
As we left Rural King, Mr. FixIt noticed the bedding plants were on sale. We bought some zucchini and straightneck squash plants…score! Now we will have our pickles.
\n![\"Rain](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/580033d6a1.jpg\")
“Comparing rain gauges.”
The tomatoes are doing really well in the garden, but only half of the beans germinated. It makes me wonder if there is something in the soil that is doing that. I’ll have to investigate that further. Every week we are having to tie up more of the tomato vines and we are getting a good crop of tomatoes setting on with lots of blooms.
\n![\"Rabbits\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/162bdf4d73.jpg\")
“A herd of bunnies in the side yard.”
Our big mystery yesterday was trying to figure out the size difference in rain gauges. The one out at the farm measures five inches of rain. It is slightly smaller that the one on the right in this picture. We bought one for The Ponderosa a couple of weeks ago that is more like the one on the left, except…the one we bought only measures 1.5” while this one measures 5”…the same as the big one. We puzzled over this for quite some time when Mr. FixIt’s son came over to visit his dad for Father’s Day. Turns out, the measurement corresponds to the size of the funnel at the top. The one on the right is probably around 5” while the one on the left has none. The one at the house is only 3”. I have no idea the formula that is used to determine exactly how much rain is in the gauge. I could Google it. And, maybe I will…one of these days when it’s winter and I have nothing more pressing to do.
\nAs I was writing this, I could hear the red fox out in the far field at the edge of the woods. Maybe he will have rabbit for dinner. Country living is not for the faint of heart. I love seeing the bunnies but they eat my garden and I hate the idea of the fox getting them. But this is nature here. ❤️
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-06-18T01:30:39-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/06/18/sunday-wanderings.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","West Virginia","Presence"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/06/16/world-wide-knit-in-public.html", "title": "World Wide Knit in Public Day", "content_html": "
![\"Knit](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/8e1cc77837.jpg\")
It’s World Wide Knit in Public Day!”
“It was you who set all the boundaries of the earth; you made both summer and winter.”\nPsalm 74:17 NIV\nWow...there’s a day for everything, isn’t there? I’m going to take my knitting with me and knit in the historic hotel lounge where we meet once a month. Maybe I’ll get my friends interested in knitting!\n
I was sitting on the front porch knitting yesterday when I heard a loud noise in the driveway. A flat, wet sound I was unfamiliar with. I looked over and Kitty Boy seemed to be really interested in something there. I went over to inspect his find and here was this tree frog. I’m not at all sure if this was what we call a “peeper”, because he sounded more like he was making objectionable gassy sounds to me. Anyway, I chased off the kitty and scooted that fat boy up into the woods where he belonged. Hopefully Kitty Boy will forget where he left him.
\nThere is so much work that needs to be done at the farm this summer. Mr. FixIt mowed the back half of the yard for me yesterday morning before he headed home. I stayed and cleaned and did laundry and knitted and saved frogs. I should go out and clear brush and trim prickly vines, but that didn’t sound at all appealing to me so I took a nap instead.
\nI bought my ticket for Colorado yesterday, as well. You’ll be traveling with me again soon! The price of gas is outrageous so I decided to fly this year. I’ve been shopping for a good deal and I was getting kind of worried that it was getting too close to the trip to find one. But, lo and behold, I went on Kayak and found a fare on Frontier for $204!!! Of course, that’s without luggage or seat selection. I did buy the trip insurance, which I always do. That brought it up to $223. It would cost $90 to choose my seat. It’s a non stop flight. I don’t need to choose a seat…I’ll sit anywhere. As far as luggage goes, for the amount of money they charge to take bags, I’ll just go to Walmart and buy some shorts and shirts and leave them there. All I need to carry is my medicine, my wallet, and my knitting. Light weight travel. I’ve never done this. It ought to be interesting! I’ll let you know how it works. ❤
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-06-16T01:30:04-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/06/16/world-wide-knit-in-public.html", "tags": ["Travel","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","Peace","Presence"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/06/12/the-long-way-round.html", "title": "The Long Way ‘Round", "content_html": "
![\"Church](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/48bd48c216.jpg\")
“This is how we party…lifting up the name of Jesus!”
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!”\n2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV\nI was so tired Sunday night and didn’t write a post because I went to church twice and spent the afternoon with family. Sunday night, our church celebrated it’s third birthday. They started out with a little over a hundred people and met in an area restaurant. Now there are four services every Sunday and well over 2,000 people who attend. That kind of growth in a church today is unusual. The forward-thinking pastors of our church were given a vision of creating a different kind of church. One where everyone would be welcome. A come-as-you-are kind of place. A church home that greets you at the door with high-fives and holding up signs in the parking lot with messages like “You made it!” and “Come sit with us!”\n
The Sunday evening service was a true celebration and the volunteers were honored for all their hard work. There was an extended worship and the praise team plays this one song that really gets people up and excited. “This is How We Party” by Equippers Revolution is upbeat and fun and lifts up the name of Jesus. Everyone in the place was up on their feet dancing and joyous, arms stretched up, praising. We ended by taking Communion. I get chill-bumps when I go there.
\nI had never been to a church like this before. Most of the sermons I ever sat through as a kid had me counting the moments before it was time to get the heck out of there. Therefore, as an adult, I went as far away from Christianity as I could get. I started going to a contemporary church service with my dear friends Bob and Ellie when I became a Christian. There is a particular church in Denver I love as well. But I was concerned when I moved to West Virginia. I wasn’t sure I would find the kind of church I had become accustomed to. And it took a while. I church shopped for over a year before I found this one. I literally stumbled upon it. Or was I led? More likely the latter.
\nI jumped and danced so much Sunday, I was exhausted. But exhilarated. Too many churches are dying because they do not appeal to the younger generations. This church has a vibrant, well-attended youth ministry. A large portion of the building is dedicated to children’s classes. This is the first time in my life that I have looked forward to going to church every Sunday. I really, really miss it if we can’t get there. I love that church is fun. That I can celebrate my relationship with Jesus surrounded by a loving, supportive church family. I love that every single weekend, the message speaks to me personally. I feel the Holy Spirit move there.
\nI think of my grandparents and the little white church on the hill. These services aren’t anything like theirs. They truly wouldn’t understand what was happening. You never danced and shouted in church back then save for the occasional well-placed “Amen!” Even with all that, I think my grandma would be so happy that I have become a Christian. I came to Jesus the long way ‘round. I wish she could see the woman I’ve become. My mom, too. I’ll see them someday and tell them all about it. ❤
\n", "date_published": "2018-06-12T01:30:07-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/06/12/the-long-way-round.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","West Virginia","Grace","God"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/06/08/big-a-steak-day.html", "title": "Big A** Steak Day!", "content_html": "![\"Big](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/5d2ef89c7b.jpg\")
“That is one BIG steak!”
My friend Deneene is having her estate sale this weekend. Then it won’t be long before she packs up a U-Haul and heads south to live. I met her through my blog. She was a fairly new widow at the time and when I found out she was local, I invited her to coffee. Dee is one of those people you run into that becomes your instant, lifelong friend. I am going to miss her terribly, but this means I have yet another place to go visit!
\n![\"Big](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/65bdb2676e.jpg\")
“I could only eat a third of it!”
Dee is one of a handful of people who are so kind as to contact me early in the mornings to tell me if there is a typo or grammatical error in one of my posts. Oh…I SO appreciate that because I am a stickler for good spelling and grammar. She texted yesterday morning to point out a little something and we had our usual 5-10 minute conversation to catch up. She asked if I was free for lunch. She and her friend Julie were going to meet at the Polo Club for “Big A** Steak Day”. I laughed and said, “Wow…you AND a big a** steak? Blog fodder!”
\nBASD is legendary in these parts. They serve it every day, of course. But on Thursdays, it’s $10 cheaper! Twenty-one ounces of ribeye. Holy Cats! In a strictly food critic way, it was really fatty. But, then again, ribeye is a fatty meat. It’s what gives it flavor and tenderness. I’ve got to tell you…I ate about a third of it and brought the rest home. It was SO good!
\n![\"Yurt](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/ccf266470c.jpg\")
“What fun it would be to glamp this thing up!”
After lunch I stopped at Walmart to pick something up and saw this really cute “yurt tent”. I could see so many possibilities with this thing being glamped out. I’ve been told by others since sharing this on my FB page, the reviews aren’t very good. But it’s cute as a bug.
\n![\"Buck\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/0e3254edc4.jpg\")
“A young buck out on the lawn.”
Once I got home yesterday, it was time to get out in the yard and get some things done. Trimming low hanging branches that threaten to knock me off the riding mower were my first priority. Then I tied up the tomato plants as they have grown tremendously. We sprinkled rabbit repellent around the garden so we’ll see if that keeps the little critters away from the beans and squash we just planted. I caught this deer wandering through the yard. I was thrilled to see it is a young buck. See the little nubbins above his eyes? Those are his antlers budding up. I’ll keep a close eye out for this guy as he grows to see how big his antlers get.
\nSpending time with friends, time in the yard and garden, time watching nature, and time with Mr. FixIt made for a really nice day. The weather is back to normal and the day was pretty. We will need several more hot days to warm the pool back up. It got down to 75 degrees with all those cold nights…too cold for me to swim.
\nEnjoy your Friday! Anyone going on a road trip or camping??? I’d love to get out there and camp somewhere soon! ❤️
\n“Let the heavens rejoice, let the earth be glad; let the sea resound, and all that is in it. Let the fields be jubilant, and everything in them; let all the trees of the forest sing for joy.”\nPsalm 96:11-12 NIV
\n#steak, #glamping, #nature
\n", "date_published": "2018-06-08T01:30:43-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/06/08/big-a-steak-day.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","Camping","Fun","West Virginia","Presence"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/06/01/hello-june.html", "title": "Hello, June!!!", "content_html": "![\"Hello,](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/3f866b1ba4.jpg\")
“Hello, June!!!”
Seriously, how does time go so fast?
\nAnd, so…S-L-O-W!
\nLet me explain. Today…I start Medicare! What??? I didn’t think it would EVER get here. And, at the same time, I learned to drive, like…yesterday, right? All week I’ve been in awe of this moment. This is such a monumental event. Ok, getting married is a monumental event. Having a baby is a monumental event. Changing insurance plans isn’t really that big of a deal. But it is, you know?
\nSometimes ideas have to stew around in my head for a few days before I can articulate them. I just have to sit tight and feel the feelings till the thought bubbles up like a spring coming up from deep within the earth. This idea of going on Medicare…turning sixty-five…is an accomplishment. One not everyone gets to enjoy. Mr. Virgo died at sixty-two. He didn’t get Medicare. He didn’t get to retire. I’ve lived three years longer than he did. There was a time when I didn’t believe I would live this long. And, here I am.
\nI get to go on Medicare. I get to go to Florida in a couple of weeks. I get to see my Colorado family in July. I get to have some medical procedures in the next few weeks that some people can’t afford. I get to spend my time with a really sweet, kind, caring man who loves me more than anything…and I get to love him right back. I’ve gained more family members through Mr. FixIt. I get to live in West Virginia. I am truly, truly blessed. I know this.
\nYesterday was spent cleaning and shampooing the carpets in the basement. A perfect day for working down there since it was so hot and humid out. We had a brief downpour that did nothing but make the air hot and sticky. After we were finished with our chores, we went out in the pool and cleaned some more (pools are high maintenance) and only came in when we heard some thunder. That storm missed us.
\nA good day working and playing. Yet, I still can’t get over it. Medicare.
\nHow did this happen? ❤️
\n“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.”\n2 Corinthians 4:16 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-06-01T01:30:54-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/06/01/hello-june.html", "tags": ["Family","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","Peace","Aging","Change"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/05/31/the-power-of-words.html", "title": "The Power of Words", "content_html": "
![\"Shhhhhhhh\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/286bc98eb3.jpg\")
“Shhhhhh…..”
Events of the last couple of years, and certainly the last week, have demonstrated the absolute destructive power of the spoken word. Caution…I am NOT discussing politics here nor specific individuals or what has been said. What I’m talking about is society’s shift toward having no filter whatsoever. My elderly aunt once said something to me that was downright mean-spirited. When she was done, I just looked at her calmly and said, “You know, that was very mean.” She said, “Yeah, well…it popped into my head so I figured I might as well say it!” Ok…she’s 84 with declining mental faculties. I can forgive that. But some of the things I hear these days makes me want to hold my hands over my ears and go screaming into the night.
\nYesterday, one of the news channels out of Denver that I still follow was airing a live video feed of a cow elk in labor and attempting to give birth. It was pretty boring, actually. I mean…how long can to sit and stare at a cow elk laying down, standing up, laying down, standing up, pushing, laying down…you get the picture. There was no “happy ending” coming anytime soon and there had already been sixteen hours of this. I soon bored of watching the elk who was desperately trying to become a mama and started reading the comments people were making.
\nI was appalled. What started out innocently enough, ie “Oh, no! Is the mama cow in trouble? This has been going on a long time!” to “You stupid ******* idiot, it’s an elk, not a cow!” to “Veal comes from a boy calf who gets ripped from his mama and kept in the dark and fed only milk.” to “YOU’RE the ******* cow, *****!” Holy cats! It took five minutes to go south. People seem to be of the opinion, like my elderly, slightly dotty aunt, that if it pops in your head, you might as well say it.
\nPeople who have seen great commercial success have seen their empires crumble for saying abhorrent things. Men have lost their careers and everything they have built because of things they said. I am NOT standing up for those men who are truly deserving of retribution and I totally think you need to be held accountable for the things that come out of your mouth. But, you have to ask yourself, what would keep a disgruntled employee or associate from claiming such abuse when the accused is actually innocent. You know it happens.
\nWhen is it ok to be a racist? The answer is…never. When is it ok to be anti Semitic? The answer is…never. When is it ok to be homophobic and denigrate someone on social media for their sexual preference? The answer is…never. Liberals, conservatives, gay, straight, black, white, and every shade in between…we’re all the same inside. We all bleed red and breathe oxygen. The thing is…I don’t think of it as being “politically correct.” I think of it as being a decent human being with good character. God tells us in the Bible that the tongue has incredible power. We can bring blessings or curses…life or death…light or darkness. All with a muscle the size of a small banana.
\nSuch power words have. Lifelong scars can happen in an instant. Broken promises. Little white lies. Great big lies. Gossip. Slander. Such damage that can be done without thinking. We see it over and over. You’d think they’d learn, wouldn’t you?
\nProverb 10:19 says…”Sin is not ended by multiplying words, but the prudent hold their tongues.” Proverbs 15:4 says “The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.” Matthew 15:11 says…”What goes into someone’s mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them.” The Bible warns over and over and over to hold your tongue. Watch your words. I am as guilty as anyone for speaking before thinking…far too many times. But age and maturity and God’s grace is going far toward helping me keep a rein in on my tongue. And what I miss, God forgives me when I am truly repentant. I hope the next generation learns this. I hope they learn the delicate art of speaking gently. ❤
\n“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”\nEphesians 4:29 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-05-31T01:30:32-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/05/31/the-power-of-words.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Growth","Grace","God","Peace","Wisdom","Anger","Courage","Choices"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/05/25/things-that-make-me-go.html", "title": "Things That Make Me Go Ahhhhhhh", "content_html": "
![\"Country](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/a16a8a72cb.jpg\")
“There’s nothing like a freshly mown lawn!”
After getting through the initial stage of acute grief, I soon discovered there were two things that eased my broken heart. One was camping with the Girl Campers and sisters on the Fly. The other was working outdoors.. Oh, when I first sold my house, I was absolutely convinced I would never mow another lawn, but that is certainly NOT the case! This farm house has about the same amount of back yard as you see here in the front. And there isn’t a
\n![\"Rain](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/7598f7bf03.jpg\")
“Rain gauge reads 4.25 inches!”
riding mower here like there is at Mr. FixIt’s five acres. It was hovering around eighty degrees yesterday when we headed to the farm. I knew it was going to really need mowing. It’s been nine days since it was mowed last. In those nine days, it rained 4.25 inches. That grass was high…and wet! We took turns mowing and cooling off. It went a lot faster with two of us. Between laundry and the mowing, we were still there over four hours.
\n![\"Rhododendron\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/099c244627.jpg\")
“Rhododendron”
![\"Peonies\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/7d4a899d43.jpg\")
“My favorite…peonies!”
When we were finished at the farm, we took the weed eater to the cemetery and cleaned up the graves and decorated them for Memorial Day. They looked so nice when we were done. We brought the weed eater back to the farm and I went for a walk about to take pictures for you. I almost missed the rhododendron this year. They only last a few days and they are just a bit past their prime but still lovely. The ferns are vibrant green, carpeting the forest floor and hillsides. The peonies were Grandma’s pride and joy. I remember her walking me around the yard and cupping each delicate flower in her well-worn hands and smiling. She knew they were gifts from God, each and every one. She never had bird feeders when she lived here. I think she would have loved them. Mr. FixIt filled them for me. We fed the farm cats and I called them in. Boy Cat came on a run to see me. That always makes me smile.
\n![\"Peonies](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/cf20154272.jpg\")
“Grandma’s peonies.”
![\"Fern\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/8c60c8f009.jpg\")
“Fern”
When we got back to the Ponderosa, I hopped on the riding mower and finished the last half of the lawn while Mr. FixIt made supper. We had a water main break a mile or so down the road yesterday morning so we are on a boil advisory. I told Mr. FixIt it would be a cold day in you know where before I would ever drink that water…it was muddy and boiling doesn’t fix that. That’s what we have bottled water for.
\n![\"Clematis\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/ad9d2d8f2c.jpg\")
“Clematis”
These are the days that warm my heart and heal it even more. These are the days I long for in the depths of January. These days are treasures and I cherish them. I am so deeply grateful for every gift God has given me. ❤
\n\n
\n
“Heal me, Lord, and I will be healed; save me and I will be saved, for you are the one I praise.”\nJeremiah 17:14 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-05-25T01:30:25-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/05/25/things-that-make-me-go.html", "tags": ["Grief","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","Growth","Gratitude"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/05/19/sssssnake.html", "title": "S-s-s-s-snake!", "content_html": "
![\"Baby](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/815bc8b7f0.jpg\")
“Baby Water Snake”
The first time I remember holding a snake was back-to-school night in seventh grade. Mom walked into the science lab and I went straight for the aquarium that held a tiny blue racer. Much to my mother’s horror, I picked up the wiggly little critter and let it slither around my fingers and hands. I laughed at my mom’s squeals of horror as I held the snake closer so she could see. Poor mom. I deviled the heck out of her at every opportunity, I’m afraid.
\nSnakes have never bothered me, really. I don’t particularly like being startled by them, but if I know they’re there, and I’m assured they are not poisonous, I have no real problem with them. I remember going to my cousin’s girls’ band concert once. As I drove into the parking lot there were several women standing around, bouncing from leg to leg and screaming. I parked and came over to see what was going on. There was a huge black snake between them and the school. I reached down, picked it up by the tail and carried it over to the edge of the woods. The screamers looked at me sideways as though I were some sort of witch to be steered clear of.
\nGrandma always taught me to carry a hoe with me to kill snakes in the garden or when wandering around the farm. When Hubby #2 and I went on a twenty mile backpack trip up Spruce Knob back in the late ‘70s, she loaned us two hoes to carry with us as we hiked so we would not only have something to kill any errant timber rattler, but also have a hiking stick. I’d love to know what the other hikers on the trail thought of these two greenhorns with the hoes and the WAY overpacked backpacks. I think Grandma laughed for a month at our expense.
\nIt’s always fun when the naturalist shows up at the campground to give a little nature lesson to the Girl Campers. Yesterday, Mike showed up with a baby water snake he had found during the stream stomp earlier in the day. He also was helpful in identifying a particular beetle that is detrimental to the trees in the area. It needs to be reported so the woods can be monitored. A tree fell across the road during the night and had to be removed early yesterday morning. Later in the day, the maintenance crew came in and cleared the ditches along the road and removed another dead tree that was in danger of falling across the road.
\nMr. FixIt arrives today…can’t wait to see him! The girls are all looking forward to his arrival, as well. He’s a favorite around here. ❤
\n“On the glorious splendor of your majesty, and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.”\nPsalms 145:5 ESV
\n", "date_published": "2018-05-19T01:30:19-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/05/19/sssssnake.html", "tags": ["Travel","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","Fun","Growth","goRVing","Courage","Presence","Girl Camper","Girl Campers"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/05/16/im-walkin-on-sunshine.html", "title": "I’m Walkin’ on Sunshine", "content_html": "![\"Coffee](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/3dde8e3c8d.jpg\")
“Sitting in the morning sun, coffee in hand, Country Living Magazine…birds and roosters entertaining me. It’s a beautiful life!”
One of summer’s delights in the east…a warm morning spent outside reading and sipping my morning coffee. We’ve hit the summer thunderboomer circuit early this year here in West Virginia. The skies are brilliantly clear in the morning. The humidity is high from the rain the afternoon before. The temperature soars by noon and the thunderclouds begin to build till they boil over. Thunder, lightning, hail, high winds all can play havoc with your plans.
\nMowing seems to be the big thing around here in the summer. I have to say, I did not miss lawn care and home maintenance in the years I traveled and lived in TOW-Wanda. It was a welcome break. But now that I have the chance to dive into the great outdoors and get dirty and sweaty, I have to admit, it beats going to a gym any day of the week.
\nI mowed with the self-propelled push mower at the farm yesterday. What a workout! The yard is well over an acre, the temperature in the high eighties, the humidity sticky and thick. With my propensity towards heat exhaustion, I only mowed 15-20 minutes at a time, then took a break to rehydrate and lay in front of the fan. At that rate, it took me five hours to complete. It’s so beautiful when it’s finished. I took a few moments to just wander around and enjoy the surroundings. The rhododendron is just about to burst into bloom, as are the irises and peonies. The farm cats lazed around beneath the Rose of Sharon and the huge hydrangea bush along the creek. While the flowering quince is fading, the spice bush is in full bloom. I love this time of year.
\nWe are getting things geared up here at the Ponderosa to prepare for a summer of entertaining. Mr. FixIt has been working in the pool to get it open. We still need to pressure wash the deck but will wait for a dry spell. I’m heading out today for another road trip. This time I’ll be camping with the Girl Campers at a State Park in Ohio for a week. It’s a Mister Sister event so my mister will be joining me this weekend. I love camping with the girls! This year, our hostess…my dear friend Gail…is going to teach me to spin wool for sock yarn. I’ll have time to sit and knit on my socks and finally read my friend Michelle Cummins’ new book, The Reel Sisters. Peace and quiet in the beautiful woods surrounding one of my favorite campgrounds.
\nAs I sit here on the deck in the warm sunshine, a nice breeze blowing, listening to the rooster down the road, reading Country Living Magazine…my heart is overflowing with the blessings of my life. I’m such a far cry from the early days of my grief. The contrast is startling. The heart can mend itself…scarred, certainly. But infinitely full of hope. ❤️
\n“So I rejoice, and I am glad. Even my body has hope.”\nPsalms 16:9 INternational Children’s Bible
\n", "date_published": "2018-05-16T06:39:50-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/05/16/im-walkin-on-sunshine.html", "tags": ["Faith","Travel","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","Camping","West Virginia","The Farm","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Peace","Wisdom","Humbled","Presence","Girl Camper","Girl Campers","Choices","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/05/13/still-praying-together.html", "title": "Still Praying Together", "content_html": "![\"Good](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/391faf0dc2.jpg\")
“My good friend, Lisa and me.”
It was the fall of 1960 when I met Lisa. We were in second grade together in Mrs. Alexander’s room. It depends who you talk to. Some say Mrs. Alexander was a sweetheart. Others…not so much. She seemed to have one student every year that was on her black list. Nothing you could do would please her if you were on her dark side…and that is the unenviable position I found myself in during second grade.
\nShe made me nervous. And when I get nervous, I can’t eat. Every day I would try to eat my lunch because every day she saved my lunch tray to show my mom that I wasn’t eating. I always felt like I was in trouble. Mom took me to the doctor and he gave me a “tonic” that I took a spoonful of every day. Together, they decided Mom should pack my lunch. Maybe it was just the school food I didn’t like. But that wasn’t it. Even when I had my favorite foods in my cute little plaid lunch box, I just could not eat.
\nOne day, before lunch, I was standing in line to wash my hands in the bathroom. My stomach was churning and I knew I was going to have trouble eating. I was praying under my breath, when the little girl in front of me turned around and looked me straight in the eye. It was Lisa.
\n“Are you praying?” she asked.
\nI silently nodded my head and cast my eyes downward…ashamed to be in such a dire circumstance.
\n“What are you praying about?”
\n“Mrs. Alexander scares me and I can’t eat. Every day I get in trouble because I don’t eat my lunch. She even took me to the office and the Principal spanked me!” My words tumbled over each other as I confessed my self-perceived weakness.
\n“Well, here…I’ll pray with you.” Lisa wrapped her arm around my shoulder and hugged me close and we both prayed that I could eat again and that Mrs. Alexander would leave me alone.
\nI was stunned by her kindness. I was relieved beyond words. Someone cared. Someone understood me. Someone wanted to help me. And…it was a little girl I didn’t know. I instantly loved her.
\nAmazingly, that is the last time I remember the whole lunch fiasco. I don’t remember if my appetite returned, but I do know we moved shortly after that and I started attending a new school. I never had to deal with Mrs. Alexander again.
\nLisa and I attended high school together but we didn’t cross paths. We had a huge class and circles sometimes stuck to who you went to junior high with. However, several years later, I ran into Lisa at a high school reunion. She is an associate pastor now. I asked her if she remembered praying with me in the restroom before lunch that autumn day so long ago. But, alas…she did not. You see, Lisa was struck by a car as she crossed the street several years ago and very nearly died of her injuries. It left her with some long term memory loss. She was happy to know she helped me though, and we have become good friends.
\nLisa recently suffered a heart attack and we were absolutely thrilled when she came to coffee yesterday with the ‘71 Divas. She looks wonderful, healthy, strong. I couldn’t stop hugging her. She asked how Mr. FixIt was. She went all through school with him. Last year, when she found out we were dating, she literally jumped up out of her chair and threw her hands in the air and praised Jesus.
\n“If there were anyone in the whole wide world I would want the two of you to have, it would be each other. This is PERFECT!” I couldn’t help but laugh and clap along with her exuberance. Lisa is wonderful. She is a straight shooter. She has seen her share of hardships in this life and has come out a loving, giving, God-centric woman and I love her dearly. I just wanted to share her with you today.
\nSending you love and light and prayers for continued good health, my friend. ❤
\n“Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them."”\nMatthew 18:19-20 ESV
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-05-13T01:30:50-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/05/13/still-praying-together.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Strong Women","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Gratitude","Grace","God","Courage"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/05/11/keep-walking.html", "title": "Keep Walking", "content_html": "
![\"Encouragement](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/008b3d5e59.jpg\")
“Keep walking, dear one.”
I have several people in my life who are walking a challenging path right now. From my cousin with mesothelioma to a friend’s first grandchild being born with physical challenges. From my friend who is selling the home she and her late husband raised their family in to the beautiful women in my small group from church who are facing some pretty big things right now. There are new widows and new moms and new grandmas out there who need extra love and support today. To all of you who are facing challenges…let me say this.
\nYou are beautiful.
\nYou are stronger than you think.
\nYou are loved.
\nYou are being prayed for.
\nNo matter how difficult and challenging life becomes…
\nStand up.
\nKeep walking.
\nKeep moving forward.
\nYou are worthy.
\nYou are enough.
\nYou are a Child of God.
\nIt’s ok to cry.
\nIt’s ok to not be ok.
\nJust hang in there…things will get better. Maybe not right away…but they will get better.
\nI love you.
\n❤️
\n“Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.”\nEphesians 4:29 ESV
\n#encouragement, #BuildingUp, #love
\n", "date_published": "2018-05-11T01:30:52-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/05/11/keep-walking.html", "tags": ["Faith","Family","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Growth","Wisdom","Fear","Courage","Choices","Change"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/05/09/like-a-boss.html", "title": "Like a Boss", "content_html": "![\"Brakes\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/743c557582.jpg\")
“Be prepared when you speak to a mechanic. Do your homework and walk in like a boss.”
When you are on your own, you need to be proactive and assertive when you are dealing with people in service related businesses. I recently had to have brakes and rotors on all four wheels. While I did get advice from my trusted inner circle, I always do these things on my own. When Mr. FixIt wants to help me do things like this, I gently remind him that…while I appreciate it tremendously…I need to do these things because he may not be around someday when I need something done. This has been quite an adjustment for him, but I love when he brags on my capabilities to his guy friends.
\nI have noticed a squeak in the new brakes the last few days so I took the truck back in yesterday to have it checked. It still was squeaking afterwards, so I’ll watch it for a couple of days then take it back again if need be. I don’t apologize to them. They need to make it right. That’s what I’m paying for. I know the small metal pin that squeaks when you need to have brakes replaced can sometimes be bent. Hopefully, it’s something that easy.
\nYesterday was jam packed. Errands all morning. Then Mr. FixIt and I walked the Quincy Hill steps. I mowed at the farm. And when I got over to his house, he was tilling in a garden for me. We bought some tomato plants Monday. I’m so excited! I haven’t had a garden in decades. The only down side is, there are a couple of sweet little bunnies who hang out in the area where the garden is so we’ll have to figure a way to keep them out. Do bunnies eat tomato plants? They are pretty aromatic. I’ve never gardened where rabbits were a problem. Ours was always deer lined up like they’re heading into a buffet!
\nI love days like this! ❤️
\n“And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.”\nLuke 6:31 ESV
\n", "date_published": "2018-05-09T01:30:23-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/05/09/like-a-boss.html", "tags": ["Strong Women","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","Wisdom"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/05/03/national-widows-day-may-rd.html", "title": "National Widows Day - May 3rd", "content_html": "![\"National](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/6a82e87945.jpg\")
“National Widows Day - May 3rd”
National Widows Day sprung from Widow Wednesday…a grassroots program designed to assist widows and widowers in the community with small tasks normally completed by the late spouse. Widow Wednesday was originally founded by Jimmy Chouteau, a Kansas City insurance agent. Part of his job was working with retirees, many of whom were left on their own and were struggling to do things around the house while also dealing with grief. Sometimes it was as easy as screwing in a lightbulb or helping write checks. And sometimes it was just spending some time in conversation. Jimmy and his family took time form is busy insurance agency to devote Wednesdays to assisting widows and widowers in need.
\nIn the spirit of Widow Wednesday and National Widows Day, reach out to a widow or widower in your life today. Ask them if there is anything you can do today to help them out. And, if there isn’t, ask him/her out for coffee or dinner. Take them a potted plant. Or just sit on the porch and visit a bit. Then, take some time every Wednesday to check in and help out wherever you can. You never know how much you can help someone coping with grief just by showing up and listening and letting them know they are not forgotten. It’ll warm your heart. ❤
\n“In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ “”\nActs 20:35 ESV
\n#WidowWednesday, #NationaWidowsDay, #Love
\n", "date_published": "2018-05-03T01:30:03-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/05/03/national-widows-day-may-rd.html", "tags": ["Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Comfort"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/04/21/bittersweet.html", "title": "Bittersweet", "content_html": "![\"Dogwood\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/32c50aa529.jpg\")
“Dogwood”
We had an amazing visit with my cousin and his wife this weekend. Instead of running around and doing things like we usually do while we were there, I was content to stay put and visit with this most beloved man. Our visits are numbered and I am always pleasantly surprised at his resilience and positive determination. He assured me he will be around a while so I told him I’m counting on that.
\n![\"Pink](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/1ff1dd34a5.jpg\")
“I’m not sure what kind of flowering tree this is. Anyone?”
We stopped at Pilot Mountain this afternoon and took in the views from the top. We stopped at a lovely rest area outside Greensboro and had a picnic under the spreading arms of flowering dogwood trees. There was a wonderful sweetness drifting on the warm breeze as we nibbled on cheese and crackers. We browsed the area on my cell phone and found an affordable hotel nearby and called it a day. We’ll drive the rest of the way to the beach today.
\n![\"“Pilot](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/96b72eb6d2.jpg\")
“Pilot Mountain, North Carolina”
Thank you God for travel mercies. My many blessings are not lost on me. ❤
\n\n
“And I say, “Oh, that I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and be at rest; yes, I would wander far away; I would lodge in the wilderness…”\nPsalms 55:6-7 ESV
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-04-21T01:30:48-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/04/21/bittersweet.html", "tags": ["Travel","Positive Energy","Fun","Gratitude","Warning"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/04/17/faith-or-fear.html", "title": "Faith or Fear?", "content_html": "
![\"Hands\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/967806633e.jpg\")
“Faith or Fear?”
I love my readers. And I love how God uses them to teach me things. “Betty” (not her real name) sent me a message yesterday morning. She found a little typo and wanted to let me know. Everyone knows I’m a stickler for good grammar and I have a few who help me catch things when they slip through. She always signs off with “WALK STRONG.” I wrote back that I was trying, but I have a few things I’m facing in the coming weeks that I could use some extra prayers for. Immediately, “Betty” came back with a valuable reminder.
\nGod is omnipresent…He is everywhere and all powerful. The enemy is not. Our pastor says he is so small, he is under our boot. So he waits. And he listens. He finds weakness and exploits it. When we speak out loud and voice our fear or anger or doubt, he pounces on that and attacks us through our thoughts. So, we have to be careful about the words we confess…over ourselves, our circumstances, each other. “Betty” reminded me in order to defeat the enemy, we have to beat him at his own game and confess positive, Victory, light…all of which are God’s characteristics. She went on to say you have lay your burdens down at the foot of the cross and walk away. Ohhhhh…that is not an easy thing to do!
\n“Betty” says…you can have Faith, or you can have fear. You can’t have both…you have to choose. I took that into my situation yesterday. I drove to town professing light, strength, courage, Victory. I laid everything down and walked away and was filled with an incredible sense of peace. “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy…” John 10:10 When you open yourself by confessing fears, you open the door and let the enemy in. “WALK STRONG!” I love that!
\nDivine appointments. God makes appointments with us every day. He sends the Holy Spirit to counsel us. In this case, He sent “Betty” with word of a typo that turned into a valuable lesson of Faith for me. It literally changed my day. It doesn’t work if you don’t listen. And it doesn’t work if you don’t obey. This life gig is pretty cool if you think about it. We have this incredible supernatural Father that loves us, craves interaction with us, sends a Spirit to coach us and teach us and, dare I say, scold us when we need it. And all we have to do is trust, and believe, and listen, and follow directions. Amazing!
\nWho is your “Betty” today? ❤
\n“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”\nJohn 10:10 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-04-17T01:30:12-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/04/17/faith-or-fear.html", "tags": ["Faith","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","God","Peace","Fear","Courage","Choices"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/04/16/back-to-square-one.html", "title": "Back to Square One", "content_html": "
![\"Breakfast](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/0dbb8d56bc.jpg\")
“Back to Square One”
I need to exercise more! After sitting on my hiney all winter long writing and working on my website, I went out Friday and Saturday and worked in the yard. As I began my two hour excursion on the riding mower, the word “sunscreen” flitted through my mind like a feather on the wind and was gone just as quickly. After all, I had a broad brimmed hat on…what could go wrong? Ohhhh…I paid for that Saturday night. I couldn’t find anything in the house to put on my sunburned arms and shoulders and felt too miserable to even think about looking up home remedies on the internet. Then yesterday morning I tried to get out of bed and discovered muscles I’d forgotten I had. The word grumpy comes to mind. I turned over and went back to sleep and ended up missing morning services.
\nI looked in the mirror the other day and realized all that hard work I did climbing all those stairs a couple years ago is long gone. Hard muscles have been replaced with something between cottage cheese and pizza dough. My stamina is decreased, I get sick easier, and I’m turning sixty-five in two months. This simply will not do! I told Mr. FixIt we have to get back in gear this spring. Fortunately, he’s a good eater and loves to exercise so I have a partner to motivate me.
\nWe will be heading to the Outer Banks this week. The bikes are coming with us this time. I anticipate lots of long walks on the beach and bike rides in the evenings. The weather will be cool but hopefully the rain will stay away for the most part. If not, there is an exercise room at the condo complex. We have a full kitchen in our place so we can eat well and stay out of expensive, fattening restaurants. It will be nice to get away and sit by the ocean for a while. We have visits with family coming up as well on this trip so we’re really looking forward to the break. ❤
\n“This is what the Lord says, he who appoints the sun to shine by day, who decrees the moon and stars to shine by night, who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar— the Lord Almighty is his name:”\nJeremiah 31:35 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2018-04-16T01:30:17-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/04/16/back-to-square-one.html", "tags": ["Travel","Positive Energy","Fun","Growth","Wisdom","Courage","Choices","Change","Monday Morning Motivation"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/04/15/new-things.html", "title": "New Things", "content_html": "![\"Lawnmower\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/7aab202335.jpg\")
“It’s that time of year!”Mr. FixIt has five acres. He used to mow all of it but in the last few years, he’s left that back acre or so to be brush hogged a couple of times a year. Still, four acres is a pretty impressive amount of mowing. I filled up my water bottle, put on my wide brimmed hat and radio headphones and cranked up the tunes. I rock and rolled out there for a good two hours and it wasn’t bad at all. Then I used the push mower to get some of the places I couldn’t reach with the rider and that about did me in. It was probably ninety degrees out there and I really should have known better. I don’t tolerate heat very well at all anymore. Fortunately, I do know to quit at the very first symptoms of overheating. I came in and took a cool shower, drank some fluids with electrolytes, ate a banana, and laid down under the ceiling fan. I soon felt much better, although I’m going to be pretty sore today.
\nMr. FixIt was very proud of my accomplishments. He asked if that was the first time I’d ever mowed on a riding mower. I grinned ear to ear. He laughed and said, “It just might get old after a while!” Yeah, probably…but it sure was fun yesterday. He was thrilled to have the extra help and that made me feel good. He changed his oil and got a lot of work done while I mowed. If I hadn’t have helped, he’d have been out there hours longer. The Bible says two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor. If one falls down, one can help the other up. Mr. FixIt and I make a good team. ❤
\n“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars; he gives to all of them their names. Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.”\nPsalms 147:3-5 ESV
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-04-15T01:30:01-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/04/15/new-things.html", "tags": ["Family","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","West Virginia","Gratitude","Grace","Wisdom"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/03/17/own-your-experiences.html", "title": "Own Your Experiences", "content_html": "
![\"Meme\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/246b927ff9.jpg\")
“Own Your Experiences”
I don’t know if it’s because every time I turn around, I read about someone I know dying or not, but the last few weeks have been making me dig deep. I hate that people I know are dying…some all too soon. I know…I’ll soon be 65. I’m getting to the age where we lose more of our contemporaries. I get that. Doesn’t make it any easier. What it HAS done is made me work harder. I’m researching more. I networking more. I’m writing more. Still building a foundation…a platform…a community. Of grievers. FOR grievers.
\nI was looking at my social media numbers the other day and wondered about my Twitter account. It just kinda lays there. I put some things out there and they rarely get noticed. My words can’t help anyone if they don’t get noticed and that is my goal in all of this…to help others as I hope I’m helping you. As I meditated on what I was doing wrong, I started looking up other writers and bloggers who tweet and do instagram and Facebook. Almost all of them have “grief” in their Twitter handle. “Marshmallow Ranch” tells no one that even a part of my blog deals with grief. I could be trying to raise wild marshmallows for all anyone knows.
\nI used to get phone calls for Mr. Virgo after he died. They would ask for him. I’d say he’s not available but I could get a message to him.
\n“Have you seen the catalogue we sent?” a man asked.
\n“What kind of catalogue?”
\n“Ranch supplies.”
\nOh….this is too easy.
\n“Oh, thank goodness! We are having a heck of a time with our crops!”
\nThis perked him up. “Oh? What are you trying to grow?”
\n“Why…marshmallows, of course! This IS Marshmallow Ranch after all!”
\nSilence.
\nThen I started laughing and explained I’m not a “ranch” and I don’t grow marshmallows. I’m a writer and I write a grief blog. Which makes about as much sense, public relations wise, as confectionery agribusiness. But I digress.
\nThe point was, I haven’t been reaching as many folks as I could be if I had the word “grief” in there somewhere. So, I did a little experiment. I started a second Twitter account with the handle @GriefMaven. In two weeks, The Grief Maven as seen more activity than in all the five years of the Marshmallow Ranch Twitter account, so I think I’m onto something. I’m still working on it, but I’ve been connecting with some really wonderful writers, bloggers, podcasters, and speakers who deal with grief and grief related subjects. I’m expanding my territory. (Thank you again to the Prayer of Jabez.)
\nOne of the women I have connected with has a FB page called BreatheGrieveBelieve (on Twitter she is @griefsabitch.) As it turns out, we know some of the same people and she lives about an hour and a half from me so we’ll meet for lunch halfway sometime soon. Susan lost her husband and her daughter within 56 days of each other…horrifying. She tweeted this picture a few days ago and it just spoke to me.
\nI’ve been putting off copying and transferring my early posts from this FB page over to my website because I can only do it for short stretches of time. It makes me dive back into the early weeks/months/years of this journey and it stirs up a lot of pain. Yesterday, I got to the post where I told you I was dating someone. I read what I wrote back then and rolled my eyes. Quote: “Now that I’m over my grief…” What??? I was six months out. As I read that, I thought…Nope, that has to go. I don’t want that in my blog. But I cannot rewrite history. I told you all from the beginning I was going to be brutally honest and tell you what I was going through on this hellish roller coaster and by golly…it doesn’t get much uglier than watching someone put a bandaid on their grief and date someone WAY too soon. Well, yes it does….when the bandaid gets yanked back off. That was pretty brutal.
\nAnyway, I own everything that has happened to me so I’m telling my stories. Sometimes they embarrass ME…that I could have been so blind, so naive, so stupid. But…I was none of those things. I was grieving. And for that, I give myself a pass. ❤️
\n“Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding?”\nJob 12:12 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2018-03-17T01:30:07-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/03/17/own-your-experiences.html", "tags": ["Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/03/11/god-always-knows.html", "title": "God Always Knows", "content_html": "![\"Lewis](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/4bcfdd744f.jpg\")
“Lewis Cemetery”
As I’m sure you can tell, I’ve been dreading the fifth angelversary of Mr. Virgo’s death tomorrow. I’ve been really struggling the last week…to the point one of my dear friends contacted me yesterday to see how I was doing. Actually, by yesterday morning I was feeling much better, but I still felt something was missing. I couldn’t put my finger on it. Then a chain of events happened that directed my day and by last night I was lifted back up and set on solid ground. Here’s how it went down.
\nFirst, I slept a solid ten hours and awoke feeling refreshed. I’m not a terrific sleeper as a rule, but I slept like a stone. Mr. FixIt informed me a neighbor passed away and he needed to go to the funeral home. I assumed he would go without me, and quite frankly I didn’t think going to a funeral home when I was feeling down about my own loss was such a terrific idea. Then, he asked me if I wanted to go. We were at a funeral last weekend. Here, we were just going to the viewing. I didn’t know anyone, but something told me I should just go…so I dressed and went along.
\nI was introduced around to the family. I hugged the widow and spoke quietly with her for a bit, offering what comfort a stranger (yet a fellow widow) could give. I stood at the coffin, thinking the horrible memories of five years ago would come crashing on my head at any moment…but they did not. Instead of seeing Mr. Virgo in his casket, I saw a man who was very much missed by his best friend and my heart went out to her. I felt honored to be there and not sick or devastated. My dread started to dissipate.
\nWe ran home to change and Mr. FixIt asked what I wanted to do. I told him I wanted to run over to the cemetery where my great grandfather is buried. I hadn’t been there since I was a teenager and I wanted to see if there were any other family members from my tree buried there. So, from the funeral home to a cemetery. What could go wrong?
\nThe day was brisk but sunny. As we drove out the two lane blacktop, we passed a field and I did a double take. There, standing in the middle of a pasture, was a young man…high school age, perhaps…with a music stand playing a trombone! The sight was so incongruous Mr. FixIt and I both burst out laughing. The cemetery was around the next bend and as we walked among the tombstones, the timbre of the trombone wafted gently on the breeze over the far ridge. I could not help but smile, feeling God was sending me a sweet gift.
\nThe cemetery was a sight when we arrived. All of the flower containers had been knocked over, flowers strewn among the graves, flags honoring fallen soldiers laying on the ground…some half covered with leaves. We were preparing to leave when I turned and said, “I can’t leave them like this.” So, we walked around, straightening up, calling the dead ones by name. I remember so often going to visit Mr. Virgo’s grave across the road from our house in Colorado. I laid stones around the perimeter…one stone from every trip I took. I realized one of the things I was missing…and hurting over…was not being able to visit Mr. Virgo’s grave tomorrow. Instead, God lead me to visit an ancestor I never knew. Again…the feeling of dread lifted more.
\nWe were so close to the farm, we decided to go on out. Whenever I am feeling down, that farm is my panacea. I fed the kitties and walked through the rooms…touching the furniture, the doors, my grandparents bed. I walked around the house and checked on my ‘67 Franklin camper…”Joy”. I turned to Mr. FixIt.
\n“Can we take her over to your place soon and start working on her?” I asked hopefully.
\n“You bet we can.” Mr. FixIt smiled and gave me a big hug.
\nLift, lift, lift.
\nWe stopped and visited my cousin’s wife at her barn. She was feeding the chickens and the big white rabbit named Isabella.
\nLift, lift, lift.
\nWe drove to town and had supper at my favorite diner.
\nLift, lift, lift.
\nWe came home and I sat down to write. My dear friend who had been so concerned about me yesterday morning called and asked if I felt better after my drive. I really did! You know…every year is going to be another year since Mr. Virgo died. There will be times of sorrow. There will be reminders and waves of grief. I know I have the added blessing of having Mr. FixIt in my life. His heart is big enough to hold me AND Mr. Virgo. Such a good, good man. Letting go and letting God lift me up was the solution all along. There’s nothing God and a little sunshine can’t fix! ❤
\n“Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you.”\nIsaiah 60:1-2 ESV
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-03-11T01:30:21-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/03/11/god-always-knows.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","Grace","Wisdom","Presence"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/03/08/surprises.html", "title": "Surprises", "content_html": "
![\"Two](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/9fd97c29b7.jpg\")
“Old friends”
I love the way my life has begun to set into a rhythm. Not predictable, exactly. But life…you know, cooking, cleaning, caring, sharing. It’s a sweet life. Mr. FixIt has been going to Physical Therapy three times a week since the beginning of the year and I don’t usually tag along. I stay at home and snuggle up on the couch with my lap desk and my iPad and I write. I try to imagine a life without writing every day and I simply can’t. What did I DO with all that time before I started writing? Besides working. And making jewelry in my art studio. And being a wife to Mr. Virgo. When he died, I filled in the void with words. I polished and tweaked my craft till it became an integral part of my DNA. It’s like breathing and eating. It’s something I do.
\n![\"Spring](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e1a4a27853.jpg\")
“Spring Snow”
Mr. FixIt was well aware of my fixation with the written word when we started dating. He is supportive and empathetic and helps keep me centered. It wasn’t long after he left yesterday that the skies opened and a beautiful snowfall began. When I took the Christmas tree down the last day of February, I situated a sofa in front of the big picture windows in the family room so I can look out at the hillside across the road as I write. I watch the birds flit in and out of the forsythia bush at the corner of the house. I see the neighbors coming and going. The snowfall was beautiful and even though I am WAY over winter…I’m learning to stay present and enjoy the moments.
\nAlong in the afternoon, I received a message from a friend from Glenwood Springs. Linda and Al were driving from Pennsylvania to Kentucky yesterday and She wanted to “wave” at me as they passed through West Virginia. I pinpointed their route and we met in Parkersburg for a quick visit. Our daughters went to school together. Her daughters and my daughters are both about 16 years apart so we had much in common. It was such a treat to see them!
\n![\"Spring](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/cf6d1fc728.jpg\")
“Whiteout”
About a week ago, I received a request to write a guest post for the manufacturers of some RV supplies. They sent me some of their products and asked for pictures of me using them. I didn’t receive the items until last evening and it snowed all day. She wanted the pictures by the end of the day so she could post on their blog for International Women’s Day. Finally, at 4:00 in the afternoon, the sun broke through. Even though it was really cold, I was able to get those pictures with the help of Mr. FixIt. I hit send at 5:01! I’ll post a link when the blog goes live.
\n![\"Woman](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/028755be62.jpg\")
“TOW-Wanda and Me”
A day full of surprises. A surprise snowfall. A surprise that I didn’t mind it. A surprise visit from old friends. And a surprise splash of sun in the late afternoon. It was a really good day! ❤
\n“As a face is reflected in water, so the heart reflects the real person.”\nProverbs 27:19 NLT
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-03-08T02:30:34-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/03/08/surprises.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","Fun","Peace","Presence"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/03/04/endings-and-beginnings.html", "title": "Endings and Beginnings", "content_html": "
![\"Daffodils](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e46bde4e19.jpg\")
Daffodils
I watched my husband die. It was fast. It seemed relatively painless. Not pain free, but not unbearable. He seemed to take everything in stride with a certain…resignation. Like he knew what was coming, so why fight it? Interestingly…it was like that for me too, looking back on it. I’m sure I was in shock, because every time I ever pictured what would happen if/when he died, it certainly wasn’t with me sitting on a stool in the corner of the room answering medical questions in a flat monotone. I wasn’t beating my chest or screaming or even crying. I don’t remember crying till I saw my kids.
\nAs hard as that was to go through, I cannot…simply cannot imagine what people go through who lose their loved one to a terrible, slow, painful death like cancer or COPD or Alzheimer’s. My cousin’s wife came over Friday after making arrangements for her mother’s funeral. Her mom had esophageal cancer. We sat together and I listened to her tell me about the last six months. The long nights. The conflicting medical information. The radiation and chemo. When she got to the night of her mother’s death, I was in such awe of her strength and courage. What she went through for her mom was heroic in my book. What I loved most was when her mom motioned to her, as if she needed to tell her something. When she bent down to listen, her mother kissed her on the cheek and took her last breath. My mother died alone in an ICU because I couldn’t get to her in time. She got a kiss on the cheek! I loved that for her because she will never, ever forget that loving gesture.
\n![\"Crocus\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/149cf13a2d.jpg\")
Crocus
Real death isn’t like the movies. Sometimes it’s that peaceful scene where the family gathers around and tells their loved one how important they were in their lives and how much they loved them. Sometimes there’s soft music and candlelight and kisses on cheeks. And sometimes they stop CPR after three hours and tell you they’re sorry. Is one way “better” than the other? Is there such a thing as a “good death”. I think there is, but it’s not always possible because death isn’t predictable. It isn’t a script.
\n![\"Crocus](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/1472409e31.jpg\")
Crocus in the Spring
Someone I love very much is dying. Not actively as in it’s imminent. But it’s coming. Everyone knows it’s coming. I love him and his entire family. For the last five years I have written a daily essay, much of it about grief. And when I talk with his wife, I feel woefully inadequate. I haven’t gone through that kind of death. I haven’t had to know it was coming for three years and fight the good fight and be strong and courageous and lose anyway. What do I say to her? How can I best serve her? I had no idea…so I asked. I told her how sorry I was that it was coming to this. I told her how much I love them both. I told her I knew she must be scared. And, I told her I was at a loss as to how best to help her. Then I asked her to tell me exactly what would help her the most right now. She said to pray. Pray for strength and courage for her. That I can do…in spades.
\n![\"Daffodils](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/c0439e8175.jpg\")
Daffodils in the Ditch
Grief is something that touches all of us. If it hasn’t touched you yet, it will. Mr. FixIt and I were talking about it yesterday. After losing Mr. Virgo, I’ve gone and done the one thing I SWORE I would never, ever do again. I gave my heart away to love again…with wild abandon…knowing full well what it feels like to lose. That is either absolutely crazy or the absolute evidence that God can carry you through anything. I could lose this man tomorrow. Or next week or next year or thirty years from now. Or…I could be the first to go, who knows? I’m glad we don’t know exactly when we will die. It doesn’t pay to dwell on it…but we can’t deny it either. If there is an upside…and that is truly a stretch to even call it that…it’s having the time to say goodbye, to express everything you wanted to say, to make arrangements, to learn how to do the things your partner did, and to give them the gift of your service in their transition. As Ram Dass, says…”We are all just walking each other home.” ❤️
\n“For here we do not have an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.”\nHebrews 13:14 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-03-04T02:30:19-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/03/04/endings-and-beginnings.html", "tags": ["Faith","Family","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Positive Energy","Comfort","Peace","Wisdom","Aging","Presence"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/03/02/change-your-focus.html", "title": "Change Your Focus", "content_html": "
![\"Woman](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/2c381e57c3.jpg\")
“Imagine if we obsessed about the things we LOVE about ourselves.”
I’d love to have all the hours back that I obsessed about the things I didn’t like about myself. My hair. My body. My nose. My “flaws”…real or imagined. Can you imagine if we never, ever looked in the mirror and hated something we saw? Oh…what I really hate is that I put my faith in someone who judged me by my appearance. I really hate that I saw my self-worth through someone else’s lens. For…far…too…long.
\nOne of the wonderful things about rapidly approaching Medicare age is the ability to see myself as I truly am. I’m a slightly overweight, active grandma with great hair and pretty feet. I was talking with Mr. FixIt this week when we went on our little trip. I was telling him about a time in my life when I really hated who I was. Then I grew to hate that I couldn’t speak up and change the situation I was in that contributed to it. He looked at me and smiled. He said, “Well, you sure are a strong, opinionated woman now. You don’t take crap off of anyone!” My heart exploded. He GETS me!
\nEvery day, I focus on my word of the year. Presence. I am not that naive young girl who went into relationships looking for a knight in shining armor. I am not that willowy young thing who could eat anything I wanted and not gain an ounce. I don’t have the stamina that I had when I was 30…40…50….heck, 60! But, I love who I am. I am more of the woman in Proverbs 31 than I ever have been.
\nPastor Justin illustrated God’s forgiveness last Sunday in a way that will forever change how I look at myself. He was sitting at a table with a bottle of water. He always keeps a small towel nearby because it’s quite hot up there under the lights and he has a tendency to get fired up. He was talking about how we are made new when we accept Christ in our hearts. He died for our sins. That means, they are taken away. The old is gone.
\nHe covered the water bottle with the towel. “This is what happens when we are forgiven.”
\nHe pulled the towel back a bit. “The enemy wants us to keep looking back. He keeps reminding us of who we were. But that’s not who we are now.”
\nHe picked up the bottle, totally wrapped in the towel and said, “When we’ve been saved, God looks at us and sees Christ…not the old, beat up, soiled version of us…but the Christ-loving version.”
\nMy eyes swelled with tears when the full realization hit me that I don’t have to carry around all that baggage…all those burdens…all that self-loathing. It is not prideful to love and appreciate yourself as a child of God.
\nI like my feet. I like my smile. I like my compassionate heart. I like the way my hair is graying with natural streaks. I used to pay a lot of money for that. I love the way every cell in my body was made new when I was saved. Appreciate yourself. Love yourself. Not in an arrogant, self-centered, narcissistic way. You are the only YOU there is in the world. The only YOU that has ever been or ever will be. God made you just this way with the very gifts the world needs that only YOU can give. Since scripture tells us to love others as we love ourselves the opposite must also be true. Love yourself as you love others. ❤
\n“We love because he first loved us.”\n1 John 4:19 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-03-02T02:30:53-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/03/02/change-your-focus.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","God","Wisdom","Forgiveness","Presence"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/03/01/morning-walkabout.html", "title": "Morning Walkabout", "content_html": "
![\"“Rhododendron](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/7965a2871a.jpg\")
“Rhododendron and the gas light”
What an absolute treat it was to wake up out at the farm yesterday morning. Grandma’s bedroom is right along the creek’s edge and with all the rain we have been having, the sound of the water riffling along was like a lullaby. I slept so well and awoke refreshed and ready to face a busy day.
\nMr. FixIt and I did a morning walkabout on the property to check things out. He moved some fallen limbs from the ditch along the road and placed them on the burn pile. The daffodils are up about 8” high already and the grass is greening up nicely. I’ll need to mow before too long to mulch up the leaves that fell over the fall and winter. The rhododendron gets huge buds on them in the fall. They winter over and won’t bloom till late May or early June. They are still beautiful as they awaken from winter with a freshened shine to their leaves. They don’t drop their leaves like so many other plants. They just droop down all winter then stand up with their arms stretched wide in the spring.
\nI am leaving today for a long camping weekend with the Girl Campers. We’ll be staying in cabins this trip. We try to get together in the late winter when the roads aren’t too bad. We work on whatever craft projects we have going. We make soups to share. These are some of the nicest women I have ever known and I look forward to these trips with great anticipation. I’ll share projects and recipes with you along the way but my writing may be a bit sparse this weekend as I take the time to kick back with my friends and relax.
\nI do have some prayer requests for some wonderful people who are touched by illness. Please pray for healing, comfort, and God’s will. He knows who the prayers are for. Thank you all for your wonderful prayer support. There are many stars in your crowns. ❤️
\n“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.”\nRomans 8:26 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-03-01T02:30:16-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/03/01/morning-walkabout.html", "tags": ["Faith","Travel","Prayer","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Camping","West Virginia","The Farm","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Wisdom","Presence","Girl Camper","Girl Campers"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/02/27/date-night.html", "title": "Date Night", "content_html": "
![\"Budding](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/7251e2f819.jpg\")
“Budding Branches”
Mr. FixIt and I live a pretty frugal life. We are careful in our spending so that we can afford small indulgences now and then. We both came from mixed backgrounds. We’ve both known what it’s like to have very little and to have much. We have a healthy appreciation of both. Because we came together later in life, money will be something we watch carefully. We have become good stewards of what God has given us.
\nThere was a time when either one of us would have gone to games and concerts without thinking of the cost. And to be honest, now that we give a great deal of consideration toward our outings, we actually enjoy and remember them more. I can’t tell you much about the vacation to Hawaii with Hubby #2, but I can tell you where we sat, where we ate, who we played, and the nature of the basketball game we attended a year ago. Of course, the company you keep makes a difference in how memorable an occasion is, don’t you agree?
\nWe drove up to Morgantown yesterday to see WVU beat Texas Tech…soundly. It was a good game. Not nearly as tight and exciting as the Baylor game last year, but it was Senior Night and the graduating seniors were honored. It was fun to see them go out on a winning note.
\nAs we walked to dinner from our hotel, we remarked at what a gorgeous, sunny afternoon it was. The trees are budding as a result of the recent warming trend which may end up being a bad thing if we get a late frost. The variety of birds is increasing and it is such a lovely thing to hear nature’s orchestra filling out.
\nWe get to take one of the grandchildren out for breakfast this morning as she is a student here. Afterward, we are going to explore around the area where my ancestors lived. We stopped at Prickett’s Fort on our way up to Morgantown yesterday. I have people in my family tree buried there. It’s a fun, overnight trip, not terribly expensive, and filled with love. ❤️
\n“She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.”\nProverbs 31:27 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-02-27T02:30:01-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/02/27/date-night.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Growth","New Ideas","Gratitude","Grace","Love","Wisdom","Humbled","Presence","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/02/26/my-love-has-a-name.html", "title": "My Love Has a Name", "content_html": "
![\"Praise\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/1464731d59.jpg\")
“My Love Has a Name…Jesus”
I am always pumped on Mondays. My “Monday Morning Motivation” begins Sunday when Mr. FixIt and I walk into church. I’ve never gone to a church that has been so uplifting. I have never in my life looked forward to Sundays like I do now! It is such an amazing feeling to carry God with me into my week.
\nThe Praise and Worship Team sang a new song yesterday by the Christian rock band, Jesus Culture called “Love Has a Name”. Our sermon series for the month of February was entitled “Love Handles”. Yesterday, Pastors Justin and Heather sat down and talked to us about 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 and put it in the perspective of our relationships. Let’s break it down.
\n“Love is patient.” When Mr. FixIt takes an inordinate amount of time to type something out on his phone, my first instinct is to grab the phone and do it myself in about half the time. I’m not considering the fact that my fingers are half the size and I’ve spent a gazillion more hours typing on a keyboard as a writer than he has as a mechanical engineer designing tools. I have to remind myself to emulate God’s love…God’s perfect love…and be patient. It isn’t always easy, but I try.
\n“Love is kind.” Show of hands…how many of you have cast a disparaging look at your significant other when he’s done something you think is stupid? How many have done the whole eye roll thing? That, in and of itself, is a very unkind thing to do. I’ve done it. I don’t like that I have. As a matter of fact, I read an article once by a marriage counselor and he said one of the tell tale signs that a marriage would fail was if one or the other partner rolled their eyes. It’s dismissive. It isn’t always easy, but I try.
\n“It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.” I see this to mean those times when your significant other bests you in some way. Or you, him. Lording it over the other with one-upsmanship brings competition into the equation and that can be very damaging to a relationship. I remember Hubby #2 and I took an online IQ test and I came out higher than he did. He was a doctor and I always felt somewhat “less than”, for a number of reasons. I rubbed that in and it didn’t go over well. It isn’t always easy, but I try.
\n“It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.” You dishonor others by being disrespectful. This is a self-seeking behavior. Love is not easily angered. Pastor Heather said she heard something a long time ago that has always stuck with her. “Take the pause.” When something strikes you wrong, stop and take a breath before you lash out and say something you will regret later. That brings us to “no record of wrongs”. How many times have we held onto those slights and honed them to a rapier edge, only to slash our partner with them later. Maybe we “forgave” them, but brought it up anyway. It isn’t always easy, but I try.
\n“Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.” Discord, cruelty, mean-spiritedness are evils that can take root in relationships, but the power of truth in real love is something you should always strive for. It isn’t always easy, but I try.
\n“It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.” You should always protect your love. Always trusting doesn’t mean being gullible, but being fair minded and believe in your spouse. Always hope for the best in your spouse. And always persevere…keep going, even when the going gets tough. It isn’t always easy, but I try.
\nI have learned to love Jesus more than anyone or anything. Everyone…even those you hold the closest to your heart…will disappoint you. Jesus will never disappoint. If we hold him at the center of all equations, we have far greater chance of success in every relationship…family, work, friends, school…everywhere.
\nThis is the song they sang yesterday…”Love Has a Name”. My love has a name…Jesus. ❤
\n“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”\n1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NIV
\n\n\n", "date_published": "2018-02-26T02:30:45-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/02/26/my-love-has-a-name.html", "tags": ["Faith","Family","Uplifting Stories","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Love","God","Wisdom","Forgiveness","Presence","Monday Morning Motivation"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/02/24/ill-pray-for-you.html", "title": "I’ll Pray for You", "content_html": "
![\"I’ll](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/43528a82fb.jpg\")
“I’ll Pray for You”
How many times do we say that? Something happens to someone and we automatically say, “I’ll pray for you!” We hear of a tragedy and we say, “I’ll pray for you!” How many times do we say that…and forget to pray? Or, how about when you’re scrolling through Facebook and someone asks for prayers. We might type “Prayers!” Or “Done!” Or my personal favorite…”???” A furtive “God, please give this woman what she’s asking for.” These are good things, don’t get me wrong. But we can do so much better.
\nI was working one afternoon after Mr. Virgo died and I noticed one of my coworkers was tearful. She was trying to hide it at her desk and I didn’t want to intrude. I got halfway down the hall when the Holy Spirit whispered…
\n“Go to her…now.”
\n“Awwww….c’mon. I’ve got a list of phone calls that would choke a horse! I haven’t even started the pharmacy refills yet. And I need to fax those reports. I’m really busy. Someone will help her. I’ll pray for her tonight when I get home.”
\n“Go to her…NOW!”
\n“Oooooooh…you mean…NOW! Sure!”
\nI turned on my heel and went back to my coworker’s desk. I didn’t say anything. She didn’t look at me, but she knew I was there. Her shoulders slumped and shook with silent sobs. I placed my hand on her shoulder and she immediately leaned into me and cried harder.
\nI whispered. “I don’t know what you’re going through right now…and I don’t need to know. But if you want, I would love to pray with you right now. Would that be ok?”
\nShe whispered back, “Yes! Yes, please!”
\nI closed the door to her office, knelt beside her and took her hand. And prayed. I prayed for God’s love to wrap around my friend and comfort her. I prayed for strength and courage in whatever she was facing. I prayed God would use whatever trial she was walking through to bring her closer to him so she would know there was someone who always loved her, always had her back.
\nIt didn’t take long…just a couple minutes. My friend felt so much better afterwards and my work was still there, waiting for me. I felt better, too. Because, I actually did what I said I would do. By praying with my friend, I did more than placate her to make her feel better. I called on the living God…the Highest Power…to come into the situation and work on it.
\nI once heard of a man in our church that was going through a rough patch. His friend was talking to him on the phone. They were both on the highway but several miles apart. The man asked his friend with the troubles to pull off at the next wide spot. Soon, he caught up and there, along I-70…the man placed his hand on his friend’s shoulder, lifted his other hand to the sky, and prayed. Right there for all to see.
\nI don’t think you should ever miss the opportunity to pray with somebody. Of course, pray FOR them anytime. But pray WITH them whenever you can. It’s good for everyone. ❤
\n“For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.””\nMatthew 18:20 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-02-24T02:30:31-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/02/24/ill-pray-for-you.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom","Humbled","Presence"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/02/22/i-think-we-woke-up.html", "title": "“I Think We Woke Up The Children...”", "content_html": "
![\"Protests](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/ab450f199d.jpg\")
“Protests…Then and Now”
Those of us who were coming of age in the ‘60s remember the protests of the day. Slogans like “Make Love, Not War” are being replaced with “Arms Are For Hugging”. For the last several years I’ve been wondering…”Where are the hippies?” The adolescents of my generation changed the world. It has been frustrating to see subsequent generations become so complacent with the status quo.
\nI’m not choosing sides here, although I have my own personal opinions and beliefs to be sure. I don’t advocate “taking sides” as much as I have wished for the kids to wake up and care about something. Anything. This is how change and growth occur in a democratic society.
\nI applaud the young people standing up and speaking out. My heart both broke for them for the subject they must address and swelled with pride to see such passion and eloquence in their plea. This is our future. I would much rather see students rally against violence in schools than to see them give up and give in. I think they didn’t realize the strength of numbers. I think they got fed up and fired up and I hope they don’t back down.
\nEdited*: That being said, I have been reminded by a caring reader of the ugly side of the “Make Love, Not War” movement. Our soldiers were subjected to incredible disrespect when they returned from Vietnam and there is absolutely no room for that in the world. Mr. Virgo was in Vietnam and he told me how badly he was treated when he came home. My point here is, I’m glad to see this generation stand for something instead of the disinterested me-first attitudes of so many kids growing up in the generations since the ‘60s. I know that is a generalization. Peaceful, respectful protest with meaningful, informed dialogue can effect lasting change.
\nI’ve been a placard carrier since the first political rally I attended. I have stood alone in a sea of opponents to support my beliefs. I have bucked the system. There came a point when I got tired. Disillusioned. Overwhelmed. We didn’t always get it right but it thrills me to see the children waking up, no matter what their call is. Another day…another dawning of the Age of Aquarius. ✌
\n“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."”\nJoshua 1:9 ESV
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-02-22T02:30:02-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/02/22/i-think-we-woke-up.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Peace","Presence"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/02/21/a-taste-of-spring.html", "title": "A Taste of Spring", "content_html": "
![\"Burger](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/5f6cd6bc8f.jpg\")
“Burger al Fresco”
One of the upsides of Facebook memories is documented progress. One of my readers shared a post yesterday that I wrote a year ago. I was declaring how gorgeous spring is in West Virginia. I observed the earth coming back to life, the shoots of spring bulbs exploding from the moist soil, the greening up of the world. I spoke of all the new babies being born in the fields surrounding the farm. And I talked about budding romances and how I was ready to try again. And here I am…a year later and in a relationship with a wonderful man. He is a constant reminder of how good God is to me.
\nWe awoke yesterday to the most gorgeous of early spring days. I had a dream. I don’t remember my dreams like I used to before Mr. Virgo died. And I seldom dream of him. I dreamt I was supposed to send Mr. Virgo a text every day with a scripture in it. Suddenly, he stopped responding to my texts. I looked everywhere for him. I asked everyone if they had seen him and they just stared blankly back at me. Six months went by and then a year, then three. No word. Then, out of the blue, someone told me he had “moved on”. I felt confused. Did he move on as in, he left me for someone else? When I was fully awake, I realized what “moved on” really meant. I had an instant wave of the creepy crawlies on the backs of my arms, then it went away and I was fine. Grief visits fleetingly sometimes…like a sparrow flitting in the brush just out of view.
\nThe temperature got up over 80 degrees. We had coffee by the pool and then headed to the farm. We cleaned inside and out. Mr. FixIt filled the bird feeders. I changed the spotlight on the three story barn. We stopped at the neighborhood grocer and bought a pound of fresh ground hamburger and sliced longhorn cheese. When we got home, we took the grill from the garage and put it on the deck by the pool and grilled burgers outside. It was sheer heaven to sit out in shorts and enjoy the evening.
\nSome days get burned in your memory to keep for all time. That was yesterday. There were a lot of trees down from the saturated soil and the brisk winds earlier in the day. Baby calves lay in the muddy fields by their mamas. A cardinal sang in the forsythia bush by the side gate. Mr. FixIt took the drone he got for Christmas and went outside to “play” after supper. I heard a tree fall in the woods beyond the field. A rooster crowed in the distance. Neighbors waved as they passed by. My heart felt full and ached with the beauty of it all. Jesus promised he would make all things new one day. Spring is his way of giving us a taste of things to come.
\nI am all too aware of how fragile this life is. It could be gone tomorrow. So I practice my word of the year and stay present. And I thank God for every moment. ❤️
\n“He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.””\nRevelation 21:5 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-02-21T02:30:19-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/02/21/a-taste-of-spring.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Hope","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Love","Peace","Wisdom"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/02/19/love-is-an-action-word.html", "title": "Love is an Action Word", "content_html": "
![\"Coffee](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/7fd36eb850.jpg\")
\nI’m doing something different today. Usually I write my essay then I go read and find a bible verse that best suits my message of the day. It’s easier that way for me because I look for verses about a certain theme, read and study them, then choose the one that speaks to me. To take a verse and pontificate on it seems a bit foreign after writing for nearly five years the other way. But today…I want to talk to you about Romans 12:6-8 specifically.
\nAs we always do, Mr. FixIt and I stood and held hands as we prayed and sang with the praise team in church yesterday. And, as I always do on the third song, I closed my eyes and prayed. I thanked God for all he has blessed us with. I thanked him for bringing me this fine man to stand with me in church to praise with me. I recited the Prayer of Jabez and asked that he bless me indeed, that he expand my territory, walk with his hand over me, and keep evil far from me that I may not feel pain. Then I asked…”If you have a specific message for me today, please deliver it to me through Pastor Justin.” Amen
\nWe’ve been doing a series entitled “Love Handles”. Not the muffin tops above our jeans from eating too many Oreos, but the action word…LOVE. The love we take out into the world. As Christians, we are called to be different. We aren’t supposed to go out and blend into the world. We should be shining the light of the Holy Spirit out into the world so brightly that people take notice when we walk into a room. Pastor Justin’s first Bible reading yesterday was Romans 12:6-8. It tells us that God, in his infinite grace, has given us all gifts for doing certain things very well…be it prophesy, service, teaching, encouraging, giving, leadership, or kindness. If you have a talent that comes to you easily and you do it very well, that is your gift. That is what you are here to share.
\nTears came to my eyes when I listened to the verse being read. “If God has given you the ability to prophesy, speak out with as much faith as God has given you.” Prophesy has several meanings but the one I believe was being directed to me was “preach”. As I have grown in my faith and through this blog, I was led by the Holy Spirit to include scripture in my writing. If you were here when that started, you may remember the conversation I had with God in church when I got that message loud and clear and I argued vehemently against it. I did NOT want to “be that person.” I didn’t want to be “preachy” and turn people off.
\nThere have been instances when I see that people have “unliked” this page when I get too “churchy”. But I have to say, the most interaction this page receives is when my post is truly aligned with my heart, and thus…my faith. When I share my truth, my stories, through the lens of faith…they seem to reach through the miles and touch hearts. I’ve been feeling God nudging me to continue in that direction. That doesn’t mean every post here is going to be a sermon, because it isn’t. What it means is, I’m going to be a little less worried about what people think when I talk about God. It’s really easy to talk about God in a room full of believers. It is not nearly so easy to prophesy to those who don’t believe the same way I do. God has given me a gift of words. It is my duty to put them to the best use I can. I hope you will stick around and see where this goes because I think it’s going to get interesting. ❤
\n“So we are to use our different gifts in accordance with the grace that God has given us. If our gift is to speak God’s message, we should do it according to the faith that we have; if it is to serve, we should serve; if it is to teach, we should teach; if it is to encourage others, we should do so. Whoever shares with others should do it generously; whoever has authority should work hard; whoever shows kindness to others should do it cheerfully.”\nRomans 12:6-8 GNB
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-02-19T02:30:31-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/02/19/love-is-an-action-word.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Prayer","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom","Presence","Monday Morning Motivation"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/02/18/the-mountain.html", "title": "The Mountain", "content_html": "
![\"Sunrise](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/5157c752d5.jpg\")
“My Hope is in You Alone” - MercyMe
I was writing last night and listening to a channel on Amazon Music called “Relaxing Christian Music”. MercyMe came on and sang “Even If You Don’t”. It’s about those times when your faith is challenged by the hardships you face in life. It made me think of the losses so many are facing. There are seventeen mothers and fathers preparing to lay their children to rest this week. It is easy to ask questions like, “Where was God during all this?” “How can God let bad things happen to innocent people…especially children?”
\nLife can be really difficult. It can be filled with challenges and unfulfilled dreams. Disappointments. Hurts. Horrors. And…it can be filled with absolutely unmovable mountains.
\nIt’s easier to maintain our faith when the skies are sunny and life is good. When we are knee deep in blessings and goodness rains down on us like a spring shower, we’re good. But…what happens when the darkness comes? How do we maintain our faith when God seems to have abandoned us and is far, far away?
\nGod is capable of all things. I know he can do anything. I’ve seen him do it. When I was a little girl and I sat at my grandma’s knee, I asked her how she knew Jesus was who he said he was. How did she know he really walked on water? She smiled knowingly and patted my hand. “You just have to have faith, pet.” she said in her wise grandma way. It took me most of my life to absorb that…and to believe it.
\nFaith.
\nWhat is faith? The Bible tells us faith is the “substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” The substance of my hope is a loving God who can move mountains. The evidence of things not seen is when he refuses and I still believe in him.
\nSometimes God refuses to move the mountain that is in your way because that mountain is in HIS plan…not yours. My biggest mountain was losing Mr. Virgo. God knew that could shake my faith. So he let me see something. He let me see the essence of my husband’s spirit as it left his body. I was forever changed. Not only by the loss itself, but by the certainty that we go someplace else when we die, we are not alone and there is a power far greater than me at work in the world. That power…to me…is God. I will not understand the whys until I get where I am going…but I know the WHO.
\nThis has been a difficult year so far. There has been so much loss in the world. So many unmovable mountains. When I face these times, I find leaning into God and trusting him is the only way to get through it.
\nHe CAN move mountains. And…sometimes he chooses not to. It is the pure essence of faith when you can still believe in God when you have trouble seeing the evidence of his existence.
\nMy HOPE is in him…even when he doesn’t answer.
\nMercyMe - Even If You Don’t\nhttps://youtu.be/B6fA35Ved-Y
\n“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”\nHebrews 11:1 KJV
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-02-18T02:30:26-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/02/18/the-mountain.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom","Presence"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/02/14/my-funny-valentine.html", "title": "My Funny Valentine", "content_html": "
![\"Medicare](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/01625c3882.jpg\")
“My Funny Valentine”
You know this day will come. Well…you certainly hope it does. Mr. Virgo didn’t get this far. He died at sixty-two. Mr. FixIt brought my mail home from town yesterday. I was browsing through it when I noticed an envelope from the Department of Health and Human Services. I thought it was just an advertisement but when I opened it…it was my Medicare Card.
\nWow.
\nI had a rush of feelings. I felt…o-l-d. For about two minutes. What else? Sad…for a minute. I didn’t think sixty-five years would go by so fast. Humbled? Check. Grown up? Yeah, ok. Grateful? Definitely. Relieved? Oh, yes! My insurance costs will go down greatly. It took a few minutes till I worked my way through to the money, but once I got there, I was fine.
\nWhat a privilege it is to get to this point in my life. I’m alive and healthy. I know…Mr. Virgo is gone. And the wife of one of my dear classmates has been seriously ill and in the hospital for the last six weeks. Mr. FixIt’s cousin had a massive stroke on Sunday. I have every blessing I could ask for. I have no business feeling bummed because I’m going to be sixty-five this summer.
\nSo, I’ve reached a major landmark in my life…a benchmark, as it were. I’m happy. I’m proud. I’m excited to see what comes next!
\nWhat an amazing Valentine, eh?!?! It can’t beat the pink roses, chocolates, and sweet card Mr. FixIt gave me…but it’s a close second! ❤
\n“Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.”\nIsaiah 46:4 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2018-02-14T02:30:46-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/02/14/my-funny-valentine.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Wisdom","Humbled","Aging","Presence"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/02/12/word-power.html", "title": "Word Power", "content_html": "![\"Word](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/7722e4af38.jpg\")
Word Power
When I was a teenager, my mother always told me my mouth would get me in trouble. I’ve spent a lifetime speaking when I should have remained silent. I say the wrong things at the wrong times. I let my anger lead my speech far, far too often. I am a work in progress. I know what I am supposed to do. We all do, right? But even God knew we could never tame our tongues…not completely.
\nSpeech has such power. We can build up. We can tear down. Pastor Justin spoke of this power in church yesterday in a sermon entitled “Speech Therapy”. A clever use of the term. We need speech therapy. Not to pronounce the words, but to help us choose wisely. Our pastor had cutouts to demonstrate those we meet on a daily basis. The one who talks “crap” all the time. The one who whines and cries about everything. The vampire who sucks the life out of you. The angry yelper who shouts and charges about like a bull in a china shop. He also used some popular iconic figures like Dr. Phil, Joel Osteen, and Donald Trump to illustrate the power of words.
\nDr. Phil is a good guy, offers sound advice, but not the one to look to for divine direction. Joel Osteen…the one who builds you up, always smiling, always positive. We can use more people in the world like Dr. Phil and Joel Osteen…they build up.
\nWhen he held up President Trump, I was a little worried where that might go. I’ve listened to politics being preached from the pulpit and I don’t like it. I loved the direction Pastor Justin took it, though. Love him. Hate him. There’s both of you out there. That’s not what this is about. What this is about is the power of the word. And using words to divide and cause conflict is counterproductive. We cannot control another person, but we can pray for them. I pray for our President to use discretion when he chooses words. I pray he decides to leave Twitter alone. I pray for his wisdom and discernment and good judgement. I have my opinions and beliefs about him but they are personal. I pray God blesses his tongue.
\nPraying for wisdom in our leaders and peace for our world is one thing I can do every day. Because my words have power. And if I speak with angry rhetoric, I am giving the enemy a foothold in my world. The enemy only has the power I give him. Using my words to express my desires to my legislators is another thing I can do. So, I keep trying my best. I try to watch my words and choose them carefully. I try not to cuss like a sailor but fail more than I like. Like I said, I’m a work in progress. I’m human. ❤️
\n“but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God’s likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be. Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?”\nJames 3:8-11 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2018-02-12T02:30:29-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/02/12/word-power.html", "tags": ["Prayer","Positive Energy","Growth","Grace","Wisdom"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/02/07/i-am-enough.html", "title": "I Am Enough", "content_html": "![\"Woman](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/aacfccbe1f.jpg\")
“I Am Enough”
A friend of mine posts these really great inspirational messages on her Facebook page. She comes up with original questions, collections of photos surrounding a theme, and generally spreads love and light throughout the world…with an occasional “f-bomb” thrown in for emphasis. Her name is Barbara. I think she should write a book or have a syndicated newsletter or something because I never see her stuff without feeling uplifted and in awe. I love her.
\nYesterday she posted the following question:
\nWHO ARE YOU?\nAnswer without:\nName, Job, Things you Did, Friends
\nAs I always do with her thought provoking posts…I sat and thought. I made a cup of tea. I stared out the window. I listened to a recording of ocean waves. And…I sat and thought some more. I could answer many things. Christian. Gypsy. Dreamer. Giver. Lover. Friend. But those things only answer a part of the question with those parameters. I decided on this…
\nI Am Enough.
\nWhen this picture was taken, I was visiting my dear friend, Patti from Buffalo Baking Company in California. I had just completed a few of my big “firsts”. My first foray into the world of dating. HUGE mistake on the dating end. BIG help on the “having a shoulder to cry on” end. It didn’t turn out very well for either of us, unfortunately. Too much…WAY too soon. I had survived our anniversary, our birthdays, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas. And I headed to the west coast to stay with a woman I had never met in person…I only knew her through this blog. But I knew her heart and she is good and she loved on me for a week.
\nI had it in my head that once the clock struck midnight and 2013 turned into 2014, I could say…”He died LAST YEAR”. Somehow I thought that would sweep up the wreckage of my life from the floor where it fell eight months earlier. It would be the glue to piece my heart back together. On this day…New Year’s Day 2014…we drove to Half Moon Bay play tourist. We walked the beach, browsed the shops, ate fabulous seafood, and enjoyed each other’s company.
\nWhen we got to the beach, I asked if I could have a moment alone. I walked to the water’s edge and talked to Mr. Virgo. I told him how much I loved him. I let a little piece of him go free. I placed a few strands of his hair into the foam around my freezing bare feet. And I cried. As I was walking back to Patti and her husband, I saw she had her camera poised and I threw up my hands as if to say, “Ta Da!!! That’s done!!!”
\nOh…I was SO naive.
\nI only THOUGHT I was done. I thought the New Year would bring a new me…sans tears, anxiety, sleepless nights throwing up, fits of rage and depression, and deep melancholia. It was far from it. It only opened my eyes to the stark reality that this really WAS real. He really WAS gone. And now, I got the opportunity to feel it all without that protective gauze of grief sheltering my weary heart and mind from the full blow. Now I was raw, open, searing with the painful presence of daily life…without him. Without my heart. Without my mind. At least as I had known it.
\nThat second year was exactly like holding a sword into the white hot heat of a forge. It tempered me. It made me stronger so that when I was beaten, I held my edge. I became sharp and strong. I was honed into a new version of me.
\nWhen you look at the edge of a well-honed sword, you do not see a sharp, straight line. You see little bits and fragments and fingers of metal that have been forced to line up in the same direction. But there are chips and divots and feathers of steel lining up like soldiers marching in formation. Yet, zoom back out and you can cut a watermelon in midair with one easy stroke.
\nWhen you hone a sword, there is a stopping point. There is a place where you say…that is enough. If you keep going, the blade doesn’t get any sharper. It just wears away. This is where I am on this journey now. If I keep grinding away at this, I just get worn till I’m useless. There was that tipping point somewhere along the line where I said to myself…I Am Enough. This is good…this life I have built. I have surrounded myself with love and light. God, in his infinite Mercy, has given me more hearts to love and more time to love them. If my edge should dull…and it will…I will put my feet to the flame again and get strong and sharp. Over and over and over…ad infinitum. It is what we do. It is the best we can do. It is ALL we can do. Do the work. Walk through the flames. Become stronger. And proclaim to the world…
\nI. Am. Enough. And, my darling friend…you are, too!
\n❤️
\n“being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”\nPhilippians 1:6 NIV11
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-02-07T02:30:52-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/02/07/i-am-enough.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","God","Wisdom","Presence"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/02/06/good-night-mr-crane.html", "title": "Good Night, Mr. Crane", "content_html": "
![\"“John](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/93daa3e867.jpg\")
“John Mahoney aka Martin Crane”
In 1993, my youngest was a toddler. We watched a lot of TV in those days. Winnie the Pooh, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, Little Mermaid. Those were the go to movies to get a little one settled down after her bath. And when we finally got her tucked in for the night…mommy and daddy could watch something to settle US down. We loved MASH reruns. We were big fans of Cheers, Friends, Everybody Loves Raymond, Roseanne, Will and Grace. But I think my all time favorite was Frasier.
\nCreated as a spinoff of Cheers, Frasier followed Dr. Frasier Crane as he returned to Seattle and began building a new life. His brother, Niles was a neurotic psychiatrist. Frasier’s housekeeper Daphne was a physical therapist and live-in housekeeper who cared for Frasier’s father, Martin Crane, who lived in the apartment with them.
\nMr. Crane was a quirky curmudgeon ex-detective who walked with a limp and doted on his Jack Russell Terrier, Eddie. He was diametrically opposite of both of his sons and offered comedic timing that often left his cast mates in stitches. He was funny, charming, and down to earth.
\nIn real life, John Mahoney never was comfortable with the fame Frasier afforded him and when the show went off the air, he moved back to a suburb of Chicago and worked with the Steppenwolf Theater. He was fiercely protective of his private life. He was a Godly man. He said he always prayed to the Holy Spirit for guidance and wisdom.
\nI’d like to think he’s kicking back in that ratty, ill-fitting yellow plaid recliner of his, popping a nice cold beer on his first night in heaven. Good night, Mr. Crane. Thank you for making me laugh till I cried. ❤
\n“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”\nPsalm 119:105 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-02-06T02:30:31-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/02/06/good-night-mr-crane.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","Gratitude"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/02/05/the-eagles-have-landed.html", "title": "The Eagles Have Landed!", "content_html": "
![\"Eagles](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/bdd5ca37e6.jpg\")
Eagles win the Super Bowl!
Everyone loves an underdog. In a Google poll, only a handful of states hoped for a Patriots win, even though they were predicted to win by a substantial margin.
\nThe game was tight. Philadelphia held the lead till they faltered in the third quarter when they seemed to run out of steam. Or, more accurately, Tom Brady got a fire lit under his team…finally. For a few brief moments, the Patriots led till a fumble picked up by the Eagles gave the birds some wings.
\nAll through the game, I kept calling up to Mr. Virgo. “Are you watching this???” “OMGosh! Can you believe this???” Mr. FixIt laughed. I have no shame. I will call on the ghost of my late husband to go down on that field and trip the opponents’ quarterback if I have to.
\nIt literally came down to the last few seconds of the game when an incomplete pass gave the Eagles their very first Super Bowl win. Mr. Virgo watched them religiously. He hoped. He dreamed. And they always failed him. They always broke his heart. I wish he could have seen that game last night! I have a feeling maybe he did. In the post game interviews and presentation of the Vince Lombardi Trophy, each player gave credit to God first. I was so proud. I cried. These are men of character. Gone are the shameful days of Michael Vick. These men worked hard and, even after losing their franchise quarterback to an injury earlier in the season, they managed to pull off an unimaginable feat and beat the famed New England Patriots. Within moments of the win, my brother called from Colorado to share the joy of the win with me.
\nWe had family with us all afternoon. We had game day food. We had an incredible game with a glorious win. We had credit given where credit was due. sigh It was a really wonderful day. ❤️ ? ❤️
\n“But many who are first will be last, and the last first.”\nMark 10:31 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-02-05T02:30:14-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/02/05/the-eagles-have-landed.html", "tags": ["Family","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Fun","Grace","God","Presence"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/02/04/skeletons-in-the-closet.html", "title": "Skeletons in the Closet", "content_html": "
![\"A](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/9d498ad0a8.jpg\")
\nExploring genealogy can lead to some real surprises. Family secrets like the baby “born” to the woman in her sixties with a 16 year old daughter. To save face, the grandparents registered the birth as their own instead of their unwed daughter, even though the daughter continued to raise that little girl plus two more. Or how about the man who stole a pig, was exonerated, then got in a fight with the sheriff over something completely different and killed him in a barroom brawl. There’s suicides, like my great great uncle who had horrible lifelong pain from arthritis or one of Mr. FixIt’s distant relatives who took arsenic. You never know what you might find when you delve into the past.
\nWhen I was a little girl, I had a special aunt. She lifted me up and made me feel good about myself. I remember her stooping down to tell me how beautiful I looked in periwinkle blue. It made my heart sing and I absolutely adored her. I grew up emulating her every move, style, thought. She was married to my dad’s brother and she did NOT like that side of the family. Unfortunately, she instilled that in me and I never really had much of a relationship with them. But I was one of her “special ones”. We talked for hours…HOURS. I basked in her attention.
\nThen, somewhere along the line…there was a rift. I wasn’t allowed to come see her anymore. I had done something my uncle didn’t approve of and that was that. It was easier to let me go than to deal with his anger. I didn’t talk with her for a long time. Then Mr. Virgo died. I just had to talk to her…just one more time. I called and left a message. And told her I would try her only once more the following afternoon. When I called back, she picked up on the first ring. It was like old times. I collapsed into my beloved aunt’s love and she comforted me in my loss. She listened to me cry. We talked for two hours and when it came time to ring off, I sensed this was the last time I would ever talk with her. I wanted to make it count.
\nI told her to listen to me. I told her I knew it wasn’t her turning me away because she didn’t love me. I knew the uncomfortable situation she was in. It was a different time. Women were more dependent…for a number of reasons. She couldn’t walk away. I understood that. I told her I loved her very much, I knew I was still one of her “special ones”, and I didn’t blame her. She cried. She thanked me for understanding. I told her goodbye. That was five years ago.
\nI’m telling you…I was a late bloomer. I didn’t learn the lessons of your 20’s till I was in my 60’s. When an impressionable young girl is under the spell of a powerful mother figure, real personal growth isn’t possible until that influence is removed. In rapid succession, I lost my grandma, I lost a marriage in which I had always deferred to my husband, one of my best friends moved away, I lost my mom, my aunt, and Mr. Virgo…all in a period of a few short years. I was set adrift. I didn’t know how to be…me. It was bad enough that I lost my sweet husband and was grieving and had to learn how to be without him. But those people who should have been there to help me learn how to be a widow…weren’t. As a late bloomer, I had a crash course in Adulting 101. It was incredibly rough.
\nThen something wonderful happened. OK, it was awful…I lost my dad. I was never close to him, but it was loss just the same. And right there in the basement of the church when we gathered to eat after the funeral, the miracle happened. Those family members on my dad’s side that I had shunned out of deference to my aunt, opened their arms and drew me in. They loved on me. They gave me their phone numbers. They planned a family picnic. I saw them…really SAW them as the beautiful people they are and I realized in that moment how much I had lost by being led astray. All those years, I thought I couldn’t love them both…my aunt AND my dad’s family. What a waste.
\nLast night, I was diving into an hour or so of genealogy research before I started writing. I don’t know if you are familiar with ancestry.com. When there are new hints for a family member in your tree, a little leaf grows out of the upper right corner of their picture. It has been five years since I’ve signed into Ancestry to do a little snooping around. OMGosh! It looked like a forest in there! Leaves everywhere. I started with my parents and their siblings. I opened my uncle’s hint. A picture of his gravestone. He had died in 2016! I called my cousins and they hadn’t heard a thing. I googled. Nothing. I searched the newspaper archive. No obituary. Nothing.
\nI sat back and let my mind wander and absorb the news. My thoughts swirled round till they started to settle into a reality. All this time, I had let myself believe that once this man was gone, my aunt could talk to me freely again. I could have that relationship back that I had cherished. But, it’s been two years. If she was going to call me…she would have by now. That’s too…half empty to me. Maybe she lost my contact information in the five years since we last talked. Maybe she has dementia and can’t call me. Or, maybe it was her. Maybe SHE was the one who didn’t like what I had done and cut me off.
\nI spent about 15 minutes feeling really sad that I would never have that special relationship again. Then I realized I have gained SO much since things changed. I learned how to think for myself. I gained a whole family of cousins whom I love very much. Life is all about change. It isn’t always easy to adapt to change. However…adapt or stay trapped. It always comes back to choices. I’m special now because GOD says I’m special…I say I’m special…Mr. FixIt and my family says I’m special. And I still look beautiful in periwinkle blue. ❤️
\n“But after you have suffered for a little while, the God of all grace, who calls you to share his eternal glory in union with Christ, will himself perfect you and give you firmness, strength, and a sure foundation. To him be the power for ever! Amen.”\n1 Peter 5:10-11 GNBDC
\n", "date_published": "2018-02-04T02:30:45-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/02/04/skeletons-in-the-closet.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Strong Women","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","God","Wisdom","Forgiveness","Presence","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/02/03/digging-in-the-past.html", "title": "Digging in the Past", "content_html": "![\"My](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/37b4ea7927.jpg\")
My Ancestors
I received an e-mail from my cousin’s son the other day through the ancestry.com website. He was asking for permission to look at my family tree. He’s been doing a little research to give to his niece when she’s old enough to take interest and since I have ten times the number of names in my tree over his, he wanted a peek. I said yes, of course.
\nI mentioned in my post yesterday that I had discovered a long lost cousin in my long time friend and in the process, I downloaded the Ancestry app again. It had been quite some time since I had delved into genealogy because, quite frankly, I have a tendency to dive in and stay there for months at a time. Seriously, I’ve needed an intervention before this. I have nearly 6,000 names in my tree, if that tells you anything about the time I spend (waste?) on this stuff.
\nSometime in the last couple of years, I sent in a DNA sample to Ancestry. Nothing much came of it for a while. I got my readout with no real surprises save for <1% Finnish. Then, as more and more people did the test, more and more connections have been made. I downloaded the AncestryDNA app and there’s an amazing interactive map that shows the ancestors I have been genetically linked to, where they were from, when they came to the United States, and where they settled. There are thousands of connections….from 2nd cousins to far distant relatives.
\nAlong with these new connections come the items in their corresponding trees. Certificates of birth, marriage, and death. Deeds and wills. Censuses. City directories. Obituaries. Cemetery locations. All interesting and they fill in a lot of blanks. But the BEST sunken treasures are the photographs of ancestors you’ve never met…you’ve never seen. Like this picture, for instance. That dapper man in the hat standing in the center is my second great grandfather…Daniel. His wife, Lydia, is seated in front and slightly to his left. They had thirteen children. He lived a long life of seventy-five years and died in 1897 in his hometown. His grandfather fought in the Revolutionary War. One of his sons…my great grandfather, Benjamin…is the gentleman standing on the far left.
\nI’ve never felt more connected to my ancestry as I do living here in West Virginia. The very ground cries out their names, the hills echo their stories. I have a lot on my plate right now, but I can’t help diving in just a bit and see what’s new out there. My tree has leaves everywhere meaning there’s a boatload of hints to follow up on. If I go too far down the rabbit hole, send in the troops! ❤️
\n“And now it is because of my hope in what God has promised our ancestors that I am on trial today.”\nActs 26:6 NIV11
\n#ancestry, #knowledge, #family
\n", "date_published": "2018-02-03T02:30:31-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/02/03/digging-in-the-past.html", "tags": ["Family","Uplifting Stories","Positive Energy","West Virginia","Gratitude","Love","Presence"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/01/31/go-away-mr-snarky.html", "title": "Go Away, Mr. Snarky!", "content_html": "![\"Lion\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/6c594f517d.jpg\")
\nSomething is fundamentally wrong with this world today. Ok…there are so many things, it’s hard to land on one…but today, it’s all about this guy I went to high school with. I love how the Lord gives me SO many opportunities to practice keeping my mouth shut. And I’m doing a whole lot better at it. God knows it isn’t easy for me sometimes.
\nSo, back to this guy. We’ll call him Joe. Ok, that’s his name…Joe. It doesn’t matter if I identify him here…he’ll NEVER see this post. Because Joe is FAR too busy making snarky political comments on other people’s Facebook pages.
\nI became friends with Joe on Facebook in 2009. We were classmates all through school. He was one of the “cool kids”. He was a real cutie back in the day. I hate to admit that even in 2009, I kinda dug it if the “popular” people became my friends on Facebook. That’s sad, isn’t it? There was still some personal growth I obviously needed to work on…and Joe was my opportunity.
\nIn nearly every case, those classmates that I really didn’t know in school have turned out to be sheer delights as friends at this stage of the game. Not Joe. Joe is opinionated, snarky, and oh so bold in his political opinions now that his candidate is in the White House. I usually don’t care. I don’t discuss politics online. I can scroll by annoying posts…I’m an adult. But when I expressed concern at the $23M price tag on the refrigeration’s units for Air Force One, I wasn’t inviting a political discourse. I was questioning how a refrigerator could cost that much. I wanted to learn.
\nSeveral people wrote genuinely kind responses, referring me to websites that explained the intricacies of such a piece of machinery. The two planes that are interchangeable to carry the President (whichever one has POTUS onboard at the time is called Air Force One) were first flown in 1987. Parts must be custom made because they are no longer being manufactured. Plans for new planes began under GW Bush but were postponed. The new planes will not be ready for service until 2023. The new planes will have more modern defenses against missiles and electromagnetic pulse attacks. And, apparently…cold snacks. (Thank you, Gina!) This was the kind of helpful, respectful answer I was looking for. Then, along came Joe.
\nI’ve noticed over the last couple of years, Joe is really opinionated. REALLY. As in, “I have no respect for your opinion if it doesn’t agree with mine.” He dive bombs every conversation with politically charged nastiness. He doesn’t call you names or anything. He just jumps in and stirs the pot. I know. I could have cut him off at the knees a hundred times. But, I’ve been interested in seeing just how far he would take this. The thing is, it’s never quite enough to make me pull the plug. He’s just like an annoying fly at a picnic. I figured I’d just ignore him.
\nThe comment he made wasn’t necessarily offensive, or ugly. However…it just didn’t feel good. It wasn’t nice. It wasn’t supportive, or helpful, or kind, or even polite. I never strike back like with like. I was polite. I asked him not to come to my page and be snarky. I promised I wouldn’t go to his and do the same. It wasn’t enough for Joe. He had to swoop back in with the last word. I can tolerate political differences. I don’t have to suffer a fool.
\nMy dad was well into his eighties when the internet gained traction. He and I never saw eye to eye about much. But I’ll never forget him saying the internet was going to be the downfall of society. We’re watching it happen. People are losing their ability to be kind to one another. They are emboldened behind screens to say things they might not say to your face. And after some time, they lose even that reservation and the ugly comes out everywhere.
\nI’m tired. I want nice again. I saw Tom Hanks is going to play Mr. Rogers in a movie about his life. Maybe that’s what we need…more Mr. Rogers. I miss manners. I miss kindness. I miss my country. I can work with anybody…just, for heaven’s sake, be nice. ❤️
\n“Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”\nEphesians 4:31-32 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-01-31T02:30:11-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/01/31/go-away-mr-snarky.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Positive Energy","Growth","Grace","Peace","Wisdom","Forgiveness","Presence"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/01/30/the-mckinney-grief-scale.html", "title": "The McKinney Grief Scale", "content_html": "
![\"Elk](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/27222316f7.jpg\")
“Elk in Colorado” by Ginny McKinney
It’s that time of year again where Facebook is kindly sharing the memories of things that occurred in the weeks leading up to Mr. Virgo’s death. This is a wonderful feature, really. It reminds us of things that happened in the past. Birthday parties, the birth of new family members, that dinner party you had to celebrate something special. Those memories come in and give us warm fuzzies. But what about the memories leading up to a tragic loss? They can be so painful…especially early in the grief process. Even now…leading up to the fifth angelversary of my late husband’s death, these memories take me back to that innocent time before I knew what death REALLY was.
\nIt’s not like I would change this. I wouldn’t want these memories to go away. I’d just like to have them come in a little gift box that I could open should I choose to see the contents. I remember the week of his first angelversary. Ironically, it was right around the time they started this memory thing. It took my breath away and knocked me to my knees. For the most part, five years and a new relationship have eased that. It’ll never take it away completely, though. Grief doesn’t work that way. Grief is sneaky. There comes a time when it seems to leave you alone for a bit. It walks around disguised…camouflaged. Then something like a Facebook memory, or a familiar aroma, or the way the sun slants through the window, or the smell of coffee brewing…grief walks up to you, stares you in the face, pokes you in the chest like a schoolyard bully and yells, “Hey!!! Remember me???”
\nNow, it seems, there is a two-toned scale of grief-tinged memories…0-10 on the dark scale (D), 0-10 on the light scale (L). I have dubbed it the “McKinney Grief Scale”. Early memories were high on the dark scale and low on the light. Particularly poignant memories may still lean towards an elevated dark scale with a modicum of light poured in. With the distance of five years, almost all memories are high on the light scale with occasional spikes in the dark.
\nThis particular memory is a D3L8. We were in the early stages of a heavy snowstorm and Mr. Virgo was home for the day. We had no place to go. We spent the day watching TV, talking, cooking, maybe we snuggled on the couch and watched a movie or napped in each other’s arms. I remember going to the kitchen for something and looking out the sliding glass doors. Here were these beautiful elk in our backyard. I grabbed my phone and snapped this picture. I loved the elk in our area. Our subdivision had been a ranch for a hundred years before it was subdivided and houses were built. We encroached on the elk habitat and eventually drove them out. Still, once in a while some would wander through and you’d get a glimpse.
\nYes, a solid D3L8. A little dark, a good amount of light. That’s where I sit a lot these days leading up to Number 5. ❤️
\n“Surely the righteous will never be shaken; they will be remembered forever.”\nPsalm 112:6 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-01-30T02:30:44-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/01/30/the-mckinney-grief-scale.html", "tags": ["Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Grace","Wisdom","Presence"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/01/28/the-is-the-day-the.html", "title": "The Is The Day The Lord Hath Made", "content_html": "
![\"Praise\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/ed0eeb41f7.jpg\")
Praise
Let us celebrate and be GLAD in it! It is so easy to celebrate and be glad in the day when all is right in your world, isn’t it? I mean, we want God’s blessings, right? We are happy in our blessings and we (hopefully) thank God for providing for us. It’s a different story when things aren’t going well. It is SO hard to celebrate and be glad when your world is falling apart. I don’t think God is asking you to go out in the streets and celebrate with singing and dancing if you are sincerely in the throes of pain. We can still celebrate the fact we have a loving Father who is going to use our pain for good in some way. He is working in the background, far beyond our understanding, twisting and turning events to bring you favor. We can still be glad in the day he has made, even if we can’t drag ourselves out of bed to enjoy it. I’ve been there. I know what mattress surfing is like. And I still rejoiced that I had someone who loved me more than I could ever imagine.
\nBringing joy into the world isn’t always easy, but the more you try, the more you succeed, and the more you succeed, the more joy you have to give. It is truly the gift that keeps on giving. When I see joy in someone, I stop them and recognize it in them. We are here to love and encourage one another. When you let someone know that you SEE their efforts, your encouragement causes them to grow and expand. It’s an amazing gift you give them…and give yourself.
\nI ran across this video last night and I just had to share with you. Here’s a little girl with more joy than she can possibly contain. Here’s a future worship leader! A future teacher! A future politician! A future doctor! She has the whole world ahead of her and plenty of joy to share. This is the day the Lord hath made…let us rejoice and be glad in it! Go out there and make it a great day today!!! ❤️
\n\n“This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it.”\nPsalms 118:24 KJV
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-01-28T02:30:20-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/01/28/the-is-the-day-the.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/01/22/in-the-beginning.html", "title": "In the Beginning", "content_html": "
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/b08802211c.jpg\")
\nMarshmallow Ranch actually started in 2001. I was separated from Hubby #2 the year before. I had worked in medicine before becoming a stay-at-home mom in 1986. Unfortunately, since my soon-to-be ex was a doctor in the community, it was a decidedly uncomfortable environment in which to seek employment. I found myself struggling to find a new career in our small, mountain community. I worked for about a year filling in at the local downtown shops…working one day a week at each of five stores, giving the shop owners a welcome day off. I found I enjoyed the interaction with the customers and I was very good at merchandising. My ex noticed this and proposed I open a shop of my own and he would help me get started.
\nOne of my favorite pastimes in those days was needlework. I belonged to the Embroiderer’s Guild that met once a month. I also belonged to a quilting guild. But my favorite was our weekly “Stitch and B****” held at my friend Judy’s house. We brought whatever project we were working on and sat around with coffee and pastries and got all the support we needed for whatever issue we were facing as young mothers. When I started thinking about what kind of shop I wanted to open, I asked the girls and they unanimously chimed in. “A needlework supply shop!”
\nI really wanted my store on the main street through town for the foot traffic. Unfortunately, the rents there were out of my budget so I went two streets east. I was across the street from the Hotel Denver and catty corner from the Amtrak Station. The building was one of the oldest in town. It had been the St. James Inn at one time with a shady history of being one of the brothels in the early days when most of downtown consisted of tents and mud. When coming up with a name, I thought of Cat House Cross Stitch, but thought better of it. I finally settled on Needles & Pins. The owners of the building did a major remodel with my shop in mind. When it was complete, it was lovely. Old hardwood floors were brought back to life. Salvaged brick lined one wall. A large table was in the back room. Every Wednesday, women gathered at my shop for our own version of “Stitch and B****”. From the moment I opened the doors to closing time, the shop rang with the laughter of women sharing stories and solving the problems of the world. I lost my shirt…twice…but it was wonderful therapy for a lot of women, including myself. It’s when I first found my footing on my own again.
\nIf you are a cross-stitcher, you are familiar with cute publishing houses like “Birds of a Feather”, “Mosey & Me”, “Blackbird Designs” and “The Prairie Schooler”. Being an artist, I thought I would try my hand at designing some cross-stitch patterns. I wanted to come up with a cute name for the division of my business. As I was going through a box of things in my art studio one day, I came across the picture of a field in West Virginia with large, round bales of hay wrapped in white plastic. They looked all the world like huge marshmallows. I had taken the photo on a trip a few years earlier. My youngest had asked what those things were and her big sister teased her telling her this was a marshmallow ranch. This was where they grew big marshmallows then cut them up in little pieces, put them in bags and sent them to the stores. Marshmallow Ranch! The perfect name for my tiny little art division of Needles & Pins.
\nUnfortunately, the shop wasn’t open long enough for my ideas to come to fruition. I did design three or four patterns and had samples stitched, but never got them published. This is the most detailed of my designs. I called it “Three Sheep”. Maybe someday I’ll get around to developing that idea again. Designing cross-stitch patterns isn’t as easy as it looks. Even with my interest in art, I’m not a very good judge of color. I found this picture on my new computer when the photos were delivered from the cloud and thought I’d share it with you. It’s been thirteen years since I closed the second incarnation of my little needlework shop. It was a difficult time in my life, but one that shaped the path of who I have become. It’s something I am proud of in retrospect. ❤️
\n“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”\nJames 1:17 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-01-22T02:30:44-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/01/22/in-the-beginning.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Fun","Growth","New Ideas","Gratitude","Grace","Presence","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/01/21/when-your-body-speakslisten.html", "title": "When Your Body Speaks...Listen", "content_html": "
![\"WV](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/cc2963afd0.jpg\")
\nI had a huge day planned yesterday. I was really looking forward to gathering with two different groups of friends. I awoke sometime before dawn and my body just said, “Nope. Not today. Go back to sleep.” In the past, I might have forced myself up and made myself go. Since losing Mr. Virgo, I’ve learned to listen more to my body when it speaks to me.
\nGrief not only causes things like “grief brain” which was illustrated in the article I shared with you the other night. Several health ailments can be attributed to grief and the resultant stress it causes. High levels of cortisol…the “fight or flight” hormone…can cause everything from high blood pressure to heart disease to depression to substance abuse. It also affects your immune system and you tend to get sick easier and things last longer. There isn’t an expiration date on grief either. You may not be actively grieving, but you can still suffer from the repercussions.
\nYesterday it was tummy trouble. Easy enough to fix with rest, fluids and over the counter medications. I have to be extra careful with things like gluten and fats now. I didn’t have to do that before Mr. Virgo died. Another thing that came my way was an autoimmune response to grief and I developed plantar-palmar psoriasis. I doctored that with steroids and every psoriasis cream known to man. I tried folk remedies and old wive’s tales. Nothing touched it till last year when I started using doTerra’s LifePak vitamins and CBD (canabidiol) ointment. It’s pretty well controlled now with occasional applications and I take a small dose of the vitamins every other day or so.
\nNothing is the same after a profound loss. For a long time, I grieved not only for Mr. Virgo…but also for the ME that I lost in the process of grieving. When I finally let go of trying to recreate my life the way it was before, I began to embrace the life I was building. It’s much, much better but the physical things still creep up on me from time to time. I still find them frustrating, even though I am much better at listening to my body now. When it says, “Go back to sleep”…unless I have something that I absolutely HAVE to do…I listen. I texted my friends and told them I was going to have to bow out because I didn’t feel well. They totally understood. There will be other opportunities to get together. And I spent the day reading. I haven’t spent the day reading in ages because for the longest time, my grief brain wouldn’t allow me to concentrate long enough to get through a book. It was lovely to be able to read…and comprehend what I was reading. Mr. Fixit watched college basketball and a couple of movies while I cuddled up on the couch and listened to recordings of campfires and thunderstorms.
\nRemember…self care is not selfish. It is necessary. If you are alone, you may have the freedom to practice self care any time, but not always. I am fortunate to have this wonderful man who understands and supports my need for self care on a regular basis. What a gift he is to me. ❤️
\n“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.”\n1 Peter 5:7-11 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-01-21T02:30:15-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/01/21/when-your-body-speakslisten.html", "tags": ["Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom","Presence","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/01/20/savor-the-sweet.html", "title": "Savor the Sweet", "content_html": "
![\"Woman](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/411e0f5d86.jpg\")
\nThe first time I set foot in a trout stream, I was six years old. It was the summer before my life would be forever changed by the illicit touch of a stranger. The summer of 1960 found my family on its very first vacation. We traveled to the mountains of West Virginia and rented a small cabin for a week. I remember mom frying trout in an iron skillet. I remember my brother and I playing quietly in the shade of the many trees surrounding our camp. I remember my dad standing in the shallow middle, up to his knees, casting over and over with the flies he had meticulously tied at his workbench in the basement. And I remember the river. The North Fork of the South Branch of the Potomac River, to be exact.
\nI didn’t have much experience with open bodies of water. Mom had instilled an unhealthy fear of water in me with stories of the time she saved her baby sister from drowning. She had no intention of ever having to save me, so I was banished from any water sports. And, it turns out…I’m a bit of a water baby. I remember one day in particular. Dad was out in his favorite fishing hole, patiently casting, and I stood at the river’s edge. I contemplated the ripples as they passed over the smooth river rocks. I gazed at the deep pools that changed to the color of emeralds where the sandy bottom lay two or three feet below. I delighted at the light dancing on the surface like a thousand diamonds and the trout flashing as they breached the surface to catch their next meal.
\nThat was a simple and peaceful summer…the last I would know before my innocence was taken from me. But, that is not to say, I have never found moments that have recaptured that sense of awe and wonder. I have…many times. Yesterday was one of those days that delivered sweet things…one after another…till I was overflowing with the beauty and simplicity of it all.
\nI made my routine trip to the farm to see how the kitties are fairing. I checked the stove and the basement. I sat, as I always do, in the chair in “Grandma’s Window” and watched the birds at the feeder. I listened to the sounds of an old house…living and breathing…its bones creaking like the old woman that she is. I watched the pendulum in Mr. Virgo’s clock swing back and forth, reminding me I couldn’t stay too long. We had company coming.
\nI stopped at the neighbor’s for a bit and delivered a small gift of French Truffles. We passed the time, catching up on the news of the neighbors and I left with promises it wouldn’t be so long till my next visit. I turned the truck toward home. I checked the mail and found a pink slip…a package had come and would be waiting for me at the post office. Mr. FixIt offered to go pick it up as I put the groceries away. I no sooner sat down till our company arrived.
\nMr. FixIt’s granddaughter and her family brought their baby to see Papaw and GG! I have inherited a whole passel of people in this relationship, including a son and his wife, a daughter and her man, three granddaughters (two of whom have significant others), a grandson and his girlfriend, and a great granddaughter. You know what that means, don’t you? I am a great grandmother! And…considering I am WAY too young to be one (smile)…I am GG. Great Grandma. Grandma Ginny. GG. It suits me. The baby is four months old and the most precious little thing. What a treat to hold and rock a little one again!
\nBefore long, Mr. FixIt came back with my box. I couldn’t wait to open it. It was a special introductory gift box from my dear friend, and fellow Sister on the Fly, Michelle McMullen Cummings with her newly published book, The Reel Sisters! https://www.thereelsisters.com/product/the-reel-sisters-gift-box/ Now I have two books to read, one published and one unpublished with an invitation to write early praise for its release. Both written by strong women I admire and I can’t wait to get into them! The reminder of these sister friendships warmed my heart as rocked and sang a lullaby to the newest member of our immediate family. I thought…”I will teach you to fly, little sister” as I sniffed the top of her sweet, soft head.
\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/8a4033efd5.jpg\")
\nI am enjoying getting to know and bond with Mr. FixIt’s family. As his granddaughter bundled up the baby and prepared to leave yesterday, she turned to me and said, “I like you. You make my grandpa very happy.” I like her, too. She reminds me a little of myself when I was her age. A young mother, in love with her baby, her life stretching before her like an endless summer. It filled me with a soft warmth. As I sat propped in our bed last night, typing away at the keyboard writing this post, that very happy Papaw came in with a small bowl of ice cream and a kiss on the top of my head. And I swear…my heart exploded with joy.
\nThe sweet simplicity of a life lived with boundless joy. My God has delivered me far, far from the pain life can bring. For now. There will be pain again. There always is. This is life, after all. The difference is, I have this now. I am building my insurance policy. These stories are money in my emotional bank…stories to look back upon one day and remember the joy I felt on a cold January day in the sun. ❤️
\n“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”\nJames 1:17 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-01-20T02:30:14-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/01/20/savor-the-sweet.html", "tags": ["Faith","Family","Travel","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Hope","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","The Farm","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom","Presence","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/01/19/catching-up.html", "title": "Catching Up", "content_html": "
![\"Coffee](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/50b1ef10f4.jpg\")
\nOne of the best ways to catch up with paperwork is to have peaceful surroundings. Mr. FixIt had a day of errands to do. I think he kinda wanted me to tag along with him yesterday, but I know us well…I would have ended up coming in at 9:30 last night and none of this work would have gotten done.
\nAs soon as he left (with a big hug and kiss) I turned on praise music and cranked it up. I always need a little extra dose of Jesus when I am heading into a formidable task. Wading through many bags and boxes of papers and sorting them into some sort of organization that allows me to actually put my finger on things was the order of the day. With praise, and good coffee and French Truffles…I waded in with both feet and started making the first cuts. What was trash. What needed to be kept in which pile. I really, really hate paperwork! “Jesus is calling…” I can do this. “Do you thirst for a drink from the well…” I can do this. “The Father’s arms are open wide…” Oh, yes…I can definitely do this! “Bring your sorrows and trade them for joy…” YES…let’s DO this!!!
\nAs I often do, I talk out loud to Jesus when I’m working. The conversation is never one-sided. He always speaks to me through the Holy Spirit and tells me everything I need to hear. First, he smacks my hand a little…”Keep up with this stuff better.” He chides gently. “You know what an ordeal it is when you put it off till the end of the year. It seems overwhelming. If it’s difficult to slog through…remember to talk with me while you’re working. It makes the time pass faster. And, I can help. I can help you put things into perspective. I can help you find lost papers. I can help you remember who you need to talk to about this and that. I can help you make important decisions. Just remember to include me…even in the most mundane of your daily activities.”
\nThen He goes on with his daily teaching. “Thank your Father for the gifts you receive. See all these papers? They are all articles of provision. That bank account? I gave you that gift to provide for your every need. Respect that. Balance every month…not because it’s a drudge, but because it’s an honor to see the abundance you have been provided with. The same goes for that insurance policy you have been complaining about because the price went up. Be grateful you HAVE insurance…and so far, you haven’t run out of money to pay for it. What about that accident last February? I know you have been dreading searching for all the papers you need to have in order to finish out that claim. Yes, that’s a pain…but, I made sure you weren’t terribly injured. And you received a much newer truck when yours was totaled. It was “a miracle” when you got that check that just almost covered the new truck, wasn’t it? It was Me…I made sure you have a safe, affordable vehicle. A little gratitude goes a long way, dear one.”
\nWhat blessings I have. I have a Father that provides for me. I have a loving family that supports and loves me. I have this tremendous man in my life who loves me and shares his home with me as if it has always been mine…he’s just been waiting for me to come along. I have my health. I have the farm. I have TOW-Wanda. I have a retirement. I have Social Security and health insurance and soon, I’ll have Medicare…that carrot at the end of the race that will help provide for me in my golden years. I have a house…TWO houses…THREE if you count TOW-Wanda…to shelter me from the storms of life. I have food and clean water and clothes. I am wealthy….beyond my wildest dreams. I am LOVED. What a lovely way to look at the mundane, dreary chore of sorting through paperwork. What a lovely way to look at the world. Thank you, God! “You’re a good, good Father…it’s who you are, it’s who you are…” ❤️
\n“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”\nPhilippians 4:19 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-01-19T02:30:51-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/01/19/catching-up.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom","Presence"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/01/17/times-up.html", "title": "Time’s Up", "content_html": "
![\"Time’s](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/0b2a8225b1.jpg\")
\nI was a doctor’s wife. I had a beautiful life, for all intents and purposes. While he wasn’t a demonstrative man, I felt I was coping as best I could with his inability to meet my emotional needs. He was a good provider and a good dad. I could overlook the rest. There came a point when I started unraveling a bit. The clouds of depression circled around but never lit very long in those days. That is, until I went in for a physical. My doctor asked how I was doing and I told him I was a bit blue of late. I would often walk into the baby’s room, pick her up and rock her…and cry. “Hmmmmm… Inappropriate crying.” he wrote in my chart. He gave me a prescription for Zoloft and the race to self destruction began. How could I tell him why I was crying? How could I do that in the short time he had allotted for this visit? It was so much deeper than any pill could ever reach.
\nAs I write this, I’m watching the gymnasts facing their abusive doctor in court. What a different world it is for sexual abuse victims now. My first abuser was a senior in high school. I was eight or nine. I was playing with a friend when the big boy lured us into a garage to “look at toys”. When he had his hand in my pants, he was whispering things in my ear I didn’t understand. Mom said don’t talk to strangers. But “Butterball” lived in the neighborhood. We knew him. I stood stock still in the belief he would leave. When he was done with me, he went for my friend. In that moment, my maternal instincts kicked in and I grabbed her hand and ran down the hill to her house. I pounded on the door and her mother came to answer. I was frantic and told her what had happened. She opened the screen door and I thought…”Oh, thank God! She’s going to save us!” Mrs. G grabbed her daughter and drew her in the house. As I started to go in, she placed her hand on my chest, pushed me out the door, and said, “Don’t you EVER say anything like that EVER again to ANYBODY!” Then she slammed the door in my face.
\nI went to my house and sat on the lawn trying to figure out what had happened. When I was really little, my babysitter’s teenage daughter had sex with her boyfriend in her room all the time. She caught me watching once and beat the tar out of me and told me I was bad. And here, a mother I knew and trusted told me I was bad and I had a pretty good idea it had something to do with that physical act I had no name for. I made a concrete decision right there. I would take Mrs. G’s advice. I would not tell my mom. I mean, what if I told her and SHE put me out on the street like my friend’s mom??? I would die!
\nI never told, nor did I tell about the time it happened with my best friend’s dad when I was twelve or thirteen. You know…when you are convinced you are bad from your earliest memories, that kind of damage runs deeply and permanently in your DNA.
\nI didn’t tell until I was watching my girls on the living room floor, playing. Daughter #1 was sixteen. Daughter #2 was one. I don’t know if it was the way the sun came in through the window or the way my daughter tucked her hair behind her ear or maybe it was the sound of their sweet innocent voices but suddenly those memories came rushing back with such force it nearly knocked me to my knees. The shadow of depression that was floating just out of my reach crashed on me with the force of a tsunami. That is when I started rocking my baby in the night…weeping. “Inappropriate crying”? I think not. I was trying to figure out how I was going to protect this precious child from the horrors that await little girls in the great big world. I was weeping for that little girl in me who was abused then turned away by someone who could have helped her..SHOULD have helped her. I was trying to figure out just one thing in my 38-year-old mind…”Who can I tell? And, what the hell does it matter now?” Just, please God…keep them safe.
\nThe fact that I’m sitting here alive and well, and that my children are beautiful and safely grown is testimony to a mother’s strength and courage. The road was long and filled with unexploded ordinance, but we made it through. I told my mom everything when I was about forty. I was hyper vigilant with my girls but they were never abused under my watch. Now, I tell and tell and tell in an effort to teach prevention and give permission to tell your own stories. Because, #timesup. No more secrets. No more lies. No more hiding in the dark.
\nYes…I’m proud of these young gymnasts. And, everyone else in the #metoo movement. I wish there had been this same moral outrage when these athletes came forward. It would have helped them so much because, just as it’s difficult to walk the path of grief alone, so too is the walk of abuse. It is the original “walk of shame”…only we did nothing wrong. It was not our fault.
\nWhile I never wish pain on people as a rule, I felt a certain vindication when I watched that doctor with his face in his hands as he is forced to sit there while victim after victim sit before him and tell their stories. To see him take off his glasses and wipe the tears away and hang his head in shame gave me great satisfaction. My abuse occurred in a time when such things weren’t talked about. Therefore, my abusers went on and lived their lives unscathed. I don’t know if they ever felt bad. Did they ever have remorse? Did they ever think of me? Did they ever want to ask for my forgiveness but didn’t know where to find me? Or better yet, did they ask God to forgive them? Did they find salvation? Will we meet somewhere and have the opportunity to talk? One is dead. Too late. I’m not sure about the other one. He’d be about 74 years old now. I’ve forgiven them both long ago. But I do often wonder…what if? What if I could sit (or could have sat) in front of my abusers and tell them what their actions did to me. How it affected my family, my relationships, my children. How it affected my views of the world and my sense of personal safely and my relationship to sexuality. How their few moments stolen from me left a deep chasm in my psyche that I urgently tried to fill with drugs and alcohol, sex and shopping. How the memories I had so carefully packed deeply away in a place that could never be opened came crashing out on a sunny Saturday morning…ripping my neat and tidy little suburban doctor’s wife life into shreds.
\nInappropriate crying?!?! You got a couple of hours to listen to WHY I was holding my baby and crying?!?! You tell me, doc. Because at that point, I had no words to describe what had happened, no one to listen…to really hear…and only tears to shed. Your answer? Drugs. Drugs, drugs, and more drugs.
\n“Shhhhh…here. Take this. Let us help.”
\nI was very nearly “doctored to death”.
\nYes, today I am proud of these beautiful young women doing a job no one in their right mind wants to do. We should be living in a world where we don’t ever NEED to have these conversations. As Oprah said…there is a change coming.
\nAccountability.
\nA new dawn is rising.
\nTime’s up. ❤️
\n“If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.”\nMatthew 18:6 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2018-01-17T02:30:46-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/01/17/times-up.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Grace","God","Peace","Wisdom","Forgiveness","Presence"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/01/16/on-being-loved.html", "title": "On Being Loved", "content_html": "![\"Flowers](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/066e9e9604.jpg\")
\nMr. FixIt and I have developed this little routine the last few months. We have a nice dinner and clear up the dishes. We sit together for a while and talk or maybe watch a movie or an episode of Big Bang or MASH. When it’s time for a bedtime snack, I take mine into the bedroom at the far end of the house and write while my sweetie watches a ball game or the news and weather. It works out great and we both have that little bit of alone time everyone needs in a relationship. I’ve taken to listening to nature sounds on Amazon Music as I write so quite often, in my head, there’s a thunderstorm raging or ocean waves are gently lapping at the shore or birds are singing in a tropical rainforest. It’s so soothing and easy to write to.
\nMy guy bowls on a couple of leagues and has for over thirty years. Bowling offered him the opportunity to socialize with fun people. He is gregarious, and bowling has been a great outlet for him. The other night he stopped at the store on the way home. He always calls me before he heads home because no matter where we are staying…his house or mine…it is a good forty minutes from town. He asks if I need anything. Usually, I don’t. He called me from the driveway the other night and asked me to open the door. He’s not supposed to carry anything in his bad hand yet. When I greeted him at the door, he handed me the groceries and I ducked in the kitchen with them. It was SO cold out there…I wanted away from the door as fast as I could. When I turned around to hug him, he handed me this bouquet of yellow roses.
\nI love yellow roses. I love great big bouquets of mixed flowers but all in white. I love a live orchid. Mr. Virgo used to bring me flowers. And now…I have this sweet love…this good, good man. And HE brings me flowers, too. Guys like Mr. Virgo and Mr. FixIt are a rare breed. My sweetheart told me the other day he wished we had started dating in high school so we could have had our whole lives together. I understand that thinking, and it’s sweet…really. But the thing is, we are the people we are right now simply BECAUSE of the life experiences we have been through. There is a really big chance we wouldn’t have gotten along in our early years. All of our experiences have been opportunities for personal growth. We came together when we did because it was GOD’S timing…not ours.
\nWhen we can move over and get out of the way, God does extraordinary things in our lives. “Let go and let God” isn’t just a pithy saying or a tired cliche from an AA meeting. It is straight outta the instruction manual for life…the Bible. Oh, we are such proud creatures. We want to have control. We want to steer the boat and make it go where WE want it. At any given moment, there is a preordained course designed specifically for us. God knows your name. He has plans to prosper you. God loves you more than anyone in the world. He loves you more than you can fathom. You can make it SO much easier if you put God in the driver’s seat. The easiest way to do that is ask. Just ask Him…first thing in the morning. “Where are you going to take me today, Lord?” Then get out of the way. Oh, my…could it really be that easy??? ❤️
\n“Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.”\nProverbs 16:3 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-01-16T02:30:37-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/01/16/on-being-loved.html", "tags": ["Faith","Family","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Hope","Positive Energy","Fun","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom","Aging","Presence","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/01/14/sweet-sweet-memories.html", "title": "Sweet, Sweet Memories", "content_html": "
![\"Orchard](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e9ecc8dedd.jpg\")
\nI was fiddling around yesterday hooking up my new printer and computer when I received a text from an old friend. Cindy lived in the flat below me when Hubby #1 and I lived in England in the early ’70s. We’ve stayed in touch all these years and although we don’t get to see each other very often, we will always be close. We were young and so very far away from home and we became “family”.
\n![\"The](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e2f8f029c3.jpg\")
\nTo my surprise and utter delight, Cindy sent me several photos. Her ex was in England and had visited our little village. He sent her several pictures of the apartment building and the surrounding area. I have always wanted to go back and this was the next best thing. I’m not terribly surprised to see things look exactly as they did in 1973 when I arrived to begin my life as a newly married military bride. My husband was stationed at RAF Greenham Common in Newbury and we lived in a small village on the outskirts called Thatcham.
\n![\"Thatched](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/c96ca30ff3.jpg\")
\nI have so many wonderful memories of life on foreign soil. I remember arriving at Heathrow International Airport. I had never flown before and everything was so big and loud. I was raised in a very quiet town in West Virginia. There were very few “foreigners” in our neck of the woods. Mom had a friend who was from Lebanon. I had a distant relative who married a man whose parents immigrated from another country. When I arrived in London, I wasn’t sure there hadn’t been some sort of mistake and I had landed in Pakistan!
\n![\"Fish](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/ae80dbb8e8.jpg\")
\nAs I went through customs, I looked out a long wall of windows and saw nothing but a sea of faces staring back in. I was horrified! I turned to the Customs Agent and asked her how on earth I was going to find my husband in all this mess. She smiled and assured me HE would find ME…not to worry. He did, of course. As we left the parking garage, we entered The Twilight Zone! Every thing was different. We drove on the wrong side of the street. Huge crosswalks called “zebras” made it clear they took pedestrian safety very seriously in this country. As in any major city in the world, the cacophany of car horns were only outdone by the odd “wee woop” of emergency sirens. Big, black taxis looking all the world like they came straight out of a ’50s movie jockeyed for position to pick up the bazillion people frantically waving their arms for attention. I know for a fact I didn’t blink for the first hour I was there.
\n![\"Bakery,](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/6b0eefe359.jpg\")
\nI remember long drives through rolling fields of green. We lived in horse country. The only thing worse than hitting a pedestrian in England would be hitting a horse! Quite often, horse and rider would be spotted on the little country lanes we traveled and you had to always be on your toes to watch out for them. Hubby #1 worked the night shift so on his nights off, we would drive in the dark, foggy countryside. It was peaceful and quiet then…the yellow streetlights cutting through the dense fog to allow us to see our way.
\nI had my first baby when I lived in England. We traveled often to Reading for my doctor’s visits. We stopped at tea houses or bakeries or the local fish ’n chips shop. The only fast food in the country that we were familiar with was a Kentucky Fried Chicken there in Reading. We went to a park with our food. There was a large circular pond and people floated big motorized model boats on the water with remote controls. It was all so serene and peaceful. It really was like stepping back in time. The only thing that didn’t feel like a throwback were the young people. They were way ahead of the times sporting mohawks and studded leather jackets. It was an interesting dichotomy.
\nShopping was done frequently as the refrigerators were nothing larger than a dorm fridge. You carried a basket to market twice a week to buy food and whatever else you were looking for at the time. Cindy and I often shopped together. I was once mistaken by a shopkeeper as her mother yet I was only two years older than she! Granted, she looked very young for her age and I was very pregnant. Cindy threw a surprise baby shower for me. She is my sweet, forever sister/friend.
\nI know I’ve talked about this part of my life before, but I wanted to share these photos with you. It was so great to send them to my daughter and say…“Here’s the place we brought you to when we came home from the hospital!” I do SO want to return someday. I want to take Daughter #1 and her family. I’d also like to have Cindy and her husband join us. Dreams. Something to work towards. Always put something joyful in front of you! ❤️
\n“People who say such things show that they are looking for a country of their own.”\nHebrews 11:14 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2018-01-14T02:30:05-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/01/14/sweet-sweet-memories.html", "tags": ["Family","Travel","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Fun","Growth","Love","Wisdom"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/01/13/the-umbrella-incident-or-how.html", "title": "“The Umbrella Incident” or “How to Feed Your Man”", "content_html": "![\"Winter](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/def162faf9.jpg\")
“Winter Flooding in West Virginia” by Ginny McKinney
It all started innocently enough. It was going to rain and I was heading to town soon. As I jumped in the shower, I called out to Mr. FixIt.
\n“Honey…would you mind grabbing my umbrella out of the truck?”
\nWhen I got dressed and was heading out the door, I looked around. My umbrella wasn’t there. I asked if he had gotten it for me and Mr. FixIt said no. There was an umbrella there by the door. Now, it was a perfectly good umbrella. One that, you know, keeps rain off of you. But I wanted MY umbrella and I felt Mr. FixIt had made a decision for me. I didn’t like it.
\nSilly…that was just plain silly of me. But, I am my mother’s daughter and stubborn is my middle name. I hopped out the door and into the rain…sans umbrella.
\n“I’ll show YOU!” I thought as I made a mad dash for the truck. “I don’t need your stinky old boy umbrella!”
\nRidiculous. I got wet because I got my nose out of joint. And why? Because, somewhere in the far recesses of my mind I equated “Please get my umbrella.” with “Please tell me you love me.” That is old school thinking right there…something I thought I left behind like…two relationships ago.
\nIt’s been a couple of weeks now. And ever since, I’ve been criticizing Mr. FixIt’s every move. Mostly because he’s a man and he had surgery and he’s SUPPOSED to be taking care of that hand so it will heal properly and he’s as stubborn as me and he does things his way and….did I say he was stubborn? I have spent the better part of two weeks with “Don’t pick that up!” And “Here…let ME do it!” I think there were eye-rolls involved. All of this was done in an effort to punish him for a perceived slight that was nothing more than something made up in my head. Some unpacked baggage from seasons past that has absolutely nothing to do with him.
\nThen…the rain started.
\nIt rained…hard. Yesterday morning I awoke to the sounds of the carpet cleaner sucking water up from the rug downstairs. The basement flooded! I jumped up and ran downstairs. And there was my man…emptying one gallon containers of dirty water into the sink…carrying them with two hands, one of which he isn’t supposed to lift anything heavier than popcorn.
\n“Breathe…breathe…don’t scold him. He’s not a child.” My inner voice reasoned with me.
\n“Did you plug in the sump pump?” I asked.
\n“No.” Shoulders slumped. Voice dejected.
\n“Are you kidding me?” I asked.
\nShoulders slumped more. “Stupid. It was stupid.”
\nI took the carpet cleaner and started that part myself so he wouldn’t have to carry the bucket to the sink. Mr. FixIt went about sweeping up water in the room without carpet. He ran the vacuum. We didn’t talk much. Then I sent him off on an errand to town.
\nAfter he left, I went upstairs and fixed myself a cup of coffee. I sipped it as I ran the carpet cleaner back and forth over the soggy carpet. And I fumed. Then I could see the dejected slump of my sweetheart’s shoulders and my heart softened.
\n“Lord,” I said out loud. “I haven’t been loving this wonderful man you gave me the way I should. I haven’t been loving him the way you love me. And all because he didn’t get my umbrella for me!”
\nI sucked up more water, emptied the bucket, and began again.
\n“Lord, please give me the heart of a cheerful servant. Let me see all of his good qualities and none of the annoying traits that make us human. Can you do that for me, please?” I asked with sincere earnestness in my voice.
\nSuddenly, the old hymn “Farther Along” started up in my mind and I began to sing out loud as I vacuumed up bucket after bucket of water.
\n“Tempted and tried we’re oft made to wonder\nWhy it should be thus all the day long\nWhile there are others living about us\nNever molested though in the wrong.
\nFarther along we’ll know all about it\nFarther along well understand why\nCheer up my brother, live in the sunshine\nWe’ll understand it all by and by.
\nWhen death has come and taken our loved ones\nIt leaves our home so lonely and drear\nThen do we wonder why others prosper\nLiving so wicked year after year.
\nWhen we see Jesus coming in glory\nWhen he comes down from his home in the sky\nThen we shall meet him in that bright mansion\nWe’ll understand it all by and by.
\nFarther along we’ll know all about it\nFarther along we’ll understand why\nCheer up my brother, live in the sunshine\nWe’ll understand it all by and by.
\nYes, we’ll understand it…all by and by.”
\nI sang and sang and in two verses…maybe three…something happened. Any negative thoughts I had been having dissolved. My heart was soft and open. God had indeed given me the heart of a cheerful servant, just as I had asked.
\nI went on and worked, happily singing and emptying bucket after bucket of dirty flood water. I worked for about three hours when Mr. FixIt walked in carrying breakfast for me. I went upstairs and gave him a great big hug and an even bigger smile. I thanked him profusely for bringing me a warm breakfast. I hadn’t taken time to eat. I patted the seat beside me. He shook his head and said no…he needed to get back to it.
\n“Please?” I begged. “Just for a minute.”
\nHe smiled and sat down.
\n“Sweetheart, listen…I know you feel stupid for not plugging in the sump pump. But, I could have thought of it, too. And I didn’t. We unplugged it to put up the snowman for Christmas and just forgot. We make mistakes…it happens. It wasn’t your fault.” I put my hand on his knee and looked at him intently. I wanted to make sure he heard me.
\nMr. FixIt turned those baby blues to mine and gave me his sweetest smile. And, I felt I’d made it right. This is how you feed a man. You feed his spirit. You feed his soul. You breathe life into him. When you start looking for the bad in your love…that’s all you will see. I really, REALLY don’t want to go there. Do I get it right all the time? Oh, heck no! I’m human, too. I stumble and forget and let my lower self talk WAY too often. But sometimes I get it right. Sometimes I remember to ask God for help. Yesterday was one of those days. ❤️
\n“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”\nHebrews 4:16 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2018-01-13T02:30:33-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/01/13/the-umbrella-incident-or-how.html", "tags": ["Faith","Family","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom","Presence"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/01/12/here-comes-the-rain.html", "title": "Here Comes the Rain", "content_html": "![\"The](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/41a9fc3f1c.jpg\")
“Belpre Bridge” by Ginny McKinney
Yesterday morning was sunny and warm. By warm, I mean 47. As in…above freezing! And by afternoon it was 72 degrees according to the thermometer on my truck. swoon I haven’t felt this warm since sometime back in September. It was downright balmy out there!
\nMr. FixIt and I had errands to run yesterday and he asked me mid-day what I’d like for lunch. My go to favorite? The Southwest Grilled Chicken Salad with Fat Free Honey Mustard Dressing from Chik-fil-A! And my go to favorite place to eat it? Point Park in Parkersburg. I wanted to watch the ice floes out on the Ohio River. Yesterday, there were three Blue Herons and a bunch of Seagulls sitting out on the ice. I believe two gents were trying to woo the same lady heron because one kept shooing off the interloper. Said lady was having none of it and kept flying away from Mr. Romance.
\nIt had just started raining when we parked in our favorite spot. We really wanted to see a tug pushing barges through the ice but unfortunately, none came along. As an update, Mr. FixIt started working with a hand therapist yesterday. He’s doing really well. He did strain it a little last Sunday night when he pushed up off the floor, but it’s much better now. The therapist made a custom splint for his wrist and thumb that is much sturdier than the one he was given at the surgeon’s office and I am relieved. I was very worried he would slip on the ice and snow last week and really do some damage. We sure don’t want to have to go through this again!
\nOne of my friends and his wife lost their faithful companion, Blue, yesterday. When I was so lonely and hurting, so many of my readers encouraged me to adopt a dog, but this is exactly why I couldn’t. I simply couldn’t put myself through that loss. Mr. Virgo and I put our seventeen-year-old Yorkie-Maltese mix down just three months before Mr. Virgo himself died suddenly. We had had Cricket cremated and were going to spread her ashes in the flower garden in the spring. When Mr. Virgo died, I just put that little box of ashes in the casket with him and swore I’d never have another dog. My heart aches for those who lose their beloved fur babies.
\nWith the nature of grief being so unpredictable, sometimes you literally feel as though you are just one crisis away from losing it entirely. I cannot tell you how many times I have been in the throes of grief, and the accompanying anxiety, and I have felt like I just couldn’t handle one more thing. As a matter of fact, the FEAR of having one more thing happen actually escalated everything. I have an arsenal of coping strategies at my disposal, but sometimes the slope is too steep and the boulder gains too much momentum too fast. There were so many nights when it all got away from me and all I could do was cling to God and pray for morning. If I can get a hold of the wave early enough, the best thing I can do is get out of the situation I’m in. It usually hits me when I’m in bed, so I get up and do something…scrub the kitchen floor, clean out the fridge, run the vacuum.
\nAnother thing that will stop things from spinning out of control for me is writing. There have been countless times I’ve sat down to write my post while I’m feeling the waves of grief and anxiety come over me. As I write, I can literally feel the stress, fear, and anxiety fade…sometimes melting away entirely. I can’t stress enough how much writing can help you through grief. You don’t have to have a blog. Get a journal and write in it every night. I not only wrote this blog, but I filled several personal journals through the first two or three years after Mr. Virgo died. Writing saved me. TOW-Wanda saved me. God saved me. ❤️
\n““This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you.”\nJeremiah 30:2 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2018-01-12T02:30:57-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/01/12/here-comes-the-rain.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","God","Peace","Wisdom","Presence"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/01/11/the-bent-reed.html", "title": "The Bent Reed", "content_html": "![\"The](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/f05a2a3740.jpg\")
“The Bent Reed” by Ginny McKinney
A lot of people are struggling right now. I don’t know what it is about January. Sure, there’s the let down after the holidays. There’s the long, dark nights. There’s the bitterly cold, grey days. But there’s more than that. There’s a lot of loss.
\nI have friends who are dealing with very serious health issues…either of their own or members of their immediate family. I get prayer requests daily…from multiple people. Disasters, accidents, illness, death. Add this on top of the usual slump of January and it can send you down in a spiral in a hurry.
\nI was reminded of this beautiful verse the other day. I wish I would have had it written down so I could have carried it with me in those first long dark winter months without Mr. Virgo. I know it would have helped. As with all things, it has come to me now…when it means the most. When I need it the most. When I need to share it. God always provides.
\nMy mom died after a brief illness of five days in January 2014. My cousin’s husband a year later at 50. My sweet Uncle Bob the next January. January is just not a good month…for me and for a lot of other people.
\nI bought a new computer the other day. When I was setting it up this week, I noticed a bunch of photos had come down out of the cloud. I hadn’t seen them in a long time, since my computer has been on the fritz for a while. I was scrolling through when my screen was filled with…Mr. Virgo…in his casket. A friend took the picture for me. At first, I thought it was macabre. Then I realized I needed to have that. For a long time it was the only thing that would allow me to cry. I needed to get that out. But somewhere along the line, the pictures from the funeral home made their way up into the cloud and I didn’t see them again. Till this week. It was like getting sucker punched when that popped up, filling my screen with a vision so painful you can feel it in your bones.
\nYes, a lot of people are struggling. Debbie’s husband Toby is in the hospital. Sue’s friend had a biopsy today. Lynn’s family is struggling. Diane lost both her parents and her father-in-law in Januarys along the way and her best friend just lost his dad. The world seems to be reeling under forces whipping it into a frenzy. So, again…I am reminded of this verse.
\nGod will not break a bent reed. He will not snuff out a smoldering flame. When you are at your weakest point, God is still strong. The same God that gave his Son. The same God that walked on water and rose the dead and healed blind men. The same God that breathed life into this world lives today. And He knocks. And He waits. He is a patient, polite God. He will not impose himself. He will not barge in on you. He waits for you to open the door. Opening that door is what has made it possible for me to keep breathing, to keep walking forward through every storm…through every season. I was only bent. ❤️
\n“A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out…”\nIsaiah 42:3 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-01-11T02:30:39-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/01/11/the-bent-reed.html", "tags": ["Faith","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom","Presence"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/01/08/old-friends.html", "title": "Old Friends", "content_html": "
![\"Namaste\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/12d73a44d0.jpg\")
\nOur babies were just wee ones when we met. We were taking a sewing class together which really turned out to be twice a week therapy for busy moms to vent and create something beautiful. Sue took my breath away. Tall and slender with that long, thick, full-bodied hair those of us with baby fine strands drool over, she embodied the earth mother I so desperately wanted to be. We became fast friends. We got together and had tea. We hiked. We stitched and b****ed our way through our children’s youth. We were soccer moms. And, even though we were several years apart in age, we had so much in common.
\nSue is one of those friends you may not speak to more than once or twice a year. But when you do, you feel this incredible soul connection and time disappears. We pass each other on Facebook. We give each other virtual hugs and atta girls. We know we are never more than a message or a text or a phone call away.
\nSue moved away from Glenwood Springs a couple of years before that cataclysmic event…the overdose…and my world changed dramatically. She was so worried about me. She was supportive and listened and offered me unconditional love. There was a long stretch of time when we didn’t get to see each other. She was at our wedding. Then Mr. Virgo died and she couldn’t come to the funeral. When I went on my three month journey into the wilderness and backroads of Colorado, Sue invited me to her little “ranchita” down near the Four Corners area. She had ten acres overlooking Mesa Verde. She had a labyrinth she had designed and built. By this time, she was an accomplished yogi.
\nThe day I arrived at her place near Dolores, Sue came running out of the house and grabbed me. She hugged me tight then pulled back and looked me in the eyes.
\n“You said you were doing ok…but I had to see for myself. I wouldn’t know for sure till I squeezed you!” Then she drew me in for another hug.
\nSue ministers to you with softness, compassion. She settled me in the rocking chair by the big picture window. She brought me tea. She sat with me and we rocked…the comforting quiet hanging between us like a well worn quilt as we watched the birds at the immense feeder just beyond the glass. We drove to Silverton one day to be at the finish line of a mountain bike race. I was terribly anxious the night before. I had a really hard time with anxiety the first year or two after Mr. Virgo died. Sue sat with me for hours into the night as I cried and threw up and was generally a horrible mess. She’s that friend…the one who loves you when you’re really messy. She is the one who kicked me in the butt and made me write my book. She said…”Write it now while there is pain in your heart. We will feel it. If you try to write it after you heal, you will lose that voice.” She is so right. I love her dearly.
\nIt’s a new year…time for us to reconnect. Sue and I talked for two hours and twenty-two minutes last night. We discussed all the changes in our lives…all the changes to come. And we decided to plan a yoga retreat. We’ll have yoga sessions as well as talks…nutrition, self-care, grief, art, music, writing. I have a picture in my mind of what I want it to look like. I’ll let you know as we formulate a plan and I’d love you to come!
\nLife is full of interesting twists and turns, isn’t it? My word this year is “presence”. By being present, I will flow through life more awake, more open, more prepared to embrace challenges. Retreats have been a HUGE dream of mine. Time to start letting that dream out to play! ❤️
\n“gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”\nGalatians 5:23 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-01-08T02:30:25-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/01/08/old-friends.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","New Ideas","Gratitude","Grace","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Humbled","Presence"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/01/07/epiphany.html", "title": "Epiphany", "content_html": "
![\"“Epiphany”](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/124531bb4f.jpg\")
\nEpiphany
\nEpiphany; noun: plural noun: epiphanies
\nA) the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles as represented by the Magi (Matthew 2:1–12).
\nB) the festival commemorating the Epiphany on January 6.
\nC) a manifestation of a divine or supernatural being.
\nD) a moment of sudden revelation or insight.
\nYesterday was Epiphany. Traditionally, it marks the end of the Christmas Season. The day the Three Wise Men visited the baby Jesus and bestowed their gifts to Him.
\nEpiphany also means a sudden revelation, insight, and/or appearance of a supernatural being. Eighteen years ago, I experienced epiphany on many, many levels. I was seven years into a devastating depression…one I could see no way out of. I was over prescribed medications by a medical community that my husband at the time belonged to. I was a doctor’s wife. I had WAY too ready access to medications I had no business being on because a referral pattern is a terrible thing to waste. Doctors hate to take care of other doctor’s family. It puts a lot of pressure on them to go above and beyond…to be exemplary…to have a positive outcome, no matter what. Unfortunately for me, that meant seven years of medications that made me a zombie. Add a psychiatrist who told me at every visit, that this was just the way I was…I would need to take these medicines every day for the rest of my life…that I had a chemical imbalance in my brain. I lost my 40’s…literally. My marriage was irreparably damaged. December of 1999 found me struggling. My 20th Anniversary came and my husband told me he wasn’t in love with me anymore. I was devastated. I couldn’t see how I could possibly live without him. I circled the drain and on January 6, 2000…I overdosed on two full bottles of pills and I very easily could have died.
\nAs they worked on me in the emergency room…these doctors and nurses with whom my husband and I socialized…I “faded”. My vision became a tunnel. My hearing damped down till it sounded like I had tin cans over my ears. I didn’t see a great white light like some talk about when they have a near-death experience. I’ve drawn it here, as close as I can. It was this incredibly beautiful disc of cobalt blue with golden rays of light radiating from it all around like an eclipse. It was ethereal and sparkly and incredibly peaceful.
\nAs I stood in this immense ocean of blue light, my hearing left me and there was no sound. Dead air. Nothing. And suddenly, my grandma’s voice cut through the silence and straight into my left ear, as if she were standing beside me and bent down to speak directly to me. She shouted at me!
\n“Young lady…you get back down there right now! You have work to do!!!”
\nImmediately, my eyes flew open wide and I was in the ER, lying on a gurney, the overhead light shining in my eyes. I squinted at the glare and the sudden rush of noise. I rolled up on my side and threw up violently. After a while, I turned on my back. A nurse was leaning over me…a look of sincere concern on her face. I burst into tears when I realized what had happened. I kept crying, “I’m so ashamed, I’m so ashamed, I’m so ashamed.” She wrapped her arms around me and pulled me close to her and whispered in my ear, “You have nothing to be ashamed of. You’ve been sick. You’re going to be ok.”
\nI was at the bottom of the barrel in that moment and I had to begin a very long climb back. It took a great deal of intense therapy to convince me the other doctor was wrong and I really didn’t have a chemical imbalance in my brain. It took a full three years to wean off the medications he had me on. My marriage was over. I nearly lost my relationship with my kids. It took a huge amount of work, strength, and determination to rebuild my life.
\nI think that experience actually gave me tools to help me cope with losing Mr. Virgo years later. I survived that horrible ordeal. I surely could survive this one. I’ll survive the next. It’s fitting that the overdose occurred on Epiphany. The symbolic ending. The supernatural appearance of my grandma’s disembodied voice…nine months after her death. The moment of sudden revelation and insight that I had gone as far away from where God wanted me to be as I could possibly go.
\nI look back on those years with a sadness that I lost so much. I look back on that night with the absolute conviction that God sent the one person I would listen to…my grandma. I believe with all my heart that God saved me that night because He wasn’t done with me. He still had work for me to do. And, I also believe I could not have done any of this work if I had never had those seven years of walking through hell…if I had never had that devastating overdose…if I had not nearly lost everything.
\nThose of you who have been following me for a long time have probably heard this story before because I consider January 6th my “Re-Birth Day” in a literal sense. My second chance. My do-over. And for those of you new enough that you haven’t heard it yet, it might give you a sense of where I’ve been, even before the devastating loss of Mr. Virgo. We all have struggles in life. And, so far, I’ve survived all of them 100% of the time. For a long time, I was embarrassed by this story. Depression. Anxiety. Drugs. Dysfunction. Once I became a Christian, I realized God can use me to help others in similar circumstances. If I shine His Light into every dark corner of my life and show that Light to you, then I am doing what He put me on this earth to do. I’m at peace with that part of my life now. It doesn’t embarrass me. I am not ashamed. I am strengthened by a God that wouldn’t let ME decide it was time to go. I am immensely grateful for the opportunities I’ve been given…a chance to rebuild broken relationships…a chance at great love, not just once, but twice. I’ve lost much…but I’ve gained so much more. ❤️
\n““Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.”\nIsaiah 60:1 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2018-01-07T02:30:01-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/01/07/epiphany.html", "tags": ["Faith","Family","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom","Forgiveness","Humbled","Presence","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/01/06/greater-is-the-one.html", "title": "Greater is the One", "content_html": "![\"Earth](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/85de1a59c8.jpg\")
\nThe nature of my writing has grown with the changes I have gone through on my grief journey. Early on, it was so incredibly painful to even try to put words together to express my pain. I understood for the first time how God could hear our prayers when all we can manage are groans. Once the words started, it was like releasing a torrent. My pain literally fell onto the pages and it was emotionally exhausting…for me, and for you as well. The release was cathartic. The more I let it go, the more my heart healed.
\nNot everyone has a blog where they can release the pent up pain, anger, frustration, confusion that comes with grief. I am blessed with this venue and I don’t take any of you for granted. Your feedback and support has been so incredibly healing for me. I am blessed with family and friends who were supportive during the early months of my grief. The day Mr. Virgo died and I called my daughters, they dropped what they were doing and jumped in their cars to begin the long drive to be with me. They stayed by my side. They answered the phone for me. They made important calls. They took me everywhere I needed to go. Daughter #1 slept with me every night with her arm across my chest to protect me, to calm me, to reassure me I was not alone.
\nPeople gathered and surrounded me with love and support and food. My daughters and I bought every funny DVD we could find and tried to find someplace to land besides terror and pain. My friends held me in silence…the same friends who dressed me for my wedding and placed the flowers all around. Here they were…nearly six years to the day…doing the only thing they could do. After we lay Mr. Virgo in the ground, we gathered at our home…my home. I went straight to the humidor and got the expensive cigar he was saving for golf in the summer. I grabbed the bottle of Courvoisier I had used for Mr. Virgo’s favorite fruitcake. And I gathered the men…and my younger daughter. She was particularly close to her stepdad. We went to the front porch and smoked the cigar, and passed the bottle around till it was gone. We told manly stories of golf and travel, hotels and restaurants…all things Mr. Virgo.
\nAfter everyone left, the family gathered me up and took me to a restaurant to entice me to eat. I hadn’t had much of anything but coffee for days. It was the day before St. Patrick’s Day…a fine day to be buried, Mr. Virgo would have said. My daughters needed to get back to Denver. Daughter #1 offered to stay longer if I needed her. And while I did…desperately…I said no. I knew she needed to get back to her own family…her own life. And so, just like that, they were gone. And the house became quiet.
\nI stayed home alone for a week. I had paperwork to do and some things to wrap up at work. I packed a bag, stopped my mail, and headed to Denver to be near the kids. My son-in-law’s parents kept me at their home. I don’t remember the first week I was there…except that I didn’t get dressed for a week and only occasionally ventured out of the room for a little food. I slept much of the time. Finally, I started to join the land of the living again.
\nSlowly…ever so slowly…I moved forward. Days became weeks and week, months. The firsts started…my first birthday without him, his birthday, the holidays. Our wedding anniversary was just three weeks after he died. People called to see how I was doing. They sent cards and texts and checked in with me on Facebook. One of my daughter’s friends from high school contacted me every week for the first year. And eventually…they all moved on. It was inevitable. They can’t stay forever. They can’t stop their lives forever.
\nAt first, I was really put out. I still needed to vent. I still needed to cry. I needed to tell every story, a hundred times. I needed so much. I needed more than they could ever give. I have to say, I never felt completely abandoned. I am blessed to have the most fabulous people in my life who would listen to me even today if I called and cried. However…I did feel “like a burden”, as one of my readers put it. I didn’t want to unload on them all the time. Somehow, I managed to reach that tipping point where I realized I needed to start managing this pain on my own. That was a really lonely stretch. I was pretty sure I wouldn’t have to sit in that “waiting room” (as my friend Christina Rasmussen calls it in her book, Second Firsts) forever, but I had no idea how long I’d be in this social limbo. I wanted to stay alone forever AND I wanted to be with people. I wanted to be invited out AND I wanted to never talk to another soul. I wanted to feel normal AND I didn’t want to feel anything. Oh….grief is crazy making.
\nI had to have something to hang onto…something, someONE, who would anchor me and keep me from flying off the face of the earth. Even though I had been a Christian for seven years, I only attended church sporadically. One Sunday morning, many months after Mr. Virgo died, I decided I needed to talk to someone who never tired of hearing my cries. Someone who would give and give and give…no matter how much I needed. Who would love me no matter how messy or messed up I got. I went back to church…and I’ve been going ever since.
\nAs much as people want to help…they are people. They are fallible. They can say the wrong things. They can feel overwhelmed by your pain. They can burn out from your grief. But God? God never gets tired of hearing from you. God never gets tired of comforting you. He never gets tired of holding you close. Greater is the one who lives within me than the one who lives in the world. God is the one…the only one who will always, always love you. Even when you cry that horrible snot-slinging cry that no one needs to see. Even when you are so anxious you stay up puking all night. Even when your life seems not worth living. The only way you can lose is to give up. Don’t give up. Don’t ever give up. Because joy comes again. It sneaks in the cracks of your broken heart when you least expect it. Not all at once…just a little tiny bit at a time. But it comes, dear one. Hang on…it comes. ❤️
\n“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”\n1 John 4:4 NIV
\n#God, #Love, #Light
\n", "date_published": "2018-01-06T02:30:38-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/01/06/greater-is-the-one.html", "tags": ["Faith","Family","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom","Presence"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/01/05/deep-freeze.html", "title": "Deep Freeze", "content_html": "![\"Winter](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/da965fc8ab.jpg\")
Winter Dawn by Ginny McKinney
As most of the country settles in for a rough ride on the Snowball Express, I am sitting here snug as a bug in a rug at Mr. FixIt’s house. I’ve taken to listening to praise music as I write my posts. I’ve changed things up and started writing during the day instead of late at night. I thought it might give me a different perspective and add a new dimension to the blog. The praise music not only keeps my heart in the right place, it inspires me to write about a scripture instead of the other way around. All this time I have written my post then I’d go look for an appropriate scripture that illustrated what my thinking was. That’s a much more time consuming process.
\nI downloaded an app on my phone called Moment. It tracks my screen time and frankly, I was appalled when I saw how much time I spend staring at a screen. Granted, it’s not all mindless surfing or game playing. A good portion of it is spent writing these posts. Now, that in itself is not a bad thing by any means. It’s just that…I have this really sweet guy that would probably enjoy a little more attention and a little less screen time. So, I’m trying a few new things…new tactics to shave a little time off the screen and a little more looking into those baby blues that look so adoringly into mine. Win-Win, right?
\nAnother thing I’m going to try is, at least on occasion, including my drawings as the cover photo for my posts. This gives me the opportunity to practice…not only the drawings themselves, but the opportunity to be bold in sharing them. We all need opportunities to be bold.
\nSo, here I sit…snuggled on the sofa under that beautiful blue fox fur blanket. A fresh latte. Kari Jobe. A fire. Snow softly falling. My tree will remain to bring me light and peace well into the new year. I have the promise of a meteor shower and a blue moon to look forward to this month. The year is fresh with hope and promise. And I have this really cool Apple Pencil and Procreate…the world is at my fingertips! My heart is full, even in the depths of this bitter cold. Stay warm, my friends. ❤️
\n“Out of the south cometh the whirlwind: and cold out of the north.”\nJob 37:9 KJV
\n", "date_published": "2018-01-05T02:30:21-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/01/05/deep-freeze.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom","Presence"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/01/04/on-being-brave.html", "title": "On Being Brave", "content_html": "![\"Drawing](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/7a66419c9c.jpg\")
\nI step out…WAY out of my comfort zone here sometimes. I believe in pushing boundaries in order to grow. It has made me a stronger, more well-rounded person to stretch since Mr. Virgo died.
\nI’ve always been creative. I can draw and paint landscapes, flowers, houses and do a pretty fair rendition. But people and animals…faces…elude me. I never get the proportion right. I’m heavy handed. There is no “life” in them.
\nWhen my iPad died at the beginning of the year and I bought a new one, there was this white pencil lying next to it. I asked the salesman what it was and he told me it was a new tool to draw with. He showed me a program called Procreate and he could turn the pencil into a paintbrush loaded with oils or a big, fat pastel or a fine technical pencil. Anything…this thing can be anything! It was magic to me and I HAD to have it. Have it, I did. I knew I wouldn’t have time to really use it until the long dark nights of winter so I’ve been anxiously waiting to play with it.
\nI have no idea why on earth I would start with a face. I did a study on eyes. I did a quick sketch that vaguely resembled Mr. FixIt. Then I put on my headphones, turned on the Kari Jobe station on Amazon Music and closed my eyes. I thought of Jesus as I listened to the praise music and pictured His face. Then I started to draw. I tried to “get out of the way” and let my hand draw what I saw in my mind. I enjoyed watching it take shape. It’s amateurish, to say the least. And (here’s where I’m stepping out of my comfort zone) I’m sharing it with you here.
\nI’m much better at painting a picture with words. I’m much better at making a quilt or stitching a sampler or knitting a pair of socks. I’m much better at making jewelry out of old silverware or antique maps. A long time ago, I tried my hand at writing and I listened to the wrong people. They told me my writing wasn’t publishable. That it really wasn’t good. And I believed that, so I stopped trying. This drawing of Jesus may not be very good…but nothing anyone ever says to me will ever make me stop trying again. No matter what it is I’m trying to do.
\nIt doesn’t matter what the end product looks like. It doesn’t matter if a piece of art is gallery worthy. It doesn’t matter if you can’t carry a tune in a washtub. It doesn’t matter if your words aren’t Pulitzer Prize material. What matters is one thing…does it give you joy? If it does…do that! Don’t worry about what others might think. Don’t worry about being judged. Just do what brings you joy!
\nI’ll keep drawing. Who knows? My writing has improved over the years. Maybe the drawing will, too. But honestly? It’s a form of meditation for me…no matter how it looks. Be brave and stretch! ❤️
\n““Now get up, Ezra. Take charge—we’re behind you. Don’t back down.””\nEzra 10:4 MSG
\n\n", "date_published": "2018-01-04T02:30:08-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/01/04/on-being-brave.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","God","Wisdom","Humbled","Presence","Writing"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/01/03/surviving-the-climb.html", "title": "Surviving the Climb", "content_html": "
![\"Survive](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/0d8bc3b756.jpg\")
\nOccasionally I get a comment on my blog from someone so fresh on this grief journey that they are lost. They don’t know where to turn or what to do next. They are obviously in a great deal of pain and my heart breaks for them because…I know. I’ve been there. Many of us have. I respond to every single comment on my blog. Most often it’s with a ❤️, just to let you know I have seen your comment. Occasionally, I write something back. On this particular occasion, I wrote a whole essay as my response. After giving it some thought, I decided it was time again to revisit “How do you survive this?”
\nMy reader lost her husband unexpectedly in early November. He was minding his own business, driving to work, when he was struck head-on by an impaired driver and was killed. Her world was shattered. The future she had planned with her husband was gone. To add insult to injury, her husband’s death was followed in rapid succession by Thanksgiving, his birthday, an important graduation, Christmas, and New Years. All without him. Her question? How do you cope with this?
\nHere is my response:
\nFirst, let me tell you my heart is with you, dear one. You are SO fresh on this journey and it’s so difficult. Having all those firsts, one after another when the ink is hardly dry must be unbearable. I can’t tell you how to grieve because it’s such a personal thing. I can tell you how I dealt with things and hopefully it will help you as well. If you haven’t yet, do go to Marshmallow Ranch on Facebook and see if you can scroll back to the early days of my blog. You will find much more relatable material there. I started the blog in January 2013 as a way to promote jewelry I was making. Then Mr. Virgo died in March. That’s when the blog morphed into an online grief journal. I know that’s a lot of material to sort through, but it just might help.
\nAt your stage of this journey, let me say this…there is no rule book. But here’s a list of ways to cope.
\nDon’t let anyone say you should do it this way or you shouldn’t do it that way. Do it your way.
\nYou will make mistakes. Don’t be too hard on yourself when you do.
\nBe careful…extra careful with your money.
\nGet plenty of rest, eat right, and exercise as you can.
\nAvoid drugs and alcohol…they are nothing but bandaids that put off the hurt. That goes for new relationships. I know, I know. I thought that was crazy too till I got involved with someone just five months after my beloved died. I just wanted the pain to go away but when I pulled that bandage off, dear God…it was worse.
\nFeel your feelings. Cry when you need to. Laugh when you can.
\nThere’s an actual condition called grief brain. You can’t remember squat and it may be scary as the dickens. Don’t worry…it does get better in time. You never go back to baseline, but you do get better.
\nYou won’t be in this fog forever and eventually you will feel joy. Don’t feel guilty for that.
\nI found the services of a grief counselor to be extremely helpful. I had PTSD from watching the CPR for hours so I had EMDR treatments which helped immensely.
\nRemember…you don’t “get over” this…you get through it. But, you will never be the same. Let me repeat that…you will never be the same. Don’t even try to find the old you. She is gone. Once a pickle, always a pickle…you don’t get to go back to being a fresh little cucumber again. Whether you become a sour or sweet pickle is largely up to you. Do NOT give up hope of finding a good life, though. You can…and you will…with determination and perseverance.
\nI realized early on that he died, I did not. I owed it to his memory to live…actually LIVE the days my husband was not given. Since we were looking at campers when he died, I went out and bought one and joined Sisters on the Fly…a women’s adventure group. I also belong to Girl Campers. These are all empowering groups that helped me become brave and strong.
\nOne last word of caution. It’s ok to mattress surf once in a while but don’t live there. Get up every day, splash water on your face, brush your teeth, and get dressed. Make your bed. You’re not as likely to climb back in it if it’s made. Scrub your kitchen sink. A clean sink sets the tone for the day in my book. Even if you just move from the bed to the couch…you’ve moved. Keep moving. One step, two steps. Eventually you will be able to take a deep breath again. (Oh, that’s also a thing. Physiologically, grief causes you to sigh a lot which makes you try to take deep breaths and it’s difficult. You almost feel like you can’t get a deep enough breath. Unless you are passing out or have chest pain or prolonged irregular heartbeat or cold, clammy sweat, its nothing to be worried about. Always ask your healthcare professional if you are concerned about your health. However…this sensation disappears after some time.)
\nTincture of time. That’s how I dealt with the loss of my husband. Move forward…and pray, a lot. You may not feel Him there, but God is with your every step. He holds you in the palm of His hand and He weeps for your pain. Let Him wrap His feathers around you and take your rest there. Come back here anytime you need some support. You may send me private messages at any time and I will get back to you as soon as I can. Prayers for comfort and strength, dear one. This is a club we didn’t ask to join. You will learn how to perform magic like tap dancing around that husband-sized hole in your heart without falling in…every…damn…time.
\nGrief comes in waves. At first it knocks you down. Eventually you learn to expect the waves and you can lean in and keep your footing without drowning. It’s almost five years since my loss and I have built a new life. I have expanded my social circle and have learned many new skills. And…much to my amazement…I have found love again and it is so sweet and rich. Mostly because now I have a thorough understanding of just what I lost and how incredibly precious life and love are.
\nWe all know someone who suffers a loss. We don’t always know how to help or what to say. May I suggest bookmarking this page and share it when appropriate? Share it with everyone you know because someone knows someone who is hurting. Let’s make this the year we reach out to widows and widowers and offer them whatever comfort and support we can. ❤️
\n“Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.”\nHebrews 13:16 ESV
\n", "date_published": "2018-01-03T02:30:36-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/01/03/surviving-the-climb.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom","Humbled","Presence","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2018/01/01/out-with-the-oldin-with.html", "title": "Out With the Old...In With the New!!!", "content_html": "![\"Happy](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/6358b13262.jpg\")
\nI love when the calendar turns to a new year. The slate is wiped clean and you can start fresh…a great big do over. Never was this more impactful to me personally than January 1, 2014. It was the first New Year’s Day after losing Mr. Virgo. Somehow, I had it in my head that if I could just say “My husband died last year” it would somehow make the loss easier. It didn’t. Not by a long shot.
\nI had, in my crazed grief-stricken brain, thought it would be a good idea to start dating someone…just five months after my sweet husband died. Holy Mother of God…what was I thinking??? In my defense…I wasn’t thinking. That first year…well, really the first two years…I wasn’t sane. Not in a conventional definition of the word anyway. I did some things right, but my thinking was just off. My decision making skills were lacking. Thank God time and lots of prayer and introspection have brought me to this new place…this new life.
\nNow when I look at the New Year, I contemplate where I’ve been, what I’ve done, and formulate new goals. I don’t make resolutions. I’ve never kept a resolution in my life. But I do come up with a focus word. The word for 2017 was “Reach”. I think I lived up to that. I launched a new website. I spoke to several groups. I was interviewed on several podcasts and publications. I had a branded series developed for me called “Getting Bolder” on the Sisters on the Fly website. I continued to write an essay every day here. I traveled to Florida twice, the Outer Banks, Tennessee, and Colorado. I camped and/or had outings with the Girl Campers and Sisters on the Fly several times. I continued working on my social media platform to improve my chances of selling this book I’ve got basically written. And…I introduced you to Mr. FixIt. It’s been a really big year and I reached about as far as I could!
\nSo, now I need a new word for the new year. There are so many things I want to practice in the coming year. Patience. I am not a patient person. Compassion. I try, but I am not always successful practicing compassion with people who try my patience. Love. I want to feel my Heavenly Father’s love and involvement in everything I do so that I might feel that same love toward everyone…including those to whom I want to show compassion because they have tried my patience. You see where I’m going with this? You might think I’m going to choose the word “Patience” to meditate on this year, but you’d be wrong. I learned a long time ago not to pray for patience because when I do, God gives me every single little opportunity to practice it and I just don’t have it in me to be that challenged anymore. No, I have a different word in mind.
\nMy choice? Presence.
\nIf I am present in all I do, I am here to show up and do what is needed. If I am present…I feel God’s love. If I am present…I can actively choose to love others as Jesus loves me. If I feel God’s love, and actively choose to love others the way Jesus loves me, in every interaction I have…everything gets better. My relationships with family and friends are bound to improve. My interactions with others…even complete strangers…can only improve when I exemplify the kind of love Jesus has for me.
\nHow do you remain present in today’s hectic world? To achieve the kind of presence I am looking for, I need to start every day with a connection to the Source. I need to reach for His Word first…before Facebook. Before the news and weather. Even before Mr. FixIt. It doesn’t take much. Five minutes. Five minutes first thing every morning, before anything else, I will seek His face and feel His love for me. I will invite Him to come into my day…into my world…and walk with me. It’s no different than asking any other loved one to go for a walk with me. But the benefits are undeniably higher.
\nThat’s my word. Presence. Feel every moment. Focus on God’s love. Bring His Love and Light into every aspect of my life. I can’t help but shine! ❤️
\n“After looking at the way things are on this earth, here’s what I’ve decided is the best way to live: Take care of yourself, have a good time, and make the most of whatever job you have for as long as God gives you life. And that’s about it. That’s the human lot. Yes, we should make the most of what God gives, both the bounty and the capacity to enjoy it, accepting what’s given and delighting in the work. It’s God’s gift! God deals out joy in the present, the now. It’s useless to brood over how long we might live.”\nEcclesiastes 5:18-20 MSG
\n", "date_published": "2018-01-01T02:30:47-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2018/01/01/out-with-the-oldin-with.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Holiday","Wisdom","Presence"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/12/31/true-love-has-no-end.html", "title": "True Love Has No End", "content_html": "![\"Couple](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/3a80f0cb47.jpg\")
\nThey weren’t much more than kids when they met. I remember the first time I met my cousin Tommy’s girlfriend, Suzy. I had such a crush on Tommy in his Navy whites. And Suzy was as sweet as they come. She’s been around as long as I can remember.
\nI’ve told you about Tommy. He has mesothelioma. There is no cure. And up until the last few years, there really wasn’t much to even offer people in the way of treatment. But they did their homework and took Tommy to the doc who wrote the book on Meso and as a result, he has had two really good years he may not have had before.
\nThe treatments Tom has received are not without side effects. The toxic meds have all but killed his kidneys. They have exhausted treatment after treatment yet, thanks to generous donations and scientific breakthroughs, more and more treatments become available. Maybe someday, they will find a cure. Because…you know. Cancer sucks.
\nTommy faces his illness and death with a positive attitude and a great deal of courage. They haven’t been afraid to “start the conversation”. They talk about death and his design…how does he want his story to end when he gets to the last chapter. Suzy is brave and strong. Their love knows no bounds as they recently celebrated their 56th wedding anniversary.
\nThis year, Tommy wanted to give his “best girl” a gift that would knock her socks off. He wanted something so deeply meaningful that she would cherish it forever. Their daughter videotaped the moment for posterity. Suzy opened her gift ever so slowly. Indoor/outdoor slippers. (laughter) Then someone points out there’s something inside. Suzy looks closer and there it is…a small box tucked into one slipper.
\n“You stinker,” she gently chided this man she’s known forever.
\nShe goes on to open the second gift when a puzzled look comes across her face. She turns to Tom and says, “For us?” She thought they were a matching set of rings. She looks again and finally can see…they are earrings. Someone off camera says…”Look at the ring.”
\nSuzy is still puzzled then Tommy holds up his left hand and she can see he is no longer wearing his wedding band.
\n“No!” she cried. “No! Not your ring!” You can see she is instantly devastated. Until Tommy bends toward her and shows her that he has had the date of their wedding engraved on the back. At this point, The enormity of this selfless gift suddenly hits Suzy and she puts her face in her hand and cries.
\nThis is a sweet, personal moment between two wonderful people who love each other without limits. No disease…no cancer…not even death will truly separate these two. I asked for permission to share their story here. For one reason, I love them both so much. Second, I wanted to stress the importance of having “the conversation”, and three…I wanted to give you an idea what to do with his/her ring. Earrings made from a ring that has been cut in half would make a wonderful remembrance.
\nWe don’t know the future. It’s not a matter of if, you know. It’s…when. We pray for a cure. We pray for new medicines. We pray for good quality of life. Time. We pray for time. Lots and lots. Oodles of time. We will love our loved ones like it’s our last day on earth…or theirs. And we will hold fast to the tokens of love like there’s no tomorrow. ❤️
\n\n“Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”\nPhilippians 2:4 ESV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-12-31T02:30:44-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/12/31/true-love-has-no-end.html", "tags": ["Family","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","West Virginia","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Humbled","Aging"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/12/30/let-me-entertain-you.html", "title": "Let Me Entertain You", "content_html": "
![\"Gluten](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/ba22e3b6b9.jpg\")
\nOne of the all time BEST things about Mr. FixIt is this…he LOVES to have guests over as much as I do. I know it’s hart for you to believe but…I love to talk with people and learn about them and visit and tell stories. We had dinner guests three times this week. What a blessing it is to share a table with friends and family.
\nWe started with an appetizer of baked brie en croute with fig jam. It sounds like something complicated but it wasn’t. I bought it at Sam’s, baked it at 375 for 20 minutes. Done!
\nOur dinner guests brought salad and I served it with hot rolls and an aioli of crushed herbs, salt, pepper, more of that wonderful Chardonnay Garlic infused olive oil drizzled over top, and a small pool of both Mango pulp and Blueberry vinegar. Yummmmm!
\nFor the main course, I roasted two chickens. I did something completely different. I stuffed them with whole garlic cloves, quartered onions, and wedges of lemon. I trussed them up with kitchen twine, rubbed the sling with Chardonnay Garlic Olive Oil and sprinkled them with fresh ground pepper, ground pink Himalayan salt, more garlic, rustic herbs, and crushed rosemary. I placed a parking rack in a roasting pan and baked them at 350 for a little over 2 hours. OMGosh! When I cut into that chicken and the aroma of lemon and garlic hit the air? Wowza! It was awesome.
\nI accompanied the meal with fresh steamed broccoli with mashed potatoes and gravy (Sam’s ready made Yukon Gold Mashed Potatoes and Teay’s Valley Cream gravy made this part of the prep fast and easy.)
\nDessert was homemade Gluten Free Bread Pudding with a dollop of French Vanilla Ice Cream. It was pretty heavenly!
\nServed with a Pinot Noir or my personal favorite, Fré dealcoholized wine, this was a meal fit for royalty. And it really wasn’t that difficult, or expensive, to throw together.
\nHere’s the recipe for the dessert. Bon Appetit!
\nGluten Free Bread Pudding
\n6-8 slices of stale gluten free bread, cubed\n4 eggs\n2 cups milk\n3 tablespoons Splenda blend brown sugar\n1/2 c. Stevia for baking\n1/2 tsp. Cinnamon\n1/4 tsp. Apple Pie Spice\n1 tsp Vanilla\n1/2 tsp salt\n3-4 big handfuls of raisins\nAbout 2/3 c. chopped pecan4 T. butter, melted
\nCube bread and place in prepared baking dish. In this case, I used an 8” iron skillet sprayed with Baker’s Joy.
\nAdd raisins and pecans.
\nMix the rest of the ingredients and pour over bread. Using a fork, press the cubed bread down into the egg mixture to moisten it thoroughly. Drizzle the melted butter over the top. Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven till the top begins to brown and the filling is springy to the touch. Serve warm with ice cream.
\n❤️
\n“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”\nRevelation 3:20 ESV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-12-30T02:30:39-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/12/30/let-me-entertain-you.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/12/29/doing-the-right-thing.html", "title": "Doing the Right Thing", "content_html": "
![\"Writing](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/8a7d408d15.jpg\")
\nI love doTerra products. I especially love their LifePak vitamins and use them, along with a cannabis ointment to control the crippling plantar-palmar psoriasis I got after Mr. Virgo died. When I purchase these vitamins, I get reward points that I can redeem for free oils or other products. I didn’t realize just how many points I had until a couple of weeks ago. So, I had a grand time ordering bunches of stuff!
\nI received a notice in the mail just before Christmas that my box had arrived but it wouldn’t fit in the mailbox. I’m not sure why they didn’t deliver it to the door. We were home and could have received it, but it was during the Christmas rush so I am sure the mail carrier was overwhelmed. I went to the Post Office Tuesday and picked up my package. It was like a late Christmas gift to myself!
\nYesterday, I received three more boxes. In those boxes were three bottles of shampoo and two more Copaiba oils. I looked back at the emailed order confirmation and I had only ordered one shampoo and one Copaiba, among other things. That is when I also noticed that I didn’t receive one of the items on the original order.
\nI contacted customer service via the chat app on doTerra’s website. I spoke with Jakob and explained the situation. He said he would be happy to send out the missing item right away and email me a label to ship back the duplicate items. He offered to award me 10 bonus points for my inconvenience. In the course of the conversation, I told him I could have just kept the extras but that wouldn’t have been the honest thing to do. He came back and said he appreciated customers like me and he was going to add 20 bonus points instead of 10! That is free product in my mailbox…all for being nice.
\nI began this blog five years ago. I have written an essay nearly every day, covering a wide range of topics from my grief at losing Mr. Virgo to camping in the wilderness of Colorado to living on the family farm. I’ve talked about childhood memories, recipes, farm cats, and family. I’ve touched on sensitive subjects like depression, anxiety, sexual abuse, and even came close to the third rail of politics…at least in the sense of trying to get along. I’ve talked about God and my faith and the importance of being good for goodness’ sake. In all that time, I can count on one hand the times I’ve had someone post something negative to me here. Do you know how rare that is in this business? The internet lets the bars down for rudeness because our interactions are not face-to-face. This emboldens some people to bring out the ugly side of humanity.
\nI cannot tell you how much I appreciate you all…every single one of you. You meet me in this space and we have mutual respect and caring. There have been times when I have considered quitting. There have been times when it has become overwhelming and I have had trouble finding my voice. There are times when I feel perhaps I have said everything there is to say. It got better when I reached the point that I could lay down the burden of my grief and I realized I didn’t have to talk, or write, about it all the time. And, every time I’ve thought of stopping, I get feedback from you. Someone says, “You were speaking to me today.” or “This spoke to my heart this morning.” That’s when I realize…I’m not done. God is still using me to deliver the hope and encouragement only He can give. I ask Him for the words. He gives them to me freely. He will tell me if it’s time to quit.
\nSo, I’ll be here every morning as you have your cup of coffee, or every afternoon when you take a break, or every evening when you stop and catch up with what’s been going on with everyone. I pray you find hope and joy and peace here. I hope you see the goodness in my life comes straight from God and it brings you closer to Him. Your “likes” and your “shares” and your comments bring His word to a greater and greater audience. We all spread Light and Hope and Joy when we share Him with others.
\nThank you…for being here, for listening, for loving on me. Thank you for another year’s journey. Thank you for the many, many blessings you bring me. It is an honor to be invited into your hearts and lives every day and I do not take that lightly. Thank you for letting me be…well, ME! I am richly blessed. ❤️
\n“The one who offers thanksgiving as his sacrifice glorifies me; to one who orders his way rightly I will show the salvation of God!"”\nPsalms 50:23 ESV
\n", "date_published": "2017-12-29T02:30:07-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/12/29/doing-the-right-thing.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/12/28/hygge-comfort.html", "title": "Hygge = Comfort", "content_html": "![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/58805cf25d.jpg\")
\nYesterday was a much better day. It still amazes me how quickly things shift for me since losing Mr. Virgo. Yes, it’s been nearly five years since he died. Yes, I am in a wonderful, fulfilling relationship. But am I the same as I was before the loss? No…not by a long shot. Is every aspect of that a bad thing? The loss…yes. The grief has been incredibly difficult. But the peace and personal growth I have grasped between the waves is nothing short of miraculous.
\nI spent some time at the farm, soaking in the quiet winter sounds. Then came here to a quiet house. Mr. FixIt was off running errands so I curled up on the sofa, wrapped in the warmth of my fur throw made from the coat Mr. Virgo gave me our first married Christmas. The fire was going. The tree was lit. The soft scented candle I got for Christmas filled the air with the sweetness of apples and cinnamon. I asked Alexa to play the Zen Garden station on Amazon Music. The sun outside the window glittered on the new fallen snow. A cardinal sang in the brush next to the house. A cup of tea sat at my side. The freedom and peace was palpable.
\nAgain, in my ever hopeful way, I stared out the window…searching the barren landscape for the beauty of winter. It’s difficult for me. I’m a summer girl. I let my eyes move across the the hill to the road and over to the meadow. I love it here. There’s five acres of flat land out there. I let my mind wander to past dreams. I’ve always wanted a place where I could hold retreats for artists, writers, craftspeople. A place where my Sisters and Girl Camper friends could bring their trailers and circle around a campfire. The big pole building out back is the perfect size for barn sales and dances. I let my eyes move on. There’s a pool between the building and the house. I smiled. Pool parties, family gatherings, barbecues. I have plenty of things to look forward to in the coming months.
\nI am also reminded of the term “hygge”. Originating in Scandinavia, the term means “simple, cozy pleasures, gratefulness, focusing on a better quality of life, taking pleasure in the presence in the gentle, an appreciation of the simple things in life, soothing things, a practical way of creating sanctuary, a place to restore and revive in the middle of very real life, evoking feelings of comfort” according to a recent article by Jan Zimmer, (Port Huron, Mich.) of the Times Herald. This will be my focus for the coming months. I will embrace the sunshine when it comes. I will listen for the song of the winter birds. I will sample teas and read and commune with my love. And, I will enjoy this end of the pendulum’s swing while I have it. ❤️
\n“…his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.”\nPsalm 30:5 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-12-28T02:30:42-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/12/28/hygge-comfort.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Grief","Hope","Positive Energy","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Humbled"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/12/27/postholiday-blues-or-just-getting.html", "title": "Post-Holiday Blues or Just Getting Back to Normal?", "content_html": "
![\"Rain](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/c640b6414c.jpg\")
\nIs it the “blues”? Feeling a little depressed after the holidays? Things have you out of sorts? Once the last cookie has been consumed, the last gift unwrapped, the last guest sent off…it can feel like such a let down. Add to that a total disregard for your previously fairly pristine diet and you could be in a sugar crash, gluten-induced, holiday frazzled funk.
\nThat’s where I found myself last night. We had dinner guests. My second cousin and his wife came over to celebrate their 36th wedding anniversary with us. I cooked all day…homemade spaghetti sauce, pasta, and apple dumplings for desert. I have been so super cautious for the last two years and have stayed away from gluten. I find I have more energy, my mood is stable, and my gut is much happier when I keep wheat and sugar out of my diet. Then…Christmas happened. A “just this once” became “that went ok, this won’t hurt” and before I knew it…I was OD-ing on a regular basis with bread, cookies, pie, cake. I knew I was playing with fire, but I couldn’t help myself.
\nI’ve been craving spaghetti all month. The brownies didn’t kill me. The cookies didn’t present too much of an issue. How bad could spaghetti be? Ohhhh, I found out. Spaghetti is about as densely concentrated a source of gluten as you can get and my body finally stood its ground and said , “What the heck do you think you’re doing, lady?! Are you crazy???” My company hadn’t even left before I really began to feel ill…and blue.
\nIt felt like the blues of grief. And, that could be part of it, I’m sure. With the holidays come waves of grief. But I knew I had been pushing the envelope with my wheat and sugar consumption so I did some research. It turns out, according to a study reported in Psychology Today, gluten, wheat, and corn syrup solids can cause anxiety and depression in people with non-celiac gluten sensitivity. Bingo!
\nWhen the holidays settle down, we actually return to our normal state and that can feel like the blues. We often feel the same sort of thing when we return to real life from a fabulous vacation. Add gluten sensitivity to the mix and it’s a sure recipe for feeling yucky. It’s time to start back on my clean and green diet again. I’ve never felt…or looked…better than I do when I’m eating right, exercising, drinking plenty of water, and getting enough rest. It’s more than a New Year’s Resolution. It’s a prescription for leading my best life and enjoying it. ❤️
\n“For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin.”\nPsalm 32:4-5 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-12-27T02:30:21-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/12/27/postholiday-blues-or-just-getting.html", "tags": ["Faith","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Strong Women","Positive Energy","Growth","New Ideas","Grace","God","Wisdom"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/12/26/practicing-minimalism.html", "title": "Practicing Minimalism", "content_html": "![\"Opening](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/4ebfd31ac0.jpg\")
\nI’ve had opulent Christmases where opening presents was a long, drawn out affair. And, I’ve had lean Christmases where money was scarce. I’ve seldom had a Christmas where we just intentionally bought each other a small gift so we could do something else…in this case, put new carpet in the family room that we recently painted. I have to tell you, it felt good to not have to worry about shopping, wrapping, paying for, and storing more “stuff” while still having a small token to enjoy.
\nI gave Mr. FixIt a nice weather station that records wind speed and direction, rainfall, temperature and humidity. It’s connected to the WiFi so we can check our weather at home wherever we are through an app on the phone. Kind of fun!
\nI got a much needed cushion for my banker’s chair and a book commemorating the Centennial of our high school. We had a big breakfast, watched movies, and went for a long drive to look at Christmas lights. Perfect!
\nAnd now, Christmas is over for another year. We’ll still have a week of festivities surrounding New Year’s, and then we have that long stretch of cold, grey winter. That’s what does me in. I love the cold and snow…at Christmas. Then I’m ready for March. It’s better now that Mr. FixIt is in the picture. He brings a welcome distraction. I remember the first winter or two after Mr. Virgo died were absolutely miserably long! I think Christmas lights should be left up till at least the end of February to bring light and joy into the night!
\nWe are planning a lot of activities to pass the time till warm weather returns. Hand therapy will take some time. Dinner parties, crafting weekends with the girls, sewing projects. I want to teach Mr. FixIt’s daughter how to knit. Maybe his granddaughters would like to learn, too. There are projects inside that need doing…stripping wallpaper and painting, replacing the backsplash and countertops in the kitchen, replacing some doors and baseboards. Lots to keep us busy.
\nThis is my new life. I still sometimes sit in awe that I have been blessed with another opportunity to love, another family to cherish, another home to care for. It seems surreal after so much loss, so much pain. I swore I would never do this again. Oh….but, I’m SO glad I did. I wouldn’t have missed this for anything! What a blessing this is! ❤️
\n“Better a little with the fear of the Lord than great wealth with turmoil.”\nProverbs 15:16 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-12-26T02:30:08-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/12/26/practicing-minimalism.html", "tags": ["Family","Grief","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Love","Peace","Holiday","Wisdom"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/12/24/santa-is-real.html", "title": "Santa IS Real", "content_html": "![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/d52e8da8f9.jpg\")
\nHe held three beautiful children on his lap that afternoon in the mall. Three shining faces, looking up at him in rapt attention, their eyes glittering in awe. He’d done this many times over the years…listening to the repeated requests for dolls, trucks, maybe a baby brother or sister once in awhile. It never got old with him. He was born to be Santa!
\nAs the children got up one by one and gave the jolly man a hug, they smiled into the camera for that “Christmas Card shot” and he sent them on their way with a candy cane and a wave. He looked around and saw the line had finally thinned and he could take a much needed break. That’s when he saw her.
\nA woman stood alone, a fair distance away, but not so far that he missed her tears. Their eyes met and he held her gaze for a few moments.
\n“What’s this?” he thought. “Something’s up.”
\nThe cocked his head to the side, and without looking away, he moved slightly to his left in the chair, and patted the seat beside him. The woman looked a little startled, as though she might turn and run. But, he softened his shoulders, softened his eyes, and patted again.
\nThe woman gripped the wad of Kleenex in her hand, took a deep breath, and moved cautiously forward. At first, she sat on the stool at his feet with her eyes cast down. She didn’t say a word. He bent forward and whispered.
\n“Please, sit here. Come up here where I can talk to you.”
\nThe woman dutifully got up and moved to the seat beside him. He could tell she was visibly distraught and he didn’t want to rush her. There was no one in the line and the mall had hit the mid afternoon slump.
\nThe woman began to whisper and he had to lean in close to hear her.
\n“I lost my husband.” she said. “I need a new heart.” At this point, she burst into tears. He put his arm around her. He pulled her close in to his side and whispered.
\n“I am so sorry.” There wasn’t much more he could say to that.
\nThe woman struggled and managed to choke out the words. She had lost her husband to a sudden heart attack as they were standing in a travel trailer, picking out one to take them on adventures in retirement. And then he was just gone. She didn’t know how she was going to live without him. It broke his heart.
\nAfter a while, the woman regained her composure and apologized.
\n“Oh, I’m so sorry. I must look a fright!” she said.
\n“You’re perfect.” he whispered as he handed her another Kleenex and they smiled at each other. She got up to leave.
\n“Will you have your picture taken with me?” he asked.
\n“Really? I’d love to.” she replied.
\nAs the “elf” handed her the photo, she looked at it and her lip quivered ever so slightly.
\n“Thank you for stopping.” he said.
\n“Thank you for being real.” she whispered back.
\nIt’s been five Christmases since I met my Santa. Every year, I send him my letter, telling him what I’ve done this year…things I’ve accomplished, things I still need to do. And I thank him. For being so kind to a grieving widow suffering through her very first Christmas without her love. Santa writes back and tells me his life was forever changed that day and he is so happy to see me doing better every year.
\nIt’s going to be a big letter this year! I get to tell him about Mr. FixIt and how much bigger my family is now after adding 12 more people to it…including a new great granddaughter! I get to tell him about our travels and how we got to spend time with my Colorado family this year and how much I miss them at Christmas.
\nI think I taught him a lot that year. I taught him just how difficult it is that first year without your love. The second was probably worse. At least, it was for me. If you are struggling with the loss of your loved one, do be gentle with yourself. This is such a fragile time of year. I’m here to say…with time, prayer, hard work, and perseverance, life can get better again. Joy cometh in the morning, the Bible says. And, it does.
\nOh, and just in case you’re wondering…Santa IS real. And…he is my friend. ❤️
\nDear Santa…
\n“May the Lord repay you for what you have done. May you be richly rewarded by the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge.””\nRuth 2:12 NIV
\nLove,
\nGinny
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-12-24T02:30:27-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/12/24/santa-is-real.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","Peace","Holiday","Wisdom","Humbled","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/12/22/here-we-go-awassailing.html", "title": "Here We Go a’Wassailing", "content_html": "
![\"Cider](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/a1bd41145f.jpg\")
\nI remember going caroling as a young girl. A group of my friends and I would gather and roam the neighborhood, ringing doorbells then singing carols to the family who answered. Of course they were home. It was just after dinner time…families were always home at dinner time.
\nI loved Christmas when I lived in England. Steeped in such old world traditions, carolers there literally looked as though they had just stepped from the pages of a Charles Dickens novel. Wassail is both a greeting and a drink. Traditional wassail is a complicated affair that includes eggs. This recipe is more like what we call spiced, or mulled, cider. Victorians carried a bowl of wassail out into the street and sold cupfuls for pennies. A bit of toasted bread was placed on top. Hence, the expression…”Let’s have a toast!” when you raise your glass.
\nWassail, or spiced cider, or mulled wine…all conjure up Currier and Ives scenes of horse-drawn sleighs, women in capes and muffs, men in top hats, snow gently falling. Sleigh bells jingling with the rhythm of the horse’s gait. The last scene of one of my favorite movies, White Christmas, shows this very picture as they throw open wide the doors behind the stage.
\nI doubt we will have a white Christmas this year in West Virginia. But we WILL be having “The First Annual FixIt Family Holiday Extravaganza” on Saturday. This will consist of the WVU Basketball game, hors d’oeuvres, opening presents, and eating a big pot of chili with homemade cinnamon rolls for supper. I’m over my cold, thank you God! (Zicam is my secret weapon…reduces a two-week ordeal to three days!) I didn’t go to Colorado this year…for a number of reasons. Mainly because Mr. FixIt had hand reconstruction surgery two weeks ago and couldn’t do much of anything. He’s doing really well…thank you for your prayers. He went to get the stitches removed but it’s not quite healed up enough for that so he’ll go back next week.
\nWhat are some of your favorite family holiday traditions? I’d love to hear them! And, if you have a recipe you’d like to share, please do. ❤️
\n“Now I commend you because you remember me in everything and maintain the traditions even as I delivered them to you.”\n1 Corinthians 11:2 ESV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-12-22T02:30:51-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/12/22/here-we-go-awassailing.html", "tags": ["Family","Uplifting Stories","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Gratitude","Love","Peace","Holiday","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/12/19/the-modem-of-the-mind.html", "title": "The Modem of the Mind", "content_html": "
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/8e8765720c.jpg\")
\nI really love living out in the country. It’s peaceful. There’s lots of wildlife. It’s a slower life. I like life slow. I don’t like slow internet, however. Being a writer is a beautiful thing…until I’m standing with my cell phone over my head waving it around like a dead chicken, trying to get just…one…more…bar. It can be maddening.
\nMany of the images I use in my posts are really large…especially since I got my new iPhone. Great camera equals great pictures. Great pictures equals larger file size. That presents two problems. One, Wordpress only accepts files up to a certain size. Two, internet in the country is powered by two squirrels and a possum! It sometimes takes multiple attempts to get a photo or meme down to an acceptable size. That takes time and patience.
\nI went to the only office supply store in our little corner of the world and asked what I could do to make our internet work at the far end of the house where I write. We tried a booster. That didn’t work. We tried a repeater. That didn’t work either. Finally, I got the manager and he gave me a lesson in how WiFi works.
\nWiFi, it turns out, is pretty much like your water system. If you have one faucet in your house, every last bit of water pressure is going to send that water out like Old Faithful. However, if you have every faucet in the house turned on, the dishwasher running, a couple of showers, and someone flushes? You’ll be lucky to get a dribble. When we first got WiFi in our houses, we had a desktop computer, and maybe a laptop. Now we have, in this house alone, two iPhones, an iPad, Alexa, a laptop, two computers and a smart TV. It isn’t any wonder we can’t get everything to run well.
\nAs I was driving home from the store after that enlightening conversation, I thought about how my faith journey can be so much like that WiFi. When it’s just me and God, the signal is loud and clear. I feel His presence. I hear His Holy Spirit in my heart. I connect. But when I start plugging in device after device, my connection gets spotty. I start dropping calls. It is not good to keep God on hold. When I have too many “devices” plugged in, like we all do at the holidays, something has to go. And the first thing that went was my health. I caught a cold. I haven’t had a full fledged cold in a really long time. I mean a knock-you-down-and-drag-your-sorry-butt-to-bed kind of cold. This is that kind of cold, darn it.
\nThe good news is, colds are finite. You’re miserable for a few days and it gets better. I’ll be fine by Christmas. But, it IS a reminder to unplug some of those “devices” and spend some one-on-one time with God so my signal is clearer. ❤️
\n“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.”\nRevelation 3:20 ESV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-12-19T02:30:33-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/12/19/the-modem-of-the-mind.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Holiday","Wisdom","Humbled"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/12/17/deportment-etiquette-useful-skills-or.html", "title": "Deportment \u0026 Etiquette: Useful Skills or Out-of-Date Sexism?", "content_html": "
![\"Deportment](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/883bdfaf57.jpg\")
\nMr. FixIt and I went Christmas shopping yesterday. As much as I hate to go to Walmart, especially during the holiday shopping frenzy, we went looking for a specific item we weren’t finding elsewhere. When we arrived at the store, I excused myself to the ladies room.
\nThere was a bit of a line, as one might imagine with half the town out and about the weekend before Christmas. The woman in front of me had a full shopping cart of merchandise and a cell phone in her hand. She had the phone on speaker and it was ringing…unanswered. She turned to me and said, “Go ahead…I have to do this.”
\nIn the stall, I overheard the woman leaving a voice mail. I will paraphrase so as to leave the woman unidentifiable.
\n“Listen, if you insist on hanging up on me in the middle of a conversation…I’ll tell you what. You’re in a nursing home. I just won’t come visit you anymore. How’s that?! Talk to you later, Mommy.”
\nI was dumbfounded. Who does that? It’s Christmas, for crying out loud. It was more than just being rude to her mother…in a voicemail, mind you. It was being rude, out loud, in a public restroom, where anyone within several feet could overhear. I debated. How should I react? Should I say something? Make eye contact and show my disapproval? Breathe. Breathe. “God, show me what I should do.”
\nI decided not to say anything. I do not know the whole story. I don’t know if this woman has an issue. Maybe she had a gun? These are the things you think of in 2017. I came out of the stall, made brief eye contact, and said a prayer. “Father God…protect this woman’s mother from the wrath of her child. And bring them both peace and understanding. May they know your love. Amen”
\nWhen I was in school, we were taught deportment and etiquette. Every time I put on a coat, I can see the woman on the auditorium stage at Parkersburg High School.
\n“Grasp the coat by the collar and pull it up and over your right shoulder as you slip your arm in the sleeve. Then, gently reach behind you and slip your left arm into its sleeve. Do NOT swing the coat over your head like a toreador!”
\nWe walked with books on our heads. We learned to sit gracefully without looking like a lumberjack. We learned grace and manners. Yes, please. No, thank you. Yes, ma’am. No, sir. May I? We learned which fork was for salad, which was for dinner and which was for dessert. We learned not to slurp our soup or our tea. We learned to stir the coffee in our cup without making a lot of noise. We learned manners.
\nThis was in the ‘60s and early ‘70s. In our senior year, girls were finally given permission to wear pants to school. And ever so slowly, deportment went out the window with our bras and pencil skirts and Peter Pan collars. There are certain aspects of our “training” that was decidedly sexist. After all, in many ways, we were really being taught how to catch a good man. Good girls acted in a certain way.
\nThis is the year of the woman…2017. Time’s “Person of the Year” is The Silence Breakers…the women of the #metoo movement. Women who have been the victims of sexual harassment, abuse, molestation, rape….many at the hands of powerful and influential men. But, are they really breaking their silence or just…finally, finally, finally being listened to…being heard? We’ve been telling. We’ve been talking. All along, we’ve been talking. And now, people are listening. Is it a perfect thing? No…it’s difficult and ugly and messy. And there are bound to be untruths told. But the majority…the vast majority of the stories told will be true. And far, far too familiar.
\nWere we trained to be the victims of men? We were told it was better to be seen and not heard. We were taught to keep the peace, don’t rock the boat, be a “good girl”…no matter what. “Boys will be boys.” “Were you drinking?” “Well, look what she was wearing!” Instead, these brave women are saying, “Nothing…NOTHING gives anyone the right to abuse me in anyway. Period.”
\nI texted my daughter, the high school teacher…my go-to resource when I want to understand the minds of today’s adolescent. I asked her if they teach deportment and manners anymore. She said nothing even remotely close to it. I asked if it was considered sexist. Was there a lack of funding? Was it outdated? Her answer was…outdated. They don’t call it “Home Economics” anymore. It’s “Food Science”, “Cooking”, “Catering”, “Fashion”…all under the title of “Career Technical Education classes.
\nOk, I get it. To tell a girl she has to learn to walk straight and tall, to walk in heels, to put her coat on a certain way, may be considered sexist. Especially if young men aren’t being taught the same thing. I get all that. My problem is manners. Common, everyday decency that tells one it isn’t polite to stand in a bathroom at Walmart and threaten your elderly mother who is living in a nursing home. Threatening to stop visiting her if she hangs up on you again. I don’t get that.
\nThere are parents who do a beautiful job raising polite, functional, lovable children who use impeccable manners and they do it without shaming or beating them. I know many of them. But there are so many more who leave it up to an overtaxed educational system to teach their children how to be decent human beings.
\nI don’t know the answer. Are there any “Emily Posts” left in the world? How do we teach the youth of today that manners are still important? How do we teach respect? I cannot believe that deportment is outdated entirely. It’s not that I am an old fuddy-duddy. I just want the best for our bright and shining future. ❤️
\n“And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.”\nLuke 6:31 ESV
\n", "date_published": "2017-12-17T02:30:11-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/12/17/deportment-etiquette-useful-skills-or.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Positive Energy","Growth","Grace","Peace","Wisdom","Humbled","Peaceful Moments"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/12/14/lets-take-a-ride-on.html", "title": "Let’s Take a Ride on the Brain Train", "content_html": "![\"The](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/d49456d497.jpg\")
\nIn the early ‘80s, Hubby #2 was just finishing medical school and was about to start his internship and residency. I was working for a four-doctor Internal Medicine clinic as a Diabetes Educator. The wife of one of the doctors I worked for was writing a book about a kind of water exercise called “Flugel Fitness”. She contracted me to illustrate the instruction manual. In the process of working with her, we had lots of conversations about health and wellness. She had a workout studio and I started some weight loss classes for her. I remember having a conversation with her about my situational anxiety surrounding public speaking and she recommended a book by Shakti Gawain called Creative Visualization. I loved that book and read it many times and it did help.
\nCreative visualization and guided imagery are sort of like meditation. One image helped me feel grounded. I sat in the lotus position and imagined a lightning rod going from the top of my head, down my spine, and sinking deep within the earth. I pictured energy drawing up from the earth and showering out the top of my head and raining down over me. It was all very New Agey.
\nAt this same time, Daughter #1 was about nine or ten years old. She loved for me to tell her stories at bedtime. Reading Shakti’s book gave me an idea. I wanted to see if creative visualization would work to help an active child settle down and fall asleep more easily. So, I created the Brain Train. We went on lots of “trips” on the Brain Train as I described intricate scenarios. It worked beautifully! She would relax and fall asleep much quicker with this type of guided imagery.
\nI decided to write a children’s book. I made it like a dry erase book with basic background images. The child uses a marker to draw in what they “see” as they ride the Brain Train through the countryside. It was a fun idea and Daughter #1 loved it. I submitted it to dozens of publishers and received dozens of rejections. Then, about a year later, creative visualization for children took off and there were books similar to mine everywhere. I figure I was just too far ahead of my time, right?
\nWhen Daughter #2 came along, she had many of the same anxiety issues I’ve struggled with. One day we were looking through some things and she saw the prototype book that I sent to publishers. I told her all about the Brain Train and we started using creative visualization to help her cope with stress. She loved it as much as her older sister.
\nI don’t get to talk to the girls as often as I’d like these days. They are busy with their lives. But, yesterday I got to talk with Daughter #2 for a lovely, long conversation. The subject of The Brain Train came up and she told me what an important tool that had been for her and how she still uses creative visualization. She said, “Mom, I still have the painting you did for me. It’s hanging in my bedroom.” She sent me this picture. It brings back so many memories of my girls when they were little. Tucking them into bed…warm from a bath, hair still damp, tummies full of milk and cookies. We would hop onboard the Brain Train and soon found ourselves riding through mountains or along the ocean or through a forest. We saw animals of all sizes and colors. Blue elephants, pink giraffes, polka dot monkeys. We crossed bridges and went through long dark tunnels and soon they relaxed and I heard the familiar deep, even breathing of sleep.
\nWhat a gift that was…to learn something I did for them…something I really haven’t thought of in ages…had such an impact. It made me feel like I felt when I held them on my lap, brushing their hair from their foreheads, kissing the top of their heads. It made me feel like a mom. I mean…once a mom, always a mom, right? I mean like a real, active, momming mom. It gave me the feels. ❤️
\n“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.”\nPsalms 19:14 ESV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-12-14T02:30:54-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/12/14/lets-take-a-ride-on.html", "tags": ["Family","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Growth","New Ideas","Love","Peace","Wisdom"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/12/12/change.html", "title": "Change", "content_html": "
![\"WV](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/8b5c1a7872.jpg\")
\nOne of the hardest things to deal with since losing Mr. Virgo is…change. And of course, that is the one thing you can absolutely count on in this life. Change. Things change. People change. Situations change. And, unfortunately…places change.
\nI have to tell you, sometimes you have no way of knowing what God has up His sleeve when He leads you down a certain path. Why this way and not that? Sometimes we never figure it out. Other times, it becomes crystal clear. I love those times. Even when they break my heart.
\nWhen I first came to West Virginia, it was just a year and a half after losing Mr. Virgo. I lived on the family farm but only for a few weeks. When my aunt decided she really didn’t want help, I went off on my own for a couple years. I never dreamed I’d have the opportunity to come back and be the caretaker of the home of my heart. When my uncle asked me to take care of the place for him, I jumped at the chance.
\nI know God has a reason behind every move. There was a plan before I was born. I hadn’t really thought about why I got to live at the farm again. Until yesterday. Mr. FixIt and I have noticed a lot of heavy dump trucks going up the road lately. We heard this summer that they’re putting in a compressor station back beyond the farm so we surmised the work had begun. When we got there yesterday, I drove past the farm and went up the back road. It wasn’t long till we saw the signs. “Road Work Ahead” and “Flagger: Prepare to Stop”.
\nIt’s funny. You hear change is coming. You see what other places look like when they change. Yet, you’re completely unprepared when the change comes and it affects your world. I’m a go-with-the-flow kinda gal, but when I saw them cutting into MY earth, MY world, my HEART…it crushed me. I motioned for the flagger to come over. I asked for details. “What are they doing there?” “How far back are they going?” “How long will this take?” He was a young man. Respectful. He seemed to understand this was hurtful to me. He explained carefully what steps they were taking. I sat and stared till the tears stung my eyes then I had to go.
\nI remember when they clear cut the back of the farm. I felt like this. But, trees grow back. This is a permanent scar that will never heal. As I sat and watched the big dump trucks back out the ridge to be filled with MY earth, the Holy Spirit whispered to my heart.
\n“This is why you were given this time on the farm. You are here to memorize every inch of the place. You are here to document the passage. You are here to be a witness.”
\nChange is inevitable. I know that. I’m doing better with change. I don’t like it. And I especially don’t like them messing with the home of my heart. But, I’m also a realist. I’m pragmatic. There is now going to be a paved road out to the back of this ridge. There will be easier access to the workable land and that will improve the value of the farm. That’s the upside. There’s going to be a lot of sound pollution, increased traffic, as well as some environmental risks. That’s the downside.
\nI’ve always known my time on the farm is limited. I’ll still be taking care of it for the foreseeable future. And I’ll be saying goodbye to what it once was…one truckload of dirt at a time. ❤️
\n“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:”\nEcclesiastes 3:1 ESV
\n", "date_published": "2017-12-12T02:30:30-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/12/12/change.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","Growth","New Ideas","Grace","God","Wisdom","Humbled","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/12/10/its-that-time-of-year.html", "title": "It’s That Time of Year", "content_html": "![\"Snowy](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e4e54a2659.jpg\")
\nI visit this topic every year. There’s always a big hullaballoo every year about what to say when greeting others around the holidays. It seems like there are just WAY too many perceived offenses surrounding this subject. There are those offended by “Happy Holidays” or “Season’s Greetings”. There are some who are not necessarily offended by “Merry Christmas” but who wish to be more inclusive. Sometimes the debate gets heated and we forget what the whole thing is all about in the first place. Love. The kind of love that transcends all other love.
\nWhile I was not born Jewish, I lived as a Jew for 27 years. I became Jewish for a number of reasons, but it was NOT to convert because of a marriage. I married a Jewish man, but I considered myself Jewish before I met him. When he joined a medical practice in a small town on the western slope of Colorado, we were faced with a bit of a dilemma. Everything was strictly “Merry Christmas”. Which is fine. I have no problem with that. The Christmas program included Hanukkah songs, which was great. But, it was Hanukkah songs without acknowledging Hanukkah, per se. The other children in the school weren’t taught there was anything else BUT Christmas. They thought Hanukkah was the Jewish Christmas, and it isn’t. It doesn’t have anything to do with Christmas. And, being a stickler for education, I wanted the children to learn about all the winter holidays. I wanted all the children to be included and celebrated. And to do that, it couldn’t just be about ONE holiday…as if that were the only one.
\nI joined an ad hoc committee on religious sensitivity in the schools. We added books about other winter festivals and holidays to the school and public libraries. We asked for the program to be called the Winter Celebration. We were met with incredible resistance. The mayor of the little town was a former priest. He took great offense at our request. To the point that he hung a banner over the Main Street of town accusing the “heathens of trying to take Christmas away from our kids”. Personally, I really loved that man. He was kind, generous, and worked very hard for our town. He got our local representative involved. It was a real mess. We met with them. We communicated. We pleaded for our children to be included. And, as time passed…they were. We weren’t trying to take anything away from other children. We were trying to expand the scope of the holidays to embrace all children.
\nI don’t feel any holiday should be diluted. Every faith has its own place in this melting pot of a country. Religious freedom is what this country was founded on. I am a great proponent of inclusivity. In the years since, I have become a Christian. My faith is very important to me. But, I have a memory. And my little girl was ostracized by her peers. She was…to her face…called a “stupid effing Jew” and that is totally unacceptable.
\nSo, here’s my bottom line. I do not care if you say Merry Christmas. I didn’t care when I was Jewish if you said Merry Christmas to me. You were being kind and wishing me well. What’s not to love about that? I, however, will more than likely say “Happy Holidays” to you unless I know for certain that you celebrate Christmas. Because, I am not clairvoyant. Unless you are wearing a Santa suit or elf ears, I’m not going to assume who or what you are. I will respect your human-ness. With a heartfelt holiday greeting.
\nI love Christmas. And, I love Hanukkah. I am not familiar with Kwanza, but I love that there is such a holiday. For me personally, I love the story of the Nativity, of the birth of the Christ Child. And, I love all of you. I hope this season is full of love, no matter what your faith…or lack thereof. This is a dark time of year, and a dark time of the world in many ways. We all need all the Love and Light we can get…and not just in December! ❤️
\n“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;”\nLamentations 3:22 ESV
\n", "date_published": "2017-12-10T02:30:37-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/12/10/its-that-time-of-year.html", "tags": ["Faith","Family","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Holiday","Wisdom","Forgiveness"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/12/05/he-loves-melike-that.html", "title": "He Loves Me...”Like That”", "content_html": "![\"Man](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/c29a911247.jpg\")
\nIt was December 4th, 2013. It had been 267 days since the love of my life died right in front of me. It was 267 largely sleepless nights. I had made myself put one foot in front of the other…day after miserable, lonely day…for 2-6-7 long $&@#%€* days. I was tired. I was broken. But I was trying.
\nOn this day, I went to work. It was normally an hour commute each way, but on this particular day, the skies opened up and snow started falling at an alarming rate. The further west I drove heading home, the deeper the snow became. When I finally pulled up in front of my house, there was nearly 18” of heavy, wet snow in my driveway. I slogged up the drive and got my snow shovel out. You know…the one with MY name on it…not Mr. Virgo’s. He was gone. Two-hundred-sixty-seven days of…gone.
\nI shoveled for what seemed like hours. I was numb…physically and emotionally. I could hardly make a dent in the snow removal. I barely got my car in off the street when I gave up and went inside. I marched straight to our…MY…bedroom. I stood in front of the picture of Mr. Virgo and yelled at him. I screamed. I cried. I ranted and raved. He had a lot of nerve leaving me like this…with this house and this mess and this…LIFE! I didn’t ask for this. I didn’t want this. I was just so $&@# tired. I didn’t care if I lived or died, to be perfectly honest.
\nThat was a particularly dark and dreadful season in my life. There were a lot of people who helped me through that. I had support from those who loved me and from complete strangers in several widow’s support groups on Facebook. I’m only active in a couple of them now. I see myself there now as a symbol of hope, having survived the worst of it.
\nThe other day, one of the women in the group said “No one will ever love me like that again”. I couldn’t let her go on thinking that…believing that. I know early on…I couldn’t imagine loving again. If for no other reason than I was sure another loss like that would surely kill me. Then time passed, wounds scarred over, and color started to filter back into my life. I started to think…maybe I COULD do this again. I prayed a lot about it and asked God to place a worthy man right in front of me. And…He did.
\nI wanted this woman to know…your heart can beat again. You can open it up. You can give and receive love. It’s been almost five years since my world fell apart. And, while this man is so different than my late husband, he loves me “like that”. I feel the same joy true love brings. I feel the same hope, warmth, trust. This one is far more passionate…partially because I’m acutely aware of what I lost and I find this so precious. Which brings me to the biggest difference. Fear. When my husband was alive and I used to have the fleeting thought…”What if he died?” I had absolutely zero understanding of what devastation that loss would bring. Now, I know exactly what that loss brought to me. I still don’t know what losing this man would be like, but I have a $&@# good idea. I try to keep the wolves at bay and live in the moment, but they’re always howling in the woods somewhere.
\nGod did not create in us a spirit of fear but a spirit of power and love and self-control. 2 Timothy 1:7 is one of my go-to verses when I’m feeling weak and out of control. Mr. FixIt is having some reconstruction surgery on his hand Thursday. Even though I worked most of my career in medicine and was married to a physician for two decades, since losing Mr. Virgo, I don’t handle medical situations very well…especially when it involves someone I love. I read 2 Timothy, and asked a friend to come join me at the hospital for coffee and a chance to catch up. I know it’s not a huge invasive surgery, but I know things can happen. This man loves me…”like that”. I will do my very best to support him in whatever comes our way because…I love him “like that”, too. ❤️
\n“for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”\n2 Timothy 1:7 ESV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-12-05T02:30:03-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/12/05/he-loves-melike-that.html", "tags": ["Faith","Colorado","Family","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom","Forgiveness","Humbled","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/12/04/making-progress.html", "title": "Making Progress", "content_html": "
![\"Interior](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/cf92378bfc.jpg\")
\nMr. FixIt came home yesterday! happy dance Doggone it…we really miss each other when we are apart. I always say, “But, I still need my space. I have to have time to recharge!” And I do. About four days and I’m good. After that, I’m ready to see that happy smile on Mr. FixIt’s face. It is a good thing to miss your love when you’re apart. It means you’ve got it goin’ on, right?
\nI worked like a little bee while he was gone. I did some rearranging and cleaning and decorating and nested like a woman about to deliver. (Thank God THAT’S not happening anymore!) I didn’t want to post pictures while he was gone because he reads my posts every day (didn’t I say he was sweet?) and I didn’t want to ruin the surprise when he walked in the door. I have to say, the look on his face was worth all the work. I literally finished minutes before he pulled into the drive!
\nReally, the only room we’ve done any work on has been the family room. Some paint, a new desk and chair, editing what was in there, and adding some of my special things, and it’s a whole new room for very little outlay. There’s more to do, but it’s really lovely now and it reflects US! This picture is the corner where I set up my desk and chair. I love how the desk closes up, hiding any “office clutter”. The raven on the top is an old orchard decoy I bought thirty years ago. The heron lamp belongs to Mr. FixIt. The quilt was a wedding gift to Mr. Virgo and me from a friend. It hung in the breakfast nook at my home in Colorado. The sign on the top says “Once in awhile, in an ordinary life, love gives us a fairytale.” I bought that to put in my camper as a remembrance of the love I had with Mr. Virgo. And now, it’s doing double duty because I get to live another fairytale!
\nI’ll share bits and pieces of my decorating as we go along but I have to maintain Mr. FixIt’s privacy as well. Bless his heart, he signed on for a heck of a ride when he asked me out for lunch a year or so ago. He’s never said a word about showing up in my posts, but I want to respect his boundaries at the same time.
\nThe house is decorated for Christmas and this week is jam-packed busy with appointments. I hope you are enjoying your early holiday preparations. If you are experiencing your first (or second, or tenth….doesn’t matter) holiday without your loved one and you’re really missing your person, I hope you are practicing good self care. Reach out here if you need extra support. There are a lot of us here who have been through similar losses and we’re here to help as we can. ❤️
\n“…I found the one my heart loves.”\nSong of Songs 3:4 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-12-04T02:30:04-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/12/04/making-progress.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Gratitude","Grace","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Humbled","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/12/03/the-rheostat.html", "title": "The Rheostat", "content_html": "
![\"Rheostat\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/d4dd13ff46.jpg\")
\nWhen Daughter #2 was born, I had the luxury of being a stay-at-home mom. Her sister, and only sibling, turned sixteen and got her driver’s license just a few months after she was born. So, I had a lot of time on my hands to devote to the baby. I knew this would be my last child so I read all the parenting books and nurtured her learning from the get go. As a matter of fact, I placed headphones on my tummy and played Mozart and Beethoven to her in utero. Yes, I was “one of THOSE” moms.
\nDaughter #2 was precocious. She could READ the alphabet at seventeen months. She knew the names of all her body parts, by their anatomical terms. She spoke complete sentences early. She was a beast! Fierce. Determined. Focused. I had flash cards on the wall by the changing table. We would talk about what it was and what it meant and how you spell it and how you pronounce it.
\nBecause of all this exposure to knowledge, this baby was powerfully curious. She pointed at everything and wanted to know what it was, how it worked, and what you used it for. One afternoon, I caught her staring intently at something from her high chair. I followed her gaze. She was looking at the dimmer switch. Soon she looked at me and asked “Whassat?” It was her FAVORITE question! She asked it hundreds of times a day.
\nI explained to her that it was a dimmer switch, but the thing that makes it work is called a rheostat. I took her outside and showed her the electric lines coming into the house. I told her about electricity. And I told her how a rheostat slows down or speeds up the waves in the electricity and that changes the light from dim to bright to dim at will. After that, wherever we went, she demanded to know if our host or hostess had a rheostat. My friends rolled their eyes at me. “Would you let her be a kid, for crying out loud?” I should have, probably. My daughter struggled because the other kids just didn’t “get” her. She had trouble relating to kids her own age. She’s turned out fine…it just wasn’t easy for her.
\nLife can be like a rheostat. We can turn up the frequency and shine light out into the world. Or we can turn it down and sit in the dark. There’s something really cool about the light, though. Darkness cannot overcome the light. Only light can overcome darkness. Keep shining your light out into the world. Keep the darkness at bay. Constantly tell the enemy he is not welcome here. Show him your light. Tell him Who you get that light from. Send him packing. Remember your rheostat when you feel down…and turn it up! ❤️
\n“When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.””\nJohn 8:12 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-12-03T02:30:28-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/12/03/the-rheostat.html", "tags": ["Faith","Family","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom","Humbled"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/12/02/more-christmas-memories.html", "title": "MORE Christmas Memories", "content_html": "
![\"Ceramic](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/bf84f90cf7.jpg\")
\nI have been on such a nostalgia kick lately! Here’s one I know you all will remember and you probably had (still have!) one of these bad boys. My mom had one that she made in a ceramics class. As a matter of fact, I think I might have made one somewhere along the way. I seem to remember painting on the glaze that puffed up like snow and gluing the little ornaments in the holes. Wow…that’s like opening the top of your head and reaching WAY back in the memory banks!
\nMom got to the point where this was the extent of her holiday decorating. When Christmas was over, she dusted off the “tree”, put a dry cleaning bag over it, and took it back upstairs to the attic till the next year. I found it up there after she died. It’s one of the things I saved when I cleared out her house. And, unfortunately, it’s one of the only things that broke during one of my many moves over the years. It made me so sad.
\nI was rummaging around in the upstairs of the cellar house the other day and ran across one of these in a box up there. I need to get it out and set it up on the dining room table. My aunt used to put it out when she lived there.
\nI was wandering around the mall yesterday and was thinking of more things we used to get at Christmas. Remember those round bath oil beads? They were jewel-toned, came in about four or five scents, and often were in a tube with a plastic crook on the end to look like a candy cane. You put on in your bath and the hot water would melt the gelatin bead and the oil would come out into the water. Only, who could resist picking it up and playing with it till it completely dissolved???
\nHow about the Easy Bake Oven??? OMGosh! Do you remember how horrible that stuff tasted??? Yet, we ate it! There was Chatty Cathy, Betsy Wetsy, Tiny Tears. I always wanted one but never got one. I did get the bride doll that was as tall as me! And I had a Barbie. My Aunt Marge once traded eggs for a Barbie Doll dress that the neighbor made. I knew that was a big deal for her to do that and I took extra special care of that dress.
\nHow about the socks with the toes in them? Or games like Operation or Chutes and Ladders or Candyland. I remember getting a set of Old Maid cards once.
\nOne year, money must have been really tight. Mom ordered our Christmas presents from a catalog and they didn’t come in time for Christmas. So on Christmas morning, mom gave us each an envelope with the pictures of what we were going to get when the box arrived. But then, when the box did come, Dad found out Mom had charged the items so he made her send them all back. We were so disappointed and to this day, it makes my heart ache for her. She had to have felt horrible that we didn’t get a Christmas.
\nWe moved into the house we grew up in over Christmas break when I was in second grade. The house and furnishings were our Christmas that year. I remember my Grandmother bought me a bedroom set. It was grey, very modern. It had a twin bed and a dresser that had a drop\nFront that turned into a desk. Grandmother made curtains out of pink fabric with grey poodles on them. There was an old TV console in my bedroom and for some reason, she made a cover for that as well. I even had a black metal trash can with a poodle on it! My brothers room was decorated with a Cincinnati Reds theme. That was a grand Christmas!
\nI remember when I got old enough to babysit, I would go downtown to Kresge’s and buy Mom a little bottle of Evening in Paris perfume or a chiffon scarf. She always acted as though that was the finest gift a mother could have wished for and it made me so proud. I loved wrapping the presents. As a matter of fact…when we got old enough, she would put our gifts in boxes and I’d wrap my own presents! I wrapped everyone’s presents. It took all day on a Saturday. I’d sit on the floor in front of the TV and use up all the bows and the stickers and the gift tags and have a big time. Then I’d pile everything under the tree. We didn’t have a lot. But we had enough. ❤️
\n““Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.”\nExodus 20:12 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-12-02T02:30:56-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/12/02/more-christmas-memories.html", "tags": ["Faith","Family","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","Peace","Holiday","Wisdom","Forgiveness","Humbled"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/12/01/johnny-and-punkin-spice.html", "title": "Johnny and Punkin Spice", "content_html": "![\"Dog](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/899f0bd7c2.jpg\")
\nI have this friend. She’s one of those wonderful shining stars that God places on this earth to be a guardian of animals. I am convinced she is an “angel unawares”. I met Aimee through a high school friend. They were talking at a conference once and Aimee told her about this great group of women campers she belonged to called…Sisters on the Fly. Diane couldn’t wait to hook us up. And I am so glad she did. I don’t get to spend nearly enough time with Aimee. As a matter of fact, I believe we have only seen each other in person two or three times. But it’s always “old home week” when we greet each other like long lost friends.
\nNot only are Aimee and I “Sisters”…we are also fellow West Virginians. And darned proud of it, I might say. Aimee works for the state and created the COOLEST soil trailer. It’s a cargo trailer that she converted on the inside to give you a “worm’s eye view” of what it looks like in the ground. So, she’s an animal activist, she hauls a soil trailer all over the state to teach kids about the earth, she’s a Sister on the Fly, and a farmer, and she creates beautiful art pieces that she sells at some of the big decorator barn sales. On top of that, she’s beautiful, funny, and I just love her to pieces. Because she saved Johnny’s life.
\nJohnny was a rescue. Terribly ill, he was essentially a lost cause. The vet didn’t think he could possibly live. But Aimee found out about him (I think she’s on speed dial at the animal rescue) and scooped him up. She sat up with Johnny for days, snuggling him in blankets, taking him in for infusions and tests practically every day. He kept getting sicker and sicker. He was a rescue…but he had wriggled into her heart and she couldn’t give up on him. One night, they made a desperate trip to see the vets at the university in Columbus. It took a while, but they finally diagnosed Johnny with a rare disease that affects his joints. If they could just get him through, things would get better for him and he would live a pretty normal life. But there were no guarantees. They pleaded and prayed and now…look at him! He’s so beautiful. All of us fell madly in love with him and Aimee is great at recording his life for his fan base.
\nThis fall, Aimee was driving down the street in her truck when she saw something very tiny in the road. It was a kitten! And there was a man in a truck alongside the road. The kitten was trying desperately to get in the truck but the man just sat and stared at it. Without thinking, Aimee jumped out, stopped traffic, scooped up the kitten, and ran back across the busy highway. She yelled at the man. “Didn’t you see that kitten?” He just shrugged. “I don’t know anything about that.” Oh, he knew alright! He had more than likely dumped that baby right before Aimee drove by. God puts angels right where he needs them, doesn’t He?
\nThis little kitten went to work with Aimee every day as she fostered it. She socialized her and made sure she had all her shots and took extra special care of her in hopes she would forget all about the bad man in the truck. What sent us over the moon was how much Johnny loved his kitty. HIS kitty. Oh…how Johnny LOVES kitties! He would cry and cry until Aimee gave him the kitten. Then she had to sit with him and tell him over and over…”Easy, Johnny. You have to be gentle. Easy. Easy.” Johnny knew, the only way he could have his baby was if he laid down very still…then Aimee would place this tiny little fur ball under this big boxer boy. He laid so still…but his tail pounded the bed like a drum.
\nEventually, the kitty found her way to a forever home with a boy to play with. We were all SO worried about Johnny. How would he handle losing his baby? Aimee posted pictures of Johnny with his other kitties. His mommy knows when she has reached the number of animals she can responsibly care for. She did the right thing. And she knows Johnny better than any of us. She knew he would be fine. It’s as if Johnny knew he was only a temporary caregiver for this little baby.
\nWe can learn so much from Johnny. Patience, kindness, caring…unconditional love. He doesn’t care that the kitten isn’t like him. All he knows is…here is someone who needs love and he has love to give.
\nYou never know what kind of stray Aimee will attract next. Right now she is fostering a dog with cancer who is legitimately psychotic. They are trying to figure out how to help her. If anyone can, it’s our divine farm girl…the Dirt Queen. Thank you, Aimee…for having such a huge heart. You are so loved and there are many stars in your crown. ❤️
\n““But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this? In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind. Does not the ear test words as the tongue tastes food? Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding?”\nJob 12:7-12 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-12-01T02:30:37-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/12/01/johnny-and-punkin-spice.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Sisters on the Fly","Positive Energy","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","Peace","Humbled"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/11/30/throwback-thursday.html", "title": "Throwback Thursday", "content_html": "
![\"Glass](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/acb1650193.jpg\")
\nI don’t know about you, but I’m scared of all this threatening talk between the US and North Korea. I need memories of my childhood to focus on so I can sleep at night. So here goes…
\nI love, love, LOVE Pinterest! Think of anything….some obscure thing from your childhood…and you can just about guarantee someone has posted a picture of it. Like…Glass Wax Window Stencils! I remember the can, the color, the smell, how it felt when it dried on your fingers. I could hardly wait for Christmas so we could get a new set.
\nAnd spray snow in a can…remember that? Oh, that stuff was wicked awful. Who knows what kind of chemicals were in that stuff? We would spray it around the bottom of the windows to look like drifted snow. And I would spray it on a mirror that mom set on a table then I’d set up ice skaters and make it look like they were skating on a pond.
\nRibbon candy? And those straw-like candies that were crunchy on the outside and had some sort of chocolate on the inside. And Christmas morning we would have an orange in our stocking. Or better yet, a couple of tangerines. And a candy cane. And a handful of nuts, in their shells. And a Lifesaver Storybook! We didn’t have much money when I was growing up, but we had enough for a stocking and a couple of toys. I remember the year I was ten…I got a bike! Somewhere there’s a picture of me in my baby doll pajamas, my finger over my lips and my eyes open wide as I caught sight of it! It was blue. One speed. I think the metal label said JC Higgins on it.
\nThere were a lot of Christmas memories that I used to drag around like a load of bricks…usually surrounding my dad and alcohol. But now? Since I lost Mr. Virgo, I’ve decided to rewrite history and just remember the good parts. There was almost always a doll. A game that my brother and I had to share. Clothes. (Insert eye roll here) I begged Mom to wrap every single thing so it felt like I got more stuff. (See? I learned early about accumulating “stuff”!)
\nThe paper was thin and printed with what are now vintage Santas or Rudolph or stripes or metallic foils. There was flat satin ribbon when we were a little more flush. Usually it was curling ribbon and a bag of cheap bows. And gift tags! There were little gift tags made out of card stock with “Season’s Greetings” and “Silent Night” printed in glitter with a space for “To:” and “From:”.
\nChristmas has always been my favorite holiday. Christmas and my birthday. Some of my very best memories totally surround those two days. What are some of your best Christmas memories? Did you go caroling and sledding? Did the neighbors invite you in for hot cocoa with a big melty marshmallow in it? Did you build snowmen and forts for epic snowball fights? Let’s share some warm fuzzies and forget about the scary stuff for a little while. ❤️
\n“Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes one such child in my name welcomes me.”\nMatthew 18:4-5 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-11-30T02:30:46-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/11/30/throwback-thursday.html", "tags": ["Family","Positive Energy","Fun","Gratitude","Love","Peace","Holiday","Aging"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/11/29/the-shift.html", "title": "The Shift", "content_html": "
![\"Christmas](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/08a030f2c5.jpg\")
\nThe earth shifted yesterday. Did you feel it? I did. Mr. FixIt is about halfway through his guy getaway to Florida with his buddy and I’ve been staying at his house…feeding cats, cleaning, decorating, rearranging. It’s been great fun.
\nFor those of you who have been following from the beginning, I downsized and got rid of ninety-five percent of my personal belongings when I sold my house in 2014. I brought those things to West Virginia that I could not part with. A friend has been so kind as to let me store them in his basement all this time. I went over a couple of weeks ago and brought a whole truckload over to Mr. FixIt’s house. The Christmas decorations were all put out so yesterday, I got into the boxes of decorator items. A pink Fenton hurricane lamp, an antique cast iron rabbit doorstop, some quilts, my raven decoy, a sign that says “Kindness Matters”…these found themselves mingled with Mr. FixIt’s memories. Looking at the finished project, they could have all been purchased together for just the same house
\nI went back into the storage room and lugged the heaviest box to the kitchen. This is where I felt the shift. Do you sense what’s happening here? I’m nesting. The lines of “yours” and “mine” are blurring. Nowhere did I feel this as much as when I opened that heavy box. It was filled with china. Precious cargo that has been carted from one side of the country to the other…never seeing the light of day.
\nOne winter day, what seems like a lifetime ago, Mr. Virgo and I were shopping for a tablecloth. When I caught up with him, he was standing in front of a display of china. He was studying something intently so I followed his gaze. When I saw what he was looking at, I gasped out loud. Royal Doulton’s “Tennyson”. I’ve never seen anything so beautiful. And, six months later, I got eight place settings for my birthday. I sat down and cried like a little girl. I’d never had anything so…fine.
\nThose dishes were packed away in 2014 when I sold my house. Yesterday…I carefully unwrapped each one, inspecting them for chips or cracks. They were perfect. I carefully hand washed and dried each piece and set them out on the dining room table in Mr. FixIt’s house. I thought about how far I have come in the nearly five years since Mr. Virgo died.
\nMr. FixIt and I still have an unconventional relationship. He has his place, I am taking care of the family farm. We stay a little here, a little there. We travel, and we stay apart a little. It works for now.
\nI am so blessed that Mr. FixIt gets me. He’s an angel…tolerant of many things. And he’s thrilled to spend whatever time he can with me. The feelings are mutual. ❤️
\n“Unless the Lord builds the house, the builders labor in vain…”\nPsalm 127:1 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-11-29T02:30:12-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/11/29/the-shift.html", "tags": ["Faith","Family","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Humbled","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/11/28/the-stick-tree.html", "title": "The Stick Tree", "content_html": "
![\"Christmas](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/df4b74fec3.jpg\")
\nYou’ve all seen that spindly little Christmas tree Charlie Brown had, right? Basically a stick with some twigs branching off. As far back as I can remember, that was the tree out at the farm. My Uncle Bob was a simple man. When he was told to go cut down a pine tree for Christmas, he did just that. And being a practical man, he brought back one that was easy to carry and would not take long to decorate. He was the smartest of the bunch, turns out.
\nGrandma didn’t have a lot of ornaments. I remember some of those made by Shiny Bright. There was a very old hand blown Santa that my fat baby fingers accidentally broke one year. sigh And, there was an angel that went on the top of the tree. Her dress was made of vinyl with a net skirt over it. Her upper torso, arms, and head were like a doll made of hard plastic. Her hair was spun glass. And her wings were silver pressed cardboard. Somehow, I managed to acquire that angel. I suppose because I’m the oldest grand daughter and got married first, I don’t know. But that angel has been with me forever. She is too fragile to put on top of a tree…I’m afraid the cardboard tube that slips over a branch might break. So, she gets tucked in a place of prominence on the front of the tree…up high enough to avoid any encounters with two or four-legged children.
\nWe always had a big, fat tree at home that my dad bought at a lot. I remember the excitement of driving around looking at Christmas lights then stopping at the lot to pick out our tree. I wore a woolen coat buttoned up to my neck, someone’s hand-me-down, I’m sure. I had a blue velvet hat that tied under my chin with blue satin ties. And, hanging on one side we’re two white balls made of real rabbit fur. I remember shaking my head back and forth to feel them bounce around. I wore that hat till it literally disintegrated. I wore rubber boots that fit over my shoes and buckles with an elastic string over a button.
\nDad would walk us up and down the aisles to choose the perfect tree…i.e. the cheapest without too many holes in it. Once the price was negotiated, an attendant would help Dad carry the tree to the Oldsmobile and strap it to the top with sisal rope. Once we got it home, there was trimming to be done before we could take it in the house. We had strings of lights with big reflectors that went on before screwing the big bulb in. This was a safety feature that kept the needles from touching the hot bulb and catching fire. And many of the ornaments hanging on my tree that I so carefully preserve were placed on those big, fat trees at the house on 55th Street.
\nI remember feeling so sorry for Grandma and her skinny little Charlie Brown tree. Now I look back and appreciate the simplicity with a fervor. I use an artificial tree now. The first one I’ve had since Mr. Virgo died. I opted for a slender one. I thought I’d be putting it in front of the window at the farm. Instead, it’s over here at Mr. FixIt’s. I never would have dreamed. This is the fifth Christmas without Mr. Virgo. To have found this new love and new joy and renewed zest for life is something I am profoundly grateful for.
\nIt’s the simple things I crave now. Things held by loved ones long gone. Gentle, loving companionship. Soft music. A warm fire. Good food. And a loving God that made all this possible for me. I am richly blessed. ❤️
\n“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”\nRomans 15:13 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-11-28T02:30:45-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/11/28/the-stick-tree.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","Peace","Holiday","Wisdom","Humbled","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/11/24/and-soit-begins.html", "title": "And So...It Begins", "content_html": "
![\"Christmas](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/aa1b343fa7.jpg\")
\nThe other day I found myself with a little time on my hands and stopped at the Blennerhassett Hotel for a Starbucks. The Easter Seal Parade of Trees was on display so I took my coffee and wandered among the holiday decorations, getting inspiration. There were some stunning trees this year. The trees are decorated by volunteers, sponsored by local businesses, and auctioned off to the highest bidder. It’s a wonderful fund raiser for the Easter Seal Society and helps provided needed services for area physically and developmentally disabled children.
\nI grew up going to the Easter Seal Treatment Center. My big brother was born with cerebral palsy and went to therapy every week. He had physical, occupational, and speech therapy for as long as I can remember. One of my earliest memories was a play table with little doors. You went in and the door shut after you. It was designed to allow children with disabilities to stand up for a period of time. There were toys and puzzles you could play with on the table in front of you, but what really stuck with me was the milk and cookies we got at snack time. Even though I had no need of these services, I was allowed to attend many of the sessions because I totally understood my brother’s speech when others found it difficult.
\nMom learned to drive when my brother was first starting therapy so she didn’t have to rely on my dad to get us to school and therapy at the end of the day. I’ll never forget my mom’s friend Elaine trying to teach her to drive. I sat in the back as mom drove around and around City Park. At one point, we ran up an embankment and nearly hit a tree. Mom put her head down on the steering wheel and cried. She kept saying, “I can’t. I can’t do it!” And Elaine would pat her arm and say, “Wanda…you have these kids to take care of. Of course you can do this. Now, let’s try again.”
\nElaine was a saint. And…so was my mom. I look back now at what her life was like and I’m in awe of her. I wasn’t always a supportive child and I sure wish she was here now to receive this new appreciation I feel for her.
\nChristmas is such a special time of year. I love bringing beauty and light into the long, dark nights of winter. We came back last night from our Thanksgiving visit with my family and will work today to get some decorating done before Mr. FixIt leaves for Florida on Saturday. This will be our second Christmas together…my fifth without Mr. Virgo. Bittersweet becomes more and more sweet with time.
\nI hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving! I ate a lot, loved on my family, and took a nap!!! ❤️
\n“You’ll take afternoon naps without a worry, you’ll enjoy a good night’s sleep.”\nProverbs 3:24 MSG
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-11-24T02:30:07-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/11/24/and-soit-begins.html", "tags": ["Family","Travel","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","The Farm","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","Peace","Holiday","Wisdom","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/11/23/with-gratitude.html", "title": "With Gratitude", "content_html": "
![\"Ginny](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/a3ca25658f.jpg\")
\nIt’s deer season in West Virginia and I bagged my first deer yesterday. Unfortunately, it was with Mr. FixIt’s 2007 Tundra. There was no stopping and I did exactly what I was supposed to do. I didn’t swerve. I held steady. Fortunately, there’s not much damage to the truck but we will have to replace the bumper. I’ve never hit a deer before. One fell down in front of me once but I drove right over it and it jumped up and ran away. I am grateful we weren’t injured and the damage was minimal.
\nThe other night, Mr. FixIt and I were having dinner and talking about Old Mama Kitty being gone. He stopped with his fork halfway to his mouth and asked, “You don’t suppose she wandered into the cellar house when you were in there last week and got trapped, do you?” OMGosh! The look on my face must have been pure horror. He looked at me with such compassion and said, “Don’t worry…we’ll go right back out there and check.” We drove the twenty-two miles and I ran up to the building and checked but she wasn’t there. Im sad she is gone but I’m grateful I didn’t accidentally trap her and keep her from food and water.
\nWe visited my mom’s sister and brother and his wife yesterday. My aunts are having memory issues and my uncle is caring for them. So far they’re holding their own. Actually, the aunt whose dementia is really bad was having a pretty good day. She recognized me and told me she had been worried about me. She put her arm around my neck and pulled me close. She told me she loved me. She waved goodbye with a smile. I am grateful to have made that connection with my aunt.
\nMy uncle regaled us with funny stories all evening…one of which I thought to record. He told the story about the day they rolled the old farmhouse I’m living in down onto the new basement they built. We all laughed. I am grateful for this man’s strength, courage, and sense of humor. Most of all, I’m grateful for his heart…it is full of love!
\nI am grateful for my Colorado family. They are healthy and happy and enjoying their lives. My brother is doing well. I’ve more than doubled my family since bringing Mr. FixIt into my life. More people to love!
\nI am grateful to all of you for making a little space in your lives for my words. You all bless me every day. Thank you for indulging me in my stories. May you all be richly blessed.
\nHappy Thanksgiving! ❤️
\n“Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth! Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing! Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving, and his courts with praise! Give thanks to him; bless his name! For the Lord is good; his steadfast love endures forever, and his faithfulness to all generations.”\nPsalms 100:1-5 ESV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-11-23T10:36:49-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/11/23/with-gratitude.html", "tags": ["Family","Travel","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","Peace","Holiday","Wisdom","Humbled"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/11/22/little-lies.html", "title": "Little Lies", "content_html": "
![\"Pinky](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/0a23834061.jpg\")
\nIs there such a thing as a “little white lie”? I mean, isn’t a lie…a lie? Big or small, untruths between couples erode trust in a relationship. If you have a need to outright lie to your spouse, you might not be with the right person. And what about the sin of omission? Ok, I’ve been guilty of “rounding down a little” when reporting how much I spent on that little black dress I had to have or trying to maintain a secret surrounding a gift. And, if I’m going to be honest here, there have been times in my life when I have not been truthful in a relationship and I’m not married to that person anymore. Which brings up that point again…if you have a need to outright lie to your spouse, you might not be with the right person. I wasn’t way back when. Enough said.
\nI was thrilled when Mr. Virgo came along. He was a great communicator, which was quite refreshing for me. We told each other everything. We told each other stories. I loved his stories. He worked in 5-Star resorts, hotels, and restaurants around the world. He met fascinating people…celebrities, politicians, dignitaries, kings and queens. His stories were enthralling and he loved telling them as much as I loved hearing them.
\nSeveral weeks after Mr. Virgo died, I was going through his personal papers in his dresser and came upon things that shook me up. Things I didn’t know. Things I felt were out of character for the man I knew and loved. Oh, it wasn’t anything like a second family in another state or something of a criminal nature. It was credit cards I didn’t know about. A relationship he had had before me that he never told me about. A business he had lost that had debt I was unaware of. Little things, but little things add up to big things.
\nI didn’t know how to feel. I felt a little betrayed. I felt a little disappointed. I felt a little angry. It added to the sadness and devastation I was already feeling at his loss. I carried that around for a long time and never told anyone because I didn’t want to besmirch Mr. Virgo’s good name. And you know what happens when you hold things in…they rot and swell and become that abscess you need lanced or your soul will explode.
\nI’m sure I’m not the only person who went through this. But I’ve never really talked much about it till the other day I met someone going through the same thing I went through and I knew there was a post in there. I knew somewhere out there, there is at least one person who needs to hear how I handled that, so here we are.
\nWhen I first stumbled across information that I had not known when Mr. Virgo was alive, I was confused. I wasn’t sure exactly what I was looking at. Grief brain addles your mind anyway. Add conflicting information and I was stumped. I wrote things down, made notes, compared conversations till I had a pretty good idea what I was looking at. Then I started the process of reconciling that information and asked myself a number of questions.
\nDoes this new information change how you KNOW you feel about him…how you’ve felt about him since the beginning?
\nFor me, the answer was a resounding “No!”
\nDid he love me? “Yes…more than life itself!”
\nWhy did he not tell me? “He didn’t want to…for whatever reason…and that was his choice to make.”
\nIf I would have known this information before I married him, would I have gone through with the wedding? “Oh, h*** yeah!”
\nMr. Virgo is still the same man I knew and loved and grieve for. The only thing that has changed is thought. Yes, there was some debt to contend with that I wasn’t expecting. That is what life insurance policies are for…debt, funeral expenses, and living expenses till you can stand up and breathe again. It wasn’t much, but it helped me get through the messiness. The relationship he had before me that I didn’t know about? Who cares? He married me. The credit cards I didn’t know about? That is still a puzzle, but one I’ve had to let go of. In the grand scheme of things, it doesn’t matter.
\nUnless it’s something criminal, or there’s a whole secret family you didn’t know about, my advice is…let it go. Obsessing over things never changes the past. It only sullies the present and tarnishes future memories. They make mistakes…they sin…they’re human. Let it go. I prefer to preserve that special relationship I felt before I rummaged around in the bottom drawer of his dresser. It’s better this way. ❤️
\n“Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.”\n2 Timothy 2:15 ESV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-11-22T02:30:25-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/11/22/little-lies.html", "tags": ["Family","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Forgiveness"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/11/20/you-never-know.html", "title": "You Never Know", "content_html": "
\n
You buy a desk…you need a chair, right? And not just any chair. I wanted an old banker’s chair. I found one on Facebook Marketplace. I went to pick it up Saturday. The woman I spoke with over the phone was lovely. I felt comfortable meeting her to pick up the chair.
\nThe house was back away from the road…the quintessential farm house. White with green shutters, a long covered porch. As soon as I drove up to the house, the garage door opened and I was greeted by a middle-aged woman. I’ll call her June. June directed me to the chair and helped bring it out to the truck. We stood in the driveway and chatted for the longest time. This was her parents’ place, she told me. Her dad died in July and her mom is starting the daunting process of downsizing. I told her my heart is with her in her loss…then I told her about Mr. Virgo. Suddenly her eyes lit up and she said, OMGosh! You write a blog! You’re Marshmallow Ranch!
\nThis always slays me when someone knows me. And I always go through a little mental inventory of my behaviors leading up to the moment of recognition. You never know who you might be talking to. I have a certain self-imposed regulation. I want to always put my best foot forward and exemplify good Christian values. It was wonderful to make June’s acquaintance.
\nThe family dinner party was wonderful. The only mishap was forgetting to take the candied yams out of the oven to serve. The company was delightful. I cooked for three days and I was exhausted when I posted this so I’ll catch up more with you tomorrow. ❤️
\n“She watches over the affairs of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness. Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.””\nProverbs 31:27-29 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-11-20T02:30:47-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/11/20/you-never-know.html", "tags": ["Family","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","Peace","Holiday","Wisdom","Humbled","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/11/19/almost-heavenhomemade-apple-pies.html", "title": "Almost Heaven...Homemade Apple Pies!", "content_html": "
![\"Homemade](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/78f5f508bf.jpg\")
\nOne of the happiest places in the world for me is a kitchen. I used to bake competitively and had a huge kitchen back then. My last house had a rather small galley kitchen but I still managed to bake several times a week as Mr. Virgo had a sweet tooth. When I sold that house after his death, I lived much of the next three years in my camper. I don’t know if you have ever tried to bake in a camper oven but they are nothing like a home stove. The bottom of everything burned and I gave up trying to bake anything. There is a big country kitchen at the farm, but I traveled so much this last year, I really didn’t cook all that much. I kind of got out of the baking habit.
\nWe’re having our early Thanksgiving dinner with Mr. FixIt’s family today. I actually started cooking Friday evening. I cooked a bag of cranberries and put them in the fridge in a covered container. I have the sweet potatoes parboiled and in the fridge ready to assemble with butter and brown sugar today. The fresh green beans and ham have been cooked and will just need reheated. Yesterday I fried bacon and added chopped pecans and dried cranberries. I parboiled Brussels sprouts and tossed them with the bacon mixture in my huge electric skillet, then put the whole thing in the fridge. I mixed up two pans of dressing…one sage, the other with nuts and cranberries…sealed them with foil and put them in the fridge as well. Then I made two pumpkin pies and two apple pies.
\nToday I have to bake a 20-pound turkey and a ham, hot rolls, the two pans of dressing, and the sweet potatoes. I’ll heat everything else up and time it all to be ready at 4:00. The table is set. The ice is made. We are expecting thirteen for dinner. I’ve got this!
\nThe family room is finished. It took three coats of Kilz and two coats of Valspar with primer to cover that dark green but we got it done. I didn’t get curtains made in time for dinner, but that will come soon enough. I sat there enjoying the fruits of our labor, listening to soft music in the background as I wrote this. It was very warm yesterday…nearly 70, but rain came in at dusk and it will continue to get colder as the week progresses.
\nAll but the most stubborn of leaves have fallen now, the color all but gone. I have such vivid memories of going out to the farm for Thanksgiving dinners and having it look just like this. It’s funny how our senses take us back so quickly, isn’t it? The sights, sounds, and smells transport me over six decades and brings me so close to my mom and my grandma. I miss them both so much. And I miss my Colorado family. The grandchildren are growing so fast. I always say this, but I wish Colorado and West Virginia were closer. It’s hard when your heart has two homes. ❤️
\n“She gets up while it is still night; she provides food for her family and portions for her female servants. She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. She sets about her work vigorously; her arms are strong for her tasks.”\nProverbs 31:15-17 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-11-19T02:30:46-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/11/19/almost-heavenhomemade-apple-pies.html", "tags": ["Family","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","Peace","Holiday","Wisdom","Humbled","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/11/16/things-that-make-me-smile.html", "title": "Things That Make Me Smile", "content_html": "
![\"Antique](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/b23533f910.jpg\")
\nI was rummaging around in the basement out at the farm the other day, looking for painting supplies, when I saw the old stove in this great light and had to stop and capture it. I’m not sure why my Grandma did most of her canning down in the basement. I know this past summer the basement was so humid mold was growing on everything. I had to buy a dehumidifier to put down there to keep the humidity below 50%. When she got this baby cranked up with a canner full of boiling water (not to mention the wringer washer) the condensation literally ran down the walls.
\nThere is a good-sized triangular patch of ground across the creek from the house that was the truck garden. This was where most of the vegetables for the table were grown. The canning vegetables, as well as the strawberries for the farmer’s market, were grown back up on the hill. There was a footbridge that crossed the creek to the garden. My uncle ran an electric fence around the garden to keep the deer out. Grandma grew a ton of green beans, corn, cabbage, cucumbers, onions, and tomatoes in that little patch of ground. The potatoes were grown on a similar, though much smaller, triangular patch along the end of the driveway. I spent many hours stringing beans and shucking corn, scalding and peeling tomatoes, and helping any way I could on canning days.
\nOne year we drove all the way to Virginia to buy peaches. I remember they were as big as softballs. Mom was helping Grandma can them and neither one knew the other had stirred sugar into the syrup to pour over them in the jars. When they opened the first jar later on, they were sickeningly sweet. Mom felt so bad…she thought she had ruined Grandma’s beautiful peaches. But Grandma said, “Sis, don’t you worry about a thing. We’ll just make us some peach butter and not have to add any sugar.” They cooked them down and that was the best peach butter ever!
\nNow, this old stove stands silently in a back corner of the basement…rusted and resting on cinder blocks for legs. This appliance was from a time of resourceful ingenuity… a time when you never threw anything away. You made do. You “recycled” by reusing. You reduced waste simply by being too poor to buy something better. The Baby Boomers were on the tail end of that generation. Ours was a disposable generation. Cheaply made plastic and paper products have filled countless landfills. Grandma didn’t even have trash service till very late in life. You burned what little paper you threw away. You fed table scraps to the cats or hogs. You reused the glass jars that you canned your food in. I’m glad this stove is still here…even though it doesn’t work…it would never be safe enough to use. But it’s like going into the museum of my youth when I go downstairs. And it’s one of the the things that makes me smile. ❤️
\n“So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.”\n2 Thessalonians 2:15 ESV
\n", "date_published": "2017-11-16T02:30:12-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/11/16/things-that-make-me-smile.html", "tags": ["Family","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","Growth","Gratitude","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Humbled"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/11/14/letting-out-your-inner-child.html", "title": "Letting Out Your Inner Child", "content_html": "![\"Mickey](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/dda73d891b.jpg\")
\nI saw something yesterday that totally melted my heart. Daughter #1 is at Disney World with her family and her brother-in-law’s family. She was standing with Mickey and Minnie Mouse. There’s a long story why this was so touching for me.
\nI was a single mom with #1 by the time she was two years old. It was not easy. We lived in HUD housing. We got WIC and food stamps. There were roaches and the people downstairs abused their kids. I looked in the open door one day when I walked by and my neighbor yelled at me to keep moving or she’d “come up behind me and slit my $&@?ing throat!” It was NOT a healthy scenario and if I had been any brighter or bolder, I would have packed up my stuff and hightailed it back to West Virginia. But that wasn’t what I wanted for my little girl. I wanted her to have every opportunity that I didn’t have growing up and I knew if I worked hard enough, I’d get her out of there. We would have a good life.
\nAnd things did get better. I got a really good job. I found a roommate, I lived frugally. I got good daycare. She was never wanting for the basics, but there wasn’t much extra. Just lots of love. Then, we met Hubby #2. He was applying to medical school. We worked really hard. He was a good daddy and a great provider…even though it was many years before we started making any money.
\nWe moved to a small town when my ex finished residency and joined a practice. We were thrilled to be in the mountains and a lovely community. Daughter #1 was going into 7th grade…a tough age to make such a big move. The kids at school only knew her as the “new doctor’s daughter”. There was a group of kids out on the lawn one day, talking about how hard it was to not have money for nice things. My daughter spoke up and said she totally understood that. The kids scoffed and she told them, her dad wasn’t BORN a doctor. There were many nights we ate a box of generic mac & cheese and a tomato out of the yard. She had a genuine appreciation for where she came from and she gained the respect of all the kids.
\nStill, we didn’t really start making a decent living till she was nearly finished with high school. Then we had her little sister. My girls are nearly sixteen years apart. It was a different world raising the two of them. The level of affluence was drastically different and the little one definitely made out when it came to vacations. My younger one was only two or three the first time we took her to Disney World. By then, her older sister was in college. I never did get to take my oldest to see Mickey and Minnie…something she never, ever let me forget, even though she understood why.
\nShe’s been to Disneyland a couple of times with my son-in-law’s family. But never Disney World. Not till this week. I’ve been going on her Facebook page several times a day to see the pictures she posts. Yesterday…there she was. Beaming. Standing between Mickey and Minnie, grinning from ear to ear. The post simply read, “Six-year-old me is happy.” It made me smile. It warmed my heart. She is showing her children a good time. She is sharing her joy with them. She’s such a good mom and I’m so proud of her. I’m proud of both of my daughters. And…I’m happy they know how to let their inner child out to play. ❤️
\n“Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”\n1 Peter 3:4 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-11-14T02:30:05-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/11/14/letting-out-your-inner-child.html", "tags": ["Family","Travel","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Positive Energy","Fun","Growth","Gratitude","Love","Wisdom","Aging"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/11/13/when-things-get-messy.html", "title": "When Things Get Messy", "content_html": "
![\"Painting](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/8b9cda10b8.jpg\")
\nThis is the part I hate about home improvement projects…living through the mess till it gets finished. I have done this countless times in my life. You can’t avoid it if you are a homeowner. I did this and then some when my mom died and I prepared to sell her house. She wouldn’t let me do anything to her house when she was living because it meant she would have to throw something away. I completely redid the kitchen and bathroom, painted the whole house, and refinished the hardwood floors…all by myself. It’s ever so much more fun to do a project with someone…especially if you work well together as a team. We took yesterday off, went to church, then out to the farm to feed cats. And today we are back at it.
\nAs I sat down to write this post, a notification came through on my phone. There are nearly a hundred women from Sisters on the Fly down in Port Aransas doing hurricane relief. The very day the hurricane hit, the call went out on the Sisters on the Fly Facebook page. Someone picked up the ball and started The Sister Corps. They immediately started recruiting women to go south to help with the cleanup efforts as they knew help would be needed beyond the immediacy of the storm. The Sister Corps has been posting pictures of the mounds of trash out in front of the houses where they are working. Homes are bare to the studs where drywall must be replaced because of flooding. Bathrooms and kitchens are being replaced. Carpeting and ruined flooring has been ripped out. It makes me look at this room with a whole new vision.
\nWe are freshening this room…not salvaging it. We are making a choice to change outdated colors and carpeting, not replacing everything because of a natural disaster. Again, God humbles me when I get too “uppity” for my own good. This is a joy…a blessing. We are wealthy beyond our wildest dreams. We are rich in love and the bountiful blessings of not one, but two homes to live in. We have the money to buy a few gallons of paint without having to go through insurance adjusters and contractors and estimates to do so. I will look at this project with new eyes today when I am privileged to pick up a paint brush and know I have a comfortable bed to sleep in tonight. I know where my family is sleeping tonight. I know we have food in the pantry and a little money in the bank.
\nI want to share with you another way God works in my life. The other day, I received notice I needed to make a change in my insurance. I’ve been on the healthcare.gov website and on the phone a few times choosing New coverage. It’s an affordable policy, but still…money I wasn’t necessarily planning on spending. As I looked through the choices, I prayed. “God, show me what I need. I’ll worry about filling out the paperwork…you worry about how I’ll afford what I need.” God always, always provides. You want to know how I know this? Because, yesterday after church, Mr. Fixit and I went to the post office to pick up the mail and there were, not one but…TWO checks in there. Not enough to pay for a full month of insurance. But enough to cover my tithe for the next three months.
\nThis is how God works. He has countless, countless blessings for YOU. They have your name on them…specifically. And he so wants to give them to you. But…he waits for you to ask for them. Don’t come out of the chute asking for those blessings directly, either. Come into the conversation thanking Him for the blessings he has already showered on you. An attitude of gratitude is a fair way to start a prayer when you are asking for more.
\nThank you, God…for the unexpected bounty you have blessed me with. I am so grateful. ❤️
\n“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”\nMalachi 3:10 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-11-13T02:30:22-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/11/13/when-things-get-messy.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom","Humbled","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/11/12/the-sentinels.html", "title": "The Sentinels", "content_html": "
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/81e1358a02.jpg\")
\nWe survived the first day of painting…barely! It wasn’t a problem working together. That part was awesome! We put on ‘70s music and be-bopped around the living room, dancing and singing and having a grand time making each other laugh. Till we had to move the treadmill out of the corner and into the middle of the room to paint around it. The part you walk on folds up and you pull back on the entire thing to make it stand on two wheels. This allegedly makes it move easier. Well, not so on carpet. I bent down and grabbed the front legs and helped Mr. FixIt move this thing several feet. I’m not sure what happened, but when we set the front end down, it came down like a shot and the handles slammed me in the side of the head so hard it literally knocked me off my feet and sent me flying about six feet. It didn’t hurt as bad as it surprised me. And of course, scared Mr. FixIt to death. I laid there on the floor for a couple minutes to let the bells stop ringing in my head and got up. I’m fine, thank God!
\nWe finished painting the ceiling in time for the kickoff of the WVU game so I left Mr. FixIt to his own devices and headed to the farm to feed the cats. The last couple of years, I’ve been trying to embrace fall and not hate it as the harbinger of winter. I’m trying to embrace winter, too…but, one thing at a time. As I drove across the two-lane, I made myself look at the landscape. In the past I would just feel sadness that the leaves were gone. This time, I asked myself to name something lovely. Suddenly…I saw texture. Where leaves were densely packed in the summer months, bare trees now stand and you can see the ridges and waterways that they line. “Name one thing that’s lovely.” The sycamore. They stand like ghostly sentinels, guardians of the creek banks, their white arms stretched toward the sky. Their limbs are crooked like a gnarly witch’s hand, the last of their dinner-plate sized leaves clinging curled and crispy to the uppermost limbs. Their round, light mustard-brown seed pods dangle like ornaments silhouetted against the sky.
\nOnce I noticed them, I saw sycamores everywhere. They were so beautiful. As I drove back from the farm, the sun was setting and the light turned rose-gold. The trees on the hillside looked like the tips of paintbrushes dipped in yellow and gold, orange and red…only the tippy-top leaves were left. Soon the winter winds will strip all but the most hardy leaves and the twigs and branches will create a mosaic against a thin blue sky. There was a hard freeze last night…a hoar frost still clinging to the frozen grass. As I pulled into the driveway at Mr. FixIt’s house, ten deer were out grazing in the field. I sat there for a while, contemplating. It was a good day. This is a good life. I am healthy, loved, secure…happy. I smiled and went inside to start supper. ❤️
\n“I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.”\nPhilippians 4:12-13 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-11-12T02:30:11-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/11/12/the-sentinels.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","Gratitude","Grace","Peace","Wisdom","The Cats","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/11/11/the-closet-christian.html", "title": "The Closet Christian", "content_html": "
![\"Rain](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/6dcd069dda.jpg\")
\nSometimes it’s hard to walk the talk. And sometimes it’s even more difficult to talk the walk. I shied away from Christianity for many, many years after being frightened by a little ol’ banty rooster of a man. He was a circuit preacher, all hellfire and brimstone. As an adult, I can appreciate where that style of preaching is coming from and what affect it has on my spirit. But, as a seven-year-old, it literally scared the pee out of me and I ran in the opposite direction. I walked a long journey away from Jesus. I couldn’t be an atheist because I knew God. It was this Jesus guy that gave me fits. I rectified that by becoming Jewish for 27 years. It wasn’t till I was 51 that I became a Christian. And, even then, I was a closet Christian.
\nI never wanted to be that person. You know, that stereotypical church lady who can’t carry on a conversation without “Praise Jesus” this and “Praise Jesus” that. I’ve since learned you can…and SHOULD…let others know that you are a Christian by the way you act and talk. You can do this without shouting “Hallelujah” in the produce section when the Olathe Sweet Corn arrives. (Although, that actually may be justified!) I took closet Christianity to the extreme though. I was like the Unabomber in my hoodie and shades, being very careful not to expose my true identity. Some of that has fallen away with age. I don’t care as much what people think about me. Mostly it’s a conscious decision.
\nI had lunch with a dear friend Thursday. We met at Bob Evans…a busy chain restaurant where I can get a good breakfast any time of the day. We hadn’t seen each other for quite some time so there was much catching up to do. We talked about the kids and our new loves. We chatted about our travels and holiday plans. And we talked liberally about God and our faith walk. It was an easy conversation…the kind of comfort you only find with close friends.
\nAfter about an hour or so, a woman walked over and placed her hand on my arm. “I overheard you talking about the Lord. Thank you! Isn’t He wonderful?” Yes, yes He is. I appreciated the woman’s gesture. She was a true Believer and wanted to share that moment with me. That was fine, but what meant more to me was this…if SHE, as a Believer, overheard our conversation, then there just might have been someone there who may never have had the opportunity to hear someone praising God over hash browns and scrambled eggs.
\nIncorporating our love for God into our daily conversations doesn’t have to come in the form of that guy with the sandwich board in front of Taco Bell shouting about the end times. That’s the quickest way to turn people off of any religion, in my humble opinion. I prefer a more organic approach.
\nDon’t hide your light under a basket. Let it shine! ❤️
\n“Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”\nMatthew 5:15-16 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-11-11T02:30:29-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/11/11/the-closet-christian.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom","Humbled"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/11/10/brushing-up-against-the-past.html", "title": "Brushing Up Against The Past", "content_html": "
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e40973f790.jpg\")
\nToday is Veteran’s Day. Every Veteran’s Day, I sent Mr. Virgo a note thanking him for his service. His father was a veteran. His late daughter was a veteran. My dad, my uncle, my first husband, my niece, my late father-in-law…all veterans. Mr. Virgo had military honors at his funeral. I cannot hear taps without feeling a catch in my throat. This time of year brings him closer to the surface.
\nThe other day, one of my dear friends posted a video. In it, she addressed her friends and family. Her nose was red from crying. She sniffled as tears slowly dripped down her cheeks. This is the angelversary week of her husband’s death. It hits her hard every year and even though it’s been eleven years, she relives his final days over and over. It broke my heart. And, of course, it made me think of Mr. Virgo. His was a sudden death. No warning. No long goodbyes. Thankfully, no suffering. I cannot imagine a lingering death. It crushes me.
\nWhile I haven’t cried for him in quite some time, that doesn’t mean I never will again. It certainly doesn’t mean I’m through with grief and loss. That’s something that is forever imprinted in the fibers of my being. But I will say this…I don’t let myself “go there” very often. I used to meditate on him. I felt it was necessary to purge myself of as many tears as possible to clean out my heart from this terrible pain. When tears wouldn’t come, I would look at a picture of him in his casket taken at the viewing… white turtleneck, ivory sweater, hair carefully combed, glasses missing from the CPR efforts. I know that sounds absolutely macabre, but somehow I needed that pain to burn itself out or the fire was going to consume me. I knew this without a doubt.
\nTime and distance has softened Mr. Virgo’s death somehow. It’s like looking at the horizon without my glasses. I see the line…it’s just blurred. If I concentrate, I can bring it back into focus because it’s always there…just beyond where the light spills over. But, something interesting happens when he brushes up against my mind now. When I get close to the memories, I “feel” him instead of “see” him. I mean…literally. While there are some passages in the Bible that allow for a little wiggle room in the idea of “ghosts”, Evangelical Christians believe that we are absent from this place once we die. However, it isn’t far fetched to believe that God may use visions, smells and touch to evoke loving memories of loved ones who have passed.
\nThe other night, Mr. FixIt and I were talking and he said the sweetest thing. He said, “How can we love each other this much?” Immediately, I felt something brush up over my right arm. It surprised me and I sat very still. I looked down at my arm and thought hard. “Do it again.” I whispered in my mind. And there it was…a distinct “touch”…like static electricity on my right forearm. I smiled and looked up at Mr. FixIt. I don’t know how we can love each other this much, but we do.
\nAnd…I’ve a feeling someone else approves. ❤️
\n“We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord.”\n2 Corinthians 5:8 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-11-10T02:30:35-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/11/10/brushing-up-against-the-past.html", "tags": ["Faith","Family","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom","Humbled","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/11/09/what-have-i-done.html", "title": "What Have I Done???", "content_html": "
![\"Computer](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/a778e52dce.jpg\")
\nOMGosh! I broke my absolute cardinal rule yesterday and…gasp…bought a piece of furniture! I know, I know…you all were with me when I downsized and I absolutely SWORE I would never accumulate “stuff” again. BUT…things are different now. A lot different. I’m not living in a camper, for one thing. For the last three years, my desktop computer has been riding in my camper, under the bed, in an airtight plastic storage tub. There have been numerous times I’ve needed to use it and I have to go out, prop up the bed, haul it out, and put it away when I’m done. Ok, ok…I’m rationalizing. Here’s what happened.
\nI had to run to town yesterday for an appointment and on my way back to the house, I saw a sign that said “Grand Opening!” It was a consignment store. Who can pass up a good consignment store, right? My truck pulled in, all on its own. I had no choice but to follow. I browsed around and they had some beautiful pieces of furniture. I was first attracted to an old rolltop desk. It was small, and a little beat up. Mr. FixIt has a nice rolltop desk…much nicer than this one. I went on and looked at other things. When I came back around, I asked the clerk about the desk. He said, “You know, if it were me and I had the room, I’d be looking at this one. Much better piece of furniture.” He opened the doors and the drawers and showed me the solid oak construction. The top opens and there’s a place for the monitor, a drawer for the keyboard, and a separate cabinet for the CPU. It is in two pieces to make it easier to transport. The selling point for me was the price. The piece originally sold for $1800. It had been priced for sale in the consignment shop for $500…a decent price for a sold piece of furniture of this quality. However, it was marked down to $250. So, I own a piece of furniture.
\nThat’s two pieces, actually. I also own the jelly cupboard in the kitchen at the farm. Oh, and a recliner. Hmmmmm….I am accumulating. Not excessively, but still. It doesn’t feel as scary to put down some roots as it did in the first few years after Mr. Virgo died. I didn’t want to feel a sense of permanence then. Permanence meant real loss when things headed south. I needed to feel untethered…free. I didn’t have the strength to be needed…even by inanimate objects. As long as it fit in my truck and my camper, I was just fine. And like I said, things are different now. A lot of healing has occurred. Time has passed. A relationship has been established. A home is being created. Two homes, actually.
\nMr. FixIt lives exactly twenty-two miles from the farm. He lives on five acres out in the country. He generously shares his space with me. Mi casa es su casa. My house is your house. He is just as comfortable at the farm as I am at his place. And neither of us are giving up our space. We stay a little here, a little there, and then have our own space to retreat to when we need to recharge. It’s the perfect arrangement for the time being. I became very independent after losing Mr. Virgo. While I missed him, certainly…I also came to appreciate the stillness of my own breath. Mr. FixIt and I both like our alone time. Although…truth be told…whenever we are apart, we miss each other terribly. This whole relationship thing is growing on both of us. I suppose, for me, there is still an element of fear deep down inside. That “What if something happened to him” thing. I know I can’t live my life in fear. I won’t. But, there’s something to be said for taking your time in any given situation. After all, there’s no biological time clock ticking here. There’s absolutely nothing to be in a hurry over.
\nMr. FixIt and I have been together for a year now. I was thinking about this yesterday. I’m in a really good place now, emotionally. I haven’t had a “bad night” in a really long time. My anxiety level is at an all time low. I’m comfortable in my own skin. I’m happy. I am blessed. And…I am grateful. God has answered so many prayers. I think I’m just going to go along for the ride and enjoy…everything. Life is so sweet! ❤️
\n“Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.”\n1 Corinthians 13:4-10 ESV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-11-09T02:30:08-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/11/09/what-have-i-done.html", "tags": ["Family","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/11/08/getting-cozy.html", "title": "Getting Cozy", "content_html": "
![\"Gas](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/c8456322d9.jpg\")
\nI’ve always loved to sit in front of a nice fire with a cup of tea, a comforter, and a stack of magazines. I haven’t had a stove or fireplace to sit in front of since my youngest was a baby. She’s twenty-seven. We are fortunate to have free gas at the farm so we have a couple ventless gas stoves to ward off the chill in the far reaches of the house. But they don’t look like a wood stove and are situated where sitting near them is impossible. I was delighted when Mr. FixIt showed me his house for the first time. This gas stove sits in the family room and is perfect for getting cozy on a cold, wet November afternoon.
\nAnd it’s a good thing we’re getting cozy today because…we are about to embark on the first real test of our relationship. Painting a room together. We picked up an array of paint samples at the hardware store the other day and sat down with them yesterday. Or rather…I did while Mr. FixIt finished up something he was working on. I looked through the color swatches, booklets, and magazines and all I felt was frustration. You can ask Daughter #1…I’m horrible at choosing colors. I have it in my head what I want but putting it down as a plan that makes any sense eludes me. I spent an inordinate amount of time cross-stitching a quilt pattern for one of my BFF’s one year for Christmas. I had it framed and when it was done…well, let’s just say it looked lovely in her downstairs guest bathroom. I have a horrible time matching colors. My daughter, however, can pick out tea towels to match the accent wall in her kitchen six months after painting it. I couldn’t tell you if it was green or yellow. (It was the color of red grapes, actually. I mean, what IS that?) Anyway, I finally found a picture that showed what I was looking for just as Mr. FixIt walked into the room.
\n“How’s it going, my baby?”
\nBreathe. Act like you know what you’re doing.
\n“Great! What do you think of this? We can do three walls in this color, one accent wall in this darker shade, and the trim in white!”
\nI held my breath.
\n“I like it!”
\nReally? That was easy. Listen, this may very well actually BE the world’s most perfect man!
\nWe went to town and bought the paint and some supplies we needed. Now comes the challenge of actually painting…together. I’ll keep you apprised how that goes. In the meantime, I sat here in front of this cozy fire with a Rosemary Chicken in the oven, a definite chill in the air, browsing through a stack of my favorite magazines, a nice cup of tea at hand. Honestly, it doesn’t get much better than that!
\nMr. Virgo’s Rosemary Chicken
\nPick out a nice, fat roasting hen. Remove giblets and set to simmer for gravy, if you’re into that sort of thing. Personally, I think innards go in the trash, NOT in my gravy. Rinse the chicken, inside and out and place in a baking dish. Wipe the chicken with extra virgin olive oil. Season with fresh ground pepper, salt, rustic herbs, garlic and crushed rosemary. Place uncovered in a preheated 350 degree oven and bake until golden brown…about an hour and a half to two hours. The leg should be squeezable and when a knife is stuck in between the thigh and breast, the juices should run clear. That’s it, easy peasy. Mr. Virgo and I had this every Sunday. I made it for Mr. FixIt last night for the first time and it was a big hit. If you need a quicker meal, prepare chicken thighs in the same manner but bake 30-45 minutes. Bon Appetite! ❤️
\n“May your unfailing love be my comfort, according to your promise to your servant.”\nPsalm 119:76 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-11-08T02:30:14-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/11/08/getting-cozy.html", "tags": ["Family","Uplifting Stories","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","Peace","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/11/06/when-its-all-bad-news.html", "title": "When It’s All Bad News", "content_html": "
![\"Cross\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/89d0881981.jpg\")
\nI watched the news last night and was reminded why I don’t watch the news. The sadness in my gut, the fear in the front of my mind, the sorrow for families of loved ones lost to senseless tragedy is unbearable. The news came through an alert on my cell phone as we left church yesterday. I grabbed Mr. Fixit’s hand and shared. His jaw clenched as he gripped my hand, silently taking it all in. Thinking…no doubt…that it could have been us.
\nChurch. Church is where we’re supposed to feel utterly safe. Yesterday’s tragedy in Texas was the third mass shooting in the last seventeen months…all of which were among the worst in U.S. history, according to USA Today. I don’t know about you, but I look around more these days. I wonder about people I don’t know. I ask myself if they could hurt me…or my loved ones. It’s taxing. I’m feeling the strain of fear. I don’t like this. I don’t like worrying. I don’t like wondering, not IF, but WHEN will it strike close to home?
\nThere is evil loose in this world and we’ve been rocked to sleep…complacent in our busyness. In our rush to beat the clock and get the most out of every day. Lists need to be made and checked off. Appointments need to be scheduled and kept. And the enemy doesn’t give a darn about any of it. He is only here to seek, kill, and destroy. Not only physically, but mentally and emotionally. He distracts us with the sparklies then swoops in with the spear…or, in this case, an assault rifle.
\nWhen bad things happen and you are simultaneously grieving, everything is compounded and spins out of control. It’s difficult to remember there IS control in this world. There IS a winner. There IS a great comforter. When I hear and see reports of things like the shooting yesterday in Texas, I am inclined to feel fear. That fear is from the enemy. However, when I turn to God, He reminds me to put my trust in Him. The enemy whispers…”Ahhhh, yes. But will that bring back the twenty plus lost yesterday? What good is your trust if your God can’t save His people?”
\nThe enemy will not deter my faith. God doesn’t cause these horrific tragedies to occur. It breaks His heart to see his children suffer. What He DOES want is for us to turn to Him for comfort and solace in times of trouble. He wants us to continue to love. We love….because first, He loved us. There will always be senseless tragedies that we can’t explain. But…there will come a day when the things of this world will melt away and we will be freed from the shackles of fear and pain.
\nI pray for the families of the innocents lost. I pray for the victims of this senseless shooting. I pray for the first responders and the citizens of this very small town in Texas where everyone knew everyone else. I pray for the family and friends of the shooter who may have known something was off…may have tried to get him help…may have never dreamed this could have happened. And I pray for the soul of the shooter. He could not possibly have been in his right mind so I pray for any healthcare workers who may have tried to help him but couldn’t. I pray for the pastor of the church where the shootings occured and for his wife. They were not at the church yesterday…but their fourteen-year-old daughter was one of those killed.
\nNo, I will not roll over…I will not let satan win by becoming consumed with fear and loathing. I will keep my faith in God and let Him sort the rest out. That being said…I will make my feelings about gun safety known to my elected officials. God wants us to turn to Him…but he needs us to suit up and show up and go into battle, too. ❤️
\n“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.”\nPsalms 56:3 ESV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-11-06T02:30:02-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/11/06/when-its-all-bad-news.html", "tags": ["Faith","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Grace","God","Peace","Wisdom","Forgiveness"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/11/04/i-spy-with-my-little.html", "title": "I Spy With My Little Eye...", "content_html": "
![\"Woman](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/61b19a035e.jpg\")
\nSome very observant readers picked up on something in my picture yesterday. My inbox lit up like a Christmas tree! I didn’t answer the questions directly and suggested they come back today to read my post. I love a little mystery. What was it they saw? A ring…a shiny ring…on my left hand!!! squeeeee
\nYes, I have a ring! And in all fairness, so does Mr. FixIt. I gave him his first though. So here’s how it went down, what it means, and how we’re feeling about it.
\nEarly in the year, just a couple months after Mr. FixIt and I started seeing each other, we found out there was something wrong with his blood. The initial thoughts were he had leukemia. Suffice it to say, we were both pretty devastated about it. After all, we just “found” each other again after 45 years. It would be terribly tragic to turn around and lose him, too. He had more tests run and they were worse, so we went for a bone marrow biopsy.
\nWe had been talking about a life long commitment but that’s as far as it had gone. Then the blood thing came up. I wanted some way, some outward sign that would show Mr. FixIt that…no matter what the results of this bone marrow biopsy, I was in this for the long haul. I didn’t want him to worry or be afraid. I happened upon a beautiful gentlemen’s ring and in a moment of impulse, I bought it. We were leaving for the hospital when I pulled out the box and told him I wanted him to know…good or bad…I’m not going anywhere. I thought he was going to cry. He knew I was sticking with him, but the gesture was not lost on him. He asked if this meant we were engaged. Smiling, I said, “Halfway.”
\nOne evening we were going out to dinner with friends and I stopped by Mr. FixIt’s to get ready. I was sitting out front when he came home. He said, “Oh! You’re wearing my favorite dress!” I stood up and twirled around. He had a concerned look on his face and I thought. “Uh-oh. Somethings wrong.” He looked at me and said the dress was missing something. Something sparkly. Then he gave me this beautiful ring!
\nHere’s where it gets complicated. This is the most personal I’ll ever get about our relationship. I don’t want to get married again. At least, not in the conventional way. I’ve had three husbands. That’s two other women’s quotas. It has nothing to do with how much I love Mr. FixIt…or Mr. Virgo, for that matter. When women of a certain age become widows, they qualify for “widow’s benefits”. If they get married, they lose that. Things don’t work in the widow’s favor in this regard. Therefore, a lot of very long engagements take place in my age bracket. And that’s just fine.
\nFrom a faith standpoint, it slays me that women are forced to lose income in order to\ndo what God says to do. Someone said to me…”Well, you aren’t trusting God to provide.” To which my answer is…maybe He already provided. Maybe those widow’s benefits ARE his answer to prayer. The Lord takes care of those who help themselves. To me, it would be crazy to throw away money He had provided.
\nLong engagements are still in vogue. I will be here for the long haul. The rest is a matter of semantics. So, no…there’s no date set. No fanfare. No hoopla. Just love. Lots and lots of love…always and forever. I’m sure I’ll be talking to God about it when I get to Heaven. I have a feeling it’s going to be a long conversation! ❤️
\nEdit: He still has an abnormality which they have determined is not leukemia. They still don’t know what it is. We have to repeat the tests in six months. I’m sorry. I was writing this late and missed that piece.
\n“…..may you ever be intoxicated with her love.”\nProverbs 5:19 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-11-04T01:30:20-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/11/04/i-spy-with-my-little.html", "tags": ["Faith","Family","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Fun","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","Peace","Holiday","Forgiveness","Humbled","Aging","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/11/03/the-promise.html", "title": "The Promise", "content_html": "
![\"Before](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/d646665210.jpg\")
\nThree thousand seven hundred sixty-four. That’s how many days came between these two pictures. On the left, the day I married Mr. Virgo. Is it any wonder that handsome man wanted to marry me??? Look at that fresh face, smooth skin, dark hair with just a smattering of gray. Where are the wrinkles around my mouth? Where is all the proof of my sorrow and my joy?
\nIt was a warm spring day stuck smack dab between storms. They shoveled the snow off the balcony so we could get married outside. I had shopped and shopped for the perfect dress, finally finding it on eBay for $45! It was too big so my friend took it in for me. I loved the beads on the silk with hand painted flowers. I thought I looked like a million bucks!
\nIf I had it to do over again, I would have had Mr. Virgo plan the wedding. While it was lovely, it wasn’t until the honeymoon when he reminded me this is what he does for a living. I hadn’t even thought of that. I was just so darned excited to be marrying this great guy, I just barreled through like a bull in a china shop. I asked him why he didn’t say something, and in his sweet, self-deprecating way, he told me, “Sweetheart, it really is all about you. You were having so much fun with it, I just sat back and enjoyed the ride.” I started to ask him what he would have done differently and I know he would have said, “Nothing, baby doll. Not a thing.” Because, that’s the kind of guy he was.
\nWe stood before some seventy-five or so of our family and friends and shared our vows. We promised to always be there. Till death do us part. We had no idea at the time it would only be five years, eleven months, and five days till the unthinkable happened and he was gone.
\nThere is joy on that face on the left. Fresh with the wonder of love and a wedding and music and dancing and cake! Fast forward a decade and look…that face has aged. It has seen indescribable loss. The eyes have shed a river of tears. The hair has a lot of glitter in it. And, there is also joy on that face on the right. Fresh with the wonder of love and music and camping and great barbecue and the handsome man taking my picture….my life companion. The woman on the right is wiser. Older chronologically, but not in her heart. While I lost so much when I lost Mr. Virgo…I ended up gaining in the end. I have a much greater sense of adventure. I’m not so “in the box” as I used to be. I got out from under crushing debt and the weight of long held worldly goods. I figured out what’s really important in life. I’m SO different now than I was then.
\nI am relieved to be this far down the road of this grief journey. The pictures I have of those weeks, months, years break my heart. I try not to think about the possibilities of having to walk that path again but I’m realistic enough to know it can happen. I know I could survive it again if I had to. But, for now…I think I’ll just hang on and go for the ride. The best is yet to be! I’m becoming a crone! ❤️
\n“The Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.””\nGenesis 2:18 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-11-03T01:30:13-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/11/03/the-promise.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Humbled","Aging","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/11/02/the-information-age.html", "title": "The Information Age", "content_html": "![\"Card](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/74fc870f76.jpg\")
Prehistoric Google
Hubby #2 is a pretty smart guy. Even so, when he was in medical school, he had to study really hard for the grades. Once he graduated, he started getting medical journals delivered to the house. JAMA…the Journal of the American Medical Association…was the biggest one. Lancet…the British equivalent. There were issues dealing with pathology, dermatology, cancer. There are a zillion of these magazines that doctors get and they have a name for them. Except for the top two or three, doctors refer to them as “throw aways”.
\nH2 would clip articles, make files, read, read, and read some more. The making of a doctor is not a pretty thing. Nor is it at all glamorous. Long, long hours with very little sleep. Cram studying in there and a family? Let’s just say, it’s no wonder the divorce rate is high in that field. One particularly rough rotation, I found him curled up on the bed. I sat down beside him and asked what was wrong. He said he couldn’t learn enough to make a difference. It wasn’t long after that when he had an a-ha moment. One of his mentors told him the most important thing he would ever learn in medical school is where to look things up. From then on, things went much more smoothly. And he began throwing away the superfluous stuff. He stopped clipping articles. And he became a knowledgeable and beloved physician.
\nThis was back in the days before the internet. What on earth did we do without smart phones and Google? When I was in the hospital last month, the doctor kept getting texts while we spoke. I can clearly see both sides of this issue. Frustrating as the patient but so incredibly useful as a physician. How much easier life would have been had H2 had a smart phone. I remember when he got his first Palm Pilot. Oy…
\nThe amount of information that comes to us in any given day is mind boggling. It’s easy to become overwhelmed when it’s too much. We shut down. Is the world really worse than it’s ever been? Or are we just bombarded with every story…with every news outlet vying for the ratings by sensationalizing everything? Bad things have always happened. Every single day. We just didn’t have it thrown in our faces 24/7/365. It’s too much. This is why I cut out television. The month after Mr. Virgo died, I got the satellite bill and realized I hadn’t even considered turning the TV on. Not once. I called and cancelled the service. I do have it here at the farm in case of an emergency and I need news. In the fifteen months I’ve lived here, I have watched TV maybe three times. My life is so much more peaceful without the box entertaining me….bombarding me…enticing me…scaring me. I don’t need to see the images in order to feel the horror of an event.
\nWe become what we consume, and that includes information. A chaotic world creates a chaotic life…and, vice versa. ❤️
\n“The heart of the discerning acquires knowledge, for the ears of the wise seek it out.”\nProverbs 18:15 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-11-02T01:30:48-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/11/02/the-information-age.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","New Ideas","Peace","Wisdom"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/11/01/twinkle-twinkle-little-star.html", "title": "Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star", "content_html": "![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/5aebaf1ff8.jpg\")
\nI think the first time I remember really looking at the stars was when Sputnik was orbiting overhead. My dad came and woke me up and said, “Come with me…I want to show you something.” He helped me into my coat and we stepped outside into the cool, night air. I was instantly alert, fully understanding this was unusual and an adventure. I shivered with the thrill of my dad sharing something special with me. That didn’t happen very often.
\nI remember he held my hand and pointed into the night sky and said, “See the stars?”
\n“Yes, daddy.”
\n“I want you to watch for a special star…it’s going to move across the sky. Not fast, like a shooting star. But pretty fast.” He pointed straight up above us and said, “There! See it?!”
\nIt took me a few seconds of searching but there it was…a moving star!!! “I see it! I see it!” I shouted. It was, come to find out, the newly launched satellite…Sputnik. The Russians had beat us into space. I was only four years old when this little round ball went around and around our world. It was up there for twenty-one days…then it was done.
\nI’ve been in love with the night sky ever since that night at Grandma’s farm, holding my dad’s hand in the dark. There was a reverence about it, a sense of awe at the magnitude of it all. One summer after Grandma died, I came to WV for my high school reunion. It must have been in 2012…the August before Mr. Virgo died. I was staying at the farm, even though it was a good hour’s drive after the party let out at midnight. It was a hot August night and when I stepped out of the car into the inky blackness of the night, I looked up and stopped in my tracks. The stars looked like a million diamonds thrown on a black velvet cloth. The distinct stripe of the Milky Way slashing across the sky fascinated me. I laid down on the wheelchair ramp my uncle had built two decades before and placed my hands across my belly and stared for the longest time. Shooting stars streaked across the sky at irregular intervals. Crickets and katydids sang their love songs deep into the night. An owl hooted far up the holler behind the barn. And there…there was a satellite. Then another. And soon, another. The night sky is littered with space junk and communication satellites and spies anymore.
\nNow I have an app on my iPhone that identifies whatever star or constellation I point it at. It’s a lot of fun, especially when you’re out camping. There are several apps but the one I use is the free version of SkyView. The sky will never again be like that night in 1957 when I first shared an adventure with my dad. ❤️
\n“who made the great lights— His love endures forever. the sun to govern the day, His love endures forever. the moon and stars to govern the night; His love endures forever.”\nPsalm 136:7-9 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-11-01T01:30:17-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/11/01/twinkle-twinkle-little-star.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","Peace","Wisdom"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/10/31/free-refills.html", "title": "Free Refills", "content_html": "
![\"Free](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/d81787510b.jpg\")
\nSunday’s sermon was amazing, as usual, and I am always compelled to share my impressions. Pastor Justin Enoch of The Warehouse Church delivers a passionate message every Sunday that really speaks to me. I love this church! It’s contemporary, has a great praise team, and speaks to my spirit week after week. As I was driving to church Sunday, I felt this delightful anticipation that made me smile. I’ve never known a church where people are SO excited to attend. They give you “high fives” as you enter and as you leave. They hold up signs in the parking lot that say “So glad you’re here!” and “You can sit with us!” It is a reaching church and welcomes everyone, no matter where they are in their lives. I love that.
\n“If you only knew…” This was the title of Sunday’s sermon. How many times have you said…”If I only knew then what I know now…”? Pastor Justin used the example of the oil and gas industry. If he had only known about the development that was going to come, he would have thrown everything he had into the pot and bought all this land for pennies on the dollar that has now created so many “Mailbox Millionaires”. We live our lives this way. The enemy feeds on this. He whispers into our lives and makes us fearful of the future, worried about today, and ashamed of the past. If you take up the spoon and eat what you’re being fed, you’ll soon starve to death. Your spirit will be hungry…for what, it has no clue. So you seek to find something that fills you up. Drugs, alcohol, sex, pornography, shopping…anything to fill up that hole in your spirit.
\nPastor Justin goes on to ask how many of us love “free refills”. Hands go up all over the sanctuary. We do! We love to have that bottomless cup of coffee at the diner or the unlimited soup and salad at Olive Garden. We want something for nothing. God offers us unlimited, bottomless cup, free refills for all eternity…refills of love. If you only knew how much He loves you. If you were the only person on this earth, He would still have sacrificed His Son for you. That kind of love is unfathomable. You can’t earn it. You can’t buy it. He gives it freely. And when He does, you cannot help but be changed.
\nThere is an East Indian saying that says, “No matter how far you have gone down the wrong path, turn around.” You have to make choices in your faith walk. If you are struggling with addiction, you can’t get clean and play in the same playground you did before. You have to make changes. God offers his love freely, but we have to show up and suit up and play the game. What if you put that passion and drive and love and attention you put into anything that takes you off the right path and turned it towards God? What if, instead of running to the bottle or the needle or the charge card or the relationship, you ran towards Jesus? Whoa. That blew me away.
\nFree refills…unconditional love, free for the taking. I’ll fill my cup at the well that serves Living Water and my cup will never be empty. I ran into a gal in Harrisville yesterday. I hadn’t seen her in about a year. She looked at me and said, “You look so rested, so peaceful.” I am…for a number of reasons. My cup is filled every day by a living, loving God. I have healthy, happy children and grandchildren. My brother is stable and happy and living a fulfilling life. I live in the country in the home of my heart. And, I’m in love with a wonderful man. I am wealthy beyond all imagination. I may not have a boatload of money…but I’m richer than I have ever been in my entire life.
\nTwelve years ago today a tall, silver-haired gentleman with piercing blue eyes and a disarming smile walked into my needlework shop in Glenwood Springs and changed my life forever. I am so grateful for that. I am so grateful I had that kind of unconditional love and that I have it again. I am so grateful for this life! My prayer today is that you are richly blessed in your own lives. ❤️
\n“Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.””\nJohn 4:13-14 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-10-31T01:30:43-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/10/31/free-refills.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Humbled"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/10/27/how-far-have-we-really.html", "title": "How Far Have We Really Come?", "content_html": "
![\"Ad](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/a9ce66e4e0.jpg\")
\nI have really been getting into nostalgia lately. The other day I shared my Pinterest page of Childhood Memories. When I have a few minutes, I go on and add a few more. It’s interesting how Pinterest works. When you click on something, you soon see more and more pins in that category and it’s been a fun walk down Memory Lane. Some of the memories I could do without, though.
\nEventually, I started seeing ads…legitimate ads…that reminded me of a time before “political correctness” became de rigueur. Ads about keeping women in their “place”. Ads about making little girls feel less unacceptable by dressing them in Chubettes. Ads about keeping slim for your man by taking amphetamines or gaining weight if you’re too skinny in order to be more attractive to the opposite sex. It makes my blood boil that generations of women…including my own…were made to feel “less than”. To be objectified…categorized…scrutinized. Ads like this one. I mean, seriously…what is this even about? What are they saying? “Wear these stylin’ kicks and your woman will worship the ground you walk on. As an added bonus, she’ll do it fabric free!”
\nFinally…finally, finally, finally…these kinds of ads fell out of fashion. It became considered to be in poor taste to openly objectify women. That doesn’t mean it doesn’t still happen…it most certainly does as is evidenced by current events being reported. People of power often take advantage of those seen to be beneath them or weaker than they. Hopefully, this is a gut check and might strike a more even balance of power in the future.
\nI was visiting one of the “widow pages” I frequent on Facebook the other day. The topic of one post was regarding the Hollywood actresses who went back to their abuser in order to get another part. She couldn’t understand how a woman could do that. This smacked dangerously close to blaming the victim so I had to step into the fray and offer my two cents. It IS difficult to understand how a woman could go back to the same circumstances and risk abuse again. That is, until you try to look through her lens. She’s an actress. It’s what she does. She depends on the power brokers of Hollywood to promote her, hire her, give her a break. The power broker knows this. He is emboldened…drunk with his position to make or break the careers of nubile young coeds. She (or he, as the case may be…actors are not exempt to abuse) knows what will happen if she is blackballed in Hollywood. She might as well go back to the Midwest or wherever she came from and get a job, because she or he will never work in Hollywood again. Everyone knows this. They just didn’t talk about it. And, finally…somebody told. The hoopla over it all will die down with the next news cycle but maybe some meaningful change will occur.
\nWe’ve come a long way, to be sure and there’s so much further to go. I understand people’s frustration with “political correctness”…sometimes even I think it can be excessive. But, when I was growing up, it was called being polite, doing the right thing, showing respect. The Golden Rule. Good manners. And there’s nothing wrong with exercising plenty more of that. ❤️
\n“For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.”\nGalatians 5:14-15 ESV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-10-27T01:30:06-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/10/27/how-far-have-we-really.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Peace","Wisdom","Forgiveness","Humbled","Aging"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/10/26/farmhouse-obsession.html", "title": "Farmhouse Obsession", "content_html": "
![\"Farmhouse](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/dd542a5e6a.jpg\")
\nIn 1982, Hubby #2 and I moved into an old brick bungalow that had been the farmhouse before the area around it was developed. It was drafty and poorly insulated. Three quarters of the basement was bare dirt floor. The brick support pillars down there were crumbling and frankly, it was a pretty scary place. But the rest of the house was charming. Dark hardwood floors and built-in storage, tall ceilings and a sun porch, large windows you could fling wide open to catch the cool evening breeze…it was the closest I had come to living in an actual farmhouse since I’d left home at the tender age of twenty.
\nHubby #2 was in medical school when we moved into this rental. Even though it was a farmhouse, it was on a very busy street in east Denver. I had a big garden and flower beds everywhere. We grew as much of our own food as we could and I was very much into Mother Earth News. I made our bread, yogurt, granola and tofu. What I couldn’t grow, I bought at the neighborhood farmer’s market. I canned dozens of jars of green beans, pickles, tomatoes, jams and jellies in my huge country kitchen which looked very similar to this one.
\nI have a total obsession with these porcelain farmhouse sinks. There’s nothing better for canning than one of these babies. The sink was huge and deep…perfect for washing large quantities of fruits and vegetables. A water bath canner could sit right down into the sink for easy filling. And two dishpans fit perfectly side by side for washing and rinsing dishes. My grandma’s farmhouse doesn’t have one of these sinks but I imagine the first one I ever saw was in West Virginia. I run across them every so often here but haven’t found just the right one. The laminate on the countertops in the farm kitchen is lifting and needs to be replaced. I’m thinking if I ever do that, this kind of sink is going in. The plumbing under the sink is getting pretty fragile so when it goes, it’ll be a perfect opportunity to do a little updating. It is, to be sure, just an earthly tent…but the home of my earthly heart.
\nSpeaking of plumbing, remember when I told you about leaving the bath water running and getting distracted by a phone call? I actually ran the well dry and this terrible, black water started coming out of the faucet. I spoke with one of the locals here and he said this hard water gunks up the insides of the pipes just like cholesterol in your arteries. When I let the well run dry, the “spurting” of air and water essentially roto-rootered the plumbing. Before that, the water smelled and tasted awful. Now, while I don’t think I’d drink a glass of it, I can stand to brush my teeth with it…but only after I tested the water. It’s hard, and slightly alkaline, but there’s no lead, pesticides, or bacteria. It’s really amazing the difference in the quality, before and after.
\nThe pot roast from yesterday was wonderful and is in a crockpot for vegetable soup today. It’s cold and rainy and we were expecting our first hard freeze last night. It’s time to get out the jeans and sweaters and boots and jackets. The only thing missing is a fireplace but this old house is all wood and I wouldn’t dare have one. We did change out the stove in the bathroom yesterday with one that has a thermostat. Now it shuts off and on rather than being way too hot or freezing with the manual shutoff.
\nThe fire in Parkersburg is dying down but still has smoldering hotspots. More information is being released about the owners and what they were doing in there. And, more importantly, what they WEREN’T doing…like correcting past environmental and safety violations. The owner, who has at least four other of these warehouses in the area packed with God knows what, is conveniently out of the country at the moment. Fines had been levied against them for these violations to the tune of $80,000…$60,000 of which remains unpaid. They’re still evaluating the air quality results. The first class action lawsuit was filed Monday. And the circus begins. I pray for the first responders and the folks who live nearby and in the path of the smoke cloud, which shifted continually with the direction of the wind. I pray this gets sorted out quickly. I hear Erin Brokovich has been alerted. I hope that helps. ❤️
\n“For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.”\n2 Corinthians 5:1-5 ESV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-10-26T01:30:48-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/10/26/farmhouse-obsession.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","Peace","Wisdom"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/10/25/comfort-food.html", "title": "Comfort Food", "content_html": "
![\"Pot](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/dda2759fc7.jpg\")
\nToday’s the day…time for the first “comfort food” meal of fall. Mr. FixIt and I have been working at our respective homes a lot the last week or so and haven’t had a day at home for a while. Today is trash day. It’s “install the new bathroom heater because we bought one without a thermostat, oh my gosh, what were we thinking” day. It’s a day to reconnect and play cards and visit. Today is “Pot Roast Day”. I’m pretty sure it’s a national holiday.
\nI love pot roast. I love a good bone-in pot roast but haven’t seen one of them in a grocery store for years. Mr. Virgo always said the flavor of meat comes from the bone, but everything seems to be boneless anymore. My grandma used to can beef. On Sundays, she’d go get a couple quarts of canned beef, drain it, dredge the chunks of tender meat in seasoned flour and fry it in butter. Makes my swoon to think of it. You could cut it with a knife and it literally melted in your mouth. A nice brown gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans, and buttered bread made the BEST Sunday supper ever!
\nIt’s cold today. It was supposed to get down to 32 last night with a high today of only 47. It rained like crazy yesterday and there was graupel associated with it. Graupel occurs when supercooled water droplets freeze onto snowflakes. It looks like tiny hail, but it’s soft. It’s common in Colorado but this is the first time I’ve seen it here in West Virginia. We’ll have snow before we know it. I’m getting there, but I’m not ready yet. The mower and the summer garden tools have been put away and the porches are cleared off. Progress is being made!
\nI heard a great horned owl last night. Can Halloween be far behind? Have a happy Wednesday, dear ones! ❤️
\n“While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease."”\nGenesis 8:22 ESV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-10-25T01:30:26-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/10/25/comfort-food.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Hope","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","Gratitude","Grace","Love"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/10/23/turning-back-time.html", "title": "Turning Back Time", "content_html": "
![\"Childhood](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/de18eda0b7.jpg\")
\nMr. FixIt and I go to church every Sunday. It has become the center of our relationship and sets the tone for the rest of the week. It helps us keep our focus on God first. This is the first time in my life that I can go to church with my love every single week. I love it!
\nWe went to the noon service yesterday and decided to drive over in Ohio to a flea market we’ve had our eye on. Really, the only thing there I felt was worth going for was a really awesome antique store. They had a lot of beautiful pieces of furniture at very reasonable prices. But the one thing that really caught my eye was the Soapbox Derby racer. It was obviously sponsored by someone out of Zanesville…a rather large town east of Columbus on I-70. It brought back such fond memories.
\nI have some cousins on my dad’s side of the family through my dad’s youngest brother. When I was growing up, my mom used to take us to their house several times a week. My cousins were older than me so we weren’t terribly close. But I adored my aunt. She was always fifty years ahead of her time. She did great projects with her kids. One year they actually built canoes and studied the currents in the Ohio River. They built a putt-putt golf course in their yard. They went scuba diving and water skiing. I was enthralled with all of them. They were larger than life. I remember feeling honored when I got their hand-me-downs.
\nOne year, the passion-du-jour was the Soapbox Derby. In typical fashion, my aunt sat down with the kids and researched and pored over ever bit of engineering information they could get their hands on. And they meticulously built the perfect racer. And, of course, my cousin won. They always won everything they put their minds to. One year, there was a treasure hunt. The grand prize was a Ford Pinto. They won. They were awesome.
\nWhen I saw that racer in the antique store, it made me think of other toys and things of my childhood. I went on my Pinterest page and created a board called “Childhood Memories” and…holy cats! So many cool pics popped up. Things I had totally forgotten about, like those colorful pens you could buy as souvenirs with a scene in a water-filled tube. There would be something like a boat or an airplane that would move through the water when you tilted the pen. I found a TV that was just like our first one. There was our phone, and my skate key, and colored toilet paper and the black and white sign-off screen when the station went off the air at night.
\nIf you’re interested, you can check out my Pinterest boards at https://pin.it/h0vDp2x\nI have all kinds of boards on there. Pinterest is addictive, though…quite a time suck if you let it. I have to limit myself or I could lose hours in there!
\nI’m having coffee with some of my high school friends today…one of which I haven’t seen in nearly fifty years. Talk about bringing back childhood memories! I hope you have a great start to your week! ❤️
\n“And the streets of the city shall be full of boys and girls playing in its streets.”\nZechariah 8:5 ESV
\n#childhood, #memories, #soapboxderby
\n", "date_published": "2017-10-23T01:30:31-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/10/23/turning-back-time.html", "tags": ["Family","Uplifting Stories","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Gratitude","Love","Aging"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/10/21/the-ice-cream-truckfor-adults.html", "title": "The Ice Cream Truck...for Adults", "content_html": "![\"UPS](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/2aed99e684.jpg\")
\nI finally broke down and got Amazon Prime. Living out here in the boonies makes shopping difficult sometimes…especially in winter. And, while I try to buy local at every opportunity, there are things that I’m not willing to compromise on like saving money. Prime gives you free two day shipping. It pays for itself quickly. Also, I love the music channel. I can ask Alexis to play “Kari Jobe” or “Contemporary Christian Rock” and she gets right to it.
\nI’ve told you before but, since downsizing, I’m very careful about what I accumulate. It would be very easy to let things get out of control. If I run across something I think I might need, I jot it down on a list in my iPhone. If I haven’t thought of it in a couple of weeks, I figure I don’t need it and take it off the list. When I get four or five items on the list, I go on Amazon and put them in my cart but I don’t actually buy them. If I haven’t bought them in a week or two, I re-evaluate whether I really need that particular item. Often, my fascination with it wanes or I figure out how to use something I already have.
\nI placed an order this week and the UPS man backed up my driveway this afternoon. Four boxes arrived and it felt like Christmas! I ordered some probiotics for the best price around. I bought Lisa Mora’s book called Vintage Trailer Style. (I’ve been eyeing it for months. Cute camper ideas.) I ordered a microwaveable corn bag to warm my feet up at night. I have a barley one but cannot find it anywhere. And I bought a small gas stove for the bathroom. You may remember I replaced the stove in there in the spring, but we got the thing hooked up before we realized the stove had no thermostat. I thought we’d get by, but a stove that runs all the time soon has this little house WAY too hot! This new stove is exactly like the other one but with a thermostat. We’ll get that installed this weekend…another winter prep job.
\nI mowed the yard yesterday. I put the mower away in the barn so hopefully I won’t have to drag it out again this fall. I mulched the leaves into the lawn for extra fertilizer. I covered the air conditioner with heavy plastic for winter. I got the lawn chairs put away in the basement and worked on the back porch. It has become a catch all this summer and it was getting out of control. Still didn’t get the cat beds fixed yet. As I was writing this last night, Old Mama Kitty knocked one of the beds off the table and onto the cement porch floor. It sounded like a bear was getting into a trash can. I jumped and looked out the back door. When I went out, poor Mama came running like she needed me to save her from that big, bad plastic tub. ?
\nWe’re supposed to have good weather this weekend and rain comes Monday. There’s a meteor shower this weekend. Get away from the city lights to someplace dark and enjoy Morher Nature’s fireworks. ❤️
\n“Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.”\nColossians 3:23 NLT
\n#UPS, #cleanhouse, #farmlife
\n", "date_published": "2017-10-21T01:30:23-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/10/21/the-ice-cream-truckfor-adults.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","Peace","The Cats","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/10/20/tea-time.html", "title": "Tea Time", "content_html": "![\"A](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/99cee94710.jpg\")
\nI’m a coffee drinker but I can’t have it after about noon or I’ll be counting the spots on the ceiling all night. I can drink tea at night without a problem. Now that the weather is getting cooler, I share tea time with Mr. FixIt every evening. He catches up with the news on his phone. I sit here on the sofa, write my post and schedule it for 4:00 in the morning so you can read it when you have YOUR cuppa.
\nI always liked tea, even as a young girl. But, I really got into it when I lived in England. I learned to drink it with cream and a side of “digestive biscuits”…England’s counterpart for graham crackers. I bought a Brown Betty while I was there…a sturdy, brown, earthenware teapot that keeps your tea at a proper temperature for quite some time. I was taught to put in a teaspoon of loose leaf tea per cup and add one for the pot. I poured my cream into the pot then fresh, boiling water. I let it steep till it was the color I like and poured it through a strainer to removed the leaves.
\nI had my first child in the Royal Berkshire Maternity Hospital. My physician was Mr. Stalabrass (certain physicians are referred to as Mr. in Britain, or at least that’s the way it was forty-three years ago.) I had pre-eclampsia and had to be in the hospital for a week before I had the baby. Every afternoon, an aide would take your lunch tray, close the curtains and the door, and settle you in for a nap. Two hours later, she would come back with a warm face cloth and a tea tray…a lovely pot of tea, finger sandwiches, and sweets. It was divine! They should do that everywhere.
\nI am working double time trying to give this house a deep cleaning before winter sets in. The water here at the farm is hard and has a lot of iron in it. It turns the porcelain dark brown and takes a great deal of elbow grease to get clean. I discovered a wonderful product called Zap. The tub hasn’t been this white since I was a kid and they installed running water in this house. Seriously…it’s probably some horrid chemical, but the bathroom looks great!
\nI have to tackle the outside next, scrub the porches, and get the kitty beds ready for cold weather. But, first…another spot of tea! ❤️
\n“Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise! Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work, they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter. But you, lazybones, how long will you sleep? When will you wake up? A little extra sleep, a little more slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest— then poverty will pounce on you like a bandit; scarcity will attack you like an armed robber.”\nProverbs 6:6-11 NLT
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-10-20T01:30:02-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/10/20/tea-time.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Humbled","The Cats"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/10/19/i-am-not-alone.html", "title": "I Am Not Alone", "content_html": "
![\"Prisma](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/1925126736.jpg\")
\nOf all the comments I get on my blog posts, by far the most common is “It’s good to know I’m not alone.” When Mr. Virgo died, I felt like the only person on the planet. No one could possibly understand what I was feeling. I didn’t know how to find resources to help me feel better. I didn’t know who to turn to. I tried reading grief books but I couldn’t read. I couldn’t get beyond a sentence or two before my mind exploded. My family and friends were wonderful…don’t get me wrong. But I was sure even they couldn’t really get it because they hadn’t walked this particular path.
\nI reached out through this page as much for me as I did for you. Maybe more so. And we both found out we’re not alone in this. That was HUGE for me. Knowing others were having the same or similar experiences gave me courage.
\nI scroll through my files of pictures often for inspiration. Sometimes a particular photo will jump out at me and that’s the one I go with for my next post. Last night, it was this one. Mr. Virgo…big smile, twinkling eyes, and that shock of silver hair…in the afternoon sunshine at Rocky Mountain National Park on a day much like today. We had gone for a drive to view the elk and the bright yellow gold of the aspen leaves quaking in the breeze. It was a perfect day. As I scrolled through the photos and saw this one, two things happened. My heart squeezed for a few seconds. And I smiled. The smile is good. The squeeze in my heart still takes my breath away because it takes me by surprise.
\nI had a beautiful day yesterday. It was a day much like the one in this picture. The sky was a brilliant cerulean blue. The temperature was reasonable in the high sixties, low seventies. I was with the man that I love. We had a really busy and full day winterizing another of the four campers. Lunch out. A granddaughter’s softball game. A trip to the Piggly Wiggly. A day. Just a normal day in a life. Some would say it was nothing special. I beg to differ…it was.
\nWhy was yesterday special? Because I get to love again. I get to look in another human being’s beautiful eyes and see love in return. Because I get to love…a lot. I get to love both of my ex-husbands and that great cowboy I dated for awhile. I get to love Mr. Virgo. And…I get to love Mr. FixIt. That is so special. I can still love all of them because I stretched my heart and made room
\n“I am not alone” has taken on a new meaning now. I’ll never take that for granted. ❤️
\n“fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”\nIsaiah 41:10 ESV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-10-19T01:30:16-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/10/19/i-am-not-alone.html", "tags": ["Family","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Humbled","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/10/18/a-birds-eye-view.html", "title": "A Bird's Eye View", "content_html": "
![\"Satellite](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/cae84595af.jpg\")
\nHave you ever gone on Google Earth and looked at the places you know? I remember one winter day before Mr. Virgo died. I was missing home…the dense, green woods and dusky purple mountains of West Virginia. Google Earth was still relatively new and they had just added the “street view” feature. I plugged in the address for Grandma’s farm, clicked on the little man icon, and…viola! I was “standing” in front of the farmhouse! I was SO excited! I quickly moved the map so I could “drive” down the two-lane blacktop the three miles, taking in every turn, house, and tree. It was mesmerizing. I could “go home” anytime I wanted to! I have “traveled” to Paris to see the Eiffel Tower, London to ogle Big Ben, Rome to see the ancient ruins…all from the comfort of the easy chair in my living room.
\nThe other night, Mr. FixIt was doing a little virtual traveling and he stumbled upon this. TOW-Wanda! MY camper…sitting right where I park her in the summer! I know approximately when this was. This is mostly uber cool…and, a little bit spooky in a Big-Brother-is-watching-you sort of way. It’s a good thing there was no nude sunbathing going on…for a vast number of reasons! ?
\nThis satellite photo was taken about fifteen months after Mr. Virgo died. I had been full-timing in my camper for about seven months at this point. I was interviewed yesterday for another episode of Janine Pettit’s Girl Camper podcast. This time we talked about full-timing…dream vs. reality. I’ll post a link when it goes live.
\nLiving on the farm has been such a treat that I’ve hardly thought about whether I miss all that time I spent on the road. The answer is yes…and no. Could I do that again? Yes! Would I? Maybe. I’m a lot more awake and aware now than I was back then. Grief brain may have clouded my judgement sometimes. But I’ve never regretted having that time alone out in the wilderness and backroads. I was so free and life was pared down to the bare essentials. There’s something to be said for simplicity. Janine asked me if I ever found myself lonely and I’m not sure I properly answered. I’m a people person. I’m gregarious and thrive in a place where I can have regular contact with people I know and love…friends and family that love me for who I am and I can let my hair down. I think that was the driving force behind allowing the Siren Song of the farm to lure me into planting some roots…at least for a while. And now…I have Mr. FixIt. We both love to travel and we never stay put for too long. But I’m looking forward to some nesting this winter. That’s the goodness of fall…it invites us to put another log on the fire, brew a nice cup of tea, and read a good book. The campers are put away for the season and I’m ready to be a homebody for a while. ❤️
\n“By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are filled with rare and beautiful treasures.”\nProverbs 24:3-4 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-10-18T01:30:29-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/10/18/a-birds-eye-view.html", "tags": ["Colorado","Travel","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","Camping","The Grand Adventure","Fun","West Virginia","The Farm","Growth","Gratitude","goRVing","Wisdom","Girl Camper","Girl Campers","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/10/17/getting-bolder-stories-not-stuff.html", "title": "Getting Bolder: Stories, Not Stuff", "content_html": "![\"Stories,](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/66cdba44e9.jpg\")
Today’s post is a link to my most recent installment of “Getting Bolder” on the Sisters on the Fly blog. ❤️
www.sistersonthefly.com/getting-b…
\n“Since we have such a hope, we are very bold,”\n2 Corinthians 3:12 ESV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-10-17T01:30:09-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/10/17/getting-bolder-stories-not-stuff.html", "tags": ["Faith","Colorado","Travel","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Sisters on the Fly","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","Camping","The Grand Adventure","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Wisdom","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/10/15/a-perfect-fall-day.html", "title": "A Perfect Fall Day!", "content_html": "
![\"WVU](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/1129495ec4.jpg\")
\nWe couldn’t have asked for a more beautiful day for football yesterday. It was HOT…about 84…and not a cloud in the sky. The stadium was sold out and the crowd was great. West Virginia clearly got our butts whipped the first half. Frustrating calls, penalty flags out the wazoo, and eleven points down definitely put a damper on things. I was thinking to myself (ok…I MAY have said it out loud) that maybe college football games weren’t my thing. Mr. FixIt looked at me and said, “It’s not over yet…you just wait.” As if he somehow held a crystal ball and knew a change was coming.
\nThe halftime show was cool. The alumni band played because it was homecoming and they mentioned my friend Karen Nutter Ali as being the oldest alumni member playing. They crowned the homecoming king and queen. I ran into someone I knew. Then…the magic happened. The Mountaineers came out on the field looking less like an aberrant junior high school team and more like a well-oiled machine. Far less flags flew in the second half as the ’eers finally settled down and got it together. Down eleven points as they left the field at the half, they ended up trouncing Texas Tech 46-35 to win the game. They always play John Denver’s “Almost Heaven” at the end of every game but the atmosphere is electric when sung in victory. My heart swelled and I teared up as I sang along with 65,000 Mountaineer fans. It was glorious!
\nAfter the game, we joined Mr. FixIt’s family for a tailgate party. I’m just now meeting more of his family and it was great fun! The meatball sliders I made were a big hit. Here’s the recipe.
\nwww.jessicagavin.com/grandmas-…
\nNote: I used three pounds of ground beef so I added a little extra of the other ingredients to compensate. I also used jar sauce but added two cans of fire-roasted diced tomatoes and about a cup and a half of diet blackberry flavored fizzy water for a sweet kick. I used packaged hot rolls from the grocery store, cut them in half, added a meatball, a little sauce, and some shredded mozzarella cheese and topped with the other half of the roll to make a little sandwich. I arranged the sliders in two disposable aluminum baking pans. I brushed the tops with a little melted butter and sprinkled the top lightly with garlic salt, covered with foil and baked them at 375 until the cheese was melted. Yield: 24 sliders. These were SO good! I’ll definitely make them again.
\n❤️
\n“Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.”\n1 Corinthians 13:8 ESV
", "date_published": "2017-10-15T01:30:56-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/10/15/a-perfect-fall-day.html", "tags": ["Family","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Love","Peace","Humbled"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/10/12/magic-hands.html", "title": "Magic Hands", "content_html": "![\"Photo](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/24d31fbbae.jpg\")
\nOctober is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. I have always been prompt at getting my mammogram done every single year. I always had it at the same place for consistency. Still, even though it always niggled in the back of my mind that time was slipping by, I went a full three years without one. The fact that I am fairly diligent in doing breast self examination regularly was at least some consolation. But not all lumps and bumps can be felt. An exam and getting the tatas compressed is your best advantage for early detection of breast cancer.
\nI had my mammogram done September 27th, a Saturday. I was up before dawn to go get this thing done. I was in and out relatively quickly. The technologist was friendly, knowledgeable, and the entire experience left me feeling confident in the Women’s Center at Camden Clark Memorial Hospital in Parkersburg. I left the appointment and met my girlfriends for coffee and it became a day like any other day.
\nThe following Wednesday, I went camping for a week and when I returned, there was a message on my home phone from the doctor’s office. Mr. FixIt and I looked at each other and I saw the slightest flicker of fear in his eyes.
\n“I’m sure it’s fine, sweetheart. I’m a girl…girls are complicated. We’ve got all these parts we have to maintain. It happens all the time.” I said in my most reassuring voice. But he wasn’t buying it. And neither was I. I’d never been called back before. And I’d never had an ultrasound of my breast.
\nMy doctor’s office made an appointment for me for the following Tuesday…a whole week away. As much as I tried not to think about what it could mean, it was fruitless. I’ve worked in medicine almost my entire working life. I was married to a doctor who was the director of hospice. I was an x-ray tech. I know what I know. I ran through the risk factors. I used to drink more than I should have when I was going through a particularly difficult marriage/divorce but when the divorce was over, so was the drinking. I am not at my ideal weight and I don’t exercise as much as I should. The king sized plus for me is absolutely zero family history of breast cancer. By the time the appointment came around, I was feeling pretty confident this wasn’t cancer.
\nTuesday finally came. The technician who came out to get me was the same gal who did the first mammo. That was comforting…and good, in that her technique would be the same for comparison’s sake. She told me there were two places in the breast that caused them concern and she pointed them out to me. She proceeded to do another mammogram. This one used a compression paddle on the machine that squeezed a small, three inch circle…really squeezed. I won’t lie…it stung. No problem holding my breath for that one! When she had the top down views done, she changed the paddle to a five inch circle for the side views. Again, the compression took my breath away, but I wanted good compression so the radiologist could see what he/she was looking for. It was soon done and I was ushered to a waiting room. Once the radiologist said no more views were needed, I was taken to the ultrasound room.
\nI’ve had ultrasounds many times, but never of my breast. They warm the gel! How nice! I’m laying there with my arm over my head and my boob hanging out in front of someone who was born the year I graduated from high school but, by golly, that gel was warm! The tech turned the screen slightly toward me and I saw what I had seen on the mammogram, only instead of being an oval, clearly encapsulated thing that looked much like a grape…I saw a black hole. My heart sank for a moment. Then my medical expertise came back and I thought about the physics of ultrasound. I soon reasoned what I was looking at was a fluid filled cyst and the vast majority of those are benign. Breathe.
\nThe tech moved to the other spot. This was more worrisome. It was calcification within some very dense breast tissue. I have what used to be called fibrocystic breast disease till they dropped the disease part, because…it isn’t one. It’s extremely common. The last time I had a mammogram, my doctor was musing to herself. “Hmmmm, I wonder why your left breast is so much denser than the right?” “Easy,” I said. “I’ve always been with right handed men” I think she peed a little. Anyway, I digress. I couldn’t make heads nor tails of what I was seeing in this exam area so I just laid back and let my mind wander. What was my gut saying? “This is ok. Don’t worry.”
\nI was wandering through the mall yesterday, contemplating a pair of shoes, when the doctor’s office called. She said the doctor felt the findings were benign. They wanted to know if there was a family history of breast cancer. Since there is not, the recommendation is to repeat it in six months and if there are no changes, resume the yearly schedule. I didn’t realize I had been holding my breath as I sat down on one of the chairs in the shoe department. I thanked her and hung up. Relief spread over me and I immediately texted Mr. FixIt and my Prayer Warriors.
\nOne out of eight women get breast cancer. Unlike Julia Louise Dreyfus…today it was not me. Get your mammograms, girls. Save the tatas! ❤️
\n“A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.”\nProverbs 17:22 ESV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-10-12T01:30:38-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/10/12/magic-hands.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","God","Peace","Wisdom","Humbled"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/10/11/free-spirit.html", "title": "Free Spirit", "content_html": "
![\"Woman](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/deff4aaa3d.jpg\")
\nMuch of my life was spent trying to conform…to not be too loud, too big, too much. To fit into the mold of who I (and others whose opinions I valued over my own) thought I should be. I was a doctor’s wife. I was supposed to fit in, entertain, volunteer. I converted to Judaism. I smiled, a lot. I had a perky voice. I did the best I could. And still, things unraveled, my marriage fell apart, and it darned near killed me.
\nIt took a long time, and a lot of therapy, to find my voice. So many times women hang their identity on a hook by the front door and become who they need to be…who they’re expected to be. I have two beautiful daughters who are wonderful adults. Honestly, I don’t know how they survived me because I was a hot mess back in the day.
\nMr. Virgo was the first man to really “get” me. He was patient and listened intently and fiercely supported me. He helped me see, and really FEEL, my value. When he died suddenly, my world and my self-confidence was rocked. When I was alone on my grief journey in the wilderness and backroads of Colorado in the first few months after he died, I really understood for the first time that it’s up to me to be happy. If we search for happiness from external things, we will always be disappointed.
\nI had a Mr. Virgo-sized hole in my heart and a God-sized hole in my life. I couldn’t bring Mr. Virgo back, but I could…and DID…reach out to God to fill me up with a peace only He could give. My go-to scripture became “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” Over and over, through long anxiety-riddled nights, I repeated it till I believed it…till I felt it in my bones. And magically, God filled in the empty, hurting places with a golden love-light like none I had ever known.
\nI was telling someone yesterday…I loved Mr. Virgo with the white-hot heat of the sun. But I still never felt whole till I loved GOD with the white-hot heat of HIS Son. My light shines from within. I carry myself differently. I’m happy and content with myself and my life. And now? Now I have Mr. FixIt. I’m so glad he came into my life after I was broken open. I don’t know that we would have appreciated each other if this would have happened at any other time in our lives.
\nGod’s timing is so perfect. ❤️
\n“Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.”\nLuke 12:6-7 ESV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-10-11T01:30:38-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/10/11/free-spirit.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom","Humbled","Aging","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/10/09/a-little-rr.html", "title": "A Little R\u0026R", "content_html": "
\n
![\"Ol'](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/da0ba7457c.jpg\")
\nWe awoke to the sound of rain gently falling on the tin roof yesterday. What a welcome sound. Something else grabbed my attention. It was stuffy and still in the bedroom. I picked up my phone to check the temperature. No wifi. The power was out so the fan was off. This happens frequently here at the farm. I keep thinking I’ll get a generator but haven’t yet.
\nOld Mama Kitty curled up at my feet while I sat on the porch, watching the rain. Every time we have this moment, I wonder how much longer we’ll have her. She’s about twenty-four years old now. I love this sweet little kitty.
\nThe persistent rain made me sleepy and I couldn’t get motivated to do much. I did put about half the stuff away in the kitchen that I had brought in from TOW-Wanda. The rest of the day was literally spent doing as little as possible. Sometimes you just need a day like that. Mr. FixIt is like the Energizer bunny. He never stops. I like to do a lot of stuff but when I need down time, I NEED down time. I sent him off to deliver a chair to his granddaughter and go bowling and I spent the afternoon/evening laying low. Just what the doctor ordered!
\nThe only downside of having a lay low, shut in kind of day was not going to church. The only upside to that is the Warehouse Church where we attend goes live on their Facebook page every Sunday night at 7:00 so if I can’t go for some reason, I can watch the sermon from home.
\nLast night, Pastor Justin spoke on getting past your past. I dragged my past behind me like a sack of rotting garbage for years. I played and replayed every mistake, every misstep, every wrongdoing I ever did and berated myself for being a bad daughter, sister, wife, mother. It turns out, those were all lies…whispered into my life by the enemy. He has no power over the future, but man…does he know how to play the past. There are ways you can use the past. Learning from your mistakes and moving forward, letting the past “push” you into the person God has always intended you to be…THAT’S the only useful thing the past can give you. God uses those mistakes you made in the past to allow you to minister to others, to speak life over them, to demonstrate that you do not have to let your past define who you are. You can get past it. Powerful message. So, I got my lay low day, I had a nap under the sounds of a gentle rain on a tin roof, AND I heard a great message from God. What’s not to love about that? ❤️
\n“Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”\nPhilippians 3:13-14 ESV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-10-09T01:30:27-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/10/09/a-little-rr.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","God","Peace","The Cats","Monday Morning Motivation"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/10/08/from-long-horns-to-long.html", "title": "From Long Horns to Long Rifles", "content_html": "
![\"Longhorns](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/635ca2d838.jpg\")
\nIt’s going to rain today…thank God. We haven’t had measurable precipitation in a month and its dreadfully dry. Since yesterday was such a gorgeous day, chores were put on the back burner yet again and we went gallivanting all over three counties. Our first stop was to finally get some pictures of these magnificent long horned cattle. Seems there’s a wealthy oil man in our county who likes them so he bought himself some. I believe these are a cross between longhorn and the watusi. I must say, you do a double take when you drive down a two-lane blacktop in West Virginia and come across these big boys! I had an uncle who had white-faced cattle simply because he liked looking at them through the window when he ate breakfast…so, I get it.
\n![\"Civil](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/7a29c4654f.jpg\")
\nThe next stop was Elizabeth’s Pioneer Day. That’s singular…as in, blink and you miss it. We ran into cousins. Did I tell you I love small town life? We missed the car show but we visited the town’s museum where my cousin regaled me with more juicy family history that I was, as yet, unaware of. I love hanging with them…not only are they fun, but they’re educational.
\n![\"Confederate](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/3b5ed760a7.jpg\")
\nThe last stop was really awesome. As we rounded a curve to head back to the farm, there was a Civil War reenactment camp set up in a field. Mr. FixIt turned to me and smiled. Blog fodder! We turned in and introduced ourselves and an hour later we were making ourselves at home, telling stories and laughing around the campfire. Mr. Virgo was a huge Civil War buff so I’ve watched dozens of documentaries on the subject. I felt a softness around me as the sun hung low over what will today become a battlefield. That part I have no interest in seeing. But the people? I wanted to know who they were, how long they’ve done this, how often, and why? Turns out, they’re Civil War buffs, just like Mr. Virgo. One couple have been doing reenactments for 29 years. They were from Ohio and West Virginia. Some represented the Union, others the Confederacy. I didn’t ask why. It didn’t matter.
\n![\"Civil](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/6be200a206.jpg\")
\nThey were quick to share their knowledge. They took great pride in their clothing and uniforms and weapons…and knowledge. They explained the flags and the units and the differences in the tents. They cooked over an open fire, just as I did last weekend. They slept on rope beds and bedrolls the last two nights. They had young men and a young boy with them, teaching them the old ways. It was absolutely fascinating. And, instead of scrawling a rural address with a hand sharpened pencil on a page from a bible to be tucked away, hoping to reconnect when the battle was over…we became friends on Facebook. And, we were instantly brought back to 2017.
\n![\"Civil](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/1d6f9a5a95.jpg\")
\n![\"Civil](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/948edecc25.jpg\")
\nI love the connections I make doing what I do. I was thrilled when I surpassed 6,000 readers over the weekend. I’m honored and humbled to write stories for you every day. Thank you so much for being here. ❤️
\n“a time to love, and a time to hate; a time for war, and a time for peace.”\nEcclesiastes 3:8 ESV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-10-08T01:30:01-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/10/08/from-long-horns-to-long.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Gratitude","Peace","Humbled"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/10/06/losing-your-sense-of-direction.html", "title": "Losing Your Sense of Direction", "content_html": "
![\"Losing](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/1397099534.jpg\")
\nThere’s no quicker way to lose your inner compass than through the experience of grief. God built us to numb down so we don’t experience the loss in one gulp. I remember the first year. I was so numb from the neck up. I didn’t fully grasp what had happened to my world until the second year. THAT was the year of pain for me because I “woke up” and he was still gone. I didn’t know where to turn. I literally didn’t know which end was up. I couldn’t make intelligent choices. I couldn’t see further than today…maybe even this hour. It was terribly disconcerting to me to feel so out of control. It was terribly comforting to me when you all started writing back with things like “Yes! That’s me!” and “OMGosh! You’re in my head! How did you know?”
\nLosing your inner compass is normal in grief. Losing your sense of direction doesn’t just come with the loss of a loved one though. It can come with anything that shocks our sensibilities. And I can’t think of anything more shocking than the events of the last month. While I was out galavanting around, camping here and there, appearing at public events, being interviewed while flyfishing, sitting around the campfire with friends…events were taking place that were shattering our world and I was largely disconnected save for the occasional notification on my phone when I was in cell range.
\nDisclaimer: I’m not here to discuss politics. There are many, many sites where that is the theme. This is a safe place where we discuss grief and the things that effect it. That being said…I would be remiss if I sail along singing Kumbaya and not address the horrifying events that have hit us over and over and over the last few weeks.
\nDevastating hurricanes. Deadly earthquakes. Horrific mass murders. Huge breaches of electronic security. Every week…every day…it’s something. Another thing…another horror. It’s hard to feel safe in times like this when you aren’t grieving. Add the insecurity and emotional turmoil of loss to the mix and it’s so easy to lose your way…to lose direction…to lose hope.
\nYes, there are political avenues that can and…in my humble opinion…should be implemented to curb events that can be curbed. I am an enigma. I am a diehard liberal Christian and Democrat with a gun. I believe in my right to carry and protect myself, my property, and my loved ones. If I need to hunt to eat, I need a weapon to do so. What I don’t need is an assault rifle, let alone forty-three of them, and I certainly don’t need one that shoots automatically. I might need a couple hundred rounds of ammo. I don’t need ten thousand. I might need some fertilizer for my garden. I don’t need enough to blow up a building. I need to protect my little corner of the world from nefarious interlopers. I’m fully aware not everyone agrees on these issues and I’m not here to debate politics or gun control or any “third rail” issue. This is a faith-based blog so I’m going to approach this from my own personal faith-based perspective.
\nI usually drive in silence. It’s my think time. But, occasionally I listen to a book on tape or a talk given by someone on a subject I am interested in. As events unfolded over the last month, I found myself getting upset and angry…a perfectly normal reaction to such chaos. Since losing Mr. Virgo, I’ve found it helpful to retreat within myself and become quiet and introspective in order to process additional loss. Now that I have Mr. FixIt in my life, I don’t have long stretches of time to silently contemplate my feelings, process them, and retrieve my bearings. I felt my fear grow and my frustration build to the point of lashing out at him when he did nothing but be kind and love me. I needed to fix that before it became a problem.
\nGod always brings me what I need to walk through this path. Remember me telling you that we have to walk through fire in this life, but God throws gems down in the flames? We may not recognize the meaning of a particular gem, but we tuck it away because somewhere down the line, we’ll understand. When I was in Colorado, I went to a used book store looking for books on tape for the long drives I take traveling with TOW-Wanda. This time I found several presentations by such notables as Brené Brown, Pema Chodrin, and Joyce Meyers. I tucked them in the truck but didn’t listen to them on the trip home because Mr. FixIt was with me.
\nLast week I traveled up to Beaver Creek State Park and found the four hour block of time to listen to Pema Chodrin’s “Don’t Bite the Hook: Finding Freedom from Anger, Resentment, and Other Destructive Emotions”. Her basic premise boils down to finding compassion for the perpetrator. She spends the better part of three and a half hours explaining how to fight the addiction of anger and replace it with patience and compassion. Anger sits in the pit of our stomach. It’s uncomfortable and we lash out to release those pent up feelings. But, what if we allow ourselves to sit with that discomfort, recognize it as a temporary feeling, look at the person pissing us off and feel compassion? If that’s too hard, then at least just say…“OK, this person is pissing me off. I’m not biting that hook.” There is a difference between suppressing anger and diffusing it. Suppression will just place it in a pressure cooker and it becomes self-destructive. Diffusing it dissipates the energy and converts it into something self-soothing.
\nHow does this relate to the current events in the world? Well, environmentally, these storms are getting more powerful, more frequent, and more destructive. As an environmentalist, one can get angry at politicians who refuse to believe in climate change. As one who believes this is a predictable cycle of nature, one can get angry at the “tree huggers” for leading the charge with “the sky is falling!” Earthquakes? Environmentalists are angry with the oil and gas industry for fracking and causing instability beneath the earths crust. Others are angry at such rhetoric saying the earth’s crust moves…deal with it. Mass shootings? The NRA will give you their guns when you pry them out of their cold, dead fingers as Charlton Heston so eloquently put it. Gun control advocates are angry that this just keeps happening over and over and over and nothing ever changes.
\nThe common denominator in all of this is anger. Righteous indignation. Me against them. No one ever resolves conflict with increased conflict. The divisive nature prevalent in today’s world does nothing to diffuse anger. As a matter of fact, it seems its only point is to produce more anger and conflict. This is the work of the enemy. This is where my faith comes in. This battle has been fought for centuries and my personal belief is…the good guy wins in the end. My personal belief is…that which lives within me is more powerful than that which lives in the world. Lashing out at Mr. FixIt because I’m harboring anger over world events is counterproductive. So, how do I resolve that inner conflict? Through compassion.
\nHow do we live out the compassion of Christ in such a dark time in this world? Turning to the Master Teacher, we can cry out for Him to teach us compassion. We can read about the ways Christ showed compassion to others…even his enemies. He touched those who were sick. Even the outcast…the untouchables with leprosy. He sought them out and ministered to them and healed them with just a touch. Race, religion, social or economic status…nothing kept Christ from touching the lives of others with love and tenderness. We can read about Jesus’ tears for the fallen. How He wept for those who refused to hear His teachings. How he asked His Heavenly Father to forgive those who crucified Him for they knew not what they were doing. That in and of itself is the ultimate display of compassion. The motivation behind all of Christ’s teachings throughout the New Testament is love and compassion.
\nSo, how do you show compassion for someone who stands in a hotel room on the 32nd floor of a busy hotel and calmly executes 59 innocent people, wounds nearly 500, and changes the lives of thousand more…forever? For me, it comes from the realization that one does not do something like that unless they are not in their right mind. There is such evil in the world. Satan whispers into the lives and hearts of vulnerable people and leads them to do unimaginable, unspeakable things. My response is to pour out more love…to try to tip the scales of the world toward goodness and light. Not with a Pollyannaesque naïveté, but with the pure, genuine love and compassion expemplified by Jesus.
\nIt’s a scary world. I saw Mr. FixIt’s first little greatgrandchild this week. I held this tiny, perfect little human in my hands and prayed hard that God would keep her safe in this great big place. It hits hard when a new life is placed in your hands. In the end, the left wing and the right wing belong to the same bird. We really are in this together. There is one race…the human race…and if we want to keep going, we are going to have to find a way to come together, to get along.
\nOk, we went to church there…but, in my humble opinion…this world needs more light. For me, it is through Christ, who strengthens me. For others, it may be different. But by whatever means available, the answer to everything is love and compassion. ❤️
\n“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”\nColossians 3:12-14 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-10-06T01:30:53-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/10/06/losing-your-sense-of-direction.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom","Forgiveness"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/09/29/fall-camping.html", "title": "Fall Camping", "content_html": "![\"Fall](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/3266d331e0.jpg\")
\nI don’t think there’s anything that beats camping in the fall. I do more camping in September than I do the rest of the year, total. The nights are crisp which makes for great sleeping. The days aren’t unbearably hot but still plenty warm to go out and do fun things. The mosquito population is much less intrusive by this time of the year making things more pleasant. I hate using insect repellents so this is a distinct advantage.
\nI’m with the Girl Campers in one of my favorite state parks in Ohio. (I’ll tell you which one once I leave…I never divulge where I’m camping in real time.) Our numbers grew yesterday so there were more chairs around the campfire last night. One of the Misters of the Mister-Sisters showed up and he thoroughly enjoyed himself sitting around the campfire with all these women.
\nI spent the day visiting with the girls and getting my camper set up. We didn’t get a chance to clean and organize after the last camping trip. The weather really cooled off yesterday and into the night. I put the electric blanket back on the bed. That comes in handy at about 4:00am.
\nBesides seeing old friends and meeting new ones, the best part of last night’s campfire was the barred owls. They were talking all around us and it was SO cool. At one point, one was in the tree right above TOW-Wanda and was really loud. I love hearing them. I took my spot light out but couldn’t see any.
\nThis is probably the last big camping trip of my season so I’m going to enjoy every minute of it. And, since this is a Mister-Sister trip, my Mr. FixIt is joining me later on today! It’ll be the first time I get the chance to introduce him to my camping friends and I’m really looking forward to it! More gals arrive today…the more, the merrier! ❤️
\n“That evening quail came and covered the camp, and in the morning there was a layer of dew around the camp.”\nExodus 16:13 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-09-29T01:30:34-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/09/29/fall-camping.html", "tags": ["Travel","Strong Women","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","Camping","Fun","Gratitude","goRVing","Girl Camper","Girl Campers"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/09/26/i-need-this-mug.html", "title": "I Need This Mug!", "content_html": "
![\"Possum](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/2e45be9d3f.jpg\")
\nI think I finally got a handle on my possum problem here at the farm. I have been fiddling around with the cats’ feeding schedule and did some research online. I started feeding them once a day and unless they search me out asking for something in the evening, that’s all they get. By noon they aren’t eating anything anyway so I pick up their dishes and set them inside a galvanized bucket with a locking lid. Bingo! No more late night visits from a passel of possums!
\nI think this is the week to bring in the hummingbird feeders. We need to encourage them to move along before it gets too cold. We have two really hot days coming then the weather turns cool. We have so many leaves falling. This year they seem to have just turned brown and fallen off. Not a lot of color in my woods.
\nThe grass is still growing. The lawn will need mowing again soon. The days are getting shorter and there is less and less light in this old holler. I changed the light up high on the barn yesterday in preparation for long, dark winter evenings. The dogwoods are full of red berries. It’s a beautiful time of year.
\nMy talk last night was well received. They gave me a mum for my yard. I’ll cherish that. Today is prep day for tomorrow’s trip up to the campground. I think this is the last hurrah for the camping season. Always a sad thing.
\nTell me about the leaves where you are! ❤️
\n“And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years,”\nGenesis 1:14 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-09-26T02:55:32-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/09/26/i-need-this-mug.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","Wisdom","Humbled"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/09/24/when-the-partys-over.html", "title": "When the Party's Over", "content_html": "
![\"Camper](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/7ba95fe51d.jpg\")
\nGirl time is important to me. Yesterday it was coffee with a few of my home girls…the ‘71 Divas Do Coffee. We figure Starbucks is cheaper than therapy. I popped into the Women’s Center at 7:00am to get the tatas smushed (Save the Tatas, ladies. Get your mammograms!) then ran over to the hotel to wait for my tribe. They never disappoint. Once we were properly caffeinated and had solved the world’s problems, we went our separate ways till next month.
\nTwo weeks ago it was twenty-four Sisters and last weekend it was four Girl Campers. On Wednesday, I meet up with thirty-five or so Girl Campers (and some Mister Sisters) for five nights of fun and frolic in eastern Ohio. Given the week I just had, I promise you there will be napping involved!
\nThe anticipation of a trip is delightful. We “meet” ahead of time on the Meetup app page or a Facebook page to get to know one another and get directives. We send messages back and forth. We share recipe ideas and weather forecasts. We count down how many sleeps till we get there. It can be a little stressful…especially when you are new at it. But overall, you should just go with the flow and have fun.
\nThe day you arrive at the event, you get unhooked and do any decorating you might like in and around your camper. I had two huge tubs of decorations I used to use but have pared way back since my camper is for living in, not necessarily for showing off. Once you’re settled, you go around and greet old friends and make new ones with the common bond of loving outdoors adventure. The fun commences in earnest!
\nThe first night is usually a meet-and-greet potluck. The second might have a low scale event and the third night is usually an all out blowout. You fall in bed, tired and happy. But then comes the inevitable and you have to say goodbye. It’s like summer camp when we were kids and we cried when we had to say goodbye. There’s definitely a certain melancholy that comes over you when you hook up and head home. But you promise to do it again. And you exchange recipes and contact info and ride off into the sunset.
\nI love this picture that was posted on the Sisters on the Fly page yesterday. I asked the photographer for permission to use it, which she graciously gave. It really summed up that melancholic feeling you get when the party’s over. Thank you, Rebecca, for such a great shot! ❤️
\n“As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.”\n1 Samuel 18:1 ESV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-09-24T01:55:09-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/09/24/when-the-partys-over.html", "tags": ["Travel","Strong Women","Sisters on the Fly","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","Camping","Fun","Growth","Gratitude","Peace","Girl Campers"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/09/23/back-in-the-saddle.html", "title": "Back in the Saddle!", "content_html": "
![\"Toy](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/9fd9044451.jpg\")
\nYou can’t keep a good gal down for long! I still felt a little rough yesterday morning but once I had a couple cups of good, strong coffee and a bowl of oats in me, I was pretty much good to go. Mr. FixIt mowed the lawn for me here at the farm and wouldn’t let me help. I felt pretty guilty being lazy while he was out working. By the time he was done, and I had rested, I was feeling bored so we went for a ride.
\nOur first stop was Volcano Days. No, it has nothing to do with molten lava and everything to do with oil and gas. This is in celebration of the people I heard about on the tour we gave the Sisters on the Fly when they were here a couple of weeks ago. The Flywheel Club brings their little pumps and big pumps and start them up. Some run to just show you what they can do. Others run washing machines or ice cream freezers or saw mills. There was a giant flea market, a large concession area and a stage with live entertainment.
\nMr FixIt can’t go anywhere without running into five people he knows and last night was no exception. We wandered through the booths and I bought a Griswold No. 8 704S cast iron skillet for twenty bucks! I love Griswolds. They’re smoother on the cooking surface and they’re great for frying anything, as long as they are properly seasoned as this one is. . I love frying potatoes in them. The new Lodge cast iron skillets are too rough in the bottom.
\nAfter dinner, we drove on into town to see the aftermath of the demolition. A trailer Mr. FixIt owned was torn down yesterday and we went to see the empty lot. It looked massive without the trailer there. We ended the evening with dinner at Bob Evans. I’m still babying my tummy and the comfort food of chicken pot pie hit the spot.
\nThis video (on the Facebook page only) from Volcano Days shows a large pump that came off a well. I wanted you to hear this because this is a sound from my youth. I was awakened from a sound sleep many summer mornings to the crack, crack, crack of these engines as they were started up by the pump guys to run the wells. I loved hearing them again.
\nThank you all for your kindness when I was feeling under the weather! You really helped! ❤️
\n“Dear friend, I hope all is well with you and that you are as healthy in body as you are strong in spirit.”\n3 John 1:2 NLT
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-09-23T01:55:13-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/09/23/back-in-the-saddle.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Strong Women","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/09/16/my-lot-in-life.html", "title": "My Lot in Life", "content_html": "
\n
![\"Windmill](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/085421e4ae.jpg\")
\nFor those of you who’ve been following me for awhile, you remember what a struggle it was to downsize when I sold my house. Getting rid of 95% of my personal belongings just a year after losing Mr. Virgo was very stressful. I have been so careful not to accumulate “stuff” again. But, I’ve got to tell ya…this Country Living Fair is exceptional. I think this is my third in a row and it seems each one gets better. I will have to say, there were a lot more people here on opening day than the last two years. If that’s any indication of the overall attendance, we’re in for a whale of an event!
\nWhen you work a Fair such as this, you try to have enough people helping that you can take breaks and wander around. As I was walking over to the main stage for Janine’s talk yesterday, I spied some windmill vanes and stopped after to price them. The one in this photo was a half vane for $600! One with two less fins was $400. Still way out of my price range. My daughter’s sister-in-law has one she got from the family ranch and has it mounted on the wall in her dining room. I’d love to have one, but A) I’m not spending that kind of money and B) I don’t have anyplace to put it right now, and C) experiences before stuff. I could have a really great trip for $600.
\nWandering the aisles of the fair is so tempting. I will tell you what I bought yesterday. A nice serving of Miss Parolee’s Kentucky Deep-Dish Blackberry Cobbler warmed up with a scoop of Vanilla Ice Cream. Windmill vane. Miss Parolee’s cobbler. I think I made the better choice! ❤️
\n“Even so, I have noticed one thing, at least, that is good. It is good for people to eat, drink, and enjoy their work under the sun during the short life God has given them, and to accept their lot in life. And it is a good thing to receive wealth from God and the good health to enjoy it. To enjoy your work and accept your lot in life—this is indeed a gift from God. God keeps such people so busy enjoying life that they take no time to brood over the past.”\nEcclesiastes 5:18-20 NLT
\n", "date_published": "2017-09-16T01:55:20-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/09/16/my-lot-in-life.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Fun","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Peace","Wisdom","Girl Camper","Girl Campers","Country Living Fair","Uncategorized"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/09/15/ooooompapa.html", "title": "Ooooom-Pa-Pa!", "content_html": "![\"Menu](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/829d6f8436.jpg\")
\nI arrived at the Country Living Fair in the early afternoon yesterday and met my Girl Camper friends. We had to wait our turn to pull the three campers into the grounds so we sat around and nibbled on finger foods and caught up with what’s been going on in each other’s lives. Girl Camper extraordinaire, Janine Pettit, regaled us with stories of her epic month long trip to the National Parks out west this summer. Gail shared that her daughter is going to live overseas for a year. Jill was excited about her new-to-her Airstream she recently redecorated. I shared the article from the Fidelity online magazine. Sisters and Girl Campers always pick up where we left off the last time.
\nI don’t know if you’ve ever gone to a Country Living Fair but the amount of work that goes on in the background to set something up this massive and intricate is astounding. We drove in on cue when it was our turn. The area where we set up is pretty tight and it took a great deal of maneuvering to get all three campers in just right. I’m glad I have some mad backing up skills because they came in handy yesterday!
\nOnce the three campers were set up, they had to be “staged”. You’ve all seen those cute campers in the magazines with all the vintage collectibles or great quilts or baskets of flowers? All those things were placed there with an eye much more skilled than mine. When these girls were finished, it looked just like a photo shoot! I can’t wait to take pictures today!
\nAs I walked through the fair grounds, the displays were eye candy for someone who cannot resist the colorful, glossy pages of Country Living Magazine. It’s like the magazine itself has come alive…its pages exploding on the grounds all around you! Antiques, linens, rusty farm implements, artsy clothing and jewelry…you name it, it’s here. Including the kitchen sink. It’s truly one of the most beautiful fairs of its kind in the country. I’m so looking forward to browsing when I can.
\nI’ve read Country Living Magazine for years. Now that I’m living a country life, it would be so easy to accumulate too much stuff again and, seriously…I really don’t want to go through that kind of downsizing ever again. I carefully curate what comes in my house now. I only have what is useful and I know to be beautiful. The trouble is…there is SO much that I find beautiful. So my third measure is…Would I rather have this “thing” or go someplace with that money. Experience over stuff wins just about every time.
\nWe ended the evening at a German restaurant where the highlight of the evening was a group of dinner guests playing cowbells to the tune “Edelweiss”. You can’t make this stuff up!
\nStay tuned…I may not be able to resist some extra posts today when I see something pretty! ❤️
\n“Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up.”\nRomans 15:2 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-09-15T01:55:43-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/09/15/ooooompapa.html", "tags": ["Travel","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Sisters on the Fly","Positive Energy","The Grand Adventure","Fun","Growth","New Ideas","Gratitude","Wisdom","Girl Camper","Girl Campers","Country Living Fair"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/09/14/he-will-cover-you-with.html", "title": "He Will Cover You With His Feathers", "content_html": "
![\"Wings](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/5a19602883.jpg\")
\nIt’s hard to believe exactly four-and-a-half years ago, I was preparing a funeral for a man I never dreamed of losing. Mr. Virgo was gone in a heartbeat, literally, and I was left to make some sense and order out of the chaos left behind. Looking back on it with today’s vision, I can see so many things I would have done differently. I don’t think I made huge mistakes, but I think if I would have known then what I know now, there are definitely things I would have done differently.
\nI hosted the Sisters on the Fly event over the weekend and there were a couple fairly new widows there. They did well, enjoyed themselves, and were very capable campers. I could see through all that to the pain that lay beneath the surface. I recognized them…I was there not all that long ago myself.
\nA couple of years ago, I was contacted by a writer and published author of many books on women and finance. She was writing an article for the New York Times on widowhood and retirement and asked if she could interview me. We have stayed in touch over the last couple of years and she has followed my blog. Recently I heard from her again. She had been asked by Fidelity to write an article about widowhood and investing and immediately thought of me. We spoke again and I shared those things I felt I did right, and those I could have…should have…done differently.
\nThe article for Fidelity’s “Viewpoints” online magazine went live yesterday and I am sharing it with you here. From the beginning, this blog was meant not only as a way to share and heal my own grief, but also to serve as a place to learn, grow, and experience support if you are grieving, and preparation if you aren’t. Knowledge is power and grief makes you feel totally powerless. I wish I would have had a grief mentor in my early stages of loss. I try to be that person for others. If it weren’t for God covering me with His feathers to guide, guard, and protect me, I never would have survived such a loss.
\nAnd now, here I am nearly five years after losing Mr. Virgo and I not only have survived, I am thriving. New life, new love, new experiences. I never would have dreamed this was possible. Today I leave for the Country Living Fair in Columbus, Ohio. Please stop by for a visit if you are in the area! ❤️
\nhttps://www.fidelity.com/viewpoints/personal-finance/8-financial-tips-for-widows
\n“He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.”\nPsalm 91:4 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-09-14T01:55:17-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/09/14/he-will-cover-you-with.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Wisdom","Girl Campers","Country Living Fair"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/09/13/mountain-music.html", "title": "Mountain Music", "content_html": "
![\"Jake](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/56419a5260.jpg\")
\nI’m still glowing over the events of the past weekend. When I was planning this gathering for the Sisters on the Fly, I had everything pictured in my head and it came out just like I had hoped. But the months leading up to the event had points where it was pretty nerve wracking. The two big items on my list turned out to be the two most difficult to fill. A caterer and entertainment for Saturday night.
\nI have such a wonderful network of friend on Facebook. They come from all walks of like. After making countless calls and searching the internet, I finally called the administration at the park where we camped and she gave me the name of a caterer to try. One phone call and I had them booked…at a price about half what I expected. The food was fabulous! If you need a BBQ caterer in the Mid-Ohio Valley, call Smokin’ Pig’s Ash Barbecue.
\nI kept striking out on the entertainment front, too. First off, it was the same weekend as the Sternwheel Festival in Marietta (the main reason we planned it when we did) and there was a huge bluegrass festival up north. I really wanted old time jammers, but they were scarce as hen’s teeth. I finally contacted my friend Todd Burge, a talented local musician who is more a folk singer. Unfortunately, he was booked, but he told me to contact Jake Eddy. Jake turns 18 this week, and has already been named #1 in guitar and banjo in the state of West Virginia. He and his brother (only 13!) and grandpa played for two hours and I’ll tell you what, they did not disappoint. The girls were so impressed! And, frankly…so was I. We are all going to look back one day and say we saw him way back when!
\nTomorrow, I head out for my next event. I’m going to be at the Country Living Fair in Columbus, Ohio with Janine Pettit and the Girl Campers lending a hand in any way I can to support her. Janine is so talented and well spoken. She will have the crowd eating out of her hand and I so enjoy tagging along whenever I can. I always learn so much from her.
\nThis is an incredibly busy month in the camping circuit and I’m thrilled to take you along with me. We’re going to see some amazing things. Watch for some live broadcasts from the Country Living Fair! ❤️
\n“I will sing of steadfast love and justice; to you, O Lord, I will make music.”\nPsalms 101:1 ESV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-09-13T01:55:41-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/09/13/mountain-music.html", "tags": ["Family","Travel","Uplifting Stories","Sisters on the Fly","Positive Energy","Camping","Fun","West Virginia","Peace"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/09/12/the-jersey-girls.html", "title": "The Jersey Girls", "content_html": "
![\"The](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/1e55c8ad0d.jpg\")
\nWe had such a mish-mash of gals at the SOTF event this weekend. I’ve heard so much about Jean Taylor over the years that I felt I already knew her, even though we’d never met. She came with three of her umpteen cousins and they were an absolute hoot and a half. They love to “camp”. As a matter of fact, Jean owns a campground in New Jersey. I am not sure how “campy” the others get, seeing how the sum of their experience thus far seemed to be staying in the motor home at the campground. But I loved them. You know why? Because they didn’t know you could make ice cream by hand. They’d never seen the Milky Way. They hadn’t heard of clogging in any other sense than what cholesterol does to your arteries. They were delightful!
\nOne story they told was how, very early on, their great grandfather lived in WV. He was an Italian immigrant and a miner with a huge family. And, as any good Italian did, he made wine for their consumption. Apparently, the revenuers caught wind of this, raided his home and broke all the bottles of wine. Great-grandma sent one of the kids to the mine to tell papa not to come home and why. He took off for New Jersey and stayed there till grandma could get there with the children. Thus, they put down roots in NJ. If not for the revenuers, how many more West Virginians would we have?
\nI named them “Honorary Hillbillies”…those wonderful Italian women from New Jersey!
\nWe also had a published author of historical romances. A woman who owned a farm, played guitar, and is learning to drive horses. There were a few widows. There was a woman simultaneously going to college and living in her new Airstream as she explores the country over the next eighteen months. There were three moms of autistic children who bonded over that. There were artists and nurses, retired and employed. They slept in everything from cars to tents to vintage campers to modern campers to a brand new Airstream. Yet they all have one thing in common…they are Sisters. A fact that is never taken lightly. I am so proud to be a member of this organization and look forward to more gatherings with them. ❤️
\n“She is more precious than jewels, and nothing you desire can compare with her.”\nProverbs 3:15 ESV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-09-12T01:55:31-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/09/12/the-jersey-girls.html", "tags": ["Travel","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Sisters on the Fly","Positive Energy","Camping","Fun","West Virginia","Growth","New Ideas","Gratitude"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/09/06/sisters-on-the-fly.html", "title": "Sisters on the Fly", "content_html": "
![\"Sisters](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e894d8cf7a.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/69677a7cd3.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/f07e8b48bb.jpg\")
What is Sisters on the Fly?
\nIt’s the world’s largest outdoor adventure group for women. We have affected the lives of over 9,000 women from around the world. Our motto is “We have more fun than anyone!” And it’s true! Sister gatherings are jam packed with fun and we turn women into girls.
\nWhat do the Sisters do at their gatherings?
\nWe do a number of things! Some of us fly fish. Some ride horses or mountain bikes. We love to go junkin’ and eat great food. Some hike. Some play and listen to music. Whatever floats your boat. And speaking of floating your boat, we are going to ride the sternwheeler on the Ohio River over to visit the Blennerhassett Mansion this week. We love to eat so we’re going to have an old fashioned weenie roast. My Pop-Pop whittled the end of sharp sticks for roasting weenies and marshmallows. We’ll serve them the WV way with sauce and slaw. We are playing music and listening to music and maybe even clog dance. Sisters will try just about anything!
\nHow can I be a Sister?
\nYou can have more fun that anyone by heading over to www.sistersonthfly.com and signing up. Dues are $70 a year and there are gatherings of every interest all around the globe.
\nWhat kind of women become Sisters on the Fly?
\nBold women. Shy women. Women with campers. Women with tents. Women who prefer the lodge or a fine hotel or a cabin. Single women. Taken women. Married women. Widowed women. Young women. Old women. Key word is Women. No men. (Sorry, guys!) No kids. (Sorry, kids!) and, no pets.
\nThese gals love to eat! I shopped yesterday. Such a wise shopper I have become. This big grocery cart ended up costing $150! I was impressed. We will see how the menu and activities go over. I’ve done the planning, the shopping and the prep. As my friend V says…it’s time for the fun! ❤️
\n“Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace.”\nProverbs 3:17 ESV
\n(Photos from older Sisters on the Fly gatherings.)
\n", "date_published": "2017-09-06T01:55:09-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/09/06/sisters-on-the-fly.html", "tags": ["Travel","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Sisters on the Fly","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","The Grand Adventure","Fun","West Virginia","Growth","New Ideas","Gratitude","Love","Peace"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/09/04/flatfootin-to-the-fiddle.html", "title": "Flatfootin' to the Fiddle", "content_html": "![\"Appalachian](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/42fb489a8b.jpg\")
\nY’all remember I came to West Virginia in October of 2014 to live on the family farm and help my elderly aunt. That lasted ten weeks and she decided she didn’t rightly think she wanted anyone extra around and I graciously bowed out. That’s when I moved around in my camper…first at the river then out to Colorado, South Dakota, Tennessee and all parts in between. I spent the better part of two years as a gypsy of sorts…writing, speaking, and healing my broken heart.
\nThat same aunt gave me a fiddle after my grandma died in 1999. She left it on the bed without fanfare. When I went to bed that night and saw the fiddle, I sat on the edge of my bed, cradling it, running my fingers over the worn wooden frets…tears streaming down my face. I remembered that fiddle well. I was a very little girl. My great grandfather, a moose of a man, was at the farm. He and my uncle and my Pop-Pop built the basement and rolled the old house down over the foundation on long well casing pipes from an oilfield. My uncle loves to tell me that story and I listen and laugh every time as if it were my first hearing.
\nThey had to jack the house up to put the pipes under. The new basement was slightly downgrade and they didn’t want it to take off and get away from them. They wrapped a chain around the pipe and attached a huge pipe wrench for leverage. Murphy’s Law tells you what happened next. The house did indeed start rolling and the only thing that stopped it from shooting off the other side of the basement was that wrench. The handle had been driven about two feet into the ground and worked like a brake.
\nMy great grandpa had gone down in the basement to monitor things from below and tell my uncle when the house was over the new foundation. When it took off, Grandpa start yelling to “Make ’er stop, boys! Make ’er stop!” There weren’t any steps in place yet, so as soon as my uncle had the house secure, he ran to the basement doorway and hollered for my grandpa. “I stopped ’er!” Grandpa cried. “By golly, I stopped ’er, boys!”
\nMy uncle shinnied down a ladder into the basement and there was Grandpa, wedged up between the floorboards of the first floor and the pipe! Seems he deemed it a good idea to tie a stout rope to that pipe and tie the other end around his waist so he could “stop ’er”. Well, the rope wound up around the pipe and drew him right up like a bucket from a well. Thank God that wrench caught or that would have been the end of Grandpa!
\nSoon after the house was secured to the new foundation, the stairs were built, and they added a front porch and poured a concrete slab for the back porch and the new bathroom that was being added. One summer night, after all the work had been done, my Pop-Pop pulled out the old fiddle and played “Turkey in the Straw”. My great grandpa grabbed a walking stick, stuck his bowler hat jauntily on the top is his head, and started flatfoot dancing on the porch. I will never, ever forget the deep thrill I got watching that scene unfold before me as I clapped my hands with the beat.
\nI’ve always wanted to learn to flatfoot dance…also called clogging, or Apache dancing. I’ve watched countless videos but haven’t seemed to get it right. One of these days I will take a lesson and finally learn. This is the week I am hosting a Sisters on the Fly event here in West Virginia and I am so excited to showcase our state and its fine traditions. We’re having an old-fashioned weenie roast and we’ll churn ice cream. We’re going on a sternwheel ride on the Ohio River. We’re touring two mansions and an abandoned oil and gas boom town. And, we’re having a catered barbecue. Our entertainment is a young banjo player named Jake Eddy. He’s bringing some friends for some Old Time Jammin’…that front porch informal style typical of performers who sit around after shows and play for the sheer enjoyment. At this point, he hasn’t been able to find a fiddle player but he’s hoping he can get one. So do I!
\nI’ve added a link to some great flatfoot dancing if you are interested. This is going to be a tremendously busy week for me so you may not hear much from me till the 10th or 11th. I’ll touch base but probably won’t have time to write my usual daily essay. This is going to be great fun so hang on for pictures, video, or quick stories. ❤️
\n\n“You have turned for me my mourning into dancing; you have loosed my sackcloth and clothed me with gladness,”\nPsalms 30:11 ESV
\n", "date_published": "2017-09-04T01:55:32-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/09/04/flatfootin-to-the-fiddle.html", "tags": ["Family","Uplifting Stories","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","The Farm","Love"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/09/03/the-good-ol-days.html", "title": "The Good Ol' Days", "content_html": "![\"Wooden](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/3b97197812.jpg\")
\nWe were taking a break yesterday when Mr. FixIt started reading a story in Goldenseal Magazine. The Goldenseal has been around since 1975 and is published four times a year. It has wonderful stories about traditional life in West Virginia. And, since I’m living a pretty traditional life, I really love that magazine. The story that caught Mr. FixIt’s attention was about a clothespin factory in Richwood, WV. That got me thinking about all the clotheslines of my life.
\nWe always had clotheslines. The metal T-shaped poles were anchored in the ground with cement and lasted till they rusted through. We’d have to go out with a wire brush and a can of Rustoleum and paint them every other summer or so. Ours were always silver but the last time I painted them at the farm, I used black. I remember as a child, the clotheslines themselves were woven…a kind of rope-like material. Another was a thick aluminum wire that created a wiggly clothesline that never straightened out. Then, as we got older and the plastic generation set in, the lines were white, hollow tubes that pinched shut with the spring-hinged clothespins. Later came the plastic covered cable lines. Once we got away from the rope lines, you had to take a wet rag out and run it up and down the clothesline to clean them or else you got black stuff on your clean clothes. At least you did in the chemical-laden Mid-Ohio Valley where I grew up. (Our bare feet would be black with the fallout from Union Carbide!)
\nThe early clothespins were the peg ones then came the clip on kind with the spring hinge. I liked the peg ones because I would pretend they were dolls. I’d dress them up with pieces of material from Grandma’s scrap bag. I’d draw faces on them and, if we had any glue around, I might even give them some yarn hair. We always had a clothespin bag that hung out on the clothesline. It had a hole in the side where you reached in and grabbed a few pins and stuck them in your mouth to use as you needed them. You had to watch because sometimes wasps, or even birds, would make nests in the bags.
\n![\"Grandma's](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e15f30e918.jpg\")
\nWhen you finished hanging your laundry, the wet clothes often made the lines so heavy, they stretched down and the clothes brushed the ground. In order to keep your clothes clean, you used a long pole with a nail in the side near one end and hooked up you clothesline, propping it up high. Hanging clothes in Colorado was awesome because it’s so dry there, a load would be ready to bring in, fold, and put away in an hour or two. Not so in West Virginia. The humidity of summer would make laundry turn into an all-day affair. And you’d better not get distracted and let the rain get on them or leave them out too late till they gathered the dew or you’d be doing the same clothes over the next day.
\nClothes that are hung dry aren’t nice and soft like the ones that come out of a dryer. They are stiff and scratchy. I hated to use towels that dried on the line. But sheets dried in the sun are heavenly! They smell so wonderful…like sunshine and Ivory Snow. Men wore work clothes when I grew up. Khaki, green, or blue…heavy cotton twill. They had to be put on wire pants stretchers to put a crease in them. That made ironing easier because most of the wrinkles were flattened out. Yes…I said ironing. Most of you have done exactly what I’m talking about. But some may not have, so I’ll continue.
\nIroning. The BANE of my existence as a child. My mom worked outside of the home once I was in school, so as soon as we were old enough to stay home alone, laundry and cooking and cleaning house became my daily routine. We didn’t have the luxury of using a dryer routinely. It was only used during the winter or very rainy days. All other times, Dad’s work clothes, our dresses, and my brother’s shirts and trousers had to be ironed. We had a “sprinkler”…a water bottle with a small perforated head on it that we would sprinkle the clothes if they were very dry and stiff. Then we would fold them, put them in a bushel basket with an oilcloth liner to hold in the moisture, cover them with a towel and come back to them an hour or so later. Before I came along, starch had to be cooked and added to the rinse water to give clothes a really crisp finish and nice, sharp creases. Once I was old enough to iron, we had spray starch in cans.
\nWho remembers the load you forgot in the washer for a day or two? Oh, that smelled SO bad and you would often get mildew stains that never came out, no matter how hard you scrubbed. You were in big trouble if you forgot a load and ruined clothes.
\n![\"Old](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e53017a48c.jpg\")
\nGrandma had wringer washers. I loved them, but I was not allowed to use them when I was little. They were dangerous because you could get your hand caught in them and get hurt. I remember how excited grandma was when my uncle brought her a good wringer washer…long after she had an automatic set in the bathroom. She missed the old way. She thought it cleaned better. I’d love to have a good wringer washer but the water in the basement doesn’t work like it used too. Too many years of hard water corroding those old pipes. I’d be afraid the spigot would break off in my hand.
\nI still have my mom’s clothespins. They are in a copper bucket I bought many years ago. I put it on top of the jelly cupboard here at the farm. Mom’s pins got mixed up with my own, but I can pretty much tell which ones I used as a child. I found Grandma’s clothespin bag hanging in the stairwell going down into the basement so I hung it in the kitchen on a child’s wooden coat hanger I found in an antique store last year. I think this is why I love Rural King so much. They carry so many things that we used “back in the day”. It reminds me of “simpler times”, even though we worked harder. Not nearly as hard as my grandparents, but certainly harder than the average kids of today.
\nThe last picture is the clothesline in the backyard in front of the hydrangea bush. You can see a couple old clothespins…weathered and nearly deteriorated to slivers. I won’t remove them. Maybe my grandma left them there when she brought in a dish towel or two…or something she rinsed out by hand. Surely my Uncle Bob had cleaned the line with an old rag. I’m sentimental about things. There are clotheslines along the side of the house. There’s one on the front porch and one on the back for hanging things when it’s raining. Then there’s this one that runs from the back porch to the cherry tree. That one I don’t use. That one reminds me…of my loved ones long since gone. Of the halcyon days of summer when I thought life was SO hard because I had to hang clothes and iron and cook supper for my family. Of the “Good Ol’ Days”. ❤️
\n“The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.”\nProverbs 13:4 ESV
\n", "date_published": "2017-09-03T01:55:44-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/09/03/the-good-ol-days.html", "tags": ["Family","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","Gratitude","Love","Wisdom"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/09/02/an-unlikey-pair.html", "title": "An Unlikey Pair", "content_html": "![\"Turkey](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/b3f35cb96e.jpg\")
\nI’ve been living on the farm a little over a year now. It went so fast, yet…as with many things…it seems so much longer. Not long after I got settled in, I began to notice an odd pair of friends at the house down the road. You never see one without the other and I cannot help but smile when I see them. They never leave the yard, wandering about nibbling up bugs and grass.
\nI don’t know the story behind these two. The family who lives there lost their mom several years ago so it’s just the guys on their own. They all work a lot and the house and grounds seem to be well cared for, but I rarely see anyone….just the turkey and the duck.
\nAs Mr. FixIt and I drove to town yesterday, I asked him to stop in the rain so I could take their picture. As soon as the car stopped, the turkey laid down. The duck never moved from the turkey’s side, but he set to squawking like crazy to let me know he didn’t like the intrusion. We sat by the road and talked to them for a bit then moved on. We forgot something and had to go back to the house and when we came back down the road, the fowl confab had moved behind the house to eat uninterrupted.
\nI thought about this pair all the way to town and wondered…Why can’t we ALL just get along like that? Those two don’t know they’re different. They just like each other’s company. Now, I’m not going to get into a political discussion. I’m not “choosing sides”. I just think we could take a lesson or two from this turkey and duck. We only have one race…the human race. We only have one life…this one. We are being divided and I’m not sure by whom. Media? Politicians? Special interest groups? Who know…who cares? I just want to love my fellow man like this duck loves this turkey.
\nGod created us all. He gave us the rule book. We can’t do this divided. The enemy wants us to fail. And if he can get us to do his dirty work for him and make us destroy each other…well, that’s just icing on the cake. Shine your light, people. Walk out in faith and fight for truth and justice….for all! ❤️
\n“Do we not all have one Father? Did not one God create us? Why do we profane the covenant of our ancestors by being unfaithful to one another?”\nMalachi 2:10 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-09-02T01:55:28-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/09/02/an-unlikey-pair.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","West Virginia","Gratitude","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom","Forgiveness","Humbled"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/09/01/words.html", "title": "Words", "content_html": "
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/667f78caa0.jpg\")
\nI have seldom been at a loss for words. My mom always said I had “the gift of gab”. I was always a little insulted by that because I was sure she was saying “You talk too much!” Ok…I’ll have to admit…I do have a lot to say. About everything.
\nSome of my very best writing has come from my very deepest pain. As difficult as it was to go through, that kind of writing is actually a whole lot easier than writing from a place of joy. Of peace. Of love. Writing from pain is cathartic. It releases energy and the words have a life of their own. Someone told me I had “lost my focus” a little while after I introduced Mr. FixIt to the story. That has niggled at me ever since. She’s right…in a way. But not in the way she thinks.
\nHere’s the thing. I was driving to the farm last night after spending a lovely day in town. I am putting some finishing touches on the event I am hosting next week for the Sisters on the Fly. Between that, the trip to Colorado, the trailer breaking down, the return trip to get it, catching up with stuff around the farm, the Centennial Celebration at my high school, and nurturing a new love relationship…I haven’t been keeping my focus where it belongs. Not on grief, but on God. I was driving along that twisty turny two lane and started talking to Him. Then I realized…I hadn’t been keeping Him at the center of my life for a little while. I took my focus off for just a moment and that led me down a path I don’t like. Peter was walking on water toward Jesus when he took his eyes off Him…and sank immediately.
\nI had a long discussion with God…it’s a forty-five minute ride, you know. I made my apologies and I’ll try to do better. Because everything is better when I keep God at the center of my life. My relationships. My writing. My life. It has to be more than just lip service, this profession of faith. Keeping that fire in my belly keeps me from drowning…and keeps my words flowing. ❤️
\n““Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.” “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.””\nMatthew 14:28-33 NIV
\nPhoto Credit: Shutterstock
\n", "date_published": "2017-09-01T01:55:56-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/09/01/words.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/08/26/back-on-the-farm.html", "title": "Back on the Farm", "content_html": "![\"Grandma's](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/9c6c082a94.jpg\")
\nIt’s been a year since I put down roots here on the family farm. Well, as deep a root as I can put and not own property. What a remarkable year! I battled fleas, painted walls, mowed, trimmed, pruned, cleaned, sorted, dehumidifier, and about scared myself to death that I had ruined the well or burned up the pump. I’ve learned to stop letting grief steal my joy. I’ve learned to let go of the fear of loss and clear out enough room in my life to accommodate the love of a sweet man. I’ve spoken in front of crowds, large and small. I started blogging for Sisters on the Fly as well as here on Marshmallow Ranch. I bought a vintage camper to fix up. I’ve been to Colorado twice, Florida twice, the Outer Banks, Tennessee, Savannah, Amish Country, and a fun trip to a WVU basketball game. I’ve been to concerts galore…Garth Brooks, SHEL, Brandy Carlisle to name a few. I’ve camped at some pretty cool places. I’ve been interviewed for podcasts and articles. I’ve lost some people in one way or another and I’ve gained more. I spent some wonderful time with my family. I’ve grown stronger in my faith. And I fell in love. All in one year! Whew!
\nWe got home from the trip to Indiana and It was almost dark. I had to back this camper up into the driveway and it was more challenging as the light faded. I got it in ok and Mr. FixIt was a real trooper coaching me along. He filmed it. It might be funny…I don’t know. I haven’t taken the time to look at it yet.
\nWe are going to a class picnic today so as soon as I walked in last night, I mixed up a yellow cake to bake. I’ll make Penuche Frosting this morning so it’s nice and fresh. I looked through Grandma’s notebook hoping to find her recipe but it wasn’t there. Her Brown Sugar Pie recipe was though. I’ll have to make that soon…it’s wonderful!
\nAs I sat and wrote this, Mr. FixIt asked if I could hear the owl. I couldn’t until I went to the front door. I recorded it for you and posted it last night so be sure you catch it. It’s the Eastern Screech Owl we heard the other evening on our walk. Oh…we visited with the neighbor down the road he other evening. He had a health scare while we were in Colorado and I was so happy to see him out working in his garden! It’s just another reminder how uncertain life is.
\nIf you are in Texas, or have loved ones there, you are in my prayers. Please check in and let us know how you’re doing.
\nYes…it’s been an amazing year on the farm, hasn’t it? Big things, little things, fun things, scary things. But we made it through. We’ll keep on keeping on and I’ll keep telling you these stories about this crazy, beautiful life I am privileged to lead. Thank you all for being here! ❤️
\n“and having a reputation for good works: if she has brought up children, has shown hospitality, has washed the feet of the saints, has cared for the afflicted, and has devoted herself to every good work.”\n1 Timothy 5:10 ESV
\n", "date_published": "2017-08-26T01:55:41-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/08/26/back-on-the-farm.html", "tags": ["Family","Travel","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","Fun","West Virginia","The Farm","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Girl Camper","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/08/24/ahhhhindiana.html", "title": "Ahhhh...Indiana!", "content_html": "
![\"Waze](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e4bb02ddc6.jpg\")
\nI’m beginning to really like this state. I have been to Bloomington in the south. I’ve been back and forth along the I-70 corridor countless times. I spent a weekend here in Richmond in December 2015 when my daughter graduated from Miami University. And now I’m on my third camping excursion here. We picked TOW-Wanda up yesterday and she’s pretty as can be. They detailed her after putting on the new axle. I checked the hub temperature with my new infrared digital thermometer after driving a few miles and it was right around 97-98°. It may give me a false sense of security since the service guy told me “if it’s too hot, it’s too late.”
\nJust after we turned onto I-70 from I-77, we came to a standstill. As far as we could see, cars and trucks filled the highway like a parking lot in all three lanes. I was just telling Mr. FixIt I wished I had the extension app on my Garmin GPS to tell me about traffic when I remembered Waze. Some of my Sisters on the Fly friends were just discussing the merits of this free GPS app that is populated by user input. I had tried it a couple of years ago and didn’t like it so I took it off. I figured I couldn’t lose anything and I was sitting in a giant parking lot on the interstate so I downloaded the app and turned it on. Sure enough, it showed my location and several people up ahead posted what was going on…a car fire. When we finally started moving, there was not one, but two burned out shells of cars alongside the highway. I’ll have to see if I can find a news story about it because it was pretty impressive. I have unlimited data on my cell phone so I kept Waze running. Whenever there was a hazard, a policeman, or even a pothole in the roadway, the app let me know with an electronic voice. I’ll be using it whenever I drive.
\nThe other thing I wanted to tell you about was this really cool tool I bought at Costco. I’ve been wanting a windshield mount for my cell phone and found a package of two at Costco when we were in Colorado. I gave one to Mr. FixIt for his truck and I put the other in mine. Now I can run Waze AND my GPS as I drive and have an unobstructed view of the road. I can answer calls hands free. I can even ask Siri to read my text messages and answer them by dictating and never take my eyes off the road.
\nIf you find yourself in Richmond, Indiana in need of RV services…see Matt Green at Camping World. If you need a great campsite that’s easily accessible, check out Grandpa’s Farm Campground. And if you want a really great meal, go to O’Charley’s. Excellent! There are my PSA’s of the day. Helpful hints for your traveling pleasure…and, I get to sleep in TOW-Wanda again!!! ❤️
\n“In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.”\nPsalms 4:8 ESV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-08-24T01:55:30-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/08/24/ahhhhindiana.html", "tags": ["Travel","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","Camping","The Grand Adventure","Fun","New Ideas","Wisdom"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/08/22/back-to-business-as-usual.html", "title": "Back to Business as Usual? Not so Fast!", "content_html": "
![\"Boxer](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/cfc6ed7bc4.jpg\")
\nOk, move along…nothing to see here. Just a boxer in some goggles…looking uber cool, I might add! This is Chloe. I met her and her human, Kelly, at Point Park yesterday. All weekend I’d been poo-pooing this whole eclipse madness as though the entire world had gone ‘round the bend. I was on my way back to the farm yesterday…fully intending to go home and mow, when I got a call that something I was having repaired was ready for pickup. I hadn’t gone far out the two-lane so I turned around and headed back. Mr. FixIt called and when he found out where I was, he came to join me. (Mr. FixIt would crawl through glass to see me. He told me so. ?) So, there we were, nothing to do, with a nearly total eclipse about to occur. And…I went silly!
\nI asked the clerk for a couple pieces of paper. I got a manila envelope with a large hole for the clasp. And, I punched a smaller one in it with an earring post. Whatever works, right? We took off for McDonalds to arm ourselves with cold drinks and headed for Point Park. It was hot! The light started to change. I wasn’t getting the right distance to get a clear picture with the pinhole projector I had jury rigged. There was a couple standing next to us that offered to share their eclipse glasses. A few others gathered. And for one glorious hour, we were treated to a taste of what life was like in the olden days. You know…pre-election. We had an awesome goal…share a cool experience and have fun! And then it hit me. THAT’S what the whole over-the-top, staggeringly silly, brouhaha was all about…these mega gatherings. We just wanted an escape. A reminder of our humanity. A reminder there is peace and goodness and kindness in the world. It filled me with hope of brighter days ahead.
\nWe have the power to turn this around…this sense of frustration and fear. It’s all about focus. What we focus on is what we see. Yesterday it was the sun. Today…what will it be? For me? I’m looking for joy. Joy created by others. And joy which I can create. C’mon…let’s change the story. Let’s go do the good stuff. Look at Chloe, The Boxer. She changed the story with a pair of shades! ❤️
\n“Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”\nPhilippians 2:4 ESV
\n", "date_published": "2017-08-22T01:55:18-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/08/22/back-to-business-as-usual.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Hope","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Growth","Grace","Love","Peace"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/08/20/umbraphilesthe-shadow-lovers.html", "title": "Umbraphiles...The Shadow Lovers", "content_html": "![\"Total](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/de028099c9.jpg\")
\nThey’ll chase an eclipse…clear across the ocean if they have to. They are umbraphiles. The Shadow Lovers. In 1972, Marcy Sigler chartered a ship, gathered 830 of her closest friends, and took off across the waters from\nNew York to Nova Scotia to chase the eclipse and make it last as long as possible. There won’t be another total solar eclipse viewable in the continental United States for 180 some odd years so there are, as you well have seen, a gazillion umbraphiles coming out of the closet.
\nThere are a lot of weird warnings out about the solar eclipse and it’s affect on everything from pregnancy to pets. An Indian newspaper recently warned women not to go outside during an eclipse to keep them from giving birth to a blind baby or one with a cleft lip. Eskimo women must place their cooking utensil upside down during an eclipse to ward off diseases. Also, some Indians wash their eyes out with urine during an eclipse to keep your eyes from ever hurting again.
\nI just received an e-mail from some veterinary outfit warning everyone to bring their pets into the house during a solar eclipse to prevent them from “looking up at the sun and being blinded”. Ok…is there a rash of beagles going outside at noon on any given day and staring at the sun? And if that’s the case, how about cats, and rats, and elephants? Actually, animals don’t take much notice of the sun. Pets may take notice of your excitement and react to that. You don’t need to put those cute little glasses on FiFi but if it will make you feel better, you can bring your pets in, draw the shades and let them watch the eclipse on television like respectable animals.
\nThat being said, there may be some behavioral changes in the animal kingdom. Birds that roost may become quiet and prepare for a nap while nocturnal creatures may get the signal to wake up. The darkest moments of the eclipse occurs so quickly though that those night critters will probably just yawn and turn over and go back to sleep.
\nNow, one very real thing that may occur is the decrease in electricity from all the solar arrays in the path of the eclipse. As more and more communities produce more and more solar energy, an eclipse may be more noticeable with decreased output…especially when the eclipse occurs during the summer and during peak energy use times of the summer. I’m not sure what will happen, but there some potential for disruption.
\nI was wondering if anyone has calculated the carbon footprint of the eclipse and how all the increased driving and production of waste would affect the environment. But maybe I’m just being too, you know, scientific here. It’s still a pretty cool event and if you have a chance to watch one, you really should. Just remember to never stare at the sun without the proper protection. Be safe and have fun tomorrow. We’ll talk Tuesday about what you did and what you saw! ❤️
\n“The sun and moon will be darkened, and the stars no longer shine.”\nJoel 3:15 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-08-20T01:55:38-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/08/20/umbraphilesthe-shadow-lovers.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Sisters on the Fly","Positive Energy","New Ideas","Peace","Wisdom","Peaceful Moments"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/08/17/my-hometown.html", "title": "My Hometown", "content_html": "
![\"Sunset](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e98d9cf5c9.jpg\")
\nThere was a time in my life when I didn’t think much of my home town. I considered it terribly backwoods in comparison to the metropolis of Denver. To my chagrin, I recall making disparaging comments about Parkersburg, and West Virginia in general to anyone and everyone. It’s a wonder they didn’t revoke my home state status and mark me down as “hatched from under a rock”. What can I say? I never rebelled as an adolescent. I saved it all for long after I should have known better.
\n![\"Parkersburg](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/531ac2c362.jpg\")
\nI remember making such comments to one of my oldest, dearest friends. We went to high school together and we’re “sisters of different parentage”. As a matter of fact, when I went off to live outside London for two years then settled in Denver, it was my high school friend who kept a close, personal friendship with my mom. She was a much better daughter to her in those days than I was. When I spoke ill of my fellow Mountaineers and this Wild and Wonderful state, she had some pretty stern words to say to me.
\n![\"Woman](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/cb39f24681.jpg\")
\n“You just remember where you came from, missy. I knew you when you had nothing, just like me!”
\nOh, she was so right. I was feeling pretty full of myself…a doctor’s wife and all. Like…small town girl does good. I was an ass. Plain and simple. And I’ve done my best to make up for it. As Maya Angelou said…“We do what we know. And when we know better, we do better.” These last three years, I’ve spent more time in West Virginia than I had in all of the forty years prior. I’ve grown to love and appreciate this rugged state filled with can-do, sturdy individuals. I still get frustrated sometimes when I see progress thwarted at every turn. But maybe staying a little backward is ok. Yeah, we have been hit hard with drug problems. Poverty, obesity, poor education run rampant. Plants and mines closing down. Towns with nothing for kids to do but make more kids that do nothing. But, at the base, there is this amazing depth of pride for coming up through the hard times and standing tall when they play the National Anthem at the Friday night football games at every high school in every county. The mountains run through our veins like the coal beneath our feet and we are a fiercely proud, fiercely independent, fiercely loyal group of people.
\n![\"Barges](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/bb044e3bee.jpg\")
\nLast night, as Mr. FixIt and I sat and watched the sun set over the Ohio River at Fort Boreman Park, we looked out over this town we grew up in. You could see where the houses sat on Quincy Hill where Mr. FixIt grew up. You could see Ohio across the river. I snapped photo after photo, trying to capture for you the essence of West Virginia…of Parkersburg…of my home town. In the end, it is in the peaceful colors of the setting sun that I see the famous blue and gold…West Virginia’s colors. And I realized that we are the river and the sky, the mountains and the valleys, the wooded hillsides and the amber fields. We will always be here. Montani Semper Liberi…Mountaineers are always free. ❤️
\n“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”\n2 Corinthians 3:17 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-08-17T01:55:11-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/08/17/my-hometown.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","West Virginia","Gratitude","Grace","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Humbled","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/08/15/a-change-in-the-air.html", "title": "A Change in the Air", "content_html": "
![\"Early](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/1b9f4b761c.jpg\")
\nEven though it is only the middle of August, there is a definite change in the air. There are leaves changing already and the woods have taken on the “tired green” of late summer, having spent their glorious stores of chlorophyll in the peak of summer. Yesterday dawned cloudy and relatively cool and soon the sky gifted us with a gentle rain that lasted most of the day. So much for mowing the lawn.
\nI’m sitting on the front porch at the farm as I write this, watching the goldfinches fight over the socks of thistle seeds. Boy Cat and Old Mama Kitty are keeping me company as I listen to the rain pattering on the leaves in the nearby woods. The sun is trying to break through and make its first appearance of the day, just shy of 5:00. Since I couldn’t mow, I drove to town and ran errands. I am hosting a Sisters on the Fly event September 7-10 and I needed to make arrangements. I have 23 women signed up so far and registration is still open if you would like to attend.
\nI felt much better today…stronger, better rested. I have been thinking about triggers and how they stimulate the grief response. At first, everything is a trigger. When you are in the acute stages of grief, your feelings are like a frayed electric cord, ready to shock you at the slightest touch. After some time, things even out a bit but it is still amazing how the tiniest thing can trigger grief. When you’ve had a long stretch without a meltdown, you can get a little complacent, thinking maybe you’re through all that. So it kind of takes you by surprise when a new wave comes. That was what I felt over the weekend.
\nAs I was driving through town yesterday, I was coming up to a stoplight when I heard an ambulance approaching. I stopped and waited for it to come through from my left and make the turn towards the hospital. There was an elderly man seated in the front passenger seat and I suddenly flashed back to the ambulance ride taking Mr. Virgo to the ER from the RV dealership where he had his heart attack. I hadn’t thought about that drive for quite some time. For a brief moment, my eyes met those of the man in the front seat and I recognized that panicked and confused look on his face. There was a slight set of the jaw that was familiar. “Ok, ok, ok….let’s get this done. Be strong. Just breathe.” At least, that’s what went through my mind when I was in his shoes.
\nI didn’t have a reaction to this trigger. I was prepared. It’ll be a while before I have another grief response, I imagine. I’m a bit more on guard now. That’s a relief of sorts. I hate when the wave comes unexpectedly. For now, I’ll sit on the porch and watch the rain as the light changes and the hummingbirds fight over the feeder…and wait for Mr. FixIt to call so I can start supper. History repeats itself and life goes on. ❤️
\n“And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful.”\nColossians 3:15 ESV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-08-15T01:55:29-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/08/15/a-change-in-the-air.html", "tags": ["Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/08/12/hand-in-glove.html", "title": "Hand in Glove", "content_html": "
![\"Summer](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e8f15bb98a.jpg\")
\nI fit here. West Virginia is just the right size and shape to accommodate all that is…me! We were sitting on the porch last night contemplating the “traffic” up this little country lane. Maybe a dozen or so cars and trucks have come and gone. The light turned that beautiful golden of August, giving the tired green of the trees a gilding that brings a little life back in their weary veins. Old Mama Kitty munched out on that bit of pork chop I surreptitiously dropped for her to try to keep her from climbing Mr. FixIt’s leg like a young sapling, disturbing our Friday “date night” dinner.
\nI love to cook. I didn’t for a long time, but cooking for an appreciative audience is delightful. Last night’s fare was pork chops, sauerkraut fried a golden brown, mashed potatoes, fresh corn on the cob, and home grown tomatoes. Oh my…be still my heart. Mr. FixIt rose to clear the table and rid up the dishes while I settled in to write this post. Norah Jones is crooning softly in the background. The air is still. A jet flies overhead, whisking happy travelers off to another place. Crickets, katydids, locusts, and tree frogs serenade us as we each settle in for our own interests for a bit.
\nWe are a perfect fit. A hand in glove relationship. Mr. FixIt comes out from cleaning my kitchen (seriously, is there anything sexier than a man cleaning a kitchen???) and taps me on the shoulder. He hands me a cherry flavored Tootsie Roll pop. I give him my brightest smile. He knows. He knows what I love. He listens. He cares.
\nHe got here about fifteen minutes before I woke up from my nap. He came in quietly, picked up the paper and settled into the rocker to read and wait for me to wake up. He would have waited much longer than fifteen minutes. He would never have disturbed my rest. When I got up and saw him in my dining room, I smiled and gave him a big kiss. I padded into the kitchen for a cold drink, and there…sitting in a jug of water…we’re two dozen beautiful copper-colored roses. Hand in glove. This man gets me.
\nLearning to love and appreciate this man has not taken anything away from my feelings for Mr. Virgo. If anything, it has kept that love alive and in the forefront in many ways. When Mr. FixIt does or says something sweet and loving, I smile knowing how Mr. Virgo would love the way this man treats “his best girl”. Not by way of comparison. Mr. FixIt is his own man and I love him for his own merits. But, two dozen roses? Letting me wake on my own? Doing the dishes? Bringing me a cherry flavored lollipop? Oh yes…this man fits me and I am ever so grateful for the honor of loving, and being loved, again.
\nI am home…and it isn’t all about the house, the land, the state, or even the man, really. No…it’s all about living comfortably in my skin and choosing the right guy to share it with. Hand in glove. Peace. ❤️
\n“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.”\nJohn 13:34 ESV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-08-12T01:55:47-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/08/12/hand-in-glove.html", "tags": ["Hope","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/08/10/road-trip-day-thirtysomethinghome-kinda.html", "title": "Road Trip: Day Thirty-Something...\"Home! Kinda.\"", "content_html": "
![\"Burned](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/d368c698dd.jpg\")
\nYesterday was lovely. We went out for breakfast then headed to Camping World to check on the trailer. They were still working on locating an axle. We elected to take the wheel with the nearly shredded tire to Walmart and get a new one. Easy peasy. Then, to kill some time, we went to New Paris and browsed the antique stores. By 4:00 we decided it was best to go check in on the trailer again. Bad news. The replacement axle isn’t sitting on a shelf someplace. They don’t make them until they’re ordered. And, they take ten days to make. So the camper won’t be ready for at least two weeks!
\nOk. Change of plans. It was already 4:30. We swung around back and emptied everything we would need out of the camper. We threw away any food that wouldn’t stay fresh in the fridge, even though they assured us they would keep the trailer plugged in. We stuffed as much as we could in the truck and headed to dinner at a dive along the highway. Then we left Richmond, Indiana and headed for Cleveland to pick up Mr. FixIt’s truck. He left it parked there when he flew to Colorado. We picked it up, filled both trucks with gas, stopped at McDonald’s for coffee and headed for home. It was 1:15 by the time we got to Parkersburg and it would have been another hour to the farm. I called Mr. FixIt behind me and said I’d had enough…so we stopped at his place and I’ll head on in the morning.
\nWe’ll go on another road trip in a couple of weeks and pick up TOW-Wanda. We’ll talk more tomorrow about how this fiasco happened and what to do to avoid it in the future. In the meantime, I’m done. Thank you, God…for protecting us and keeping us safe during our travels. ❤️
\n“The LORD makes firm the steps of the one who delights in him; though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the LORD upholds him with his hand.”\nPsalm 37:23-24 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-08-10T01:55:03-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/08/10/road-trip-day-thirtysomethinghome-kinda.html", "tags": ["Travel","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","Camping","The Grand Adventure","West Virginia","Gratitude","Grace","God"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/08/08/road-trip-day-thirtyonecamping-in.html", "title": "Road Trip: Day Thirty-One...\"Camping in Comfort!\"", "content_html": "
![\"Paulaner](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/85f8227926.jpg\")
\nOMGosh! After camping two nights in parking lots, Grandpa’s Farm Campground is just what the doctor ordered. Mr. FixIt and I were up at the crack of dawn and dragged our sorry butts into the IHOP for breakfast. Coffee, coffee, coffee. I slept maybe three pharmaceutically induced hours to the refrains of a hundred diesel engines idling all night. Ok, there were…like, twenty-five, ok? All I’m sayin’ is…it sounded like the 10th Armored Division were on maneuvers in my living room. Have I ever mentioned I’m grumpy in the mornings if I don’t sleep well and coffee is delayed by the briefest of moments? I thought not…I hate to tarnish my pristine reputation. Oy.
\nAfter breakfast, we sat down with the Atlas and the RV Campground Directory and figured out how long we wanted to drive today. It put us right in the vicinity of Richmond, IN…a very cute little burg. I was in Richmond when Daughter #1 graduated from college a few miles away in Oxford, Ohio at the Miami University. I stopped at this campground on my way out to Colorado this summer. It’s the one I found on a Saturday night when I was contemplating how sorry I was that I’d miss church the next morning, only to find out they have Campground Church every Sunday. It’s run by a lovely family. There is some road noise in the early evening, but it soon dies down after folks get home from work. There’s also a rushing stream along the edge of the campground that you can hear at night. AAA got me a discount and a full hookup site was $32.50. As soon as I got everything hooked up, I turned on the hot water heater so we could enjoy hot showers for the first time in three days! Heavenly!
\nBut, here’s the very coolest thing….Mr. FixIt DROVE for me all but the first hour. We were tooling along and I just hadn’t had enough sleep or enough coffee. We pulled into a service station, got my pillows and blankets out of the trailer, and I crawled into the passenger side and slept for two hours. When I woke up, I marveled at the decadence of having someone drive me around…pulling my camper with confidence, being just as careful of her as I am. It felt amazing…this giving over some control after having to do everything by myself for so long. The thing is, I kept hanging onto that control…long after I had a capable partner to help me. It was liberating in the totally opposite way of women’s liberation. It felt inclusive, a communal effort. And I was in hog heaven!
\nWe got to the campground by 3:00 which allows for so much more of an evening than midnight does. Mr. FixIt went for a walk while I wrote this post so we could just enjoy the evening without interruptions. We cooked a nice dinner and sat outside listening to the many sounds of the campground. What a precious treat this man is. Thank you God for safe travels. And thank You for bringing me such a wonderful man to enjoy! ❤️
\n“Sing to the LORD, all the earth; proclaim his salvation day after day. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.”\n1 Chronicles 16:23-24 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-08-08T01:55:34-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/08/08/road-trip-day-thirtyonecamping-in.html", "tags": ["Travel","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","The Grand Adventure","Fun","Gratitude","Grace","Love","God","Wisdom","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/08/04/road-trip-day-twentyeightdancing.html", "title": "Road Trip: Day Twenty-Eight...\"Dancing\"", "content_html": "
![\"Feet](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/2d7ade9888.jpg\")
\nI love listening to live music. We met Daughter #1 and the grands for dinner then attended the outdoor concert at Flatirons Crossing…a large mall in Louisville, CO. They left at intermission so when the band started up again, I led Mr. FixIt out on the dance floor for the second half. I love to dance, but my 64-year-old knees were screaming in protest before long. I’ll pay for it today, I’m afraid.
\nYesterday was spent running errands like getting the oil changed on the truck for the trip back. Today is cleaning, doing laundry, packing. We all get to attend Little’s presentation at the end of art camp this afternoon then one last family gathering before we head out in the morning. It’s been a fast month and I’ll miss my babies. I’m already planning our return trip around Christmas! I know this isn’t much of a post…just touching base as we tie up loose ends before we leave. ❤️
\n“Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him.”\nPsalm 127:3 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-08-04T01:55:04-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/08/04/road-trip-day-twentyeightdancing.html", "tags": ["Family","Travel","Strong Women","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","The Grand Adventure","Fun","Gratitude","Grace","Love","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/08/02/road-trip-day-twentysixon-sharing.html", "title": "Road Trip: Day Twenty-Six...\"On Sharing\"", "content_html": "
![\"Daisies\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/cba0e5e988.jpg\")
\nThere has been a major shift within me this trip. I wasn’t sure going into this vacation how I would react sharing the space that is mine in Colorado with both Mr. Virgo’s memory and Mr. FixIt’s presence. How would everything fit? At home on the farm in West Virginia, Mr. Virgo only occupies space in my mind and heart as well as what few tangible things I have kept that were his. Here, he lives in the mountains, he sits in the sunsets, he whispers in the wind that blows through the trees. He’s everywhere. Would he distract me too much? How would I feel entertaining two men…one very much here, the other very much real but not here?
\nI took this wonderful man to “meet” Mr. Virgo and I needn’t have worried. He respected my space. He listened intently. He waited patiently. And at the perfect moment, he walked up behind me, wrapped me in his arms and said, “I’m so sorry, Ginny. I know this was so hard for you. You’ve been through so much and you are very brave.” His arms were a comfort. My fingers intertwined with his as I leaned back against him. I felt his warm breath in my hair. For a moment, I remembered what this same position felt like with Mr. Virgo. Then I let it go…like a feather on a breeze…dancing and floating away from me.
\nTime has allowed me perspective and healing. Choice has brought me ever onward and upward. Prayer has given me strength where there was none. Mr. FixIt has given me…Love. Hope. Trust. Joy. Peace. Companionship. Friendship. Laughter. Stability. Comfort. Contact. Connection. I am grateful. This shift has a lot to do with all of the above. Sharing this space with my new love is helping me to, yet again, redefine its meaning. Redefine who I am…redefine my “status”. I know it’s different for everyone. For me, at four and a half years…it’s a choice. I choose love. It is my purpose in life. It is the one thing I am to practice, to hone my skill at. To emulate in a Christ-like way. Not just my love for Mr. FixIt or Mr. Virgo…but for everyone.
\nI’ve been asked when I will share a picture of Mr. FixIt with you. And the answer is…not in his lifetime. Not a definable picture, anyway. Distance, maybe. From the back, sure. His hands, definitely. He has the hands of a hard-working man and I love them. But I won’t be sharing his name or his face because those are mine. I share everything else with you…my pain, my fears, my hopes, my joys, my struggles, and my triumphs. I do so without reservation as this is my platform…my purpose. I share to spread love and promote healing. This one great thing…this glimpse into who he really is in real life…is the one tangible thing I will fervently protect.
\nYesterday was a day shared with loved ones. My heart is full. ❤️
\n“If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.”\n1 Corinthians 13:2-7 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-08-02T01:55:19-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/08/02/road-trip-day-twentysixon-sharing.html", "tags": ["Colorado","Family","Travel","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","The Grand Adventure","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Love","Peace","Wisdom","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/07/31/road-trip-day-twentyfourin-jesus.html", "title": "Road Trip, Day Twenty-Four...\"In Jesus' Name\"", "content_html": "![\"On](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/87bbb1d1c4.jpg\")
\nWhew….some Mondays we just have to go to church here at the Ranch. Especially when I’ve heard a sermon like yesterday. Let me tell you a little bit about how God works in my life. There’s a church here in Denver that I really like…Red Rocks Church. It’s very much like my home church in West Virginia…contemporary, progressive, energetic. I love it and couldn’t wait to take Mr. FixIt. Red Rocks Church has four campuses plus a prison outreach. One campus has the pastor live and all the others watch a live feed on the big screen in their respective churches. I usually go to the Arvada campus, but I really wanted Mr. FixIt to hear the sermon live. I was planning to drive down to the Littleton Campus in order to accomplish that. I’m always quick to get ready but yesterday I just couldn’t seem to get it together. I couldn’t believe it when I looked at the clock and saw we would be lucky to make it to the local satellite church. We made a bee line and got there in time to grab a cup of coffee and get seated. As we were walking into the sanctuary, a volunteer said, “You’re in for a treat today…the pastor is here live with an amazing message!” I couldn’t believe it. If we would have left on time to get to the other church, we would have been watching the pastor on the big screen! God fascinates me. His ways are so mysterious. His love is so complete.
\nThe message yesterday was about the Samaritan woman at the well again. The pastor spoke about five words and how they relate to all of us. Pain. Prison. Power. Platform. Purpose. The Samaritan woman had suffered pain…as we all have. She was living in a self-imposed prison of isolation as she avoided interacting with others. Then she had an encounter with Jesus at the well and experienced His power. She used her experiences of Pain, Prison, and Power as her Platform from which she could share her testimony. This allowed her to live her Purpose.
\nI don’t know about you, but I struggled for nearly sixty years trying to figure out what my purpose is in this life. I hadn’t done a very good job being a wife until my third marriage. I didn’t feel I had been a very good mother, although I tried and I did the best I could with the knowledge and experiences I possessed at the time. It wasn’t till I lost Mr. Virgo and spent three months in the wilderness and backroads of Colorado that I discovered my purpose is to love. To accomplish this, I have built this new life from the ashes of who I was before the fires of grief changed me.
\nThe pastor used an example of someone who has turned her pain into her platform. At seven years old, Gabriella has had more pain than you can imagine. After a diagnosis of leukemia, it has been this innocent child who teaches the doctors and nurses…and, anyone in earshot, really…about Jesus. She comforts her mother when she worries about her and says “Don’t worry…God’s got this!” As they were taking her into surgery to place the port for chemo, this brave little girl only said three words but she said them over and over for two hours before they wheeled her into the OR. “In Jesus’ name…In Jesus’ name…In Jesus’ name.” When the folks from the Make a Wish Foundation contacted Gabs and her parents to find out her wish, she couldn’t think of what to ask for. She didn’t need anything. Finally, after weeks of contemplation, she decided last Saturday what she wanted. She wanted to preach at Red Rocks Church. So, yesterday, this beautiful little angel…just a wisp of a thing in her flower halo…bravely marched out onto the stage in front of hundreds of strangers. She held her notes in one hand, the microphone in the other, and she told us about her friend, Jesus. And how He holds us in the palm of his hand. She said we don’t need to be afraid because when she was afraid before her chemo, it was Jesus who comforted her. She said that was why she had wanted to be “bapatized”…because she loved Jesus. I’m telling you…that was the most powerful service I have ever attended. There wasn’t a dry eye in the place and I was so grateful to have been in the front row to witness it live.
\nThe rest of the day was beautiful. We drove up to the top of Mt. Evans after church. At 14,134 feet elevation, we were quite literally in the clouds. After the power of witnessing the faith of that child, standing on top of the world seemed almost inconsequential. Afterward, we went to Central City for supper and to wait out the Sunday evening traffic returning to Denver. By the time we were back and told our stories of the day to our family, we were spent. Yes, some Mondays I just have to take you to church. This was one. ❤️
\n“And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.”\nJohn 14:13-14 NIV
\n#Jesus, #wisdom, #faith
\n", "date_published": "2017-07-31T01:55:55-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/07/31/road-trip-day-twentyfourin-jesus.html", "tags": ["Colorado","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Hope","Positive Energy","The Grand Adventure","Gratitude","Grace","Love","God","Peace","Wisdom","Humbled","Peaceful Moments","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/07/27/road-trip-day-twentyoneold-home.html", "title": "Road Trip: Day Twenty-one...\"Old Home Week\"", "content_html": "![\"Woman](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/f190147851.jpg\")
\nThere are moments in life that you would like to freeze and keep forever, aren’t there? Yesterday was just such a day. The part came in for the camper and Mr. FixIt went to pick it up while I packed up and got the camper ready to haul it to our next site. It was a really easy, short trip without any hills to speak of and we were there in no time. There was only one little glitch. The campsite I had reserved was a group site and there was someone coming to stay right beside us…which kind of defeated the point. Fortunately, there was another site nearby that was even better and we got set up quickly and headed to Marble for lunch at Slow Groovin’ BBQ. It was there I met Kevin from Grand Rapids, MI. Kevin is doing what many young college grads do…he’s finding his groove and he couldn’t have picked a better place than here! As many of these stories, it all started with a blown engine and this person knew that person and off he is on an adventure. (Note to Kevin’s mom…you raised a fine young man. He’s polite and friendly and has great dreams. I know you must be very proud of him. He says you worry. I understand but…he’ll be careful. He misses you and all his nieces and nephews.) Anyway, Kevin was a bright spot in our day and it was a delight to meet him.
\nAfter lunch, we headed to Glenwood Springs to listen to live music in the park. The Black Lillies from Nashville were the highlight of the night and they were awesome! This is my old stomping grounds. I moved here as a young doctor’s wife in 1986. I ran into people who have known me, supported me, and cheered me on through every incarnation I went through since then. It was such a treat to introduce Mr. FixIt to so many of my longtime friends. He had a blast!
\nToday we are off to explore Aspen! Stay tuned!!! ❤️
\n“I will sing to the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live.”\nPsalm 104:33 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-07-27T01:55:31-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/07/27/road-trip-day-twentyoneold-home.html", "tags": ["Colorado","Travel","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","Camping","The Grand Adventure","Fun","Gratitude","Love","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/07/22/road-trip-day-sixteentour-director.html", "title": "Road Trip: Day Sixteen...\"Tour Director\"", "content_html": "
![\"Rocky](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/3b476ed484.jpg\")
\nI get the biggest kick out of showing people places they’ve never seen…especially when it’s a place I love so much. Colorado was my home for forty years and it’s truly spectacular. Mr. FixIt has never been here so I’m having a blast watching him explore. Yesterday we went up to Rocky Mountain National Park. We no sooner got there till the skies opened up and a major thunderstorm blew in. I pulled into the parking area at Sheep Lake and turned off the engine. Mr. FixIt asked what we were looking at. I pointed up high in the mountains and said, “See that lightning? That’s where we’re going. I’m going to wait till it breaks up a bit.” He looked up at the high peaks and I could read a lot on his face. “Cool!” “Man, that’s high!” “I’ve got the coolest girlfriend on the planet!” Well, ok…I could be projecting that last part. lol
\nOnce the storm let up a little, we proceeded on through the park and turned right to go up Old Fall River Road. To me, that’s the only way to approach Trail Ridge Road from the east. We drove past the site where the flash flood several years ago brought down an alluvial fan for the record books. Shortly after the falls at the fan, you jog to the right and start up the mountain on a narrow, single lane dirt road with no guard rails. Majesty comes into view at every turn, be it waterfalls or sheer drop offs, abundant wildlife or above-treeline vistas. Mr. FixIt said his neck hurt from flipping his head back and forth trying to take it all in. The road is seven-and-a-half miles long and with all the stops and pulling over to let the faster cars by, it took five hours. But, that included a stop for coffee at the restaurant at the top of Trail Ridge Road. It was 49 degrees and really windy at the top. You seriously feel like you’re on top of the world up there. Mr. FixIt was beside himself!
\nWe are staying with my kids, grandkids, and son-in-law’s parents in a historic hotel and have the whole place to ourselves. We got back in time last night to grill burgers and have salad and corn on the cob. Summer is such a wonderful time of year. Mr. FixIt kept thanking me all day for showing him such a good time. It is so incredibly sweet when you’re on the happy side of life, isn’t it? To be appreciated…and told so??? What a gift that we get to give away to each other! Life is so good! ❤️
\n“In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him.”\nPsalm 95:4 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-07-22T01:55:38-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/07/22/road-trip-day-sixteentour-director.html", "tags": ["Colorado","Family","Travel","Uplifting Stories","Positive Energy","The Grand Adventure","Fun","Gratitude","Grace","Love"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/07/21/road-trip-day-fifteen-focus.html", "title": "Road Trip: Day Fifteen \"Focus\"", "content_html": "![\"Moose\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/2ba5b7f1aa.jpg\")
Moose
I am in my fifth year writing this blog. The original page was intended to showcase art jewelry I was making out of antique silverware and maps. Then Mr. Virgo died and it morphed into a grief blog. I dealt solely with the monumental task of putting one foot in front of the other and surviving that horrid loss. In an effort to cope, I put something joyful in front of me in the form of a small camper and a group of spunky women who liked to travel and have adventures. The focus gradually shifted from the darkness of death to the possibility of living after loss and eventually I started breathing again. With each stage of grief, with each right of passage, with each new thing, the focus of my writing has shifted to accommodate the change du jour.
\nA reader commented yesterday that my site has “lost its focus”. I had to sit down and give myself a good self-examination. For what seemed like an eternity, the only thing I could talk about was pain and death and grief and darkness. Thank God that’s not the focus of all my writing any more. It means I’m healing. So, what IS the “focus of my site”? Trailers, camping, travel, Girl Campers and Sisters on the Fly? Not entirely. My family in Colorado and West Virginia? Somewhat. The farm and the cats? Sometimes. God and how He has touched my life and moved mountains? Much of the time. My writing is all of these things and more. I’m part storyteller, part preacher, part analyst, part therapist. I’m part comedienne, part realist, part widow, part mom. Because that’s what life is…it’s 10,000 things all at once so I write about the 10,000 things and try to make some sense of it all. Because out there…somewhere out there is a widow that’s hurting, a wife who was left, a child who was molested. And somewhere in here is a story that just might help one of them, whether it seems unfocused or not.
\nWhile the subject matter of my blog has indeed varied over the years, my focus has not. My focus is to help people in any way I can. To be of service. To quote John Keats, “Love is my religion…”. I will admit, writer’s block has me occasionally writing diary-like posts a la Bridget Jones. And this new, wild and wonderful love story I’ve got going on here is distracting, to say the least. I take constructive criticism to heart and I will try to write more focused essays in the future. I have no problem hearing constructive criticism. We all have room for improvement. ❤️
\n“Whoever heeds life-giving correction will be at home among the wise.”\nProverbs 15:31 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-07-21T01:55:09-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/07/21/road-trip-day-fifteen-focus.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","New Ideas","Gratitude","Grace","Love","God","Wisdom","Humbled"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/07/20/road-trip-day-fourteenmy-person.html", "title": "Road Trip: Day Fourteen...\"My Person\"", "content_html": "
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/c8844e1c7a.jpg\")
\nI’ve been holding my breath for months now. I wanted to talk to you about it, but I couldn’t. It was really complicated and it was scary and it had to do with Mr. FixIt and I hadn’t told you about him yet. I was still trying to figure out how to introduce a new character into our little story here without changing the dynamic so much that you ran away in droves. Come to find out, I needn’t have worried about that. Everyone has been so wonderful and supportive of my new love and I am so grateful. So, now I can tell you the other half of the story.
\nMr. FixIt and I hadn’t been seeing each other romantically very long when he had an annual physical and some blood tests came back abnormal. The doctor wanted to wait three months and then repeat the lab work and this time it was even worse. He referred us to a specialist and Mr. FixIt had a series of tests. One of the possible diagnoses was leukemia. My heart both sank through the floor and jumped out of my chest. This was my biggest fear…that I would fall in love with this wonderful man and be over-the-moon happy only to have him get sick and die on me. Leukemia. Just thinking the word made me physically ill. And Mr. FixIt was flat out devastated that he just found happiness and the rug could get pulled out from under us. He hated that this scared me to death. It scared him, too.
\nHe had a bone marrow biopsy and after waiting three weeks, we finally heard the news we had been praying for. It is NOT leukemia! Thank you, Jesus! That’s the good news. The bad news is we still don’t know exactly what it is, because there IS something going on. But our doctor contacted the specialist at West Virginia University and they both agreed to watch and wait six months and repeat the tests then.
\nI let out my breath. This man has become so important to me. He has stolen my heart. We’ve known each other since we were kids. We’ve always been great friends. That came first. But to fall in love, to open my heart again and to love so deeply after the profound loss of Mr. Virgo…only to lose again? I couldn’t bear the thought. I prayed…fervently. I asked others to pray…unspoken prayers, specific prayers, prayers for healing. “Please, don’t let it be cancer!” “Please heal him.” “If he’s sick, let it be something easily controlled and non-life threatening.” Denying. Bargaining. In his favor, Mr. FixIt is extremely healthy, walks 5-6 miles a day, has purposefully lost sixty pounds, and eats a healthy diet. I can’t help but think, whatever this is, it can’t be too awfully bad or he wouldn’t be this healthy. So I’ll breathe. I will relax a little. I didn’t realize how wound up I was till I heard the doctor on the other end of the line in our phone conference Tuesday.
\nAnd now, my sweetheart is here with me! Oh…standing in the greeting area of DIA yesterday, my heart leapt with joy when I saw this handsome man, this lean and lanky guy with the graying red hair, my best friend in the whole wide world coming up the escalator! I could hardly wait to get a hold of him. Our good news of the day before underlining the poignancy of the moment. What would I have done? What if it would have been the worst case scenario? It is not unreasonable for my widow-mind to go there because I’ve been there before. Well…I’ve had a little time to think about those “what ifs”. And I’ll tell you what. Our love is long term. Platonic for the majority of our lives…romantic for only the last few months. It doesn’t matter. When you love someone, and you are dealt a blow, there is only one thing to do…you just hold hands and walk into the fire. Together.
\nWe are grateful we have each other at this time in our lives. We celebrate this wonderful chance at love. We thank God for his bountiful blessings. We put our trust in Him for He has plans for us. ❤️
\n“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. I will be found by you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the LORD, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.””\nJeremiah 29:11-14 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-07-20T01:55:37-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/07/20/road-trip-day-fourteenmy-person.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Grief","Prayer","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Gratitude","Grace","Love","God","Wisdom","Aging","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/07/18/road-trip-day-twelvehe-sent.html", "title": "Road Trip: Day Twelve...\"He Sent Me Birds\"", "content_html": "
![\"Two](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/9cf889e03b.jpg\")
\nSometimes it takes a couple days of cogitation before I recognize a sign. You’ve heard me say many times that Mr. Virgo sends me birds to let me know he is near. Strictly speaking, souls in Heaven have no connection to us here on earth. Dogma dictates our loved ones cannot see or contact us. I can’t quote you a scripture to support this, but I would not doubt there is one. That being said, since the Discovery Channel has not sent a team of investigators and a film crew to the other side and brought back photographic evidence of what Heaven is like, I prefer to believe our loved ones can and do watch out for us. It gives me hope. I physically saw Mr. Virgo’s spirit leave his body. I know for a fact the spiritual realm is real. Therefore, I believe he sends me birds.
\nThe first such occurrence happened early on after Mr. Virgo died unexpectedly of a heart attack. It was late summer and I had recently returned from my three month sojourn in the wilderness and backroads of Colorado. For the first eighteen months, I brought a good sized rock to place around the perimeter of Mr. Virgo’s grave. I had just placed several rocks from my trip and sat back in the car next to his grave so I could get out of the sun. I was overcome with grief and laid my head on the steering wheel and sobbed…that loud, raspy, snotty cry that comes in the early weeks and months after such a profound loss. As I started to regain some control, I heard a bird…fairly close…singing. I looked to my left, and there…on the boundary post not three feet from me…was a mountain bluebird. He was looking straight at me, singing his bluebird song, and tilting his head this way and that as he watched me…intently. I held my breath, afraid to move because I didn’t want to scare him away. He stayed there for the longest time, then finally flew off into a thicket across the road.
\nFor months, every time I went to the cemetery, bluebirds would come. First one, then two…then five, eight, twelve! Flocks of bluebirds! One warm spring day a year after Mr. Virgo’s death, I had the door open and my feet propped up on the door handle. Suddenly, three bluebirds swooped down and landed on the top of the open door. Two more flew in and rested on the side view mirror. I was stunned! As I traveled, birds would come sit near me. One morning in Missouri, as I was programming my GPS, I heard a tap, tap, tapping on the driver’s side window. I looked and there was a goldfinch sitting on the little edge of door, tapping on the glass. This has continued on and on…for four and a half years.
\nSaturday night, I had a dream. A nightmare, really. Mr. Virgo is seldom in my dreams. As a matter of fact, my dream life has largely vanished since his death. But Saturday night, he came and sat on my bed. He looked at me and said he was leaving. I woke up in tears. It felt like a “breaking up with you” kind of leaving. It tugged at the far corners of the abandonment issues I have largely put to rest. It didn’t feel good and made me a little sad. Then, Sunday night…the owls came. Two BIG Great Horned Owls…in the daylight…in a highly urban area…50 feet from me. They sat there in the tree for twenty minutes or so…softly hooting…when first one, then the other, soared on silent wings off to another area. It didn’t really occur to me that Mr. Virgo could have sent those owls…until the second dream.
\nSunday night, he came again. This time he was…softer somehow. Hazy. Ethereal. His voice was thinner…farther off. Again, Mr. Virgo told me he was going away. This time it felt…kinder, gentler. I woke up and lay there in the dark. This didn’t feel like abandonment. This felt like putting the binding on a quilt, tucking the ends in neat and tidy before placing the anchor stitch. Mr. Virgo was saying goodbye. I’ve felt him with me many times in the last four and a half years. Little has seen him. She told me every time he looks at me, he smiles. She was six at the time. I think he knows I’m really, truly ok. I think he knows I’m safe with Mr. FixIt. I think he knows he doesn’t have to watch over me anymore. Does this mean my grief is “over”? No…it means it’s morphed into yet another form. This shape-shifting beast has been largely tamed at this point. It will raise its head every now and again, but for the most part…it is healed. Scarred, but healed. Maybe this has more to do with ME letting go.
\nI will always notice the birds and I will smile in remembrance. But, I will never again think of them as coming from Mr. Virgo. ❤️
\n“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”\nHebrews 4:16 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-07-18T01:55:04-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/07/18/road-trip-day-twelvehe-sent.html", "tags": ["Colorado","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Hope","Positive Energy","The Grand Adventure","Gratitude","Love","Wisdom","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/07/17/road-trip-day-elevenyou-are.html", "title": "Road Trip: Day Eleven...\"You Are Worthy\"", "content_html": "
![\"1](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/506ac1d14a.jpg\")
\nOk, we’re going to church here in a little bit…fair warning. But first, I want to share something cool that happened. As I settled in TOW-Wanda last night after a fun-filled day with the family, I heard the soft hoot of an owl. A Great Horned Owl, to be precise. I jumped up and quietly opened the camper door only to see a pair of huge owls sitting in the tree about 50-60 feet away from where I stood…in awe, I might add. This is not something one sees ordinarily. Not in the daylight and not in a large urban area. I wish Little could have been here…she is really into Harry Potter right now. She would have loved to see the owls.
\nLittle went to church with me and really had a wonderful time. She enjoyed the worship team. She brought up points from the sermon during the day and told me I need to take her whenever I go there. We went to a friend’s house in the afternoon to help her paint her kitchen then, after a little quiet time in the afternoon, we attended a graduation party. It was a beautiful day.
\nYesterday’s sermon was about the Samaritan woman at the well. The story goes, Jesus is waiting by a well while his disciples went for food. It was noon when a Samaritan woman came to the well to draw water. Jesus asked her to draw a drink for him and she objected. Jews and Samaritans did not mix company. The pastor has, of course, read this passage countless times, but recent events altered his interpretation. Last week, he and his family went on a trip to Africa to check on Missionaries they are working with. One morning, they went to the well at the base of a mountain and it was crowded with women and children from the villages above…filling their water containers to haul back up the mountain to their homes. Just to survive. And the next day and the next would find them doing the same thing. One would think the drudgery of hauling heavy loads of water back up the mountainside would create a dismal mood at the well. But, that wasn’t the case. There was much laughter, hugging, the sharing of news and stories among this community of women. This was their only social outlet…their only time to get the love and support we all so desperately need in our lives. Then they headed home, their containers full, till they descended the next morning.
\nAs the pastor watched this activity, he thought of the Samaritan woman and a line from the scripture struck him in a way it never had before. It said the woman came to the well at about noon. Now, noon is the hottest time of the day. No one would come to the well at such a time and try to haul heavy containers of water. Why would she have chosen to come when the others were not there? What was going on in her life that would cause her to forego a sense of community. His answer lay in the rest of the scripture. The Samaritan woman had been married and divorced five times. She was living with a man who was not her husband. She was well aware of what the others thought of her and she just couldn’t face the scrutiny, the judgement, the name-calling and whispers. She was ashamed. She felt unworthy. Till she had a chance encounter with Jesus and He taught her that her worth comes from God…not from the opinions of others. That she was just as worthy in His eyes as any other.
\nHow many times have you felt unworthy? How many times have you avoided interactions with others out of fear of condemnation? How many times have you shut down simply because it was easier than facing what others throw at you? I know I spent far too many years feeling unworthy of love, of respect, of kindness. The child of an alcoholic, the victim of childhood sexual abuse at the hands of two different men…these things set me up for low self-esteem and all the resultant destructive behaviors one does to cope. It wasn’t until I felt the unconditional love of a Father I had never known that I began to recognize my worth. I believe God sent Mr. Virgo to talk some sense into me and love some of that pain away.
\nYou are worthy. You are loved. Don’t let anyone ever tell you that you are “less than” or “unloveable”. It simply is not true. God doesn’t want you to wait till you have your act together to come talk with Him. He loves you exactly where you are, exactly how you are, in spite of what is going on in your life. That is the message from the sermon yesterday and I just felt I needed to share that with you today. It’s Motivation Monday…time to straighten up your crown and own your worth today, dear ones. ❤️
\n“With this in mind, we constantly pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling, and that by his power he may bring to fruition your every desire for goodness and your every deed prompted by faith. We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.”\n2 Thessalonians 1:11-12 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-07-17T01:55:28-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/07/17/road-trip-day-elevenyou-are.html", "tags": ["Travel","Uplifting Stories","Prayer","Hope","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","The Grand Adventure","Gratitude","Love","God","Wisdom"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/07/16/road-trip-day-tenshe-is.html", "title": "Road Trip: Day Ten...\"She Is My Crown\"", "content_html": "
![\"Girl](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/ef66f15d76.jpg\")
\nDear God in Heaven…thank you for bringing this small human into my life! She and her sister are the delights of my life. Yesterday was our semi-annual “Nana and Little’s Day of Fun!” Each grandchild gets to pick and choose what they want to do with Nana, where and what they want to eat, and how the day and night will play out. Big is thirteen now so we pretty much go shopping and have lunch although last summer she did want to go to the Denver Aquarium with me. Little is only ten and she is still all about the fun we can have. Her day is always centered around shopping, doing a craft or baking, and a sleepover in TOW-Wanda. She told everyone at the mall what the significance of the day was and what we’ve done and what we’re going to do. She’s like me…gregarious, funny, creative. Her sister is the thinker, brilliant, caring…strong and tender.
\nLittle always comes up with the funniest things. She is deep and profound and hilariously, seriously funny. Our first stop was 2nd & Charles…a bookstore where you can sell or trade your old books, movies, CD’s…even vinyl. There are three bins out front filled with free stuff. Yesterday, I picked up a book by Michael Moore, a cookbook with gluten free recipes, a Dr. Who Christmas Ornament still in the box, and Audubon’s Field Guide on Insects and Spiders of North America. Not a bad haul. As little and I rummaged through what was left in the bins, she came across a coloring activity sheet from either a Sunday School or Vacation Bible School. Jesus was standing with several children and someone had placed a sticker over his mouth. Little turned to me and said…“Nana…I can’t tell if this is Jesus or a Jedi.” For some reason that just totally cracked us both up and the more we laughed, the funnier it got. Joy…sheer joy. This is my reward for being puked on at 3:00am…for putting up with a sassy pants teenaged girl…for the pain of letting her grow and get married and move to the opposite end of the country. This. This sweet child and her sister.
\nLast night was dinner out with the other grandparents and a viewing of the first Harry Potter movie with popcorn. We “camped” in the driveway in TOW-Wanda. This morning is church with my girl. My heart is so full. ❤️
\n“Children’s children are a crown to the aged, and parents are the pride of their children.”\nProverbs 17:6 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-07-16T01:55:59-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/07/16/road-trip-day-tenshe-is.html", "tags": ["Colorado","Family","Travel","Uplifting Stories","Hope","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","The Grand Adventure","Fun","Gratitude","Love","Wisdom","Aging"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/07/15/road-trip-day-ninechill.html", "title": "Road Trip: Day Nine...\"Chill\"", "content_html": "
![\"Stop](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/aebb8b214f.jpg\")
\nWhile traveling in a camper, one must stay on top of housekeeping tasks or things soon spiral out of control. Living in a small space requires planning and organization…both monumental tasks for this poor Gemini mind of mine. I would just as soon drop everything and chase butterflies, but the pile of dishes in the sink and the basket of laundry in the corner were calling my name yesterday. Actually, I don’t really mind a day of puttering around the “house”. It gives me ample time to visit, contemplate, plan, and write. There are some things I’ve wanted to research online the last week or so and this little bit of down time allowed me to do that.
\nThis fall, Dominion Gas will begin construction on a compressor station about a mile or so beyond the back property line of the farm. I’ve driven past them and they are noisy beasts but I’ve never really known how they work or what they are used for. A week or two ago, I posted a video here of a jack pump on a gas well head. These pumps feed gas in small lines to a larger compressor station that presses the gas, squeezing out the air molecules, and allowing the gas to flow through larger lines. Without the compressor, pipelines would have to be huge in order to accommodate the volume of gas that needs to flow through them. The problems lie in some of the safety issues involved in mechanically compressing highly volatile natural gas. Compressor station and large gas line explosions are not unheard of. There was a large gas line explosion on I-77 a couple of years ago and it literally melted the highway and damaged an overpass. There are some issues with health effects of these compressor stations and I’ll be doing more research on that.
\nThere are a lot of things that can go wrong with something like a compressor station. There are a lot of things that can go wrong with every scenario we face in life. After I do due diligence and I’m satisfied with the answers to the questions I have about this new construction so close to my family farm, I’ll be able to let that go and deal with the next thing. This was not always the case with me. I spent far too much of my life walking a tightrope of fear. Fear of the unknown…the what-ifs…kept me paralyzed a lot of the time. I have elected to opt out of so many things that could very easily have brought me much joy and certainly could have broadened my horizons simply because I was afraid of what could go wrong. I think there are many of us who do that. I think being a widow could have certainly exacerbated my fears. As a matter of fact…it did for much of the first year, year and a half. I still have to make a conscious effort to make the choice to be excited about what can go right.
\nI used to be so pessimistic. I think a lot of my fear was driven by my need to be in control at all times. If I always exercised caution, we would all be safe. If I could keep myself and those I love from doing anything vaguely dangerous, I wouldn’t have to feel the pain of loss or injury. Then Mr. Virgo died. And I realized I had no control. Not even a semblance of control. I can’t keep bad things from happening to those I love or to myself for that matter. All I can do is pray for safety and look for the ways every situation might be used for joy and for the glory of God. Walking a path of love and joy and hope is far more fulfilling than looking for every way in which things can go wrong.
\nAnd, things WILL go wrong. It is, after all, the nature of things. It’s how we react when things go wrong that makes a difference in the peace we can feel in this life. Let go. Let God do His thing. Exercise caution…let go of fear. A fine line. A tightrope. But one well worth practicing. ❤️
\n“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise— in God I trust and am not afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?”\nPsalm 56:3-4 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-07-15T01:55:14-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/07/15/road-trip-day-ninechill.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Positive Energy","Wisdom"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/07/14/road-trip-day-eightwhat-a.html", "title": "Road Trip: Day Eight...\"What a Feeling!\"", "content_html": "
![\"Altitude](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/cad48fb165.jpg\")
\nThere’s nothing like feeling really good after feeling really bad. I was so miserable Wednesday…too tired, too much junk food, too much altitude, not enough water and I was laid low. Nancy, one of my Colorado readers, sent me a message yesterday first thing and suggested I try to find some “Altitude Adjustment”…a nutritional supplement that helps your body adjust to the changes our bodies go through at elevation. I don’t know the science behind it, but if they told me twirling a chicken over my head would have made me feel better, I’d have been heading to the nearest barnyard. I was willing to try anything because I didn’t want to spend another day miserable. Nancy even offered to meet me halfway to deliver some if I needed her to. I called the number on the back of the package from the picture she sent and got the name of the nearest store that carried Altitude Adjustment and took it right away. I drank three bottles of water. My son-in-law’s mom insisted I eat something and made me an egg sandwich. And within an hour, I felt great. I spent the day out with my daughter and grandchildren and last night we all got together to celebrate birthdays and an anniversary. It was a great day!
\nAlso, my latest post on the Sisters on the Fly Blog series “Getting Bolder” went live yesterday. It is always so exciting to see that! You can catch it here…
\nwww.sistersonthefly.com/getting-b…
\nThank you for your kind words of support yesterday. I never feel entirely alone with God..and all of you out there! ❤️
\n“But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.””\n2 Chronicles 15:7 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-07-14T01:55:27-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/07/14/road-trip-day-eightwhat-a.html", "tags": ["Family","Travel","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Sisters on the Fly","Positive Energy","The Grand Adventure","Fun","Gratitude"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/07/12/road-trip-day-sixi-made.html", "title": "Road Trip: Day Six...\"I Made It!\"", "content_html": "
![\"GPS\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/7bc6c31b38.jpg\")
\nOMGosh! I thought it was going to take forever to get here. With the long drive day on Monday, I was sure hoping today would go better. My good friend Diane called me Monday night and said, “I’m waiting to read about the fun part in this. Why on earth are you doing this if it’s so miserable?” And, my answer depends on when you ask. If you would have asked me Monday evening, I’d be hard pressed to come up with a good reason. But, if you asked me Thursday and Friday when I was camping with my gal pals, I’d tell you that’s the best. And if you ask me right this minute while TOW-Wanda is tucked in the shade at Ben and Sue’s house and my grandkids are here, I’d tell you this is the best. And, on the 24th, when Mr. FixIt and I head to the high country to camp for a week, I’ll tell you that’s the best. I will tell you this…the very worst day pulling a camper cross-country through Kansas in July at 103 degrees with no air conditioning STILL beats the very best day at work…hands down!
\nYesterday wasn’t as windy so the trailer wasn’t getting buffeted around so it was a much easier drive. It wasn’t quite so hot. It was a relatively short drive day. And, I slept eleven hours Monday night so I was rearing to go! I love a road trip…even when things don’t always go smoothly. It presents me with opportunities to work out problems on my own. And, even though I have this wonderful man in my life now, I’ll still be traveling on my own sometimes. It’s what I do. I’m not giving that part of my new life away. I’m accommodating Mr. FixIt INTO my new life, just as he is accommodating me into his.
\nAs I was driving along yesterday morning, I finally came across a Starbucks that was easily accessible. Yay! But what I found in the truck stop store was a bigger WOW! I love those big truck stop stores. They always have hard-to-find accessories. When I was in the wreck in February, everything made it out of my truck except the piece that attaches my Garmin GPS to the windshield. I had jury rigged something that sort of worked until the afternoon sun melted the adhesive. I found the replacement piece in that truck stop store yesterday and I was ecstatic! Problem solved. And, this mount is even better than the original! Score!
\nI’m really looking forward to some lay-low days with family this week. I want to thank God first and foremost for travel mercies and thank all of you for your prayers and love and light sent out for my protection. I didn’t even see a single fender bender. God is the best and you all are, too! ❤️
\n“Here’s what will happen. While you’re out among the nations where GOD has dispersed you and the blessings and curses come in just the way I have set them before you, and you and your children take them seriously and come back to GOD, your God, and obey him with your whole heart and soul according to everything that I command you today, GOD, your God, will restore everything you lost; he’ll have compassion on you; he’ll come back and pick up the pieces from all the places where you were scattered. No matter how far away you end up, GOD, your God, will get you out of there and bring you back to the land your ancestors once possessed. It will be yours again. He will give you a good life and make you more numerous than your ancestors.”\nDeuteronomy 30:1-5 MSG
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-07-12T01:55:03-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/07/12/road-trip-day-sixi-made.html", "tags": ["Colorado","Family","Travel","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","The Grand Adventure","Fun","Gratitude","God"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/07/11/road-trip-day-fiveso-near.html", "title": "Road Trip: Day Five...\"So Near, Yet So Far\"", "content_html": "
![Battery powered \"air conditioner\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/19aac89110.jpg\")
\nWhen I hooked up my camper Sunday night at the Kan-Do Kampground in Montgomery City, Missouri, the temp was in the 90’s and I was hot and tired. However, no matter what I tried, the air conditioning in TOW-Wanda would not come on. Therefore, the only things I had to cool me off were two fans and the exhaust fan in the bathroom. That drew the heat out somewhat, but still, I didn’t get to sleep till around midnight. I woke up at 2:30 yesterday morning and try as I might, further sleep eluded me. I laid there till the sky started to lighten around 5:00 then I got up and started putting stuff away, got dressed, closed the windows, and unhooked the camper from the water and electric. I pulled out at 6:15 and headed east in the cool of the day…73 degrees. It was rather windy on the plains so my top speed was 55 most of the day. Gas/pit stops were brief and I finally pulled into a rest area around 12:30 to stretch out for a 30 minute power nap. Only problem was…it was 92 degrees by then and the camper was stifling. All of a sudden, I had a brilliant idea. Gail, one of the Girl Campers had a little fan she let me borrow the second night at Beaver Creek State Park when I didn’t have electricity. The fan had a small drawer that you put ice in and the air cooled as it blew over it. I went to my freezer in my camper, took out two frozen bottles of water and a frozen cooler insert and sat them in front of my battery powered fan. It worked like a charm and offered me about 30 minutes of cool air which was delightful. Once I started losing the chill, I popped everything back in the freezer, put the fan away, and got back on the road. I drove till 4:30pm and just didn’t have it in me to go another five hours from Hays, Kansas to the Denver suburbs. I pulled into a name-brand hotel, negotiated my best deal, parked the camper, and was safely ensconced in my room by 5:00…a bubble bath drawn. The temperature was a staggering 100 degrees and I refused to take the chance of finding a campsite and not having AC. The campsites aren’t great out here anyway. I brought some food in from the kitchen in the camper and wrote this early so I could roost with the chickens. Today is another day. I’ll get there rested instead of having to sleep all day. Today is Daughter #1’s birthday!!! The truck and camper did fine yesterday, but I had forgotten how much work this big camper is to pull. I’m looking forward to having the little vintage camper refurbished and I can take it instead of this big one. I’ll catch up with you tomorrow! Thank you, Lord…for the travel mercies thus far. ❤️
\n“in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”\nProverbs 3:6 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-07-11T01:55:56-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/07/11/road-trip-day-fiveso-near.html", "tags": ["Colorado","Travel","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","Camping","The Grand Adventure","Fun","Gratitude"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/07/10/road-trip-day.html", "title": "Road Trip: Day 4", "content_html": "![\"Trim](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/1636bc7ec3.jpg\")
\nThis is the part of the trip where I’m always ready to be there yet I have a long way to go. It would be one thing if I were just meandering along without an agenda, but I’ve got grandbabies to see and I’m ready to be there NOW! Between not being able to drive over 60 (you shouldn’t drive over 65 while towing anyway!) and all the construction zones at 45-55mph, this trip feels like it takes forever. I always stop every four hours, stretch, get a bite to eat, use the facilities, and stretch out on the bed for a power nap of 30 minutes or so. When I stopped at 5:30 yesterday, I walked around to the passenger side of the camper and about a third of the trim over the wheel well was flapping in the breeze. I took it off then went to Walmart for a package of nuts and bolts to screw it back on securely. By the time I was done with all that, it was after 8:00. I started watching for signs for campgrounds and before long I had a site secured in Kan-Do Kampground. I really enjoyed speaking with the owner at checkin…she was a hoot!
\nIt was pretty hot and stuffy when I pulled in so as soon as I got the electric hooked up, I flipped on the AC and…nothing. The switch “hesitated” a couple of times last year so I imagine it needs fixed. It seems like an awful lot of “bugs” are showing up this year. I don’t know if that’s normal or not, but I don’t like it.
\nChurch yesterday morning was very nice. A lot of people attended. I’m going to try to get an early start this morning but don’t know if I’ll make it all the way to Denver today. Safety first! ❤️
\n“But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.””\n2 Chronicles 15:7 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-07-10T01:55:17-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/07/10/road-trip-day.html", "tags": ["Travel","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","Camping","The Grand Adventure","Fun","Gratitude","goRVing","Love","Wisdom"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/07/07/on-the-road-again.html", "title": "On the Road Again!", "content_html": "
![\"www.marshmallowranch.com\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/c54c3a3815.jpg\")
\nOh, I love a good surprise! Some of the local Girl Campers gathered to surprise our fearless leader, Head Girl Camper Janine Pettit yesterday. She and fellow Girl Camper Mari pulled into the campground to find half our crew sitting around the picnic table. The other half arrive tomorrow. Janine was so excited…she jumped out of her truck and squealed and did the happy dance right there. She called me to catch up Wednesday and I never let on I’d be waiting for her yesterday when she pulled in. I told her I was leaving for Colorado instead. What a fun surprise!
\n![\"Girl](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/c3f3bf0404.jpg\")
\nCamping in the rain. It’s sloppy and chilly and such a respite from the intense heat and humidity we’ve had this past week. I really don’t mind it. I didn’t unhook the camper as I am more than likely heading west this morning…depending on the weather. If it looks like severe storms in the Midwest, I may stay here one more day. I love sleeping to the sound of rain on a camper roof! I hardly slept Wednesday night in anticipation of leaving.
\n![\"Queen](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/6ef0a7ad75.jpg\")
\nMr. FixIt is heading to Florida today. While we miss each other when we’re apart, I love how supportive he is of my writing and travel. I explained when we first started dating that he would have to share me with the world. I told him about my travels and speaking engagements. He did two things. First, he told me if I ever need someone to carry my bags, he’s my man. And second…he went out and got an iPhone so we can FaceTime while we’re apart. I like seeing him every day. Ahhh…new love. It is a beautiful thing!
\n![\"Hollow](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/a4b7619278.jpg\")
\nI’ll keep you apprised of my travels as I move along. Oh, I love a road trip! ❤️
\n![\"Two](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/4178ff2d32.jpg\")
\n“I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong— that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.”\nRomans 1:11-12 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-07-07T01:55:40-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/07/07/on-the-road-again.html", "tags": ["Travel","Uplifting Stories","Strong Women","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","The Grand Adventure","Fun","Gratitude","goRVing","Girl Camper"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/07/05/a-room-with-a-view.html", "title": "A Room With A View", "content_html": "\n
![\"Greenery](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e6c1e057e7.jpg\")
\nThe last few nights have been insufferably hot and muggy in the farmhouse. There is a room air conditioner in the living room, but unless you’re sleeping on the couch, it doesn’t effectively cool down the house and ends up running up the electric bill to no avail. The best alternative is TOW-Wanda. Equipped with fans and open windows, it’s been pretty darned comfortable out there. I will miss this view of the bank along the driveway here at the farm. The lush green of West Virginia summers may bring bugs and humidity, but the foliage is a sight to see any given day of the week. Colorado is semi-arid so it is a sharp contrast from here. At least it’s a dry heat, right?
\nI emptied out the belly of the camper yesterday and cleaned the floors. I reorganized the contents of the big tub of odds and ends I keep down there. After repacking, I cleaned out the fridge, scrubbed the floors and vacuumed the carpets. The pantry needs vacuumed and wiped out then restocked. The bathroom needs a good scrubbing and I need to organize the storage under the bed and in various cabinets. Since this new truck doesn’t have the torque the old one had, I need to be more conscious about my weight.
\nI’ve made a list of last minute items for the trip. I’ll go into town for those today. Tomorrow I head out on another segment of The Grand Adventure. The longest Mr. FixIt and I have been separated was when I went to Colorado for a month at Christmas. We didn’t like it one bit. I so wanted to tell you about that homecoming back then but it was not the right time. I can tell you now. I flew in and out of Dayton because it is SO much cheaper and my dear friend Cindy lets me park at her house so I don’t have to pay for parking. That drive to the farm from Dayton felt like it took forever. I knew Mr. FixIt was at the farm waiting for me and I could hardly contain myself. It was after dark when I pulled into the driveway and I stopped dead in my tracks. For the first time since I was a child, the house was decorated. There were trees lit on the front porch and a large lit-up star on the second floor above the porch between the two windows! It made me cry. I jumped out of my truck and ran into the house squealing like a little girl. Mr. FixIt walked out from the living room and I stopped, mouth agape. He was wearing charcoal dress pants, a crisp white shirt, and a red sweater vest. He took my breath away and I knew…anyone who would do this for me was a keeper. He knew how much Christmas means to me and how much I love this house. He knew I missed having a country Christmas at the farm, so he made sure I had one on my return. What a wonderful guy!
\nMy babies live in Colorado. I have to see them as often as I can. In the meantime, Mr. FixIt has obligations he must attend to here. We couldn’t stand the thought of being apart two whole months so he’s flying out to join me for three weeks in the middle of my trip so he can meet the family. We’ll go camping and sightseeing as he has never spent time in Colorado. The kitties are covered, the farm is being watched, my sweetheart is coming to see me, and I get to spend quality time with my girls! What’s not to love about that? Sweetness. Sheer sweetness! ❤️
\n“Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.”\nEcclesiastes 4:9-12 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-07-05T01:55:46-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/07/05/a-room-with-a-view.html", "tags": ["Family","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","Camping","The Grand Adventure","Fun","West Virginia","The Farm","Gratitude","Love","God","Wisdom","Peaceful Moments","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/07/04/the-fourth-of-july.html", "title": "The Fourth of July", "content_html": "![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e47f3421b0.jpg\")
OMGosh! How does the summer fly so quickly and winter drags on forever? Yesterday was the quintessential perfect summer day. We had our first dinner party yesterday! This is something that, I have to tell you, absolutely thrills me to no end. Mr. Virgo was not one for socializing because he worked long hours and was exhausted when he got home. Mr. FixIt is a social butterfly just like me and we are looking forward to entertaining often. I invited my cousin and his wife who live down the road from the farm. Mr. FixIt told me the other day that he loves cabbage rolls and…I just so happen to make GREAT cabbage rolls! I haven’t made them in years. It was entirely too hot to turn the oven on so I cooked them in the crockpot. It worked out great. Tennessee tomatoes, fresh green beans with bacon and onions, fresh corn on the cob. Charlotte brought salad. A new tablecloth in a salmon pink quilt pattern and a basket of strawberries dressed the new picnic table Mr. FixIt bought me for my birthday. He set up the dining canopy for some evening shade.
\nAfter supper, we went for a ride in the side-by-side. If you don’t know what that is, it looks like an ATV (4-wheeler) but has a front and back seat and can carry four people. It’s rugged and has a sturdy roll bar and cage around you as well as seat belts. We went all over the back roads up on the ridge behind the farm. All the way, my cousin was telling family stories I knew nothing about. They showed us where they are building a compressor station on a big gas line that is going down all the way to Louisiana. The compressor station will be built straight back over our hill and it will make a good deal of noise. It is upsetting to think that in a year, the whole timbre of the region will be changed forever. I think that’s why I’ve been led to live here…so I can really experience the peace I remember before it’s gone.
\nSome of these backroads where people live are unbelievable. Little children running barefoot…not a care in the world, living in squalor while a ridge or two over are huge homes tucked into quiet groves of trees. We bumped and bounced around till we came to an area where the “road” was actually the riverbed. We were driving along holding our feet up because the water was up over the floorboards. Up steep hills and over places where cinderblocks were thrown into the deep ruts to hopefully allow passage. I was hootin’ and hollerin’ all the way. On the way back, I turned to my cousin’s wife and said breathlessly, “OMGosh! I feel like I’m sixteen!!!” What a great day/evening. We got back just after dark…exhausted and beat up but highly entertained. I hugged by cousins goodbye till I return from Colorado the end of August.
\nI am immensely grateful for the infinite sweetness of this life. I am wealthy beyond my wildest dreams and it has absolutely nothing to do with worldly goods. I ran into a gal at the yard sale yesterday who lives out the road from the farm. When I told her where I was living she said she just knew someone new was living there because the house is coming back to life. I am so blessed to be living here at this time of my life. And to have Mr. FixIt and family and friends to share it with.
\nBe safe out there today and enjoy your holiday! ❤️
\n“You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”\nPsalm 16:11 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-07-04T01:55:02-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/07/04/the-fourth-of-july.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","Fun","The Farm","Gratitude","Holiday","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/07/02/towwanda-is-home.html", "title": "TOW-Wanda is Home!", "content_html": "![\"Starcraft](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/2c1ae1f8a4.jpg\")
\nFirst of all…OMGosh! Your response to my post yesterday was more than I could have ever imagined. Thank you all so much for the lovely comments, likes, and shares. You warmed my heart! I was so worried that introducing a new party to this adventure would change the dynamic and people would drop away. It turns out, more people tuned in so we’re off to a good start in this new chapter of Mr. FixIt and me! Of course, grief is a lifelong process so I will still touch base on how that affects me as we go along. Ever the teacher.
\nThere’s an interesting timbre to this new man. None of the men I have been with in my sixty-four years were mechanically inclined. Mr. FixIt, however, is a mechanical engineer and a lifelong camper. Imagine how difficult it was for him to sit back and watch as I hooked up and unhooked my camper. Oh…this is entirely new territory for this guy! He wanted to do the heavy stuff for me, and while I certainly could have sandbagged and let him, I still will be traveling alone some of the time so I need to keep up my skills and know for certain how things have been hooked up. I know, I know…control issues. I asked him sweetly to wait till I got what I needed to do done, then I would share some of the other duties. I also told him when we camp in his campers (he has two!) I will sit in a chair and watch him till he has a job for me to do. I made it up to him by doing all the cooking and fixed some pretty fabulous meals! He did a wonderful job changing out the gas lines for me and helped me troubleshoot the electrical bug we had. He doesn’t get the name Mr. FixIt for nothing!
\nWhen we arrived home I told him I needed to back the camper into the driveway rather than pull it in like I usually do. With the vintage camper up at the end of the drive, there was no room to get the truck out and around the camper. Our road is a narrow country lane and the driveway is tight. I have to say, I totally impressed Mr. FixIt with my mad backing skills! He was bragging about me at dinner Friday night when we met 20 of our classmates at a local Italian restaurant. I don’t think this guy has ever run across a woman like me. He just looks at me in amazement. It makes me smile.
\nI washed the exterior of the camper yesterday. It hadn’t been cleaned since I was in Myrtle Beach in September of 2015. It looks so much nicer now. I need to do a deep cleaning inside in the next few days, reorganize, and pack her up for the trip cross country. I leave Thursday. I am traveling alone so I won’t be divulging my exact location when I’m there, but I’ll be checking in daily to give you progress reports and tips for traveling solo in a camper. Mr. FixIt gets to come join me in a couple of weeks and meet the family. That’s exciting!!! In the meantime, he’ll be holding down the fort for me and keep the farm going.
\nBack off girls…I saw him first! ❤️
\n“Each one should test their own actions. Then they can take pride in themselves alone, without comparing themselves to someone else, for each one should carry their own load.”\nGalatians 6:4-5 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-07-02T01:55:39-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/07/02/towwanda-is-home.html", "tags": ["Travel","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Sisters on the Fly","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","Camping","The Grand Adventure","Fun","West Virginia","The Farm","Gratitude","goRVing","Love","God","Wisdom","Girl Camper"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/07/01/when-i-becomes-we.html", "title": "When \"I\" Becomes \"We\"", "content_html": "
![\"Two](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/f40518c61a.jpg\")
\nYou could knock me over with a feather. I never, ever dreamed I would get another chance at a deep, loving relationship after losing Mr. Virgo. I’ve walked this path of widowhood for over four years now. At first, I was adamant. I would never have another relationship because I would never go through this again. It was just too hard. I had an ill-advised attempt at dating just five months after my husband died suddenly. It didn’t take me long to figure out that was a bandaid that I hastily slapped on the gaping hole where my heart had been. When I ripped that bandage off, the pain was even more unbearable. I didn’t try again for another year. My second attempt wasn’t much better. Both were perfectly nice men. They just weren’t for me. And the timing was still too soon. I had a lot of healing to do before I could risk dating so I made up my mind I’d just give it to God. I told Him if He had someone for me He’d have to just dump him in my lap because I wasn’t going out there looking anymore. It was too hard on me and it wasn’t fair to involve men and break hearts along the way.
\nI’ve kept myself busy. I’ve traveled. I’ve deepened my relationship with God because He became my primary focus. My writing grew in depth and meaning. My reach broadened. I had everything I needed. But I still wanted someone to share it all with. I was planning to live up at the river again when I came back to West Virginia last August. Then I got the call that my aunt wasn’t doing well and was going to go live with her brother. My uncle asked me to live on the family farm. And I put down more roots than I’ve had since I sold my Colorado house three years ago. It has been an amazing time of healing for me. I have a wonderful group of friends and a rich social life here.
\nSometime in the fall, I ran into an old friend from high school. I’ve known him for almost 49 years. I was fifteen and he was sixteen when we met. He was on the stage crew and I was in the art department. One day I was up on a ladder painting a backdrop. I heard someone clear his throat. I looked over and there was this tall, lanky redhead with the most beautiful blue eyes and an impish grin. We became fast friends and always looked for each other in the halls. Funny…we never dated in high school. We were both shy. We both went on and dated others and after graduation, our paths went in different directions. We never forgot each other though and were always so happy to catch up at class reunions.
\nSometime before Thanksgiving, we ran into each other and the timing was finally right for us. He invited me out for lunch and the rest, as they say, is history. He understands me. He is tender and sensitive to my needs as a widow. He has made room in our relationship for Mr. Virgo because he realizes he is only gone physically. He listens to my stories. He knows Mr. Virgo would have been the kind of guy he would have respected and enjoyed being around.
\nI’ve been leaving breadcrumbs for you here. I’ve spoken of “my friend”, “my traveling companion”, and even his blog identity…“Mr. FixIt”. He has fixed many things for me…around the farm, around my heart, around my life. He is so much fun to be around. Sweet, attentive, open, honest to a fault…an honorable man I am proud to be with. We wanted to keep this to ourselves for a while for a number of reasons…not the least of which was just savoring every moment with it being just us. Now, we’re ready to step out into the world and walk through anything life hands us…hand in hand. I wasn’t sure how to tell you. I am not sure how this news will be received. But, since the very beginning, this blog has been about speaking openly and honestly about my grief journey…and this is just another twisty turn in it. My grief is not over. It will never be over. I’ve gotten through the worst of it, by far. Even though I’m in a relationship, I am still a widow. Once a pickle, always a pickle…you don’t get to go back to being a fresh cucumber again. I have always wanted my story to be about my love for God and to give you hope. Hope that, if you want to travel, pull a little camper, write a blog, or fall in love again…you can. Life comes to a screeching halt after the death of a spouse. Everyone’s grief is different…but, you CAN find joy again. I’m living proof of that.
\nI hope you will stick around and see what comes next. I hope you’ll share the love and joy and hope. It’s all about beauty. It’s all about love. It’s all about life. ❤️
\n“Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?”\nAmos 3:3 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-07-01T01:55:15-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/07/01/when-i-becomes-we.html", "tags": ["Family","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Gratitude","Love","God","Wisdom","Aging","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/06/30/rest-relaxation.html", "title": "Rest \u0026 Relaxation", "content_html": "![\"Beaver](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/d944442d3b.jpg\")
\nWe all need a little R&R from time to time, don’t we? My little two days away were peaceful, yet productive. I really wanted to see how the new truck performed pulling TOW-Wanda. My other truck had a rear axle ratio of 373. That thing would pull TOW-Wanda up Vail Pass at 65MPH in cruise control…piece of cake. Trucks with that rear axle ratio are scarce as hen’s teeth in these parts but a dime a dozen in Colorado. That’s because Coloradans have some pretty steep passes to go over and a large proportion are towing big stuff like campers and horse trailers. Around here, that ratio is overkill. Let me tell you, there is a huge difference between a 373 and a 331 like my new truck. I was so worried it wouldn’t be able to tow the big camper but she worked like a charm. Very smooth. I watched my transmission temperature on the hills and she did fine. A little hot on the very steepest hill, but I took it slow. I’m sure the Rockies will give her a run for her money but I think she can handle it. I feel much more secure now than I did before I went.
\nI knew there would be some maintenance issues to address before the trip. When I went to pick her up, the first thing I noticed at the storage lot was the nose of the camper tilted down. She wasn’t like that the last time I went. Turned out, the ground under the front jack softened after the last really big rain and the wood block it sat on shifted. The jack dug down into the ground and held solid but it could just as easily have bent the jack. Thankfully, it did not. I pressed the buttons to raise the jack. Nothing. I called over to the workman and he came out with the tractor. He lifted the nose and sat the jack back down on solid wood. I told him the electric jack wasn’t working. He said the battery was dead. I said the only time this had happened before was when there was a problem with the fuse that is on the pigtail line running from the battery. No, he said…your batteries are dead…even though I assured him I had just gotten them last spring. I wish I would have opened the little fuse covering but didn’t. I took his word. I went to Walmart and bought a battery charger then went back to the lot. With the electric line hooked to the back of my truck, I was able to raise and lower the jack and finally got hitched up and left. What should have taken four hours took seven.
\nI arrived at the Beaver Creek State Park (Lisbon, OH) campground and discovered the refrigerator was warm. This was a mystery but I decided to worry about that later. I finally got unhooked at the campground and hooked up to electric, I opened that fuse cover and there was my answer. The fuse was badly corroded. Some battery post cleaner and a new fuse fixed the problem. Next to address was why the refrigerator didn’t run on gas. I took the cover off the gas tanks, moved one slightly, and it started to hiss. The hose had sprung a leak, but only just then…not on the drive up. I puzzled over the problem and figured the igniter didn’t go off because of the fuse thing. But now I had to address the gas hose. If one goes out, you should replace both. It doesn’t cost that much and better to be safe than sorry.
\nThe nearest RV dealer was twenty miles away and fortunately they had the hoses. I asked if these were what I needed and the guy said yes so off I went back to the campground only to discover the fittings on the hose was too small! Back to the RV dealer for two adapters, which he just so happened to have, and back to the campground. Lesson learned…always double check your fittings when you buy replacement hoses. Everything fit back together perfectly. I checked for leaks with dish soap…nothing. Good. Turned on the gas, switched the refrigerator to gas, and voila…it turned right on!
\nI took my hose out from the underbelly of the camper only to come to the sad realization that my site was electric only and I had neglected to fill the water tank before I left! No hot showers or doing dishes for me because I was NOT hooking that camper back up for anything! I ran into town and bought water and heated it in my electric teakettle for dishes. I kept some water bottles in the bathroom for rinsing the toilet and used the camp bathroom for solid waste.
\nBLT with fresh leaf lettuce and Tennessee tomatoes, fresh corn on the cob, Amish potato salad and fried green tomatoes…a perfect camp dinner. I was so excited to have friends at the campground. We sat around the campfire and caught up. Other than the maintenance items, which I fully expected to deal with, it was a wonderfully relaxing couple of days away. I hope you all have been enjoying your last few days of June. It’s hard to believe that the 4th of July is upon us! I’m in the final countdown before I head out on my next big road trip! I need to deep clean TOW-Wanda and get her packed. I backed her up into the driveway at the farm so she’s here where I can work on her. Stay tuned! ❤️
\n“let the priests take, each from his donor, and let them repair the house wherever any need of repairs is discovered."”\n2 Kings 12:5 ESV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-06-30T01:55:18-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/06/30/rest-relaxation.html", "tags": ["Travel","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","Camping","Fun","goRVing","Holiday","Peaceful Moments","Girl Camper"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/06/26/that-one-day-in-june.html", "title": "That One Day in June", "content_html": "
![\"Collage](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/18221483da.jpg\")
\nThere’s one day in June. It’s perfect. The temp hovers at 80 with a nice breeze. The puffy clouds float in a clear, blue sky. The green is ever so slightly past the bright apple green of spring but not nearly the darker green that come with July’s heat. A green that is so intense and so pervasive you feel EVERYTHING is chock full of chlorophyll. From the moment you rise to the time to rest your head on the pillow again, the day is chock-a-block full of fun summer activities. Yesterday was just such a day!
\nIt began, of course, with church. Pastor Justin was away so the team leaders each came forward and spoke about the mission statement and the various guidelines our church works toward. It was informative and encouraging. Afterward, I changed into shorts (I still cannot force myself to wear shorts to church!) and headed to the park to walk. When I got out of the truck I saw a huge crowd and realized there was a car show going on. What a treat to walk around and talk to these auto enthusiasts and run into folks I know! Once I had seen all the cars and trucks, I walked two miles. As I did my laps and passed the baseball field, two teams started to warm up for an afternoon game. I stopped and watched a bit. Then I went to Marietta for a late lunch of Mexican food. I drove my friend home and headed out to the parsonage at the Methodist Church in Smithville for the going-away party being held in honor of Pastor Matthew and his fiancé, Felicia. It was bittersweet telling them goodbye. I have grown quite fond of them both but I know I will see them in Ohio. It was wonderful to share stories of how God is working in all of our lives and to spend a couple of hours win fellowship with some wonderful people that I have met through the local Revivals.
\nI drove home in a soft rain then watched the sky turn scarlet as the sun set. It was a day to remember. I love those best. ❤️
\n“He told them this parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees. When they sprout leaves, you can see for yourselves and know that summer is near. Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that the kingdom of God is near. “Truly I tell you, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.”\nLuke 21:29-33 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-06-26T01:55:06-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/06/26/that-one-day-in-june.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Hope","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","Gratitude","God","Wisdom","Peaceful Moments"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/06/25/weekend-walkabout.html", "title": "Weekend Walkabout", "content_html": "
![\"Bowl](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/aece33df3a.jpg\")
\nIt rained off and on all day Friday. The remnants of Tropical Depression Cindy finally blew through at about 7:30 in the evening. I went for a drive up over the far ridge and picked berries till I got to a place where a tree was down across the road. I hooked up a heavy duty tow line but it had landed right beside another tree and was locked in like a gate. So I backed up a ways and did a three-point turn to get out of there. Right about then, my phone went crazy with tornado watches and severe thunderstorm warnings. The sky opened up as soon as I got home. All told, we got an inch and a half of rain overnight which was good because we were getting pretty dry.
\nI met my high school girlfriends for coffee yesterday morning which is always a delight. I won’t get to see most of them till fall. I went for a drive in the afternoon and bought a couple hummingbird feeders as mine developed a leak. Then I stopped at this little hole in the wall BBQ joint in a nearby college town for the best…ribs…EV-ER! Got home and went for a long walk as the evening cooled then settled in here on the porch to watch the lightning bugs. It was another beautiful day in paradise!
\nAs I was walking along the little two-lane blacktop by the farm, I got to thinking about yesterday’s post about patience and realized patience, or rather…the lack thereof, is really all about control. Not control as in controlling your temper. I’m talking that illusion we so often carry with us that somehow we have control in this life. There are somethings we do have control over. Our reactions. Our attitudes. Our immediate needs to a certain extend. If we fail to “save for a rainy day”, we’ve passed up an opportunity to control our spending. My patience runs thin when others don’t do things on my time line and that’s where we get into trouble. The girls and I were discussing this at coffee yesterday. My point was “I want what I want and I want it now. I ALSO want what I want and I want it NOW. I try. I really try to remember what a doctor told me once. He was counseling Hubby #2 and I when we were having an amniocentesis. We were talking about our older daughter and how we were trying to get her to do some such thing…I don’t remember what now. He said, “Here, let me write this one piece of advice down for you. It will absolutely change your life and you’ll never forget it.” He proceeded to pull out a 3x5 card, wrote something on it and handed it to us. It read…“Give up all illusions that you have control of your children after they’re 13.” So true. Oh, there was a little more control when we could take away the car keys. But other than that, if you don’t have the good stuff in them long before they turn 13, you’ve gone way past the cutoff date.
\nI can’t control anyone. I can’t even control myself sometimes. Control is an ill-conceived illusion of power where there is none and causes more problems in relationships that anything else, in my opinion. Money quarrels…control. Housework conflicts…control. Relationship issues…many are just power struggles. So how do you give up control? Heck if I know. I’m still working on patience. I suppose the best way to give up control is to ask God to help you remember that HE is in ultimate control and you’ll keep trying to move out of his way. When you let go of a kite, it will fly straight and true. But if you try to hang onto the tail, it’s not going anywhere. Practice, practice, practice. You’d think we’d have this all figured out by this age, wouldn’t you? ❤️
\n“Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. For life is more than food, and the body more than clothes. Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to your life? Since you cannot do this very little thing, why do you worry about the rest?”\nLuke 12:22-26 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-06-25T01:55:33-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/06/25/weekend-walkabout.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","God","Wisdom"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/06/24/on-being-patient.html", "title": "On Being Patient", "content_html": "![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e75f4f1351.jpg\")
\nThis is a tough one for most people. I try. I think I practice humility, most of the time. And I feel I approach people gently. But patience? If patience is a virtue, I am far from being a virtuous woman! The pastor was talking last weekend about what happens when you can see your goals and dreams but they just aren’t manifesting for you in real time. What happens when you get a clear picture of what God wants you to do but no matter what you try, you can’t get there? Oh, it’s so hard to be patient and wait for things to happen in God’s time, isn’t it?
\nI’ve never been patient. I want things my way and I want them now. That doesn’t mean I can’t compromise in relationships, but I’d have to say…if you ask either of my former husbands…they would tell you I’m a pistol. If my mom were still living? Oy. Let’s just say, I’ve never been patient. Trust me on this.
\nSo…how do you become patient if that is not your nature? The answer is, of course, with practice. Impatience comes from being reactionary. Slowing things down, taking a breath, giving yourself a moment to think automatically makes you more patient by simple pausing. I used to blurt out answers to questions, sometimes regretting my response immediately. I am trying to practice, “Hmmmm…I’ll think about that and get back to you.” Unless you are in a life and death situation, most people don’t actually NEED an immediate response. They will probably prefer it, but seldom NEED it.
\nI’ve stopped praying for patience because it seemed like that was just like asking God to give me more opportunities to BE patient. I have enough of those without asking for more. We all have faults. If we wish for others to be patient with us, then we must practice patience. And…when they are not patient with us, we have to practice twice as hard. Patience brings peace and calm to stressful situations. I know this intellectually. I just have to remember to practice it. I suppose that is why, in the English language, we say “practice patience”…not “DO patience”.
\nAll things are done in God’s time anyway. Impatience in any situation is just wasted energy. Mindfulness can help ease impatience while we wait for results. Clearly, all we have is this present moment. All other moments are memory or anticipation. I guess it boils down to our perception of control. We cannot change the actions of others…we can only control our reaction to them. So, I’ll keep practicing. ❤️
\n“You say, “I choose the appointed time; it is I who judge with equity.”\nPsalm 75:2 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-06-24T01:55:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/06/24/on-being-patient.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","Gratitude","God"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/06/23/further-inspection.html", "title": "Further Inspection", "content_html": "
![\"Vintage](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/1c7fe42b56.jpg\")
\nThe more I pry into this camper, the more work there is to be done. Oy! Good thing I’m not in any hurry!
\n![\"Vintage](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/db4c4e5b65.jpg\")
\nI had a lovely day yesterday. I got a lot more done in the camper but got to a stopping point and had to go to town for a special bit to remove screws. I stopped at an antique mall and picked up the white metal cabinet and the little chandelier for my camper renovation. Ran errands, then picked up a salad and a friend and went to the park to listen to live music.
\n![\"Old](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/ed99e05d4f.jpg\")
\nAs I was listening to the music, I kept looking over at this guy sitting nearby and decided I knew him. After the concert, I asked. Turns out, I did know him. He broke my heart in high school! I had asked him to the Sadie Hawkins dance and he said he’d go. The next morning at our lockers, he said, “You were just kidding about the dance, weren’t you? I’m dating a gal that does to the other high school.” Oh, my feelers were hurt. I had such a crush on him! And there he was, sitting twenty feet from me.
\n![\"Old](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/a1a5ebca2c.jpg\")
\nWhen I stood up to go over to say hello, our eyes met and I saw a flicker of recognition. He smiled politely as I went over to say hello. And when I reminded him of my name, he remembered me. He told me he remembered me as a sweet girl with long brown hair. He didn’t remember the dance scenario. He seems just as darling as he did in high school and I was thrilled to get to see him and meet his wife.
\n![\"Water](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/ac1b2f35d0.jpg\")
\nI love seeing the people I grew up with doing well. So many are still here in da ‘burg. I am enjoying an active social life which keeps my world interesting. It’s Friday, y’all! The first official summer weekend. Have fun!!! ❤️
\n“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”\nJohn 15:13 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-06-23T01:55:32-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/06/23/further-inspection.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Gratitude","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/06/22/there-is-hope.html", "title": "There is Hope", "content_html": "![\"Before](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/f0aa30cee2.jpg\")
\nIf you are grieving, please know there is hope…for healing, for brighter days, for joy. Those of us who have walked this particular journey know full well the feelings of hopelessness that come in the dark of night. We know how hard it is to find the motivation to do the simplest of everyday tasks like personal grooming, cleaning house, cooking. Preparing a meal becomes Herculean. Brushing your teeth is as daunting as climbing Everest. Balancing your checkbook is something you did in a former life…you know, that time back in the day when your brain functioned as it should.
\nWhen you are slogging through the midst of this madness called grief, it is easy to lose hope that things will ever get better. After all, how could they without your special person? I know, when I lost Mr. Virgo, my world came crashing in at my feet and I swore I would never feel anything but the crushing pain of loss. I was so tired, so depressed, so angry, so fearful. In the picture on the left, my eyes were puffy from crying all the time. I didn’t sleep. I didn’t eat right. I didn’t exercise. It was all I could do to breathe…and I didn’t even do that very well. Do you remember what it felt like to not be able to take in a deep breath? I sighed..a lot. That’s actually a physiological response to grief.
\nI was a Christian before I lost Mr. Virgo. One of the “hidden gems in the flames” of grief has been a closer relationship with God. That depth of love has brought me through the darkest days of my life. I cannot imagine how I could have possibly survived this without my faith. There were long nights where sleep simply would not come and anxiety would have me paralyzed and physically ill. I tried everything to make it stop. There were nights I thought about the gun in the cupboard. About how easy it would be to just end this suffering. But…I simply could not do that. After having suffered a near-fatal overdose during a severe depression seventeen years ago, and seeing the devastation that caused my family, I knew full well that would never be my way out. No, somehow I had to find a way to get through this.
\nI remember nights when I couldn’t pray. I couldn’t form words. All I could do was moan in pain. I would close my eyes and visualize Jesus. I would picture him sitting on a bench in a beautiful garden…his robes as white as snow, his dusty sandals strapped to his road-worn feet. I couldn’t speak before him. All I could do was moan…my pain escaping from my throat in guttural gasps. And when I would look at him, he showed me such compassion. He held his arms out to welcome me into his presence. I walked forward and collapsed at his feet and laid my head upon his knee and sobbed. And he would gently stroke my hair and console me. He loved me as a father…as a brother. He poured his mighty love and light over me and washed away the pain for that particular night with the sincere promise that I could come back any time for more. He is always there…my comforter, my rock. And now look…he poured SO much love and light into me, it flows outward. I finally fully understand the phrase, “My cup runneth over.”
\nIf I bring you anything with my words, let me bring you hope. Hope for brighter days. Hope for sleep-filled nights. Hope for healing. Hope for joy. I couldn’t have done this alone. I have my writing. I have you all. I have the love of friends and family. And I have Jesus. Jesus makes me shine. He most definitely makes me shine. Ok…Rodan & Fields skincare helps, too…but it’s mostly Jesus! ❤️
\n“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.”\nRomans 8:26-27 NIV
\n\n
#RFGoNaked
\n\n
\n", "date_published": "2017-06-22T01:55:43-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/06/22/there-is-hope.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Gratitude","God","Wisdom","Aging"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/06/21/summer-nights.html", "title": "Summer Nights", "content_html": "
![\"Gazebo](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/8e2e40e85d.jpg\")
\nOh, how I love summer! The days are long and bright and packed full of sunshine and flowers and fun activities. Yesterday was an action packed day. I was up at 6:30 and didn’t get back home till nearly midnight, at which time I had to still write my post. I write every evening, pretty much without fail. I think I could count on two hands how many days I’ve missed since Mr. Virgo died.
\nDoctor’s appointment. Breakfast with a dear friend, reader, and fellow widow who has recently fallen head over heels in love so there were lots of things to catch up on there. Errands galore. I had the truck thoroughly inspected since I’m going on a road trip soon. They found the pinion seal was leaking and replaced it. Fortunately, it was under the drive-train warranty. It’s good to go now. I borrowed some tools from my good friend, Mr. Fixit. I can work on the camper today. I went out for dinner with a friend and then a group went for live music in the park situated right on the river. We sat and talked till dark and I made the hour long drive back to the farm.
\nI’ve got a list as long as my arm of things that need doing. I found someone to stay at the farm while I am gone to Colorado. They will feed the cats and the birds. There’s never a dull moment here. It wasn’t 10 minutes after I got home that I wrote this and gave up for the night…happy and content with a day well lived. I’ll write more tomorrow. ❤️
\n““As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease.””\nGenesis 8:22 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-06-21T01:55:02-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/06/21/summer-nights.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","Fun"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/06/20/beyond-coincidence.html", "title": "Beyond Coincidence", "content_html": "![\"Clouds\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/9a663747fa.jpg\")
\nI know I have been delving into matters of faith a lot the last few weeks. I know there is a delicate balance between what people are willing to listen to and that point where they shut down and say, “Yeah, ok. I’ve heard enough of this.” And they move on. I get it. I really try not to get preachy here because matters of faith are highly personal. And, since I am wont to do, I often share highly personal things here…much to the chagrin of some of my family and friends. Sometimes what I talk about might make you uncomfortable. That’s ok. Feeling uncomfortable once in a while is good. It makes us think. It helps us to question and make choices. The things I tell you about my experiences in my faith, I tell because there is someone out there who has questions but are afraid to ask. I tell you these things because I am amazed at how God works in my life, even as I have come to expect it. That being said, let me tell you what happened in my world yesterday.
\nFirst, I’ll go back a little. You know how I’ve been working on my social media platform. My agent wants to see my numbers go higher. I’ve been doing everything I can and asking for God to open doors for me. And steadily, the numbers trickle in. One new like. Three. None for weeks. Two. Slow and steady. I was feeling impatient. I could see where God was leading me, but I just wasn’t seeing the results I wanted. It was really frustrating. Then I went to Revival. And I learned to start every single prayer with “Thank you, Lord…for every provision.” I praise him and thank him for this and that…naming specific things. Then, and only then, do I enter into the action-word portion of my plea. This is what I think I need. How can I better serve you? What do you need of me? I knock on the door of God’s heart and ask him to bring me the words he wants me to say and the people who need to hear them. I ask him to Bless me, indeed. Expand my territory. Walk with his hand over me and keep evil far from me so that I may not feel pain. And I went to Revival. I was anointed. There was the laying of hands on me. Fervent prayers were made on my behalf. I received the gift of the Holy Spirit. I developed new friendships in faith. I entered into a faith-filled community and came out changed.
\nI told you yesterday that I went to the little white church on the hill to say farewell to the young Pastor Matt. I told you he had helped me access places deep within. The prayers over me in the last several weeks have been focused on my writing, my blog, my ministry. Fear was driven from me in some weird supernatural way that I still can’t quite understand. Then Sunday, Pastor Matt anointed us all one last time to help us get whatever we need, whatever we are searching for. He prayed on our behalf. His prayer Sunday was for a huge opportunity. As a matter of fact, I think he said something like, “Something big is coming, girl. Like, soon.” Soon. Ok, how about 27 hours? I received an email yesterday from the reporter who interviewed me for the New York Times a little over a year ago. Now, this woman has been on my mind for the last two or three weeks. I’d pick up my phone to send her a text to check in. You know, to put myself in the front of her mind in case she’s working on a story she can use me in. That New York Times article was a huge boost for my blog. But, just as soon as I would start to look up her e-mail address, Spirit would whisper. “Put it down. She knows. She remembers.” And I would put down the phone and go on. Yesterday, she sent me an e-mail saying she’s working on an article about widowhood and retirement for a large financial company for their online magazine and could she use me in this article. Yes, she remembered me. She reads my blog. I am honored because she is a very prolific, well known author. I am honored she wants to include me again. But I am most of all…blessed. Indeed. I’m getting another opportunity to expand my territory. And God most certainly walks with his hand over me and keeps evil far from me.
\nWhen I replied, I told her that she has been on my mind the last few weeks. I told her the timing couldn’t have been more perfect because I need to boost these social medial numbers. She wrote back and said this online magazine is read by 1,000,000+ readers over the age of 50. Wow. Just…wow. I had to tell you. I had to share with you. This is how God is working in my life. I come expecting great things. I see the provision come and it stuns me. Coincidence? Some of you may think so. Planetary alignment? My moon is in Aquarius? My chakras are aligned? You may think that. But I know. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt who orchestrated this. This is a God thing…plain and simple. Thank you, Jesus. ❤️
\n“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?”\nMatthew 6:26 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-06-20T01:55:20-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/06/20/beyond-coincidence.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Strong Women","Positive Energy","Gratitude","God","Wisdom"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/06/19/weekend-walkabout.html", "title": "Weekend Walkabout", "content_html": "
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/01dc6c2e32.jpg\")
\nWe are truly knee-deep in June now here in West Virginia. We’ve been getting some rain finally. But oh my…it has been so hot so now it’s muggy. It is a pleasure to lay in front of an open window at night, though. When the cool of the evening comes in and you pull a quilt up to your chin, it makes for divine sleeping weather.
\n![\"Magnolua\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/53b2f0f000.jpg\")
\nI went to town for the last Saturday evening service at my church till fall. I love going on Saturday night, going out to dinner with a friend afterwards, then taking a long walk by the river as the day cools off. It was a perfect evening.
\n![\"Marietta,](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/755a226090.jpg\")
\nAs I write this, the thunder is rolling on the surrounding hills. I love thunderstorms! So far we have been really lucky and haven’t lost electricity. The cats are sitting at opposite ends of the porch. Old Mama Kitty has her nose out of joint because I scooted her away when she tried to jump up on me. She has never done that so I suppose I am now officially the Food Goddess of the tribe. I wouldn’t mind giving her a cuddle, but fleas and ticks have been a problem in the past and I found I was out of flea treatment when I looked. I must put that on my list.
\nThe turkeys are calling in the bottom across the road. A pair of cardinals are chasing each other around the locust flowers. An Eastern Bluebird has made his appearance the last few evenings and sits on the phone line a few feet from me as if he has no place better to be. Mr. Virgo has always sent me bluebirds. This one showed up the day I brought “Joy” home. His official seal of approval.
\n![\"1967](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/c648226f0a.jpg\")
\nI went to church at the little white church on the hill yesterday so I could say farewell to young Pastor Matt. He is taking a new charge, and a new wife we found out yesterday, to a small town north of Cleveland. I have grown quite fond of that young man. He has helped me reach something deep inside that has never been touched. I feel filled by the Holy Spirit through deep, fervent prayer and anointing. The last night I attended Revival, I was facing a situation coming up that normally would fill me with fear and dread and anxiety. I needed to be absolutely at the top of my game last week to help a friend through a scary medical procedure. At the altar call, I went forward and knelt and prayed that God would remove this fear from me completely so that I could be of service to my friend. I had no sooner knelt down when I felt hands on my back and shoulders. Pastor Matt’s father is a pastor as well and he put his arm around my shoulders and started praying loudly over me. Exultant, exuberant, fervent pleas went up asking for exactly what I was silently praying for. He shouted, “Lord, bring this sister the strength and courage she needs to go through what she is faced with this week. Let her be strong and fearless as she marches through what she needs to do!” This went on and on. I was stunned. How did he know? I felt like I had the wind knocked out of me and I could do nothing but bask in this praise and prayer surrounding me. I was totally drained when I got up and went back to my seat. And you know what? From that moment on, any dread, any anxiety, any fear left me completely. I helped my friend get through the procedure as though I’d had a sedative, I kid you not. It was downright supernatural. I want more of that. How could you not want more of that?
\nI’m loving this space that I’m in right now. I’m walking in love and light and Spirit. It’s incredibly peaceful. As I sign off for the night, the lightning bugs are rising, the rain is falling, and the thunder rolls. I hope you have a wonderful Monday. Make a choice to have a good week. Lift people up. Pay it forward. Be good and kind to one another. Life is a beautiful thing…really appreciate it while you’ve got it. ❤️
\n“When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.”\nActs 8:14-17 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-06-19T01:55:26-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/06/19/weekend-walkabout.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Hope","Positive Energy","The Farm","Gratitude","God","The Cats","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/06/18/lawzy-lawzywhat-have-i-done.html", "title": "Lawzy, Lawzy...What Have I Done?", "content_html": "![\"Refinishing](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/44a20a7e3a.jpg\")
\nOh…I almost hate to show you what I’ve gotten myself into. Y’all are gonna sit there and roll your eyes and shake your heads. As with most projects, the more you tear into it, the more you find needs doing. Thank goodness my friend, Mr. Fix-It, is willing to help me with the heavy stuff. We cleaned everything out of her today so we could get a good look at the job ahead. We started by making a list of what needs doing and setting priorities. First off was the realization there is no earthly way of getting this thing done before I leave for Colorado next month. Not and do it right anyway. Sigh.
\nFirst off, there are several wooden ceiling joists that have rotted through and need to be removed and custom cut to the curvature of the roofline. Once those are tied into the frame, the roof needs to be completely removed, a new underlayment placed, new wiring and insulation, then a new roof placed on. Once the roof is done, the windows come out and any rotten wood replaced. The windows will be sandblasted and glass replaced then the windows go back in with caulking. There are some cabinets that need to be removed. Also the bunk in the back comes out. Then the floor gets touched up and mended. Once the wiring and the insulation in the walls is replaced, paneling goes in making it an open room. There will be a double bed on a platform in the back. I will find used furniture to convert into a cabinet/kitchen/workspace. I don’t necessarily want a gas stove in this camper but there is one so but we’ll see. A small convection microwave and an electric convection hot plate would be fine. I might have a small refrigerator…not sure. I want a closet with a luggable loo and up front I’d like a couple of comfy chairs and a small table between them. Very simple inside. I just need a cozy place to sleep out of the rain.
\nI know she looks like a ton of work, but I’m in a place right now where I love a challenge and I need another joyful thing to look forward to. So…I have named her “Oh, Be Joyful!” I’ll call her “Joy” for short. My challenge for myself is to find as much stuff as possible free to fix her up with. I love the idea of salvaging and putting as little money in her as I can while still making certain she is roadworthy. This is indeed going to be a joyful experience!
\nI went to church last night and the pastor preached on Exodus. He pointed out that even though the Israelites were freed from slavery, they were still in bondage because they looked backwards at the chariots full of Egyptians bearing down one them. In order to break free from the bondage you are in, you have to have faith and move forward. I am weary of watching for chariots carrying grief. I’m moving forward…with “Joy”! Isn’t that a beautiful thing? ❤️
\n“For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock. Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD. Hear my voice when I call, LORD; be merciful to me and answer me.”\nPsalm 27:5-7 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-06-18T01:55:02-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/06/18/lawzy-lawzywhat-have-i-done.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Camping","Fun","Gratitude"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/06/16/she-followed-me-home.html", "title": "She Followed Me Home!", "content_html": "![\"1967](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/7dccd21d90.jpg\")
\nThose of you who have been here from the beginning know I really, really wanted a vintage camper when I started this adventure. I listened to Mr. Virgo’s advice…posthumously…and bought a new camper. It was probably the right decision at the time because I lacked the necessary skills and stamina to deal with a camper that needed fixing up. Now though…now I’m good and really excited to start a new adventure. And this time I’m going vintage!!!
\nIt’s about a 40 minute drive into town from the farm along a twisty, turny two lane blacktop. I’ve driven it 1,000 times but about a week ago, a darling little two seater Mercedes convertible was sitting out in the field in front of a house. I spun around to get a second look. That was exactly the car Mr. Virgo dreamed of! Soon though, it wasn’t the Mercedes that caught my eye. It was this baby…tucked in beside the house with a tarp over her head. My heart raced. I drove down the road and turned around and came back. I passed some folks leaving as I pulled in the drive. They backed up and asked if I was there to see the Mercedes. I said, “No…I just wanted to come see this little camper here. Is she for sale?” The lady said, “How much will you give me for her?” The gentleman was kind enough to get the key and show me inside. They had bought the camper to glamp it up for their daughter. All but the back end has been gutted. They ran into time constraints and they were about to get back to it when the mom broke her ankle. The next day is when I showed up. She was exactly my price. I can fix her up the way I want her, and I was an answer to their problem as well. It was definitely a God thing. I need this little girl right now. We are both spreading our wings.
\nI want to get her water tight and road worthy quickly. I’d love to take her with me to Colorado. Then I could work on her while I visit my family and have her ready when I go to the big Sisters on the Fly gathering called Rocky Mountain Hi in August! Then Girl Campers in September. Man, I’d have to really push to get that done but I might be able to! We’ll see. I’ve wanted her for a long, long time. I just needed to find her.
\nIsn’t it interesting that Mr. Virgo’s favorite car would be out in front of a house with a tiny camper that needed a new home? There are no coincidences…I was guided there…without a doubt. She’s a 1967 Franklin, a rather rare travel trailer. I’m going to decorate her inside in shabby chic white with pale green and pink. She’s going to be a girly-girl camper. I’m so in love! ❤️
\n“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.”\nRomans 12:12 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-06-16T01:55:13-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/06/16/she-followed-me-home.html", "tags": ["Travel","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Sisters on the Fly","Positive Energy","Camping","The Grand Adventure","Fun","West Virginia","goRVing","Girl Camper"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/06/15/in-transition.html", "title": "In Transition", "content_html": "![\"Tussock](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/83932a865c.jpg\")
\nThe life I led before becoming a widow fell away from me on March 12, 2013. I was a beautiful caterpillar before that day…pretty, perfect, moving from meal to meal mindlessly. Oh, it didn’t seem mindless at the time. I was full of energy and purpose and life and love. But the day Mr. Virgo died, the “ME” I was left for good. I tried for a long time to get her back. In my naïveté, I thought it was somehow possible to get over all this and get back to the business of living my life as a caterpillar. After a while, I finally got it…that part of my life was over.
\nI went into my cocoon, that dark space where I worked on what was inside somehow trusting the outside would follow. And eventually, after lots of prayer and time and travel and mistakes, I finally emerged…changed, to be sure. But with wings! Wings that have carried me to new heights. To new places. To new life, new love, new friends, new peace.
\nAs I sat on the front porch yesterday, this little yellow caterpillar crawled up on an old pair of boots I have sitting on a table outside Grandma’s front window. I watched it explore this inanimate object in search of food. It’s a beautiful thing…soon to become a tussock moth. I contemplated all the varieties of caterpillars there are in the world. They are different for a reason. They are meant to become a moth or a butterfly…whether a short, stubby, nondescript gypsy moth or a magnificent luna moth, a tiny Karner Blue or a Monarch or a Swallowtail…they will all have wings and fulfill their destinies.
\nWidows are the butterflies of love and loss…we transform through a period of darkness, stillness encased in a hard shell, a chrysalis, a crucible of change. When our time comes and we are ready, we start to grow. Our comfortable shell, that place that helped protect us from the world, begins to feel too tight, too constricting. In the time before we break through to our new life, this one begins to feel quite painful. It is in that moment we think we can’t do this anymore. It’s just too much. We’ve endured so much pain, so much discomfort. Now, here we are going through it again. Unlike the caterpillar, we have a choice to make here. Stay in this dark place forever or emerge into the world of the unknown, fresh and new, yet forever changed.
\nWhat we have the hardest time seeing in that dark place is the beauty of the life beyond. If we can just drag ourselves out on the limb, hang on by tips of our fingers, and trust God to work on our hearts, life blood pumps into our wings and they begin to expand and dry. For a while we sit there, in disbelief. We flex our wings…our beautiful, multicolored wings…and in a glorious moment of magic, we fly!
\nThere is a certain ambivalence between sorrow and healing. What starts out as a line as thick and strong as a ship’s anchor chain, time and healing stretches that connection to our loved one out into a thinner and finer cord. Still strong, but lighter. If you cut that cord that ties you, are you unfaithful to the memory of your lost love? Have you turned your back on what that relationship meant to you? Are you betraying your life partner if you choose to step out into the sun? I don’t believe so. Spreading my wings and flying is exactly what my love would want, would expect, me to do. I’ll never forget my days as a caterpillar but I’m choosing to move forward, to live my life as a glorious butterfly. To really own that. I choose to fly. ❤️
\n“The LORD our God said to us at Horeb, “You have stayed long enough at this mountain.”\nDeuteronomy 1:6 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-06-15T01:55:13-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/06/15/in-transition.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","Gratitude","God","Wisdom"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/06/14/let-your-light-shine.html", "title": "Let Your Light Shine", "content_html": "
![\"Meme:](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e7555b3450.jpg\")
\nYesterday was a perfectly wonderful birthday! I was heading to town and kept getting delayed. As I finally set out, the thought came to mind, “It’s a dangerous road…take your time.” I don’t rush when I drive this little country road to town. I just kept getting his message…go easy, go easy. I’ve learned to listen. As I rounded a bend, there was an ice truck lying on its side nearly blocking both lanes. No one was injured, and because it had just happened and the police and rescue weren’t there yet, I got around it and made it to town for my appointment. My lesson is this…listen for that still, small voice. It guides you and protects you!
\nFirst stop was the chiropractor. I love her! She is such a hoot. Today she was full of stories about her Harley. After my adjustment, I went to brunch with a friend then ran errands in a hellacious thunderstorm. Finally headed home to feed the cats, plant some bushes, and clean the oven from the cherry pie juice that burned on the bottom.
\nI had a zillion friends and relatives and readers send birthday greetings. I honestly tried to answer each one personally but it was never ending. I finally had to resort to the old standard general message thanking everyone for their kindness. Such an amazing blessing and outpouring of love. I used up all my writing time and now I’m saying to all of you…thank you so much for your kind greetings for my birthday. I had the BEST day! You all are awesome!!! ❤️
\n“Even to your old age and gray hairs I am he, I am he who will sustain you. I have made you and I will carry you; I will sustain you and I will rescue you.”\nIsaiah 46:4 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-06-14T01:55:17-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/06/14/let-your-light-shine.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","West Virginia","Gratitude","God"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/06/13/will-you-still-need-me.html", "title": "? Will You Still Need Me? ?", "content_html": "![\"Laundry](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/51663b1e99.jpg\")
\nI have waited a long time for this birthday so I could sing that Beatles tune! I have always loved my birthday. That one day of the year where it was all about me. My Grandma celebrated my birthdays with a homemade cake every year. It was always the same…a yellow cake with penuche frosting. (http://www.food.com/recipe/grandmas-penuche-frosting-22376) If you’ve never had it…you must, you must! I could literally sit and eat it with a spoon, warm out of the pan. Divine! We didn’t have that gosh awful icing in a can when I was growing up. Frosting was a handmade confection from handwritten directions that was handed down from generation to generation. I still have Grandma’s “cookbook”…a stenographer’s notepad with her eighth-grade-education scrawl, written with a stubby, hand sharpened pencil, no doubt.
\nMr. Virgo made a big deal out of my birthdays because he knew what it meant to me. He would call the girls ahead of time to make sure they remembered and invite them to a restaurant. Like Christmas, he would shower me with gifts that he remembered me saying I liked. He was a generous man. The girls have done a good job remember me on my special day. It may not be on the actual day, but when I get to Colorado next month, we’ll have a gluten free cake. I want a yellow one with penuche frosting this year!
\nI received a beautiful gift last week…an early birthday present. A friend of mine said, “What you need out here is a good picnic table!” The next visit, I had one! What a kind gesture and a lovely gift! I am so blessed! Birthdays after loss can be sad affairs. I remember that feeling of loneliness and yearning I felt…especially the first couple of years after Mr. Virgo died. Now I make my own birthday celebrations and I make sure I include all those whom I love. I don’t wait for others to remember. People have busy lives. I’ve done that…waiting for others to remember me then being disappointed when they don’t. Not any more. I am quick to let everyone know it’s my special day because I want to celebrate with them! ? When I’m 64! ? ❤️
\n“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”\nPsalm 90:12 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-06-13T01:55:29-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/06/13/will-you-still-need-me.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","The Farm","Gratitude","Wisdom","Aging"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/06/12/motivation-monday-a-whole-lotta.html", "title": "Motivation Monday: A Whole Lotta Happy", "content_html": "
![\"Three](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/7a14761031.jpg\")
\nYesterday was a really great day! I went to church with a friend and heard an amazing sermon about bridging the gap between churches. I attend a young church. The pastor said when he first got started, the other pastors around town were calling him and offering words of encouragement. The other pastors prayed for our success, which is how it should be. Then, we started to grow. Word got around town that the Warehouse Church was a place where miracles were happening and people flocked in droves. All of a sudden, those same pastors who had been “praying for our success” started talking negatively about our pastor. The thing about denominations is this…Jesus isn’t Baptist, he isn’t Methodist, he isn’t Church of Christ, he isn’t Protestant. He’s just Jesus. We should all be encouraging each other. There is a gap between churches. And there is a gap between Christians who are judgmental of other Christians. We need to bridge the gap. It was a wonderful service.
\nI’m reminded of Rodney King when he was arrested in the middle of the violence taking place in LA in 1992. “People, I just want to say, you know, can we all get along? Can we get along?” There have been episodes in the past that are as bad as, if not worse than, those we are dealing with now. Like grief, violence and anger and hatred seem to come along in waves. I’m desperately waiting for peace again because violence hurts my spirit. Look at these kitties. The two younger, orange and white ones, always make a wide berth around Ol’ Mama Kitty, and for good reason. She’d just as soon swat you as look at you, although she’s almost always sweet with me. After all, I am the Goddess of Food. But for some reason, last night these three were chummy. Kitty Boy, the youngest, was so happy and purring so loud he was actually making little mewling sounds. It was so sweet. What made this night different than all other nights? I don’t have any idea. But I’d like to bottle happiness and spread it around.
\nWe are to be lights in the world. Let’s go out there and keep shining, no matter what the climate is, ok? ❤️
\n“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”\nRomans 12:18 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-06-12T01:55:03-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/06/12/motivation-monday-a-whole-lotta.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","The Cats"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/06/09/yes-siri-live-in-the.html", "title": "Yes, Sir...I Live in the Country", "content_html": "![\"Coon](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/4756aa278a.jpg\")
\nOne of my biggest treats as a child was to go to Harrisville with my Pop-Pop. We would go to Stout’s Hardware for a part for the Gravely, or maybe seed potatoes and onion sets in the spring. This is one of the last old timey hardware stores around these parts. Still with the original hardwood floors, Stouts has one of everything and two of most. You can get parts for a pressure cooker, lawn mower blades, salt licks, marshmallow and weenie roasters, coon urine…. Wait! What? Coon urine?! Yes, just look in the photo closely. Right next to the flavor injector for your deep fried turkey, and the ginormous spatula, and the paper targets for shooting practice, you can buy your bottle of coon urine to spray on yourself when you go coon hunting so the little critters don’t get scared off by the smell of your Old Spice. This begs a question…does someone who coon hunts even WEAR aftershave? Does he shave? I don’t know. I have a picture in my head of people chasing raccoons around trying to get them to pee in a cup. Then I read this is synthetic urine. Ok, someone had to duplicate raccoon urine. How’d you like to have that job? “So, you’re Ann’s husband. What do you do for a living?” “I had to figure out what raccoon urine smelled like and duplicate it.” “Nice. Oh, look…there’s John. Will you excuse me?” Or how about one of the guys from Deliverance? I keep hearing banjos and envision speckled dogs with ropes tied around their necks, baying in the back of a rusted out pickup. Not that there’s anything wrong with coon hunting, I suppose. They’re varmints that get in the garden and the trash and make a general mess of everything. And, there ARE people who eat them. I probably have relatives somewhere who eat them. I really don’t want to know what kind of ground meat is in that SOS. Really…I don’t.
\nI’m not stereotyping West Virginians as hicks who eat vermin and talk funny. We have a bad enough rep when the evening news chooses to focus on the basest of stories about us hill folk. But, I’ll tell you what…you know you’re in the country when you can buy coon urine and weenie roasters side by side.
\nI made the trip to Stouts to look for those gizmos you screw into the overhead porch light that adds a couple electrical outlets. I want to string some outdoor lights on the porch for summer entertaining and Christmas lights in the winter. I figured they would have them if anyone did. They did. My fix-it friend installed my new ventless gas space heater in the bathroom yesterday. While the gas was off, I installed a new mantle and globe in the gas light in the front yard. I also needed sealant for my new wooden picnic table I got for my birthday. I borrowed Mr. Fix-it’s pole saw to trim out some of the saplings and weeds along the creek bank before they totally take over. Lots of little odd jobs getting done around the farm before I head west with my camper next month.
\nI love country living…it brings me such joy! ❤️
\n“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”\nRomans 15:13 ESV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-06-09T01:55:47-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/06/09/yes-siri-live-in-the.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","The Farm","Gratitude"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/06/07/getting-filled-up.html", "title": "Getting Filled Up", "content_html": "
![\"Basket](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/61856c1efd.jpg\")
\nWhew! Revival…can you stand some more? The young evangelist who led the Revival at Grandma’s church a few weeks ago has four churches in his charge. At the ripe old age of 26 or so, this guy is a crackerjack, for sure. He’s leading a Revival in a church in a neighboring community this week. I was able to attend the last couple of nights and let me tell you, it was just as powerful (if not more so) as the first one I attended.
\nAs I sat listening to this young man preach and I looked over the attendees, I got this vision of a bunch of baskets. I’d go back to listening, then pretty soon I’d be thinking about baskets again. As I drove home, I slowly made my way through the twists and turns of country roads, watching for deer and any other critters. I no sooner pulled out on the two-lane blacktop when the baskets were back. So, I did what I always do when something incessantly niggles at my brain and I can’t get rid of it. I had a conversation with God.
\nMe: OK, Lord…what’s with the baskets?
\nGod: Wait a minute…is that any way to start out a conversation with me? What were you just telling the good folks at church? Something about “thanks”, I think it was.
\nMe: You’re absolutely right…Lord, thank you for never having your phone off the hook when I call you! Thank you for always being there and for the blessings you give me. I’m confused though. Why are you showing me baskets?
\nGod: Look at these baskets. They’re all different shapes, all different sizes. They have different patterns, different colors. They have one thing in common…they are woven. They can carry lots of things. Eggs, vegetables, flowers, stones. But, what if I were to ask you to carry water from my well in one of these baskets? Could you do that?
\nMe: Of course not…they are woven. There are holes in them. The water would run right through!
\nGod: That’s right…it would. You are like a basket. You are woven together in exactly the way I patterned you. All the people of the world are like baskets. They are as different as fingerprints. And, they all have holes in them. You are a thirsty people. When you take your basket to the well, you can’t carry the water you need to quench that thirst. It falls on the ground.
\nMe: Ok. I can see that. I still don’t understand what you’re getting at.
\nGod: I am the most important water…the Living Water. That is the only Water that flows from MY well. Would you have the Living Water spill out on the ground and be wasted?
\nMe: No! Of course not! But how can I keep that from happening if I’m a basket full of flaws and holes?
\nGod: Ahhhh…I’m glad you asked! It’s very simple, really. You have to line the basket with something waterproof. Something that will plug up the leaks so you can carry my Living Water within you.
\nMe: What would do that? What could I use?
\nGod: The recipe is simple. You start out with a good strong base of Obedience. Then you spread on a thick layer of Faith. Top that off with a whole bunch of Prayer and you’ll have a strong, waterproof lining that will carry my Living Water. Then you can drink to your heart’s content and quench that thirst you’ve been carrying around with you.
\nMe: What if my basket springs a leak?
\nGod: The enemy will try to poke holes in your basket at every turn. You must always be vigilant. I have given you power…super powers to be exact. Your words are mighty weapons. Speak life into your situation. Tell the enemy to stay away from you and leave your basket alone!
\nMe: As simple as that?
\nGod: As simple as that.
\nWe complicate life. We worry. We suffer anxiety at every turn. When we use our words to speak life into our lives, darkness has no choice but to flee. When we create a waterproof lining, we can carry anything…Water, light, precious gems of goodness. Watch how you think. Then watch how you speak. Speak love and light and life into your lives. You’ll march through the crises of your lives much quicker when you plug up the leaks. ❤️
\n““Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it."”\nMatthew 7:24-27 ESV
\n", "date_published": "2017-06-07T01:55:17-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/06/07/getting-filled-up.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Gratitude","God","Wisdom"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/06/05/in-my-own-voice.html", "title": "In My Own Voice", "content_html": "![\"Woman](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/aaf888cda8.jpg\")
\nFor those of you who are fairly new here, the whole thing started with this field. Twenty-two years ago, I brought the kids to West Virginia to introduce my future son-in-law to the family. Daughter #1 was about 19 and #2 was about 4. We went for a drive in the country, came around a bend, and here was this field filled with what looked all the world to be giant marshmallows. #1 told #2 that this was a Marshmallow Ranch. “This is where they grow the marshmallows really big then they cut them up in little pieces, put them in bags, and sell them at the stores.” she said.
\nYears later, I owned a little needlework shop called Needles & Pins. When I made items to sell in the shop, I created an art division of the company and called it Marshmallow Ranch because it was cute and catchy. Three months before Mr. Virgo died, I revived the name and began making handcrafted jewelry and art out of antique silverware and maps. I opened an Etsy shop and started this page. When I became a widow, I really wished I had a grief mentor to walk me through the painful journey ahead of me. Since I didn’t, I decided to BE that mentor for others and began blogging about what I was going through, with an honest and open heart…no matter how ugly it got. I already had around 400 followers at this point so I just kept the name and that started four years of daily blog posts. It’s been an interesting, painful, challenging journey. It has also been filled with hope, love, and joy…something I certainly couldn’t see starting out.
\nI didn’t really start speaking in my own voice until death whipped every ounce of pretense out of me. I had spent two decades as a Jewish doctor’s wife and never really felt “authentic” in that space. When you are raised in the home of an unpredictable alcoholic, you learn to tap dance for your supper. When you are born into a family with a child with a developmental disability, you learn to not give your mom any more trouble than what she is already facing. You learn to be the clown, to not rock the boat, to make everyone laugh. Above all else, I wanted to make my mom laugh. In so doing, I became a chameleon. I “changed colors” with my environment in order to fit in.
\nWhen I couldn’t keep all the balls in the air anymore, I dropped into a deep depression and spent seven years in what has come to be known in my family as “The Prozac Years.” I cannot be held entirely responsible for my behaviors from 1993 through 2000. Prozac altered my personality and I didn’t care about anything or anyone…a fact I’m still making up for. I was much more genuine the seven years I was with Mr. Virgo, but still, I hid parts of who I was…from him, from my family, from everyone. Grief has a way of stripping you bare. Your heart breaks open wide and shatters to the floor in a million shards. At some point you realize you have come to a crossroads. Stay where you are with your heart at your feet, or pick up the pieces and put yourself back together as best you can. What better time to drop all pretenses and become the genuine “you” you were born to be? I would stand in front of the mirror and ask God to show me who He wanted me to be…who He had MADE me to be. And bit by bit, piece by piece, I discovered my genuine voice. It’s much easier to just BE than it is to try to fit in.
\nThat’s the peace you see on my face when you send me such lovely messages about my pictures. That is the genuine, real me…relaxed in my own skin for perhaps the first time in my life. What you see is God’s love shining through me. I’m merely a conduit, passing on the Light I have been graced with. My cup is full to overflowing. ❤️
\n“Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.”\n1 Peter 3:3-4 ESV
\n", "date_published": "2017-06-05T01:55:48-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/06/05/in-my-own-voice.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","Gratitude","God","Wisdom"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/06/03/learning-new-things.html", "title": "Learning New Things", "content_html": "![\"Nesting](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/8e365e0f0c.jpg\")
\nMy dryer hasn’t been drying my clothes lately. They toss and turn and tumble and take forever to dry. I just couldn’t figure out what was wrong. I cleaned the lint out of the lint trap and that didn’t help. I looked down the dryer vent and saw the beginnings of a nest and cleared it out and it worked fine. But, by the time I left for Florida, I noticed it wasn’t drying at all. I didn’t really have time to mess with it before I left and the whole time down there I kept thinking I was going to have to buy a new dryer. Well, remember I told you how nice it is to have guy friends that you can run things by when you have questions? I asked one of my handy fix-it dudes what could be wrong. He said to go look in the dryer vent tube again. I assured him I had already done that and it was fine. He said, “Humor me.” So, I went back and….look what I found!!! That bird had completely filled the driver vent with leaves, moss, grass plus the lint it had managed to catch. OMGosh! It’s a miracle the house didn’t catch fire. The dryer did what it was supposed to do…when it didn’t flow right, the heat shut off. Thank God! I cannot express enough how important it is to check these things often. I am going to the hardware store and buy one of those vent covers that will keep this bird out of there. I think she must have abandoned her efforts because there were no eggs in this mess.
\nYou have to learn how things work when you’re on your own. You might be able to have a family member or a guy friend or neighbor fix things, or you can hire them done, but you have to have some sort of basic knowledge about how the stuff works in your house in order to know when things need fixing. I happen to love fixing things and I am constantly learning how much I don’t know! When I called my friend back, I sent him these pictures and he was suitably impressed. I thanked him for making me take a second look. Then I said, “Hey…I need to get the oil changed on my truck. Is that hard to do?” He said he does his all the time. So, guess what I’M going to learn how to do today??? Pictures to follow!!! ❤️
\n“I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.”\nPsalm 32:8 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-06-03T01:55:03-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/06/03/learning-new-things.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/06/02/taste-treats.html", "title": "Taste Treats", "content_html": "![\"Tasty](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/8bb485f0fd.jpg\")
\nWhen I was a little girl, this farm produced strawberries for the local Farmer’s Market. The berries my grandparents grew were known far and wide as some of the best available. They were huge, juicy, red ripe clear to the center and as sweet as sugar. Oh, my mouth waters thinking about them. Sometimes you couldn’t get more than five or six in the quart berry baskets. I wasn’t allowed in the berry patch. My hands stuffed those berries in my mouth much faster than they should have and I kept stepping on the runners because I didn’t understand their importance. But I watched every step of the production and took great pride in driving to town with my Pop-Pop and a pickup load of berries every afternoon.
\nAnother childhood memory from these parts is Ward’s Market, a fresh produce stand that also carries a good variety of Amish made and local delicacies. I had to make a run to town yesterday so I stopped on my way home to see what the market had available. I was thrilled to see home grown strawberries there! As you can see, this isn’t one of your mass produced, farm-factory grown berries. This baby is red straight through, and while the taste is not as sweet as Grandma’s berries, these have excellent flavor. Aromatic, succulent, still warm from the sun. Oh, my…what’s not to love about that?
\nI found several items to add to my larder. Amish roll butter is my favorite. As little butter as I use, I choose the real deal over the plastic stuff you get in tubs at the grocery stores. Margarine was invented to feed cattle and they wouldn’t eat it so they added food coloring and feed it to us. Delightful. No thanks. I got a jar of sweet heat pickles and black raspberry jam, also made in Amish Country. Then there’s my favorite…Oliverio Hot Peppers in Sauce and Oliverio Spaghetti Sauce….made in Clarksburg, WV. Clarksburg has a high concentration of Italians and there are some wonderful Italian restaurants there. I like to mix these two jars when I’m making spaghetti sauce and add my own touches like black olives, capers, garlic, oregano, onions, hot Italian sausage, mushrooms, red pepper flakes, and three or four mashed anchovies filets. This makes a lovely Putanesca Sauce…a peasant style Sauce from Northern Italy. I’m planning to have a dinner party before I leave for Colorado next month and I think this will be perfect on the menu.
\nAfter my foray into town, I mowed the lawn. I had arranged with a young man to mow while I was gone and he didn’t show up so I’ll need to make other plans for when I’m in Colorado. I hate mowing when it’s so deep because you can’t avoid getting clumps of grass everywhere. I ran over a snake with the mower and cut it in half. I really felt bad because it was a black snake and they help keep the rodent population down. I am, however, very glad it wasn’t a copperhead or a rattlesnake! I bought a couple suet feeders in town and set them up. I replenished my thistle supply so I fed the finches. I think everyone is going to be pretty happy out there today.
\nAs I was mowing yesterday, I got to thinking about how much my writing has changed through my grief journey. I go back sometimes and read my early stuff to see how far I’ve come. It’s pretty remarkable actually. There has been an improvement in my writing in general. I think that is to be expected when you write an essay every single day for four years. It’s like skiing. If you don’t improve after skiing every day for four years, you weren’t cut out to be a skier. I also notice my subject matter is much more diverse now. The blinders are off and I can see the world again. And I can interact with it. The reason I’m saying this is, there are new readers who find this page every day. Many of them are fairly new in this widowed life and they may just pass on thinking there is nothing here for them. I would encourage you, if you are new here, to scroll back through the blog to the earlier stuff. I’m sure you will find something to relate to. I guess what I’m getting at is…if you are hurting tonight, if you heart has been broken wide open, if the life you have known and hoped to live forever has fallen in pieces at your feet, please know my heart is with you. We have some really amazing people who frequent this blog. Wonderful, supportive, loving people who understand where you are. If you’re new, please find encouragement in the fact that, four years…three years…two years ago, I was desperately in pain. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t sleep, I ate my pain and put on drastic amounts of weight, and I really didn’t care much what happened to me. Sure, I had joy. I had insights. I had hope. But I certainly had pain. Please take encouragement in the fact that I can take great joy in planning a dinner party and filling the bird feeders and mowing the lawn. The life you want will not come to you. You must walk to it…kinda like an elaborate treasure hunt where the gift you find at the end is…YOU!
\nKeep searching. Leap moving. Keep coming back. You’re going to make it, dear one. ❤️
\n“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”\nMatthew 5:4 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-06-02T01:55:57-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/06/02/taste-treats.html", "tags": ["Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","Gratitude"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/06/01/the-deer-and-the-cat.html", "title": "The Deer and the Cat", "content_html": "![\"Green](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/6d9f437295.jpg\")
\nWell, I saw something I’ve never seen before. I sure wish I would have had my camera ready fast enough. I was sitting out on the porch yesterday, enjoying the cool of the evening when I heard a ruckus on the hill you see here. The lawn goes to the edge of the creek there and then the hill goes up the other side. I heard something running through the underbrush over there and could just make out an orange streak barreling down the hill. Kitty Boy! He doesn’t show up but maybe three nights a week or so these days. Fixing him and feeding him and the companionship of Boy Cat doesn’t seem to be enough for this adolescent and he’s off galavanting the farms and hills. As I watched this fairly small cat making a bee line down through the woods, it occurred to me he was making a whale of a lot of noise. I looked on up behind him and hot on his trail was a doe! She almost got him but he jumped on down into the creek and the doe stopped just short of coming out of the cover of the thicket. She proceeded to stomp her front hooves on the ground and snort for a good five minutes before she was convinced the big bad kitty was gone. My guess is she has a baby hidden up in those trees and Kitty Boy got a little too curious.
\nThe hummingbirds were causing quite a ruckus of their own…buzzing back and forth in front of me as I sat and wrote my daily post. The evening birds were calling. I could see across to the old garden area…the birds have totally cleaned out the cherry trees. Grandma’s snowball bush was blooming and the purple and white clematis were making a show of themselves on the metal lawn bracket my uncle built for them years ago. Sumac with broad heads of yellow-green blossoms were sweet on the evening air. The sparrows and chickadees and titmice were darting back and forth from the shrubs to the feeders. Three pairs of mourning doves foraged on the ground below the feeders, picking up the excess seed discarded by the more aggressive birds above. The brown headed cowbirds were there, but they’ve stopped their watery plunking calls and the dancing on the phone line meant to entice the ladies. The wildlife are settling into the summer child rearing season quite nicely and there seems to be a different rhythm on the farm these days.
\nThe clouds came rolling over the far ridge in time to catch the evening sun, sending a golden light over everything. Two turkeys called back and forth to one another from opposite hilltops. Rain was coming. The air thickened with the dampness that gathers just before the shower begins. By 8:00 last night, as I was writing this, I still hadn’t managed to sleep more than an hour out of the previous thirty-six. I took a walk. A hot bath. I wrote. I meditated. I prayed. And, I am quite sure…I’ll sleep afterwards. Because…here comes the rain. ❤️
\n“When he speaks in the thunder, the heavens roar with rain. He causes the clouds to rise over the earth. He sends the lightning with the rain and releases the wind from his storehouses.”\nJeremiah 51:16 NLT
\n", "date_published": "2017-06-01T01:55:08-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/06/01/the-deer-and-the-cat.html", "tags": ["Hope","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","Gratitude","Peaceful Moments","The Cats"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/05/31/the-best-laid-plans.html", "title": "The Best Laid Plans...", "content_html": "![\"Young](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/4a26e616ee.jpg\")
\nWhat was it John Lennon said? “Life is what happens when you’re busy making other plans.” Or some such thing. The plan was to stay in Florida another week but my traveling companion got called back home so within two hours, we were packed up and on the road. You have to fly by the seat of your pants when you are with me!
\nSaying goodbye to the beach, for now…and hello to new adventures! And what is better than another foray into the wonderful world of Georgia Barbecue? This time, it was The Copper Pig in Brunswick, GA. After feeding the alligators in the pond out front, you walk through the indoor Farmer’s Market to the restaurant. The decor sports such notable signs as “Turkey Eggs…when available” and “Whole Goat Sold Here”. Gulp. Remember the other day after the ray incident when I said I might turn vegetarian? Well, this was…after all…barbecue. In Georgia. I ordered my favorite non-vegetarian meal of ribs with a side of collard greens and cole slaw. And threw in corn bread for good measure. Top that off with a tall glass of sweet tea and I was in…forgive the term…hog heaven! Southern slaw is a vinegary affair, unlike the creamy variety I am accustomed to. It’s not entirely to my liking, I’m afraid. And the collards…I asked for vinegar to put on them. I was presented with a small jar of pale green peppers in vinegar. The top of the jar had a small hole so I gamely sprinkled on what I thought would be a liberal amount of vinegar and promptly set off the fire alarms in my mouth! Wowza! I’m not sure the collards actually had a flavor…maybe bacon? But again, once doused in liquid lava, I was hard pressed to taste anything anyway. The cornbread was dry. Sigh. I looked at my ribs and sent up a little prayer that they would redeem this episode of “Heartburn Haven”. I was not disappointed. The ribs were utterly swoon-worthy! Fork tender, fall off the bone, juicy, smoky morsels fit for the gods. I really wasn’t terribly hungry at that point so I picked all the meat off the bones and proceeded to taste the three BBQ sauces on the table. “Carolina Sauce”, like the slaw, is vinegar based but has a heavy mustard flavor. Not my thing. I moved on to “Sweet”. Liquid brown sugar, to be precise. Still…pretty darned yummy. Last was “Sweetheat”. Ok, now we’re talking. Sweet, smoky, tangy, with just the right heat to make you barely break out in a sweat on your upper lip. The kind that would make you wince if you had a little cut on your lip but not cry like a little girl. Perfect! I asked for a plastic container with a lid…food service variety. Not that styrofoam to-go box. This had to withstand ice in the cooler. I took both the “Sweet” and “Sweetheat” sauces and applied them liberally over the rib meat I had dissected on my plate, mixed it up, and applied more of each…like hot fudge on a pork sundae. I popped the container into the ice chest in the back of the truck and headed north.
\nI don’t know if you’ve ever driven through Georgia and the Carolinas, but there are LONG stretches of…trees. Both sides…nothing but trees. And dead armadillos. Lots of time to think when you’re driving through there. I was moseying along the interstate when I stopped in Rockhill at a Starbucks, grabbed a plastic fork and a latte, dropped the tailgate of the pickup and pulled the BBQ out of the cooler. My friend and I took turns dipping in and stuffing our faces with big forkfuls of the most divine mess of smoky goodness I think I have ever tasted. Oh, my…I want to go do it again just to say I did!
\nBack on the road, happy tummy, latte-laden, I was fueled for the last 6 hours of the marathon drive from Florida to West Virginia…something I have never experienced. I’ll let you know tomorrow if I am likely to ever experience it again. My bum was pretty weary by the time I wrote this last night after dark.
\nSadly, I had to cancel my appearance at a church in Crescent City scheduled for tomorrow night. We may be able to work out a way where I can appear by Skype. I hated to cancel but there was no alternative. When you travel with another person, you are each at the mercy of the other’s sudden schedule changes. I’m a really flexible person, and thankfully, so are my hosts at the church I was to appear at.
\nBy the time you read this, I am back at the farm. What a difference a day makes, huh? ❤️
\n“For he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.”\nPsalms 107:9 NLT
\n", "date_published": "2017-05-31T01:55:25-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/05/31/the-best-laid-plans.html", "tags": ["Travel","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","The Grand Adventure","Gratitude"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/05/30/another-day-in-paradise.html", "title": "Another Day in Paradise", "content_html": "![\"Palm\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/1a4fd54dc3.jpg\")
\nI don’t know what else to say…yesterday was another perfect day. It was a little hot. Well, ok…it was a LOT hot. The heat index at 10:30 this morning was 108 degrees! I did what I do every morning…I sat on the front deck with my coffee…reading and writing then came in when it got too warm. I actually started reading a novel yesterday. I haven’t read a book for entertainment for a long, long time. I couldn’t concentrate enough to read after I lost Mr. Virgo. Then I couldn’t read because I didn’t want to taint my writing. Someone gave me a copy of The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins so I stuck it in one of my bags and brought it with me…just in case. It feels good to let my mind get lost in someone else’s words for a change.
\nOnce the pool became shaded by the building as the sun started to the west, I went out and swam and sat by the pool and read. I went on several walks along the beach yesterday and actually baked chicken and rice for dinner with a salad. Cooking is another thing I never did for myself in those early months and years of widowhood. Life is taking on tinges of normalcy…like a painting when it gets to the point you can tell what it is. I feel whole again…as whole as I can possibly feel, I think.
\nI’m different now. Different in many ways. Good ways. Healthy ways. My moods are much more predictable…much less erratic. I don’t feel a frantic urgency to move and go and change locations in order to outrun my loss. I meet it head on. I relish my memories more than I fear my pain now and that is a pretty comfortable place to be. I’m happy. I never dreamed four years ago that I would ever feel happy again. But, here it is…greeting me every morning. Seeing me off to dream every night. I am so grateful for these moments.
\nI’m really looking forward to seeing my Colorado family in a few weeks. I miss them terribly! The girls are growing way too fast! These next three months will be filled with more travels. I have another week here then off to Tennessee for a couple of days then back to the farm for a couple of weeks before I head west. Thanks for traveling along with me…it’s really nice knowing you all are here! ❤️
\n“I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.”\nEphesians 1:16 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-05-30T01:55:19-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/05/30/another-day-in-paradise.html", "tags": ["Travel","Positive Energy","The Grand Adventure","Gratitude"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/05/29/rose-colored-glasses-or-keeping.html", "title": "Rose Colored Glasses or Keeping the Faith?", "content_html": "
![\"Quote](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/b4e1658e27.jpg\")
\nIt’s difficult to keep faith in humanity when the world looks like it does today. There are bad…evil bad people in the world but they are the drops in the ocean. We are tricked into thinking all of humanity has gone to hell in a hand basket when indeed they have not. There are plenty of wonderful, loving people in the world. I’m not going to go on a political rant here. I just want you to keep in mind there is a reason politicians and media keep the pot stirred up. It’s easier to keep control of a fearful crowd. Keep your eyes open. Look for the love. Look for the good. Send out positive, uplifting energy. Raise the vibration of the world. If you are the praying sort, pray with all your might that we are saved from he who would do us harm. We know how this ends. The light banishes the darkness. It is written. It is physics and metaphysics. It is biblical. When I get discouraged I read my bible first. That’s where I find the most comfort and encouragement. Then I look for quotes of famous peace brokers like Gandhi, Rumi and the like. They help me reboot and keep moving towards a peaceful planet. That and calling my congressmen with my concerns. That’s about all I can do.
\nToday is Memorial Day. Let us look past the angry rhetoric today and honor those who have fought for our freedom. Let us be fully awake and remember. Thank you to all those who have given their all to this country.
\nIn memory of my uncle…George Melvin (Sonny) Chadock, who died in a plane crash 5/5/55 ❤️
\n“And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.”\nColossians 3:15 NLT
\n", "date_published": "2017-05-29T01:55:06-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/05/29/rose-colored-glasses-or-keeping.html", "tags": ["Travel","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Hope","Positive Energy","Peaceful Moments"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/05/28/shooting-stars.html", "title": "Shooting Stars", "content_html": "![\"Sun-kissed](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/cad23a2dc4.jpg\")
\nI didn’t go anywhere yesterday. I sat out on the front deck with my coffee for a couple of hours then took a short walk on the beach. It was already getting hot and oh so crowded, so I came back to the condo and sat on the front deck for another two hours reading and writing. True decadence. I cooked a nice supper and went down with a chair to sit on the beach for sunset. I had a lovely conversation with several people and was gifted this photo of myself. I have to tell you this…and I’m not being vain or self-aggrandizing. But, it’s been a long, long time since I felt this beautiful. It was such a peaceful day. The sun was setting. The mist began to settle in on the beach and my skin felt dewy and fresh. I even had a glass of my “merlot”…a dealcoholized wine made by Fré that I really enjoy…as I watched the people strolling up and down the shoreline. Some 40-year-olds tossed a football back and forth. A little 12-year-old girl practiced on her surf board. I sat out till long after dark, watching the stars come out and the moon slowly set. I saw two huge shooting stars overhead and counted my many, many blessings. I had heard there were fireworks scheduled after the concert down at the pavilion by the pier. I saw two or three small ones but it didn’t amount to much. Then I walked up the beach with a flashlight looking for crabs and jellyfish. I saw a few, and also the first seagulls I’ve seen during this trip…only three or four of them. Lots and lots of pelicans, though.
\nSo that was my day…peaceful, joyful, happy, and oh so grateful!
\n“Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires.”\nPsalms 37:4 NLT ❤️
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-05-28T01:55:13-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/05/28/shooting-stars.html", "tags": ["Travel","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","The Grand Adventure","Fun","God","Aging"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/05/25/were-not-in-kansas.html", "title": "We're Not in Kansas", "content_html": "
![\"1956](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/518165aab6.jpg\")
\nWhat a crazy weather day in the south yesterday. After a relatively calm morning walk on the beach, the weather continued to amp up till the Weather Channel reported multiple tornadoes. Daytona Beach was under a tornado watch most of the afternoon. Wave after wave of severe thunderstorms drove through the area, blowing the deck furniture all over. I’m glad I got a chance to get out Monday evening and explore a little.
\nAs I was heading south to check out New Smyrna Beach, I saw an antique car restorer and decided to stop on my way back. There were some absolutely gorgeous cars there. This particular beauty is a 1956 Chevy BelAir. Restored in a two tone with black and a striking chartreuse green, it looked so much more impressive than the black and white I remember. There was a woman who lived down the road from the farm who had one of these when I was a kid. I have always loved the ‘56 and ‘57 Chevys. Couldn’t you just imagine a tiny canned ham camper being towed behind one of these babies?
\nI went out and about again last night. I was driving through a beautiful neighborhood when I saw a sign advertising a small fiberglass camper…a Trillium. It was so sweet and small and would be perfect if it wasn’t $16.5K! Not possible. The lady selling it was lovely and we had a nice chat as she told me of her travels in the little camper. I think she was disappointed that I didn’t take it. I went grocery shopping and stopped at Starbucks on the way home. I love a decaf Americano late in the evening.
\nAs I am writing this, the storms have passed on out to sea. I’m sitting on the deck, a lovely sea breeze rolling in over the waves. It is a sensible 73 degrees and a light sweater is plenty to keep me comfortable as I count my many blessings. I had a wonderful conversation with the powers that be at Sisters on the Fly today and I am signed up to write a monthly post on their website under the branded column they created for me…“Getting Bolder”. I took a little hiatus after the accident in February and it seems they missed me. I’m looking forward to getting back in the saddle, so to speak, and share some stories and showcase some amazing Sisters who are also Getting Bolder. It was another beautiful day! ❤️
\n“In vain you rise early and stay up late, toiling for food to eat— for he grants sleep to those he loves.”\nPsalm 127:2 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-05-25T01:55:31-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/05/25/were-not-in-kansas.html", "tags": ["Travel","Hope","Positive Energy","The Grand Adventure","Peaceful Moments"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/05/24/paradise-found.html", "title": "Paradise Found", "content_html": "![\"Pelican\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/62dd05f068.jpg\")
\nI love these guys. Sort of mini pterodactyls. They fly in and land on the piers and posts and give you the stink eye looking for handouts. They’re rough and battle-worn soldiers of the sea. You can sit on the beach and see big splashes far from shore where they dive down, down, down…tucking their wings in tight, stretching their beak and neck straight out and cut right into the water. They come up with their catch and swiggle and wiggle their heads around till they swallow their prey. It’s awesome to watch.
\nYesterday was day two on this segment of The Grand Adventure. I had a big breakfast and headed out to the beach. There seems to be a constant breeze coming in off the ocean which makes the 86° and 100% humidity bearable. I did not know you can drive on Daytona Beach. The beach here is very wide at low tide and it is smooth and hard. It costs $10 a day to drive your car out but then you have all your stuff handy and it’s a quick and easy set up and break down. The sand is tan, soft and fine between your fingers and has gold glittery bits that shine in the sun. It’s a very clean beach, very few shells, and no trash. I am quite impressed. I walked at least two miles on the beach. I came back and soaked in the jacuzzi tub (because they have one) and took a nap (because I could!).
\nI can sit on the front patio of this condo and see the Halifax River across the road and from the side patio I see the ocean. This is a long, skinny island much like the barrier island of the Outer Banks. The water is a bluish-grey and is very clean. I am further down than the typical touristy areas so it’s pretty quiet.
\nI wandered around a bit yesterday afternoon and walked through New Smyrna Beach. I stopped for an excellent meal at Blackbeard’s Inn. OMGosh! They bring a bucket of hot rolls and fresh cinnamon buns to the table first. Fresh, HOT cinnamon buns that are to die for and totally NOT gluten free! Swoon. I had salad bar (I could have made a meal of the pickled beets!), a generous serving of coconut shrimp, baked potato, and steamed broccoli. Oh, just roll me home! The server asked if I saved room for dessert, and while that homemade key lime pie sounded divine, I demurred. I’ll have to walk a lot more than two miles today to make up for last night’s meal!!!
\nI’m looking forward to the coming days when the rains are gone and I can lay out on the beach at night and count the stars. I know it’s only been two days but I’m already a relaxed noodle. Thank you God for your gift of the sea! ❤️
\n“He calmed the storm to a whisper and stilled the waves.”\nPsalms 107:29 NLT
\n", "date_published": "2017-05-24T01:55:31-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/05/24/paradise-found.html", "tags": ["Travel","Hope","Positive Energy","The Grand Adventure"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/05/23/hallelujah-anyway.html", "title": "Hallelujah Anyway!", "content_html": "h![\"Penny](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/75d04f457a.jpg\")
Anne Lamott wrote a poignant book about blessing whatever comes into your life…good, bad, indifferent. Because it has all come for a purpose, even if that purpose is merely to thank God it isn’t worse. Being grateful in spite of the messiness of life is truly a gift you can give yourself…and others. When you shout “Hallelujah Anyway”, you demonstrate gratitude, forbearance, and joy to those who may look to you for guidance. I love that! I’m going to remember to say “Hallelujah Anyway” when things don’t always go smoothly. I certainly didn’t need to shout it yesterday because I could not have possibly experienced a more beautiful day than I did my first day in Daytona Beach!
\nI had a lovely sleep-in then fixed my coffee and sat outside watching the waves not 100 steps away. As I counted my blessings, I added a huge thank you to the friend who made this trip happen and the friend that loaned this stunning condo. I changed and went to the beach for a couple of hours. Even though the temperature was up in the eighties, the breeze coming in off the ocean was divine. I went for a long walk down the beach and back. As I was walking under the pier, I was thinking about Ms. Lamott’s book and all the times I’ve been challenged in the last four years and I still managed to say “Hallelujah Anyway!” Just then, I looked down and this penny was right in front of me. Delight surged through me as I picked it up. Well, Hallelujah Anyway!
\nI came in to clean up and head out for lunch. I ate in a seafood place called Down Under and I’m afraid I was “underwhelmed”. The first couple of hush puppies were wonderful, but the refill was doughy. The cole slaw was marginal. The fries were good, but who needs fries, right? The crab cakes were terribly disappointing. Doughy, undercooked, beige disks that were truly sad. But, lesson learned. Don’t eat at a place under a bridge, right? Oy!
\nAfter lunch, I headed to Target to pick up a few groceries. I love Target…much better than Walmart. Clean, well stocked, friendly staff, and a Starbucks…what’s not to love? Afterward, I stopped at the Daytona Speedway and poked around. That place is HUGE. There were the remnants of an RV show in the parking lot so that was fun.
\nOnce the groceries were put away back at the condo, I curled up for a nap to catch up from the long drive. When I got up, I fixed a tray of carrots with French Onion dip, grapes, raspberries, hummus with pretzel chips, hard boiled eggs and dealcoholized Merlot and carried it out to the deck. Just as I finished, the sky opened up and I was presented with a lovely chorus of lightning and thunder! Oh my….this was just the perfect ending to a perfect day. As I write this, I’m curled up in bed in the master suite with the door flung wide, catching the cool sea breeze and listening to the rush of water…both from the rain and the ocean. The sound of tires on wet pavement marks the adventurous souls out in spite of the weather. I can just hear them as they creep along, the rain making it difficult to see the road, their vacation plans only slightly ruffled by a late spring thunderstorm as they mutter, “Hallelujah Anyway! Look where I am!!!” ❤️
\n“Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.”\n1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NLT
\n", "date_published": "2017-05-23T01:55:30-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/05/23/hallelujah-anyway.html", "tags": ["Travel","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","The Grand Adventure","God","Wisdom"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/05/22/the-smokin-pig.html", "title": "The Smokin' Pig", "content_html": "![\"The](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/f2ad59579f.jpg\")
\nI arrived in Statesville, NC at 2:00 yesterday morning. I had stopped at the NC Welcome Center and picked up a hotel coupon magazine and found one for the Ramada. I stayed here in February when I was on my way back from Florida. I managed to get one of the last rooms available for $65, including a really good hot breakfast. I love this hotel because it is clean, convenient, and the staff are always friendly. I worked in the hotel business for a few years and I learned that you pay more for a reservation. You can get your best prices as a walk-in, especially with a coupon and a big, friendly smile. I asked for a late check out and got on the road by 11:00.
\nIf you want to know the best places to eat when you’re traveling, you need to ask where the locals go. When I’m in the south, I’m hunting for Southern delicacies like really good soul food and the very best barbecue. My great find this time was a little hole-in-the-wall BBQ joint located at the end of the BP Station next to the Raceway station off exit 87 of I-95. Oh…em…geeeee! Delicious!
\nIt rained quite a bit through Georgia and cleared up by the time I got into Florida. It was still twilight when I pulled into the condo here at Daytona Beach so I could still see the waves. And of course, I could smell the salty sea breeze and hear the waves on the beach. I can see the ocean from the patio doors off the master suite so I can’t wait for coffee this morning! I’m literally a hundred steps from the ocean!!! I am so blessed that a dear friend is sharing this condo with me. I couldn’t do this without that kindness. Thank you, thank you, thank you! And…Thank you Jesus for travel mercies!!! ❤️
\n“The LORD said to Moses, “I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat, and in the morning you will be filled with bread. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God.’ ””\nExodus 16:11-12 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-05-22T01:55:14-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/05/22/the-smokin-pig.html", "tags": ["Travel","Hope","Positive Energy","Fun"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/05/21/road-tripthe-grand-adventure-continues.html", "title": "Road Trip...The Grand Adventure Continues!", "content_html": "
![\"Little](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/fd4fc69a31.jpg\")
\nOMGosh! I miss the open road! Traveling along the highways and byways of this beautiful country is one of my favorite things in the whole wide world to do. I’ve been stationary the majority of the last nine months and I miss TOW-Wanda. By the time you read this, I will be several hours into my drive to Florida. I didn’t want to miss church last night so I went then headed out on the road. Cooler of snacks and ample tunes makes for a good time. I love driving at night. There isn’t as much traffic and it’s cooler. I drive till I’m ready to call it a night, then pull in to an area with a bunch of hotels and search my hotels.com app for the best deal in the area.
\nThis picture is little TOW-Wanda at Steamboat Lake State Park. I look at this picture and remember that trip into the wilderness and back roads of Colorado. It’s hard to imagine I did all that so soon after losing Mr. Virgo. The memories of that trip are fuzzy. I was still in shock, trying to navigate the world alone for the first time in my life, really. It’s like a slide show in my mind now. I have pictures and my early posts to remind me where I was…physically and emotionally. I was so lost emotionally. I have continued writing the stories of my life because I want those who have just boarded this ship to know that life gets better. Calmer seas are coming, even if you cannot envision them. I promise…you will be different, but you CAN find joy again. Just keep looking. As I headed out from the farm yesterday, cats and lawn care covered, my heart sang in the sunshine and all was right in the world!!!
\nDestination…Daytona Beach! You get to come along vicariously!!! I’ll post pictures! ❤️
\n“Dear friend, guard Clear Thinking and Common Sense with your life; don’t for a minute lose sight of them. They’ll keep your soul alive and well, they’ll keep you fit and attractive. You’ll travel safely, you’ll neither tire nor trip. You’ll take afternoon naps without a worry, you’ll enjoy a good night’s sleep. No need to panic over alarms or surprises, or predictions that doomsday’s just around the corner, Because GOD will be right there with you; he’ll keep you safe and sound.”\nProverbs 3:21-26 MSG
\n", "date_published": "2017-05-21T01:55:53-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/05/21/road-tripthe-grand-adventure-continues.html", "tags": ["Travel","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","The Grand Adventure","Fun"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/05/17/my-resting-place.html", "title": "My Resting Place", "content_html": "![\"Peony\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/5a9dd718c6.jpg\")
\nLast week there were two mornings where the temperature hovered just a tad above freezing. I was so happy that my flowers and the cherry trees didn’t get nipped by Old Jack Frost. And just like that, the temps soared up to the 80’s yesterday. When it gets like that, it’s too hot to sit on the front porch after the sun crosses the house and starts its decent over the far ridge. It doesn’t go behind that ridge till just before 7:00, but after that…the porch is my domain again.
\nI struggled a little yesterday. Loss encroached into the periphery of my life over the weekend and even though it didn’t affect my inner circle, sometimes other people’s loss stirs my own feelings. I so seldom have a bad day anymore. Really. I can certainly tell when I wake up, which way the winds will blow, and yesterday was a little stormy. Not bad. Not nearly like I’ve had in the past. My grief has always gone out through the pit of my stomach and I have learned to just let it pass. I’ve learned to listen to my body and give myself permission to have a mattress-surfing day. I had my “Emergency Down-Day Kit” at the ready. I rode the wave back into shore and as the house cooled, so did I.
\nRiding that wave and finding my resting place reminded me of those long, dark early nights of grief when I would have what I referred to as…bad nights. There were nights when the only way I made it through was to visualize sitting at the feet of Jesus, resting my head on his knee, and letting him stroke my hair the way my mother did when I was a child. I knew that I was God’s child, and that my resting place was in that place in my heart where Christ lives. There was a woman who came to sing at the Revival last week. She sang a song she wrote about finding her resting place in Jesus. It is comforting to me when I learn I am not alone in this journey…that there are others who have struggled, who struggle still, and that I’m really ok.
\nMy grief is different now. It’s fleeting. It’s temperate. It’s diffuse. It’s not even filled with Mr. Virgo like it was. It’s more like a cloud of sadness that settles for a little bit then lifts and moves on. If I let myself delve too deep, I could stir up too many things and I’ve learned that doesn’t serve me well. I’ve also learned it doesn’t hurt me to indulge myself in this bit of reverie. It’s a giant emotional yardstick that illustrates how far I’ve come since March 12, 2013. It will always be there. I don’t know what stirred it this time…probably the loss I’ve seen in others lately. Today is a new day…I have tools…I have hope…I have love…I have God. What more could I need? ❤️
\n““Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.””\nMatthew 11:28-30 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-05-17T01:55:55-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/05/17/my-resting-place.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","God","Wisdom"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/05/16/oh-fireflywherefore-art-thou.html", "title": "Oh, Firefly...Wherefore Art Thou?", "content_html": "![\"Fireflies](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e1146480a4.jpg\")
\nFireflies are disappearing, apparently. As with many species, human encroachment and the loss of habitat as well as light pollution have disrupted the reproductive cycle of the Lampyridae. Mosquito-borne illnesses like West Nile and Zika, among others, has prompted more communities to spray pesticides in the evening hours right when the “lightning bugs” take flight in their mating ritual dance, thus decreasing their numbers dramatically. Fireflies like longer grass so cutting your lawn too short might decrease their numbers. There are natural influences on this entertaining insect, as well. Moist, temperate climates are preferred over hot and dry. The increasing warmth of the earth is causing a shift in the populations of many species. Even earthworms (which, by the way, are not native to North America) have had an effect on the decline of firefly numbers.
\nI have been waiting for the dance of the firefly with great anticipation. The familiar rising glow symbolizes summer to those of us who grew up catching them in jars or in chubby, little-girl hands. They are synonymous with watermelon and moon baths and bare feet in the grass. I always brought my girls home in the summer so they could experience those time-honored traditions that I enjoyed as a child. They still remember those trips.
\nI sat on the porch yesterday with my coffee, writing this post, and was struck with the cacophony of sound that met me. From the neighbor down the road mowing to the carpenter bees trying to make their way to my trap to the raucous calls and tapping of the woodpeckers in the dead tree out by the road, summer is fast encroaching on the farm. There are so many layers of sound now. The recent addition of flying insects has added to the complex symphony I enjoy with my morning reverie. The sudden appearance of a red tailed hawk or a crow being chased by robins adds to the entertainment. Old Mama Kitty lays at my feet, occasionally jumping at a curious hummingbird or passing butterfly. I saw my first grasshopper of the season as I typed this. This isn’t a bad life.
\nI’m preparing for another adventure this week. A really BIG road trip! I’m leaving for Florida this weekend. I’m not taking TOW-Wanda on this trip. I have another opportunity to use a condo on the beach. I am so grateful! I am available for speaking engagements as I travel so if you have a church or civic group that would like to host me, let me know. I will be speaking at a church in Crescent City, Florida on June 1st.
\nI think I’ll wash the sheets and dry them in the sunshine today. Won’t that be lovely? ❤️
\n““ ‘All flying insects that walk on all fours are to be regarded as unclean by you. There are, however, some flying insects that walk on all fours that you may eat: those that have jointed legs for hopping on the ground. Of these you may eat any kind of locust, katydid, cricket or grasshopper. But all other flying insects that have four legs you are to regard as unclean.”\nLeviticus 11:20-23 NIV
\nPhoto Credit: stevendavidjohnson.com
\n", "date_published": "2017-05-16T01:55:24-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/05/16/oh-fireflywherefore-art-thou.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/05/14/the-fruit-of-the-vine.html", "title": "The Fruit of the Vine", "content_html": "![\"Grapes](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e81d056149.jpg\")
\nI went to my home church last night. You all are going to think that’s all I do. It isn’t…but this was Revival week so every night but Friday night has been spent in church so that’s what you get with your morning coffee. My home church is wonderful. It meets in a warehouse. It started out just two short years ago with 127 people. Now we regularly serve over 1300 people in three services every weekend. 1259 Salvations. 226 Baptisms. 2556 VIP’s (new attendees who fill out a visitor card). They have a great Praise Team and the pastors are a husband and wife team who do a wonderful job. Because the Sunday services are standing room only, the pastor asked for volunteers to come to the Saturday night services to give the new people a chance to come in and find a seat. Isn’t that a wonderful “problem” to have? We are in the process of buying a huge warehouse so we can have a seating capacity of 1300 per service. I love it!
\nLast night, in honor of Mother’s Day, the pastor’s wife gave the sermon. She delivered a great message and talked about the Fruit of the Spirit…love, joy, peace, forbearance (patience), kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. When we receive the Holy Spirit, we need to nurture these fruit as the attributes of a Christian. We all can use practice in these areas. I’m willing to bet, forbearance and self-control will be the highest on most people’s list. We are a self-indulgent people and patience is a virtue that is not easily attained in today’s world. With any fruit-bearing vine, good care is needed to produce the best fruit. A barren vine needs to be pruned in order for the plant to produce it’s best. Sometimes we have to lop off those unproductive parts of ourselves…those things in our lives that do not serve us and actually do harm. Pruning these things away is difficult and oftentimes downright painful. But, we will be the better for it.
\nTonight I go back for the last night of Revival. Can’t wait to give you the report tomorrow! Happy Mother’s Day…and on behalf of your moms, give us a call today. If she’s gone…my heart is with you. It’s so hard to lose your mother. You’ll never regret being good to your mom! ❤️
\n“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control…”\nGalatians 5:22-23 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-05-14T01:55:40-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/05/14/the-fruit-of-the-vine.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Prayer","Positive Energy","God","Holiday","Wisdom"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/05/13/caught-in-a-trap.html", "title": "Caught in a Trap", "content_html": "![\"Wasp](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/462fda2e01.jpg\")
\nThis has turned out to be a really intense and power-filled week for me. I have been attending an old-time Gospel, Spirit-filled Revival this week at the little white church on the hill and I’m telling you what…it’s been both exhilarating and exhausting. I don’t even feel like myself. I’m sure you’ve noticed my fired-up posts this week. I don’t usually go all preachy like that, but I’ve been just feeling so inspired all week and I’ve learned to listen. With that in mind, today’s post is toned down a bit but still faith-based, as all my essays are. I noticed my numbers dropped off a little after yesterday’s post. I know…not everyone wants to have religion with their coffee. I get that. There will be plenty of travel stories and farm stories and memories to share down the road. This is Revival week, and since I write about what I’m experiencing every day, this is what you get this week.
\nI went out for my morning walkabout yesterday. Out of nowhere, Boy Cat made a beeline for me and started rubbing all over my legs. He has never, ever done that (see the video from yesterday) and he tagged along with me for most of my walk. I took a bunch of pictures of all the wildflowers that are currently blooming. I walked down the road to visit a neighbor. As I was strolling along, I noticed this wasp trap hanging in a tree. If you look inside the trap, there…hanging at the top…is a wasp on a nest. Inside the trap. It reminded me of something young Pastor Matt preached about this week. God v. Satan, Light v. Dark, Good v. Evil…whatever you call it, light banishes darkness, not the other way around. I know in my journey, I ran as far away from a relationship with Jesus as I possibly could. For some reason, God was ok…but Jesus scared me. Probably because of that hellfire and brimstone preacher of my youth. I mean, I felt Jesus knocking at the door of my heart…politely waiting to be invited in. But, I would get so anxious and worked up about it, I could only go in the other direction to avoid the whole thing. Little did I know at the time, surrender would have been the ticket to freedom from all that.
\nAs my journey took me further and further away from God, I became more and more blind, more and more deceived by the darkness. Once I got so far out to sea and turned around to look for my saving Grace, I realized how far from shore I really was. I was in a trap of my own making…believing the lies, living my life, building my nest there…much like this unsuspecting wasp is. Living in that trap wasn’t all that bad on the surface. I had a nice house. I had a new car every couple of years. I had an essentially unmonitored bank account. On the surface, I had everything. But on the inside, I was a barren wasteland. I was living in the Sahara Desert with no water…no food…no spiritual sustenance. The Darkness can lure you in with comforts then it closes the door and locks it and you can never get out. I am blessed to have found my way back before It was too late.
\nThe path I’m walking hasn’t been one I’d necessarily have chosen for myself. I never wanted to be a widow. I gave up a lot to get to where I am. Aside from Mr. Virgo’s death, I wouldn’t change a thing because I’m in a good space right now. I’m not living in a trap anymore. I have shed the chains that bound me. And I’m living free…standing on the promises of God.
\nI missed Revival last night and will again tonight because of a prior commitment. I’ll go back Sunday night for the grand finale, though. I’m going to my church with a friend tonight to avoid the Sunday crowds and then out for dinner to celebrate Mother’s Day early. It’s still cool and cloudy and raining here. May is like that. I hope you have a grand start to your weekend, dear ones! ❤️
\n“The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.”\nPsalm 145:18 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-05-13T01:55:58-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/05/13/caught-in-a-trap.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Hope","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","God","Wisdom"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/05/11/weeding-my-garden.html", "title": "Weeding My Garden", "content_html": "![\"Two](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/2291f4ab9d.jpg\")
\nWell, I went to Revival again last night. I do not believe I have ever in my life felt the energy in that little church that I have felt this week. I’m talking fire. Whew! You do come away with a spring in your step after a big dose of the toe-tappin’ spirit. I tried to imagine my Grandma and Pop-Pop, my mom, Aunt Idy, Uncle Red, Aunt Myrt…sitting in their seats, listening. They were all so…reserved. Let me tell you…these beautiful people were anything but reserved.
\nPastor Matthew opens with song and prayer, then invites anyone who would like to speak to please do so. Last night, a lovely couple were there and the gentleman rose to say something. He’s a hobby farmer. He raises cattle so he can see them, not eat them. He names them. His first cow he called “Blessings”. Two more came along and he named them “Shirley Goodness” and “Mercy”. There are more…all named with Biblical phrases. And, when he goes out to call in his cows, neighbors from far and wide hear him calling…“Surely Goodness and Mercy, Blessings” and so forth. It is his form of testimony within earshot of his neighbors.
\nThe man’s wife then stood to talk about her land. She helps her husband outside as she can. There is some Floribunda growing out in the pasture. It’s a kind of wild rose…its brambles used as a hedge row instead of fencing. It seemed like a good idea to our forefathers to plant such a thing, but they didn’t realize it would soon take over. And, it’s not good for anything…the cows can’t eat it. Something so seemingly innocent ended up needing to be rooted out. The wise woman with her gentle demeanor and her long silver hair reminded us that there are things we let into our lives…things that didn’t seem like such a bad idea till they turned into a pasture full of briars. Then you have to start plucking it out and getting rid of it. Once bad things get a foothold, it isn’t long till you have a mess in your life.
\nI distinctly remember a particular day in my life when I made an unsavory life choice. That still small voice told me, “Don’t do this. You do this and nothing will ever be the same.” Oh, we’re a stubborn people, aren’t we? “You can handle it.” “It’s just this once.” “Nobody will know.” Lies. Lies whispered into our lives. Light and Dark. Up and Down. Good and Evil. It’s a balancing act. It’s a constant battle. I fall down sometimes. I wimp out because it’s not always easy. If there’s anything I’ve learned this week in the most unlikely of places for me to be, it’s this…I have far more strength and power than I ever dreamed of. We all have access to that power. It’s a gift. For me, that gift is the Holy Spirit and I’m grateful to have had this experience this week. It’s been empowering. ❤️
\n“Come and hear, all you who fear God, And I will declare what He has done for my soul.”\nPsalms 66:16 NKJV
\n", "date_published": "2017-05-11T01:55:50-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/05/11/weeding-my-garden.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Prayer","Hope","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","God"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/05/05/at-last.html", "title": "At Last...", "content_html": "![\"Rhododendron](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/325870958f.jpg\")
\nI was sitting out on the front porch yesterday…drinking coffee, solving the crossword, checking in with friends, listening to the Norah Jones channel on Pandora, watching the spring showers blow through in waves. It’s been a crazy week with trips to town for one thing and another every day since I got back from my last trip. Yeah, I know…it’s rough. But, I was really relishing a few hours of peace and quiet before a friend arrived in the afternoon for a visit. It felt good to just BE for a little bit. Those moments always turn something on in my heart…like fine-tuning the dial on a radio to get the station perfectly clear.
\nI was lost in reverie when Etta James came on with her sultry, smooth voice…“At Last”. Oh…there was a time when the mere thought of that song made me burst into tears. That was the song Mr. Virgo and I danced to at our wedding. The one…and only…time he ever danced with me. I can still remember the way my hand rested in his, the sparkle in his eyes, the early spring sunshine slanting through the panes of glass in the sun room of the restaurant where we were married. I remember the way the smooth, black and white tiles felt beneath my feet as he gently guided me in a four foot square…not standing still but not really dancing either. Just moving and sharing a special moment.
\nI was so excited to marry that man. My second divorce had left me yearning for a loving connection, as if changing my name would be another chapter further into the story of my life…further away from the pain and heartbreak that had come before. Our relationship was sweet and trusting, a mutual love and respect that soothed my broken heart and made me whole again. Three weeks shy of six years later, my heart shattered again when he died right in front of me.
\nYes, there was a time when this memory would have caught me off guard and I would have been reduced to a puddle of messiness and pain. And, I’m sure there will be a time in the future when it triggers something that will open that wound again. Not yesterday. Yesterday, I smiled and remembered the way his suit coat felt when I laid my hand on his chest as we danced, his strength and confidence a source of comfort to me. I could almost smell his Halston cologne. I wish I could remember what we said to each other in that moment but it is lost to me. I wish he had liked to dance. I love being held in a tall man’s arms.
\nI was brought back…to the porch, to myself, to this beautiful life I am living…by the stunning sweep of a Pileated Woodpecker landing on the dead tree stump in the front yard where I have the rain gauge. At last…I have come home to myself and I’m anchored in this moment without drifting back into the stormy abyss of grief like a sailor being washed from the deck in a restless sea. At last. ❤️
\n“You made me suffer a lot, but you will bring me back from this deep pit and give me new life. You will make me truly great and take my sorrow away.”\nPsalms 71:20-21 CEVUS06
\n", "date_published": "2017-05-05T01:55:41-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/05/05/at-last.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","The Farm","Wisdom"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/05/02/slow-and-steady.html", "title": "Slow and Steady", "content_html": "![\"Turtle](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/5a179517dc.jpg\")
\nWhat happens when you hit the wall? When grief raises its ugly head and bites you in the butt? When you “wear the same jammies four days straight” and can’t get out of yourself like a friend of mine did recently? It happens. When you think you’re done with grief, that b**** will grab you by the short hairs and lay you low…just like that. So, what do you do?
\nHaving an accountability partner helps. If you have that trusted friend, let him or her know if they don’t hear from you in “x” number of days, send in the troops. I knew my friend had “gone dark” and I was about to go roust her up and force feed her when she did it on her own.
\nI had a hard and fast rule…I simply would not allow myself more than two consecutive days of “mattress surfing”. If I had to crawl to the kitchen for coffee and do nothing but pull on sweats and run a brush through my hair, at least I had moved from the bed to the couch. Every little piece of progress adjusts your thinking and that adjusts your reality. I know, I know…much easier said than done in the throes of grief. Just do your best.
\nOn the days that you are feeling good and upbeat, don’t let yourself forget what the dark feels like. Make yourself some care packages in preparation for those down days. Get a little gift bag or pretty tote. Fill it with a box of tissues, some good chocolate, a coloring book and crayons, a favorite magazine or two with lots of colorful, glossy pictures, a fresh pair of jammies and clean socks, a new toothbrush and a different flavor toothpaste, a little bottle of perfume, maybe a little makeup, a nice new tea and a new mug. You can get these things at the dollar store…they don’t have to be fancy…just readily available. If you do manage to get up, go straight to your kitchen sink and scrub it…whether you want to or not. There’s something about a shiny, clean sink that sets the tone. And, try making your bed if you manage to get up. It’s less inviting to jump back in when the bed is dressed and so are you.
\nThere are days when it comes back as fresh and new as it was, this grief we have in common. But remember, when you slip…when you pull back in your shell… you aren’t going back quite as far as you were. Not back to the beginning. Hang in there. Stay vertical as much as you can. And treat yourself with the same kindness and compassion you would offer a dear friend. ❤️
\n“Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you…”\n3 John 1:2 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-05-02T01:55:03-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/05/02/slow-and-steady.html", "tags": ["Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/05/01/gods-armor.html", "title": "God's Armor", "content_html": "
![\"Fallen](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/3f4a66ea9d.jpg\")
Coming home late at night means you don’t get to survey the grounds till morning. And, since the next morning was yesterday and I wanted to go to church, I didn’t get a chance to look around till afternoon. As I pulled up the driveway, I could see the top of this tree peeking around the end of the barn. There was a heavy storm here Friday night and it broke this dead tree off about four feet from the bottom and it came down right between the barn and the old pigpen. As you can see, somewhere along the line, some old furniture got dumped up behind the barn. And I put the straw bales from the kitties’ winter home up there after the thaw. Now I have a tree to cut up. It’s never a dull moment here on the farm.
The grass grew a good 6-8" while I was gone and we are due to have thunderstorms the next couple of days so I mowed late yesterday afternoon…in 94° heat! This after I walked an hour and climbed the Quincy Hill Steps three times. I packed my sports bra with ice packs, drank a liter of Powerade and went for it. I should have raised the mower a bit because now there are clumps of grass everywhere. Sigh.
\nThe big excitement was driving home yesterday. I was coming around a curve when a guy flashed his lights at me so I slowed down. Up ahead, a state trooper was pulling people over. Everyone. I was confused and pull off the edge of the road when he drove down the line of cars yelling, “Get off on the grass! There’s a high speed pursuit coming!” I no sooner pulled into these people’s yard till an older model pickup came screaming around the curve up ahead with two state troopers in full on pursuit. The trooper who pulled us over swung around and joined in. I found out later it was a stolen truck and the guy had an outstanding warrant. He ran into a ditch and thankfully no one received serious injuries.
\nLike I said, never a dull moment in my life. And, God was watching over me, yet again. Giving praise where praise is due. ❤️
\n“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.”\nEphesians 6:11 ESV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-05-01T01:55:57-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/05/01/gods-armor.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","God","Uncategorized"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/04/30/home-sweet-home.html", "title": "Home Sweet Home", "content_html": "
![\"Painted](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/cec6ae3a97.jpg\")
\nThe trip home was far less eventful than the trip last weekend. Thank God, there were no accidents along the way. I stopped for one last incredible latte at Sweet T’s in Duck and left behind the painted rock that I had found in Wytheville on the way down. I hope someone finds it and hides it somewhere else. I loved the sentiment on many levels…“Believe”.
\nEven though the trip was uneventful, it was long and exhausting. Eleven hours with three or four stops along the way to stretch my legs. I saw things I’d never seen before. I drove through the tunnel under the Chesapeake Bay. That was pretty neat. A tad disconcerting to think of all that water above me, I have to admit. I saw the big aircraft carriers in Newport News. I loved all the bridges going across the expanses of water in the south. It’s so open and free. This week is “Bike Week” on the Outer Banks. I’ll bet I passed, at the very least, a thousand motorcycles on their way down to the beach and I counted my lucky stars they weren’t there during my quiet getaway.
\nAs I drove home yesterday, I was particularly struck by the beauty of Western Virginia and Eastern West Virginia. The hills are solid and green, green, green. That brilliant spring green that hurts the eyes. The redbud and dogwood were all but gone save for the highest hills. There’s still some in my little holler. And, I was greeted by blooms on the rhododendron!!! I can’t wait to see it in the light of day. There was a lot of rain while I was gone and the lawn needs to be mowed soon.
\nTh truck was emptied and the items in the cooler were stowed away by 10:00 last night. Kitties had been fed and came to say hello. And, another adventure is in the books! I am grateful for the opportunity to go to the beach. I am equally grateful to be safely ensconced in my humble surroundings here on the farm. I find peace and joy wherever I go. ❤️
\n“This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.”\nPsalms 118:24 ESV
\n", "date_published": "2017-04-30T01:55:13-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/04/30/home-sweet-home.html", "tags": ["Travel","Uplifting Stories","Hope","Positive Energy","The Grand Adventure","West Virginia","The Farm"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/04/29/life-is-a-beautiful-thing.html", "title": "Life is a Beautiful Thing", "content_html": "![\"Woman](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/fa9004ccc6.jpg\")
\nLife is about choices. Every day we are faced with the choice to rise up and grab life by the tail and wring every ounce of, what…joy, love, happiness, laughter, beauty, energy, excitement, sweetness? All that and more await us every day. Even if you struggle with depression, anxiety, grief, sadness, fear, loss….there is room for choices in your life.
\nTwo weeks after Mr. Virgo died, I had a choice to make. I could die, metaphorically. Or I could live…really live. With joy and abundance. It was not easy. Especially early on. But I made every day count. I looked for joyful things to put in front of me to make life bearable. I surprised myself with joy. And, the more times I chose joy, the lighter my load became. It wasn’t overnight by any stretch of the imagination. But bit by bit, every positive choice helped bring me up from the abyss into the light.
\nTravel has been one of the joys that has helped me the most in my grief. Whether alone or with a friend or group of friends, seeing new places, challenging myself in different situations, and finding new parts of myself has been an amazing journey of growth and self-discovery. This trip has been no exception. I am very grateful I got to tag along with a friend in a gifted week at a timeshare. It was a lot of fun as well as relaxing.
\nChoices. Choose life. Choose joy. Choose laughter. Choose gratitude. I know. It’s not easy. Even in my darkest days of grief, I could surprise myself with joy…if even for just a moment. Moments build and time changes things. Whoever said time heals all wounds lied. It doesn’t. But you can build strong scars that show how hard you loved..how hard you fought. Just keep making positive choices. ❤️
\n“You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.”\nPsalm 16:11 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-04-29T01:55:01-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/04/29/life-is-a-beautiful-thing.html", "tags": ["Travel","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","The Grand Adventure","God","Wisdom"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/04/28/life-in-the-margins.html", "title": "Life in the Margins", "content_html": "
![\"Four](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/8b46806a4d.jpg\")
\nThis picture was taken the year before I was born. Four of my cousins gathered for their “stair step” photo in front of my aunt’s house, documenting their growth from year to year. I chose this picture as an example of the photos of our youth. The pictures had margins. Within the margin was the date the photo was developed. Grandma could write names and places in the margin so we could remember who was there and where we were. A lot of information was held in that margin. It was a breathing space between then and now.
\nSomewhere along the line, we lost the margin in our photos. The image was pushed to the edge and there was no room to identify, date, document what was happening. It was just gone. We lost something when we lost the margins. We lost space and time. Not only in our photos, but in our lives. While modern conveniences may have added hours to our days…how much life was actually added? What did we fill our margins with? TV? Food? Busyness?
\nI don’t know about you, but I’m looking for more margins these days. As I sat on the beach yesterday, watching surfers, fishermen, shell hunters, and sunbathers I thought about all the times I could have put more margins in my life. More space and time for others. More space and time for me. I contemplate what I had to give up to get to be here…toes in the sand, sun on my face, the sound of the surf pounding on the shore. I gave up a bunch of stuff that I didn’t care about anymore. I gave up buying designer clothes and umpteen pairs of shoes I didn’t need. I gave up house payments and big utility bills. I gave up expensive meals out. I sacrificed some time with my family that I try so hard to make up for when I go back for visits.
\nI gained space. Peace. Freedom. Time. Love. Joy. Kindness. A relationship with God. A home church. I gained stillness…a margin of space within which I can think my thoughts and write them down. I’ve regained the margin around the picture of my life and that is worth much more to me than furniture and an address or a fancy car. I’ll take my margin any day of the week. ❤️
\n“Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.”\nPsalm 62:1-2 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-04-28T01:55:28-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/04/28/life-in-the-margins.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Positive Energy","God","Wisdom"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/04/27/god-moments.html", "title": "God Moments", "content_html": "![\"Sunset](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/1d5dff909f.jpg\")
\nYesterday dawned dark and grey again. Every day I’ve been here has been cloudy for the biggest portion of the day with tons of rain. Have I let it get in the way of enjoying myself? Heck no! It’s actually put me in just the right places at just the right times. After breakfast, I headed to the north end of the island to visit the Currituck Lighthouse. I was amazed when I got there and saw a man dangling from the tippy top. He was bolting down cables wrapped around the top of the lighthouse to secure it for another hundred years. I thought maybe they were not allowing visitors in but that wasn’t the case. While the other two lighthouses were $4 and $5, the Currituck is $10. I did not see National Parks people there so I assume it is not a government facility.
\nWhen I got to the top, there was a couple there. I struck up a conversation with the woman. She is an artist camping in the area. She showed me some pictures of her plein air work and she is really quite good! (Her card is in the truck so I’ll have to share her work later.) I shared my blog. We are both faith based and we offered each other loving encouragement standing right there at the top of 222 stairs under cloudy skies. We marveled at our God’s goodness and how He moves in our lives…and the sun broke through the clouds. What a wonderful confirmation!
\nWe could see a large yellow house from the top of the lighthouse. My next stop was a tour of this home…Whalehead. A gentleman’s wife was was not allowed to participate in any of the hunt clubs in New England because she was a woman. Her forward thinking husband bought a large track of land and built his wife her own hunting lodge so she could do whatever she wanted. It was a lovely home and offered alotofinsight into the history of duck hunting in the area.
\nAfter the tour, hunger got the better of me and I went in search of great seafood. Fresh blue point oysters on the half shell were divine. Fish tacos were good. Not quite the same at the day before. After browsing through a few shops and remembering I need nothing, I drove back to the condo, changed, and hit the beach. The tide was coming in and I kept pulling further and further back. As I prepared to leave, there were a few people standing at the top of the stairs chatting. I detected a subtle hint of a British accent in the woman. When I asked where she was from, she said Newbury/Thatcham area in England. I about fell over! That’s where I lived in 1973 and 1974! We chatted for a long time and compared notes. It was so exciting. I’ve run into people from England, sure. But never from the small village in which I lived. What a treat!
\nFinally, I noticed the tinge of gold on the clouds and realized I was about to see my first sunset of the week. I went across the main road to the restaurant and walked out on their back deck in time to catch…this. It almost made me cry, it was so beautiful. It was a day full of God winks and angel kisses. There are no coincidences. I felt so blessed and loved and full of light when I finally strolled back to the condo at day’s end. These are the days that bring me good sleep…the sound sleep of a day well lived. ❤️
\n“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”\nJames 1:17 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-04-27T01:55:03-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/04/27/god-moments.html", "tags": ["Travel","Uplifting Stories","Positive Energy","The Grand Adventure","God","Peaceful Moments"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/04/23/the-outer-banks.html", "title": "The Outer Banks", "content_html": "![\"Outer](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/85ee324e3f.jpg\")
\nThink “Wright Brothers”. Think “Cape Hatteras” and “lighthouses” and “sand” and “surf”. It was 86° and sunshine when I got here at 3:00. Four hours later there had been a heavy rain and it dropped down to 60°. Welcome to springtime on the Outer Banks. The complex I have the good fortune of staying in is half empty right now with only the occasional sound of children playing on the beach or in the nearby pool. In six weeks, it will be an entirely different place. This is my favorite time to travel…off season.
\nUnfortunately the next few days will be rainy and cool but by Wednesday it will be warm and sunny again. The rainy days are best spent doing the touristy thing and looking at monuments and shopping. Not to mention relaxing, taking naps, reading and writing.
\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/92ac627c94.jpg\")
Frankie Faison at arrivals for Marvel’’s LUKE CAGE Premiere on NETFLIX, AMC Magic Johnson Harlem 9 Theater, New York, NY September 28, 2016. Photo By: Patrick Cashin/Everett Collection
I saw a man at breakfast this morning. He looked so familiar but I couldn’t place him. Turned out he was Frankie Faison. He’s an actor who has been in lots of television shows and movies. What a gentle and funny man he was. So gracious. He kept stopping by and adding a funny line to the last interaction. By the time he left, I was laughing hysterically at him. It’s a fun start already. I love the kind of vacation that remains largely unplanned and you never know what’s around the corner.
\nOh, I saw my first alligator in the wild today! ❤️
\n“Direct my footsteps according to your word; let no sin rule over me.”\nPsalm 119:133 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-04-23T01:55:57-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/04/23/the-outer-banks.html", "tags": ["Travel","Positive Energy","The Grand Adventure","Fun"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/04/22/rock-on.html", "title": "Rock On!", "content_html": "![\"Painted](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/1e85f28cd4.jpg\")
\nOh. Em. Geeeee. What a day! I finished packing and hit the road with a full cup of coffee by 10:00. I got to mile marker 82 in I-77 when traffic came to a dead stop. I mean like, get out of your car and meet your neighbors stop. One of the most important things I recommend for travel is a smartphone with access to the internet. While my GPS neglected to tell me there was traffic congestion on my route, Siri informed me there had been a truck fire and emergency crews were working to put it out. Three hours later , I drove past this charred hulk of a semi, a tanker truck still hosing down its contents strewn all over. I couldn’t tell for sure but it was loose bags of something orange.\nI stopped in Wytheville, Virginia for gas and found this painted rock. It’s all the rage right now…paint rocks and leave them places. When you find one, you take a picture of it and say where you find it, then you hide it again. I know a lot of people who do this and it’s fun. I’ll take it to the beach and leave it there.
\nI pressed on past Mount Airy where I had initially planned to stop but felt I needed to make up for lost time. I thought I could get a room near Winston-Salem but you couldn’t find a room within 100 miles of there due to a furniture show. North Carolina is big in the furniture manufacturing biz. Therefore, I ended up driving till 1:00am and found one of the last two rooms in North Carolina…if not the entire country! The wonderful lady at the front desk gave me a great deal for a large, comfy king-sized room and check out isn’t till noon….yessss!
\nThe floaters in my eye bugged the heck out of me till it got dark. I’m told my brain will get used to the floaters and I won’t notice them. That can come now, please. With that, I’m closing and hitting the hay. Tomorrow (today!) is another day! ❤️
\n“You’ll travel safely, you’ll neither tire nor trip. You’ll take afternoon naps without a worry, you’ll enjoy a good night’s sleep. No need to panic over alarms or surprises, or predictions that doomsday’s just around the corner, Because GOD will be right there with you; he’ll keep you safe and sound.”\nProverbs 3:23-25 MSG
\n", "date_published": "2017-04-22T01:55:54-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/04/22/rock-on.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","The Farm"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/04/21/life-on-the-farm.html", "title": "Life on the Farm", "content_html": "![\"Dogwood\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/74546f42b3.jpg\")
\nIt’s been a heck of a time the last couple of weeks. A friend had a health scare, my houseguest fell last week and had to go the the ER (she’s great, camping this weekend with the Sisters on the Fly and has a great new campfire story!), another friend fell this week with another trip to the ER, then there was yesterday. Oy.
\n![\"Trillium\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e634056b6b.jpg\")
\nI went for my followup visit with the neurosurgeon. My subdural hematoma is all healed up but I’m still getting wicked headaches. As I sat in the office talking to her, I had something weird happen to my vision in my right eye. Suddenly I started getting this weird flicker then floaters that swirled around like black tendrils of smoke in my field of vision. Freaked me out a bit, I have to tell ya. I stopped mid-sentence and said “Wait a minute…something’s wrong here.” I told her what I was seeing and she looked in my eye and said I had to see my eye doctor before the end of the day. I got in at around 3:00 and they did a thorough exam. The good news is, it was not a detached retina! It turned out I have a “posterior vitreous detachment”. It sounds a whole lot worse than it is. It’s not dangerous and there’s nothing that can be done for it. It doesn’t affect your vision except as it separates at which time you get floaters and flashes. Over 75% of people over 65 get PVD. I got it a little early. She doesn’t think it is related to my accident since it has been two months. I still was seeing one floater late last night but my brain will soon adjust to that and it shouldn’t bother me. I am at a greater risk of having a detached retina in the next month or two so I have to be a princess for a while and take it easy. The really good news is, it will not interrupt my beach time! I’m leaving today to drive halfway down and the rest of the way on Saturday.
\nI wanted to share some more of the beautiful spring flowers that are doing their best to outdo each other. I sat on the porch last night and talked to Old Mama Kitty for a while. I heard a couple of very loud screams of a feline nature up behind the barn. It was definitely bigger than one of my farm cats. I’m thinking bobcat but there are mountain lions here as well. I don’t walk around the farm alone at night. I heard a whippoorwill across the road in the woods some time after dark. Hadn’t heard one since around 2013 so that made me really happy!
\nHappy Friday…Happy Spring…
\n…Happy Road Trip!!! ❤️
\n“The flowers appear on the earth, the time of singing has come, and the voice of the turtledove is heard in our land.”\nThe Song of Solomon 2:12 ESV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-04-21T01:55:42-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/04/21/life-on-the-farm.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","Peaceful Moments"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/04/18/the-moon-bath.html", "title": "The Moon Bath", "content_html": "
![\"The](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/385398403f.jpg\")
\nBathing al fresco by the light of the moon was a necessity in the mid ’90s. Having a total hysterectomy caused me to wake up from anesthesia with complete menopausal symptoms on top of the surgical pain. I struggled for the next seven years till we finally got my estrogen level up to something I could live with. I had hot flashes that sat at a ten on the Richter Scale and no one wanted to be anywhere near me. I didn’t blame them…I didn’t want to be near them either. It was miserable.
\nI brought my children home for visits with the family every single summer. If you have ever suffered through August in West Virginia, you’ll have some idea what Dante’s Inferno was all about. With the heat and humidity, one could not begin to imagine running a bath or taking anything but a cold shower. I’m not sure how it began, but along about the time my youngest was three or four years old, we started taking “Moon Baths”. Where that tub sits in this picture, there used to be a 50 gallon drum to catch the rainwater. A few years ago, it didn’t get emptied in the fall and when it froze, the bottom busted out of it. Since then, there’s been a galvanized tub strategically placed at either corner of the bathroom addition to catch the rain.
\nOne night back in the mid ’90s, I was so sticky hot and Daughter #2 had just about had it with the whole “let’s go visit grandma and watch eggs fry on the sidewalk” thing. I was carrying groceries in the back door when I looked over and saw that cool water in the water barrel and all I wanted to do was drop everything and stick my head in it. As soon as it was dark enough and everyone had turned in for the night, my Little and I grabbed a bucket of warm water from the bathroom and carried it outside. She looked at me with some trepidation. I smiled and said, “Trust me!” We gathered bar soap, shampoo, wash cloths, towels and clean night clothes and headed for the backyard. I explained, with great authority, that we were about to take our very first “Moon Bath”. I stripped down to my all-together and Little happily followed suit. We soaped up with the warm, sudsy water from the bucket, lathered our hair, then took that enamel saucepan off the nail and dipped fresh, cool rainwater over us to rinse off. We squealed with delight at the shock of water that felt so cold at first but soon felt perfect as we acclimated. Squeaky clean and refreshed, we dried off and dressed for bed. It became a nightly ritual and I think we continued to do that every visit till Little got too big.
\nMy time in West Virginia now is opposite of what it used to be. I spend my summers in the rather temperate climate (comparatively) of Colorado. It is semi-arid there and a shower indoors is not a bad thing. But, should I spend any hot August nights here again, you can rest assured I’ll be bathing in the moonlight at the corner of “ooooh” and “aaaah”! ❤️
\n“Let a little water be brought, and wash your feet, and rest yourselves under the tree,”\nGenesis 18:4 ESV
\n", "date_published": "2017-04-18T01:55:10-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/04/18/the-moon-bath.html", "tags": ["Family","Strong Women","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","The Farm"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/04/17/rain-on-a-camper-roofaaaaah.html", "title": "Rain on a Camper Roof...aaaaah!!!", "content_html": "![\"Blue](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/5ac62aea03.jpg\")
\nI had company for supper yesterday which was lovely! A simple Easter meal of roasted chicken, fresh green beans cooked with bacon, mashed potatoes and gravy. It was delightful. After my company left, I looked up at the darkening sky threatening rain. My dishes were done, my leftovers put away, and nothing left to do but write. Now, I could write like I have for the last six months…OR, I could go camp out in TOW-Wanda! Guess which one I chose?
\nI haven’t slept in the camper since October. It has the BEST bed…a six inch memory foam mattress I bought when I decided to get serious and camp full time. I really miss this bed! I grabbed my NA beer, a small bag of chocolate covered peanuts (hey, it was Easter!) and my phone, iPad, and a flashlight. TOW-Wanda had just had a good cleaning last week for company so she was all set! Fresh sheets, warm blankets, windows flung open for the breeze…just waiting for the rain.
\nI’m heading into travel season and can’t wait! I leave next weekend for the Outer Banks of North Carolina. I’ve never been there so I’m really looking forward to it. I really lucked out and got a time share from a friend that wasn’t using it. I’ll let you know about the place after I check out. My favorite thing I’ve read about it so far is it has a Jaccuzi tub AND is just steps from the beach! Works for me!
\nI’ll spend the last half of May and early June in Daytona Beach. I no sooner get home till I head to Colorado for the summer. I’ll be back in West Virginia in early September. I’m hostessing a Sisters on the Fly trip the weekend after Labor Day. I can hardly wait to show off my home state to the Sisters!!! It’s going to feel good to have some quiet down time this week as I prepare for the upcoming travel. I hope you all had a blessed Easter! ❤️
\n“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”\n2 Corinthians 5:17 ESV
\n", "date_published": "2017-04-17T01:55:12-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/04/17/rain-on-a-camper-roofaaaaah.html", "tags": ["Travel","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","Camping","The Farm"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/04/12/days-gone-by.html", "title": "Days Gone By", "content_html": "![\"Outhouse\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/773e6bf6a8.jpg\")
\nMy friend V is an artist. We were going to paint yesterday but one thing led to another and we didn’t get to. I hope we can another time. When we explored the farm, V snapped several photos that I just love. This will bring back memories to many of you. When I was growing up in town, we had all the modern conveniences. But grandma’s house didn’t have indoor plumbing till I was six or seven. Up until then, this was the toilet. The bath was in a galvanized tub on the kitchen floor. Laundry was done in a gas-powered wringer washer on the back porch after many years of scrubbing on a washboard. The laundry hung on the line. I still remember how stiff and scratchy the towels were when they air dried but oh…the sheets were divine.
\nWhen we were rummaging around in the barn, we found pants stretchers. Who remembers using those? We always used them on the men’s work pants. They are a metal frame that you slipped into each pants leg, then stretched it out tight till the pants were smooth and had a crease in the front and back. That was before permanent press.
\nWe also found an old telephone that was pretty cool. I do not recall seeing that in this house, but I wouldn’t swear it wasn’t from here. Those weren’t easier times and I will bet my grandma wouldn’t have called them simpler either. But it was an honest time where you went to bed tired, you burned your calories working, and you sure as heck didn’t have GMO’s on your plate. You were frugal and fixed things. You mended sheets, darned socks, took the buttons and zippers off worn out clothing before they went in the rag bag or the quilting stack. You didn’t sass back or you found yourself on the receiving end of a hickory switch. If you wanted something, you earned it. If you lied or cursed, you got your mouth washed out with soap. If you were good, you got to lick the beaters or ride to town to farmer’s market.
\nThose may not have been easy times, but in many ways, they were the best of times. In others, they were not. Discrimination, inequality….I’d love to say they’re gone, but I’m afraid they’re not. Hopefully things will become more peaceful and loving again. It hurts my heart to see some of the things in the world. I have wonderful memories here and I get to live them all over again. Days Gone By are here again. ❤️
\n“I remember the days gone by; I think about all that you have done, I bring to mind all your deeds.”\nPsalm 143:5 GNT
\n", "date_published": "2017-04-12T01:55:31-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/04/12/days-gone-by.html", "tags": ["Family","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/04/11/fun-on-the-farm.html", "title": "Fun on the Farm", "content_html": "![\"Red](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/8c4ca13dd4.jpg\")
\nI got my first company on the farm yesterday! I’m telling you…I was SO excited. I even bought a new vinyl tablecloth at Dollar General for the occasion! I picked up a potted hyacinth at the grocery store, dressed my bed in floral pastels, and the house looked positively springy!
\nI love having company. It gives me a chance to cook. Open-faced cheeseburgers and locally made Mr. Bee potato chips for lunch and pork loin chops, brown and wild rice and fresh asparagus for supper. We roamed the farm and explored the old barn and found a few treasures. An old lantern, some spats and a hat that I think belonged to my great grandfather, and the rusty front of an old Model A Ford that I want to hang on the wall in the dining room. While we were driving out the dirt road at the back of the farm, V saw a flash of red and we couldn’t identify what it was, even with binoculars. She has no fear. I have an abundance of caution. Between us and this red thing was what I would consider snake territory but with great caution and beating on the ground, we carefully moved forward and got a good look at the plant. Now, to identify it. Anyone have a clue?
\nI put the green twinkly light out back aimed up into the trees. It looks like a fairy land out there shining above TOW-Wanda where my company is all tucked in. I wanted her to be very comfortable here. V is the West Virginia Wrangler for Sisters on the Fly and we are planning an event for September in the Mid Ohio Valley to coincide with the Sternwheel Festival. Today we’ll be checking out venues. I love camping with my Sisters and I’m hoping this will be a well attended and fun event to remember! ❤️
\n“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.”\nPhilippians 2:3-4 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-04-11T01:55:06-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/04/11/fun-on-the-farm.html", "tags": ["Sisters on the Fly","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","The Farm"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/04/10/the-easter-parade.html", "title": "The Easter Parade", "content_html": "![\"Tractor](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/996c4a41bf.jpg\")
\nThis is what an Easter Parade looks like out in the country. Normally, I would be in town at church on any given Sunday. But yesterday I just didn’t feel good…wicked headache. I have company coming today and had lots to do, so I stayed home. A friend brought me some ginger ale and medicine for my tummy and I just fiddled around the yard and the house all day. It felt good to just lay low. I even missed a concert last night that I had been looking forward to. But sometimes self care wins.
\nAs I was pulling the overgrown grape vine out of the spirea bush out front, I heard a tractor coming up the road. I could see there was a wagon and horses and lots of people so I went back up to the house for my phone. I couldn’t miss an opportunity like this!
\nThe gentleman on the tractor there is a relative of mine…second cousin twice removed or some such thing. These are good country folk. Hard working, God fearing, fun loving people. They gathered after church and came up the road in a community outreach to invite people to the Revival in May. They stopped for a visit and gave me a potted petunia. It warmed my heart.
\nI’ve changed a lot since I’ve moved back to West Virginia. I grew up here so I’m no stranger to the simple life. But I lived in Colorado for 40 years…well over half of that as a doctor’s wife. I got used to a different lifestyle. I drove a Mercedes. I wore a fur. I had a big house and didn’t have to work. I was a spoiled princess. After Mr. Virgo died, I didn’t want that anymore. I didn’t want the big house and all the stuff. I got rid of just about all of it. And bought a truck. And a camper. And drove and drove and drove in search of the real me. God knew I needed to “come home to WV”. When the opportunity to farm-sit came by, I didn’t miss a beat and gladly jumped at the chance to live in my Grandma’s house.
\nI’ve come to appreciate simplicity. Country folk are good folk. I knew something had changed in me when my fur coat made me uncomfortable. It wasn’t me anymore. I feel more real than I have in most of my adult life. I’m so much softer and genuine. And happy. I couldn’t understand the allure of West Virginia before. I used to get so angry with my mother when I’d try to get her to come to Colorado to live. She insisted she live here. Now I get it. There will probably come a time when I’ll move back to Colorado to be near my kids. But not just yet. There is much more growing…much more healing…much more love to be shared here first. For now, I am home. ❤️
\n“A pretentious, showy life is an empty life; a plain and simple life is a full life. The rich can be sued for everything they have, but the poor are free of such threats.”\nProverbs 13:7-8 MSG
\n", "date_published": "2017-04-10T01:55:25-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/04/10/the-easter-parade.html", "tags": ["Family","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/04/09/spring-tonic.html", "title": "Spring Tonic", "content_html": "![\"Girl](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/f7fd16611d.jpg\")
\nWhen I was a very young child, both of my grandmothers decided I was far too pale. There must be something wrong with me. So, they set to work with their home remedies to fix what ailed me.
\nMy paternal grandmother decided I had worms. She went to the spice cabinet and pulled out the powdered sage, dumped a heaping tablespoon into a teacup and stirred in boiling water. No sugar. No honey. No cream. Just sage, sage, sage. Sage tea. It was “good fer what ails ye”. I have no words to describe how horrible it was. And, I had to sit there till I drank the whole thing. Which I did. It isn’t polite to discuss the gastric ramifications of said elixir in mixed company. Suffice it to say, the physical response was proof to my grandmother that she was correct and now I would be fine. I don’t know about worms, but I can assure you I hate sage dressing, sage sausage…anything that’s been sitting in the same cabinet as sage. Horrid stuff.
\nMy maternal grandmother had an entirely different bit of magic in her arsenal. On the first good, warm spring day, grandma would take me hiking up into the woods behind the house. She would browse along, looking at young saplings, and before long, she’d reach down and yank one up, roots and all. Instantly the air was filled with a tangy sweetness that reminded me of root beer. She pulled two or three of these and we headed back to the house. After washing away the dirt, grandma took her trusty potato peeler and stripped away thin slices of the bark from the roots. She told me this was sassafras and it would clean my blood after the stagnant air of the winter.
\nGrandma placed several of the slips of bark into an old coffee cup, put some sugar on top, and poured piping hot water fresh from the rainwater cistern over it and stirred the concoction. After steeping a bit, she fished out the roots and poured in a little cream to soften and cool the tea. It was deep pink and gave off the most delightful aroma. I happily sat on the kitchen stool, “whoooo-ing” off the heat, and sipping this nectar of the gods. I was in heaven!
\nNeedless to say, sassafras tea wins in the “good for what ails ya” category. Yes, if you Google it, there is scientific evidence if you take one of the components in sassafras and make a concentration a gazillion times stronger than you could ingest in a lifetime and inject into the abdomens of lab rats, they can get cancer. One cup in the springtime has never caused me ill effect and it’s a rite of spring for me so I’ll take my chances. There may be no proven benefits of sassafras tea, other than it can take me back to my grandma’s kitchen in one sip, no matter where I may be in the world. Sipping it here on the farm was a real treat yesterday as I sat in the sunshine and worked the crossword.
\nAnd, hey…it tasted even better in my Girl Camper mug (although, in this picture, it looks all the world like “God Camper” which I suppose is even more accurate!) that I got from the Girl Camper herself…Janine Pettit!!!
\nSpring…a time for renewal and growth, indeed. ❤️
\n“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.”\nPsalms 51:10 ESV
\n", "date_published": "2017-04-09T01:55:22-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/04/09/spring-tonic.html", "tags": ["Family","Uplifting Stories","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","Wisdom","Girl Camper"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/04/08/the-art-of-aging.html", "title": "The Art of Aging", "content_html": "![\"Old](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/125f19e29a.jpg\")
\nTo quote Anne Lamott… “Age has given me what I’ve been looking for all my life - it gave me me.” In a few short weeks I’ll be 64. Sixty-four trips around the sun. Sixty-four birthday cakes. Sixty-four years of blood, sweat, and tears. Three weddings…four if you count the renewal of vows in the second marriage. It didn’t help…it still fell apart. Two beautiful children. Two grandchildren. Births. Deaths. New loves. New heartbreaks. More new loves. I don’t know…eight or ten “careers”? I’m a Gemini…sue me!
\nI’ve come to believe that aging is an art form. Look at this beautiful woman. There is mirth, secrets, love, resignation, wisdom in every crease of her face. Her eyes are windows to her soul. She is not perfect. But she is real. She embodies the crone. The dictionary defines crone as a “withered, witch-like old woman”. There is a movement now of honoring women over a certain age as fountains of wisdom, information, and grace. Finally, we are beginning to relish living in our own skin with our wrinkles, silver hair, age spots, cellulite, and comfortable tummies. We have found ourselves. Sometimes it’s through great acts of bravery…like, getting a divorce or becoming a widow and managing our worlds in spite of the pain. Sometimes it’s through the loss of children. Sometimes it’s when we find ourselves abandoned or abused. We find ourselves through age.
\nAging isn’t necessarily pretty. Disease can rob us of our health during what should be our golden years. Sometimes disease robs us of that one true love and our worlds will never be the same. I have a dear friend who lost her husband to cancer. Now, her BFF is dying and while she holds her friend, she has panic attacks and flashbacks of her husband’s decline. This is a brave woman to still be able to be there for her friend. I love her for that. She is a crone…through and through. Her wisdom and love are helping her friend in her transition. She is painting a masterpiece with her heart that would rival any by Monet, Renoir, daVinci.
\nAging ain’t for sissies, according to Bette Davis. We are crones. We are wise when we don’t feel wise. Strong when we don’t feel strong. I embrace my inner crone. The outer one is beginning to look more and more like her. My crone-self doesn’t have time for drama. No time for BS. No time for fake people. I’m ready to take on the mantle of crone and be darned proud wearing it. ❤️
\n“She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.”\nProverbs 31:26 ESV
\nPhoto Credit: “Old Woman” by Jessica Powers (via Pinterest)
\n", "date_published": "2017-04-08T01:55:19-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/04/08/the-art-of-aging.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Wisdom","Aging"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/04/06/bird-watching.html", "title": "Bird Watching", "content_html": "![\"Tufted](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/6a92182c60.jpg\")
\nOne of the most pleasant things about this farm is the multitude of birds singing all the time. From the earliest risers announcing the break of dawn to the owls hooting in the night, I have always been mesmerized by their chorus echoing up the holler and in the woods surrounding the house. I hung several feeders out front last fall and have enjoyed watching the various birds as they migrate up and down on their annual patterns. There were a few varieties that wintered over…the cardinal being my favorite. Black-capped chickadees and house wrens and goldfinches were frequent visitors with the occasional bird I have yet to identify.
\nI mowed the lawn yesterday with my new mower. (Jackie…tell Don it’s a Troy-Bilt, not a Toro. Hey, it started with a T!) It worked like a charm and the yard looked lovely when I was done. I worked on the taxes for quite some time and finally took a break in the late afternoon to sit in the sunshine on the porch. The birds were having a field day out there so I went in to get my iPad and binoculars. My massage therapist asked me the other day to identify a bird from a call she recorded the evening before. I downloaded “iBird Ultimate” on my tablet and set to work. After two days, I discovered she had caught an American Woodcock with it’s repeated three-note croak common during mating season in the spring. I don’t know if you have ever seen one, but they are very odd birds. They hold their heads far back, have a very long beak, and walk in slow motion. Funny birds. Since I had the app at the ready, I decided to try to identify some of my afternoon visitors.
\nI’ve been trying to identify a certain call for quite a long time now. It sounds “watery”, like a drop of water plunking down in a well. Kind of hollow, echoing. I could hear them in the brush but could never get a good look at them. Finally, they came to the feeder…only briefly. Just long enough to see they were Brown-headed Cowbirds. I looked them up, listened to their song that is recorded in the app, and sure enough…that’s what I’ve been hearing for years! It was actually pretty exciting!
\nThe most fun interaction I had though was with a Tufted Titmouse. Beautiful little birds. A blue-ish grey with a blush of dusty pinkish yellow on the sides of the breast, just under the wings, they have a peaked cap of feathers on top of their heads that looks like a jaunty little hat. Once I identified it, I played the birdsong on an endless loop and that little bird went crazy. Ok, I played a recording of the mating calls between a male and female. This guy fluttered all around the porch, staring at me, shaking his wings hard enough to make the dogwood tree quiver. He even flew in under the porch roof and landed on the clothesline not ten feet from me. He stayed around for awhile till he figured out I wasn’t an interloper invading his territory. Finally, he flew off into the woods nearby, but I heard him scolding and chattering at me for quite some time afterwards.
\nThe temperature got up to 80 out there with the sun preparing to settle behind the ridge across the road. It felt wonderful to just sit there and soak up some Vitamin D. The wind picked up with the approaching storm front and the trees on top of the hill danced and roared a muffled sigh. Another lovely day has passed here on the farm and my heart is full of love and hope. ❤️
\n“Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray. Is anyone cheerful? Let him sing praise.”\nJames 5:13 ESV
\n", "date_published": "2017-04-06T01:55:53-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/04/06/bird-watching.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","Fun","The Farm"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/04/04/people-are-people.html", "title": "People are People", "content_html": "![\"Ethnically](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/60f24f79c4.jpg\")
\nWhen I was growing up, I found some photos in my grandma’s buffet. I didn’t understand what they were so I stuck them in my pocket and set off to find her. I needed an explanation. The pictures were of two water fountains with a sign over them. One said “White”. The other said “Colored”. I didn’t get it. There was no difference that I could see. When I found my grandma, I showed her the picture and asked her what was the difference between the two water fountains. Grandma took the picture and saw what it was. Her shoulders slumped and she looked at me with a sadness around her eyes. She sat down in the rocker and pulled me into her lap.
\n“That was taken in Cleveland when your aunt was teaching there. This is a sad thing in the world. There are places where they keep people separate because of the color of their skin. They won’t let them eat together or drink from the same water fountain or even use the same bathroom. But I want you to know something right here and right now. That is not right! People are people. It doesn’t matter where they’re from, what they believe, or what color they are. The good Lord made all of them. So, don’t you ever let me see you treat anyone badly. Do you understand me?”
\nI may not have understood the complexities of discrimination in the late ’50s, but I certainly understood my grandma and her brand of unconditional love. I grew up colorblind. I was raised with the admonition that judgement is totally reserved for God. I wasn’t perfect. Of course I judged. We all do from time to time. But I’ve always tried my best to emulate my grandma.
\nOur society is very much “us vs. them”. We categorize, compartmentalize, sort and label people. By their appearance, politics, beliefs, sexuality, and perceived “place” in the hierarchy of society. I don’t watch TV at all, so it becomes much more obvious to me. I believe television, movies, electronic games, and social media desensitizes and normalizes behaviors we normally would not abide with. It’s harder to see the similarities between us when the rhetoric is loud. I honestly try to see both sides of every story. It vexes me these days, but I do try.
\nI stumbled upon this Danish TV commercial and loved how it looks at us as human. With vast differences and often surprising similarities. I don’t know what the answers are. But I do know I try to love everyone with a Christlike heart. It’s the best I can do, I’m afraid. ❤️
\n\n“You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.”\nLeviticus 19:34 ESV
\n", "date_published": "2017-04-04T01:55:24-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/04/04/people-are-people.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Hope","Positive Energy"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/04/02/spring-has-sprunga-leak.html", "title": "Spring has Sprung...a Leak!", "content_html": "![\"Redbud](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/b92ef230ff.jpg\")
\nWest Virginia gets SO much rain! It just pours for days at a time here and while I love the sunshine, the lush green foliage and the rush of the creek outside my bedroom window is delightful.
\nYesterday morning, I drove to town to meet my high school girlfriends for coffee. On the way in there was a sign warning “One Lane Road Ahead”. In West Virginia, that means one of three things…a downed tree, a rockslide, or half the road has washed away and you’re left to cross what’s left, holding your breath that the rest doesn’t give way with the weight of your car. Fun times! Fortunately, yesterday was just another rockslide. This one was right where the other one was that I received the warning about. But…this one was HUGE. I’m not sure you can tell, but that rock is about the size of two pickup trucks! Wowza! Ever since “the warning”, I’ve been hyper-vigilant about rocks in the road.![\"Rockslide\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/3a6d3b6d1f.jpg\")
There were fifteen of us at coffee on this spring day. It’s always such a good time visiting with the girls. Some had never gathered like this till I came along and organized it. They always worked and it just took someone making the suggestion to get together. Now we all feel like it’s cheaper than therapy and a whole lot more fun!!!
\nI drove up to Marietta afterwards and browsed and had a late lunch at Boathouse BBQ…a great place right on the river. There were a lot of trees, branches, and other stuff washing downstream with the high water. Someone’s dock even floated by. You never know what you’ll see this time of year out there.
\nOn the way home, I caught glimpse of the first redbud trees beginning to send their whisper of purply-pink in the woods. The true, true harbinger of spring. Next will be dogwood and star magnolia. The forsythia and flowering quince are still lush. Yellow daffodils mark the sites of old homesteads, long after the houses have returned to the earth.
\nI priced lawnmowers yesterday. Shhhh, listen. That’s the sound of the grass growing! ❤️
\n“Ask rain from the Lord in the season of the spring rain, from the Lord who makes the storm clouds, and he will give them showers of rain, to everyone the vegetation in the field.”\nZechariah 10:1 ESV
\n", "date_published": "2017-04-02T01:55:29-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/04/02/spring-has-sprunga-leak.html", "tags": ["Strong Women","Positive Energy","West Virginia"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/03/31/feel-the-rain.html", "title": "Feel the Rain", "content_html": "![\"Rain](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/6e9ea5aa86.jpg\")
\nAs I sit here writing this, Norah Jones softly crooning in the background, coffee by my side, I can hear the rumble of thunder in the distance. Another band of storms are about to pass through…the third today. A pair of mourning doves are foraging around beneath the feeders, unfazed by the approaching rain. Finches cling to the thistle socks hanging on shepherd’s hooks and the bright red flash of a cardinal swooping in catches my eye and makes me smile. They say cardinals are an indicator that angels are near. If that is true, the angels visit often because the cardinals are always here.
\nThe sun breaks through the clouds between showers, warming the earth with its golden rays to a downright acceptable 70°. This makes my heart happy. There’s a load of sheets in the wash. Maybe I’ll hang them on the porch to gather the freshness of this glorious spring day to be relished as I gather them about me when I sleep tonight. There are ways of preserving sunshine…fresh linens is one of them.
\nI heard from a dear friend yesterday. There is a health concern and I sat in my rocker by the window…praying and contemplating how many are facing illness and injury in their lives right now. I was acutely aware of things like that in the immediacy of acute grief. My own experience made me sensitive and I felt everyone’s pain…deeply. I won’t say that feeling ever went away entirely, but life has a way of diverting your attention. You can’t live the rest of your life on the edge of your seat…Damocles’s Sword hanging above you. Somehow I became a little tougher, a little harder of a shell around my heart for self-preservation. My car accident in February broke through that little fence I built around my head…literally and figuratively.
\nIt seems in the last month there has been more and more loss, more and more bad news, more and more worry. Ahhh, but this is the nature of life, is it not? Things go along quite smoothly and we forget what the rough stuff feels like. Not entirely, of course. Never entirely. After all…there are scars when you walk through fire. I will stand by my friend and walk along on this path of uncertainty and do my best to provide reassurance and support. That is what friends do. Some have credited Roger Miller as saying “Some people feel the rain; others just get wet.” If I’m going to live this life…really live it…I want to FEEL the rain. It is the only way I know I’m truly alive. ❤️
\n“And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up. And if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.”\nJames 5:15 ESV
\n", "date_published": "2017-03-31T01:55:47-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/03/31/feel-the-rain.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","God"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/03/26/hiking-the-farm.html", "title": "Hiking the Farm", "content_html": "\n
![\"Farm](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/1205dbec1f.jpg\")
Processed with Snapseed.
Yesterday was glorious! Seventy-some degrees, intermittent clouds, gently breeze. I got my exercise by hiking up the hill to the back property line of the farm. There are seventy-four acres here to explore. It was gorgeous. I went to the old home place. The only thing left is the ruins of the old cellar house. I found a couple of old bottles and picked off some pieces of barn wood. It’s so fragile, you could almost crumble it in your hands. There were scraps of old leather boots and a chunk of glazed pottery from an old crock. The frogs were calling and the puddles were filled with tadpoles. As I came down the ridge below, I heard a racket back up at the strawberry barn and there were four or five huge buzzards coming in to roost for the night on the tin roof. On down the hill, I heard the call of the barred own I hear by the house occasionally. I made note of where the black raspberry patch is.
\nThe yard was filled with dead limbs from the tree by the road so it took some time to get those hauled over to the brush pile. The peonies are up about a foot. The daffodils are in full bloom. There is a huge shrub in all the tangle by the creek that has exploded with deep coral pink blossoms. The rhododendron and boxwood by the drive are very healthy looking. Once the work and hike were done, I cooked up a huge batch of salmon cakes and steamed broccoli. After supper, I boxed up the leftovers and delivered them around to neighbors…something I’ve been wanting to do since I got here in August.
\nYesterday was one of those days that makes you feel like you just got let out of jail. It was beautiful and liberating and I could finally breathe!
\nAhhhh…the freedom of spring! ❤️
\n“And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”\nHebrews 13:16 NIV
\n#share, #blessed, #abundance
", "date_published": "2017-03-26T01:55:07-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/03/26/hiking-the-farm.html", "tags": ["Family","Uplifting Stories","Hope","Positive Energy","God","Uncategorized"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/03/19/the-legacy.html", "title": "The Legacy", "content_html": "![\"Meme\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/8bc10aead4.jpg\")
\nIt’s funny. When you are in a car accident, they tell you, “Go home and rest.” If any of you have been in a significant wreck, you know how difficult it is to actually do. There’s a million errands, doctor’s visits, insurance appointments, rental car, and then the shopping for a replacement vehicle. The last thing that gets done is rest and that’s when everything else is taken care of.
\nI’ve finally had the chance to turn down the dial and relax at the end of this last week. Laundry, read a magazine, listen to the Norah Jones channel on Pandora, nap, and catch up with friends and family on the phone. I even watched a movie…Silver Linings Playbook. I made a wonderful quiche and shared half with my neighbors.
\nAs I sat last night in the living room of this sweet little farmhouse, listening to the rain on the tin roof, I could hear the low, Zen tones of the new wind chime I put on the front porch. It reminds me of the background music you hear in a spa when you get a massage. My heart was suddenly full and I felt such peace it made tears sting the back of my eyes.
\nI’ve been thinking a lot lately about my legacy. The one I’ve been given…the one I will leave. Having the opportunity to live within the home of my heart on the family farm has brought me a deep sense of peace. It has healed a place in my heart. I remember the day I walked back into this house with my grandma when she had to leave Pop-Pop at the hospital for the very last time. I remember her great love and her profound heartbreak. And I witnessed her strength. Her faith. And how she made peace with her loss. Something turned over in my own heart last night. It felt like opening my hand and letting a small bird fly away. A healing occurred in just that moment. That’s the nature of grief. Waves of grief are often met with periods of profound healing and insight. It was a beautiful thing.
\nThe legacy I was given was love and compassion. Living here during this time of healing is a gift from others who received that same love and compassion. My legacy is in my words…in my actions…in my heart that I readily share with others. I hope my grandchildren and their grandchildren and theirs after that will someday read what I have written and get to know my heart…get to know who I was long, long after I’m gone.
\nMovies do this to me. Music does this. Rain on a tin roof does it. My heart melts and fills with love. And my life is full and rich and warm. I just wanted to share a little of it with you today and wish you love. ❤️
\n“We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he has done.”\nPsalm 78:4 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-03-19T01:55:46-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/03/19/the-legacy.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/03/14/the-evidence-of-things-unseen.html", "title": "The Evidence of Things Unseen", "content_html": "![\"Two](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/d3a5c6aba7.jpg\")
\nI have a guy friend that has had his eye out for a good deal on a truck for me. Not that I can’t find my own good deal, but I took off for a much needed break this weekend and looking for a truck wasn’t high on my list of priorities for a couple of days. Still, time is marching on here and I need to get the rental car turned in.
\nWhen I returned from the mountains on Sunday, I received texts with pictures and a description of two trucks that fit my wish list pretty well. I particularly liked one of them and called first thing yesterday to see if it was still there and it was. Remember my Prayer for Provision? I asked for a newer truck. This one was two years newer. I asked for much lower mileage. This one had one third the miles of my old truck. I asked for new tires. This one just had new tires put on by the dealer. I asked for a one owner car. This was a lease return with one owner. I really wanted a back up camera. This one had one. I also wanted a Super Crew Cab because sometimes I like to just sleep on the floor of the back seat when I’m camping without the trailer and the Super Crew gives you a lot more room back there. I wanted Bluetooth. Done. It had to have the tow package. This one had it. It drove like a dream. Not a scratch on it. Clean as a whistle.
\nWe sat down and talked price. Through careful negotiations, I only had to loan myself $1000 through a low interest charge card which I’ll pay off in three months. I would say this is proof of prayers answered. But wait till you hear the rest of the story.
\nWhen my friend picked me up yesterday for the drive to Clarksburg, I was getting in when he said, “Hey…look in the pocket of the door there. I came out of the store awhile ago and that CD was laying beside the passenger door. There was no one around, so I picked it up.” I reached in and pulled out the CD. Thorogood. George Thorogood. I remembered the name but I’ve never been good at remembering which songs a certain artist did. I turned the CD over and my jaw dropped. “Bad to the Bone”. I started laughing and clapping my hands. My friend glanced over, not quite sure how to take this sudden display so I had to explain. When Mr. Virgo had a restaurant in Pagosa Springs, he was well known for miles around to have the best prime rib. His commercial on the local radio station opened with “Bad to the Bone”! Of COURSE that is the CD that was dropped in front of the door I would enter shortly. How could it NOT be?
\nIn addition, my salesperson turned out to be from my hometown and her aunt is one of my high school classmates. Synchronicity. Prayers answered. Signs dropped. Buying the truck was easy, effortless, and it is exactly what I needed. Meet “Norma Rae”, my new chariot! Thank you, God. Your provision is more than I could ever hope for and I am so grateful. ❤️
\n“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”\nHebrews 11:1 KJV
\n", "date_published": "2017-03-14T01:55:45-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/03/14/the-evidence-of-things-unseen.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Prayer","Hope","Positive Energy","God"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/03/04/here-comes-the-sun.html", "title": "Here Comes the Sun", "content_html": "![\"Bird](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/08101607c9.jpg\")
\nSpring is showing up here on the farm. The dense underbrush is leafing out in a bright spring green…even though you have to look hard for it. The grass is looking more like a lawn and less like a mud bog. New bird calls are apparent every week. There was a skiff of snow on this morning, and we’ll still have quite a bit of cold weather, but the unmistakable signs of spring are doing their job and brightening my mood.
\nSleeping in my own bed is just what the doctor ordered. You know how it is when you’re away from home…your bed feels like heaven when you get back. When I first came to the farm, the mattress was so awful. I didn’t know how long I was going to be living here so I bought a memory foam topper instead of a whole mattress/box spring set. Now that I know I’m here a while, I took the plunge a few weeks ago and bought a set on sale. At first I thought it was too hard so I put the topper on it. That was overkill and it hurts my back since the accident. So, off it came and now it’s just right.
\nThe soft sound of the clock ticking in the other room, the gentle trickle of the creek outside the bedroom window, the owl hooting in a tree nearby all tell me I am home. These familiar surroundings reach back from my childhood and receive me in their loving embrace. I am comforted by my past…covering my present, slightly banged up, body and spirit like an old quilt softened by many loving hands.
\nIn a little over a week, I’ll face the 4th Angelversary of Mr. Virgo’s death. The car accident last week certainly wasn’t on my agenda and couldn’t have come at a worse time. A friend sat with me in the ER that night and we wondered about the “why” of it all. God didn’t make this happen. But, He’ll use it to His glory. It has slowed me down. It has made me stop, yet again, and count my many blessings. It has made me more prayerful. And now, the sun is shining. Oh, be joyful and bring me some Spring! ❤️
\n“Let us acknowledge the Lord; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth.””\nHosea 6:3 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-03-04T02:55:46-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/03/04/here-comes-the-sun.html", "tags": ["Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/03/01/wishy-washy-weather.html", "title": "Wishy Washy Weather", "content_html": "![\"Seasons\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/48cdb5b9e4.jpg\")
\nThis is that time of year when Mother Nature can’t seem to make up her mind what season it is. Frosty mornings give way to 70, even 80 degree days which in turn produce heavy thunderstorms and rain. Then, in the blink of an eye, the ground is white in the morning with little yellow daffodils bowing their heads in the morning chill. The fruit trees are blooming already here in the Mid-Ohio Valley…truly a sight to behold when you have suffered through yet another winter.
\nOne of my favorite things in the world is a great thunderstorm. I love how the thunder rolls on the river and rocks back and forth in the valleys. The rain pounding in waves on the roof…especially when I get the opportunity to sleep in TOW-Wanda. This will come soon. In the meantime, I’ll enjoy how the thunder shakes the walls where I’m staying.
\nI’m still in town with friends. I have a second chiropractor appointment today. The first one did wonders releasing much of the tightness and allowing my body’s energy to start doing its job in healing. It even lightened my mood. No massage just yet. I’m thinking that’s going to feel pretty good when I can get that going. I went yesterday to pick up my car. I was late getting there and they had rented it out! I’ll try again today. I wasn’t a happy camper over that. I told him I’d be back today at 10 and I didn’t care if the only car they had left was a Sherman tank, they were giving it to me for the intermediate price. Well, ok…I might have said it a little nicer than that. I did explain I have a concussion and can’t be held completely accountable for my mood. ?
\nOnce I get my rental car, I’m going home. Then I can really get some rest. My errands are just about done surrounding insurance things. Now it’s medical follow-ups and rest…ice and more rest. Piece of cake. In the meantime…let it rain! ❤️
\n“In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.”\n1 Peter 1:6 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-03-01T02:55:56-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/03/01/wishy-washy-weather.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/02/28/snap-crackle-pop.html", "title": "Snap! Crackle! Pop!", "content_html": "![\"Spine\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/0aa1676702.jpg\")
\nWhen I was a tiny tot, my mother had one of those tables on wheels with the seat in the middle that served as my high chair. One afternoon as she cooked dinner, she did not notice I had stood up in it. She turned around and saw me right about the time my brother ran up from behind and shoved the table full force. Mom says the back of my head hit my tailbone and I was out like a light. She did not know how to drive yet so she grabbed me, my brother, and her bag and ran for the city bus. Carrying me over her arm, she gently massaged me till I came to and then ran into the chiropractor’s office. He placed me face down on the table and pinched his fingers up my back till everything popped back into place. She says I took a deep gasp of air, scrunched up my face, and screamed bloody murder and Dr. Zipthorp smiled with pride.
\nThat was my first experience with chiropractic medicine. I’ve been a proponent ever since. I could hardly wait to get in with someone after the accident but had to wait till yesterday. I don’t have a chiropractor here so I took the recommendation of my State Farm agent. After filling out what felt like the first volume of the Encyclopedia Britannica, this wonderfully happy not quite middle aged woman with blonde hair and a really cool boxer dog hopped into the room. She had already looked over my reports and films and had a plan of action in place. She was extremely gentle and non-aggressive as she very gently started manipulating me back into place. She sprayed an icy hot spray on my back and neck and instructed me to ice twice daily, drink lots of fluids, take vitamin C, avoid lifting anything heavy or do anything strenuous, and return Wednesday for the next treatment.
\nNow I rest. I pick up my rental car today and I rest. Easier said than done, right? It doesn’t take a lot of work to write! ?
\n““ ‘Nevertheless, I will bring health and healing to it; I will heal my people and will let them enjoy abundant peace and security.”\nJeremiah 33:6 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-02-28T02:55:47-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/02/28/snap-crackle-pop.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Hope","Positive Energy"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/02/26/carrying-my-mat.html", "title": "Carrying my Mat", "content_html": "![\"Green](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/9376b75a5e.jpg\")
\nForgive me, my friends…today we’re going to church. If that’s not your thing, that’s cool…just come on back tomorrow. Today we’re preachin'.
\nMy church is growing so fast, we’ve had to add a third worship experience and I decided to attend Saturday night’s service this week. Pastors Justin and Heather Enoch are young, vibrant pastors who bring the gospel to life for me. The praise team is absolutely amazing and uplifting. I love contemporary Christian music. I always leave there absolutely on fire.
\nLast night’s message was based on John 5:1-17. Jesus has gone to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals and stops at the pool known as Bethesda, by the Sheep Gate. God sent angels to this pool regularly to “trouble the water” , make it bubble up, giving it the power to heal. There were five platforms surrounding the pool and the crippled, maimed, and infirm would gather there. When the waters were “troubled”, they would quickly get into the water for their healing.
\nThere was one particular man who’s infirmity had him lying on his mat for 38 years on one of the platforms. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned how long he had been by the pool, he asked, “Don’t you want to be well?” The man replied that indeed he did but, every time the water was troubled, someone jumped in over him and he couldn’t get his healing. He had no one to take him to the pool. Jesus told the man to stand up, roll up his mat, and walk. And the man did. The scripture goes on to talk about the controversy of carrying your mat (i.e. “working” on the sabbath.) But, I want to focus on the mat for a minute.
\nJesus didn’t ask the man to merely stand up and walk. He asked him to pick up his mat and take it with him. The mat represented everything that man had been through for 38 years. He slept and ate on that mat. He may have even soiled it when he had no way of carrying himself to a facility. It represented every illness, every thought, every bad thing. If he was healed and he went out walking without the mat, people might have thought he looked somewhat familiar but may not know where they’d seen him before. With the mat, it gave others the opportunity to recognize him and place him at the pool as that man they had seen for all those years. It gave the man the opportunity to share the story of his miraculous healing and of the Man who healed him.
\nMy stories are my mat. I tell you where I’ve been. I share openly parts of myself that most guard tightly. I speak frankly about drugs and alcohol, depression and anxiety, PTSD, divorce, death and grief. These are parts of my life I share merely so you can know Who carried me through all of them. Without God in my life…as the focus and singular most important part of my life, I surely would not be sitting here writing this to you good people.
\nTwo years ago, God told me to tell you where I find my peace. In this day and age, if you tell someone you “hear the voice of God”, you are likely to be given a psychiatric diagnosis. I am here to tell you, I have…most assuredly…heard the voice of God. And, while there was a time when you might have questioned my sanity, I am as sober as a judge and in my right mind. My journey through grief in the last four years has brought me into an intimate relationship with God and I love that I walk my path with Him.
\nWhen life has knocked you down, don’t be afraid to ask for a hand up. And, carry your mat for all to see so they might know Who made you well. ❤️
\n“Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for one of the Jewish festivals. Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades. Here a great number of disabled people used to lie—the blind, the lame, the paralyzed.
\nOne who was there had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, he asked him, “Do you want to get well?” “Sir,” the invalid replied, “I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me.” Then Jesus said to him, “Get up! Pick up your mat and walk.” At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath, and so the Jewish leaders said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.” But he replied, “The man who made me well said to me, ‘Pick up your mat and walk.’ ””\nJohn 5:1-3, 5-11 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-02-26T02:55:34-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/02/26/carrying-my-mat.html", "tags": ["Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Hope","Positive Energy","God"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/02/25/frieda-gots-an-owwie.html", "title": "Frieda Gots an Owwie!", "content_html": "![\"Banged](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/7d93ce900c.jpg\")
\nIf you look at her, she doesn’t look so bad but she is pretty sad. I am sore and tired. Getting bruises here and there including a little darkening around the eyes. My chest is what hurts the most from the airbag and seat belt.
\nToday we are having an Irish Coffee Wake in memory of Anna, our friend who passed away a couple weeks ago. We shall raise a toast for a brave and athletic woman. I’m staying in town a couple more days. I can get my rental car then. By that time, I’m sure I’ll be well on the mend. Hope you have a beautiful day today! ❤️
\n“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”\nRomans 8:18 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-02-25T02:55:09-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/02/25/frieda-gots-an-owwie.html", "tags": ["Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/02/23/writing-my-life.html", "title": "Writing my Life", "content_html": "![\"Your](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/5e0a5cce4c.jpg\")
\nI’ve always been a storyteller. I was the kid who sat at the table and listened to all the family stories. I was fascinated by what had happened before I was born because I had an innate sense it had somehow made me…me. I’ve told you all before, my mom always said I had the “gift of gab”. I always thought that meant I was doing something wrong. I was too loud, too talkative, too…much. Now I see it as my gift.
\nGod gives us all gifts. Sometimes we envy others their special gifts. How many times have you wished you could dance or play the piano or sing beautifully but you have two left feet with short fingers and can’t carry a tune in a washtub? I used to. I didn’t believe I had anything to offer the world. I couldn’t figure out, other than my beautiful daughters, what I was put here to do. I’ve tried my hand at writing at various points in my life, but it was never the right time. I did co-author a book on Gestational Diabetes for the National Institutes of health back in the “80s, but that wasn’t all that creative. I just wrote about my job as a Diabetes Educator.
\nJust like playing the piano, your craft improves the more you do it. I’ve been writing a journal for much of the past 17 years. At first, it was really boring. I’d write down what I did that day or what I fixed for supper. Eventually, I loosened up and started exploring my inner self. I started reaching into the past and telling stories. I started digging, like an emotional archaeologist, and picked out those sore places in my heart and soul. I began to write poetry and short stories. I wrote a children’s book using creative visualization.
\nJournaling helped me get through the darkest time of my life when I was clinically depressed. It helped me figure out how to navigate a sticky divorce. It documented the great love that grew with Mr. Virgo. And, it helped me share with you here what that loss has been like for me. There is power in words. There is healing…not only in the writing itself, but in the sharing. When you suffer a profound experience in your life, like the death of your beloved, finding out there are others out there going through the same thing is incredibly validating. Knowing what you’re going through is normal (or a variation thereof) is quite liberating.
\nI encourage everyone to keep a journal. It may not win a Pulitzer. It may not ever see the light of day. But it can be incredibly therapeutic. Write down your thoughts. Start a blog. Write poetry. My computer is my canvas…my keyboard the brush…my thoughts the paint. What I write may not be art, but it is the key that unlocked MY prison. Go to a bookstore and pick out a beautiful journal. Get one that speaks to you. Buy a couple of really great pens. Pour your heart out on those pages. It’s good therapy and it’s pretty cheap! ❤️
\n“And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.”\nHebrews 13:16 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-02-23T02:55:02-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/02/23/writing-my-life.html", "tags": ["Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/02/20/spring-is-in-the-air.html", "title": "Spring is in the Air", "content_html": "![\"There](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e310dc37b5.jpg\")
\nSpring is just around the corner. Warm days are ahead. The sunshine is warming the earth and rain is bringing things back to life. I’m always amazed how early the grass greens up here in West Virginia. The green leaves of the spring flowers are up several inches so it won’t be long till splashes of color will dot the landscape. As a matter of fact, there are snowdrops already blooming down along the creek.
\nWith the recent passing of Valentine’s Day and the advent of Spring soon upon us, love is all around us. New lambs and calves are making their appearance. Leaves are already popping out on the honeysuckle vines that grace the roadside where I walk down the lane. As we venture outside, I’ve noticed lovers holding hands as they stroll through the park, along the river, in the mall. I remember in the first couple of years after losing Mr. Virgo, I hated seeing people in love. I wanted to smack them.
\nThe third year I decided I would never love again. A couple of disastrous dating experiences sent me running back to the relative safety of reading and writing alone every night. Now I’m approaching the fourth Angelversary and I’m thinking this isn’t the way I want to spend the rest of my life. I’d like some company. I’d like a friend to do fun things with. I’d like someone to share the excitement of travel. Someone to talk to. Someone to have my back and I his.
\nI’m feeling ready for a partner. And…I like my alone time. I like not having to answer to anyone. I like doing my own thing, making my own decisions, going where the wind takes me. Incorporating someone into your life when you’ve been alone for a few years takes some compromise and some getting used to. But, hey…what if you found someone that loves all the things you love like travel, cooking, movies, dancing, dining out AND he likes HIS alone time, too? What if you got to draw up the blueprints of a new relationship and it was exactly the way you wanted it AND it worked for him, too? Yeah…a pipe dream, to be sure. But it’s something to think about. And pray about.
\nI’m telling you this…I’m done with the online dating thing. I promised God I wouldn’t go out and try to find a guy because I think my picker is broken. I told him if He wants me to have someone in my life, He’s (quite literally) going to have to send him to my door with a sign around his neck saying “God sent me!”. If it happens, fine. If it doesn’t happen, fine. But I’m open to the possibility and that’s a huge step.
\nWhat about you all? Are any of you starting to think you might want to try another relationship? It’s ok if you aren’t. There are as many ways to do things as there are people. Many women would never think of being with someone else. And, it’s ok if you are. Personal fulfillment is a highly individualized thing. Feel free to share if you like. Spring is in the air! ❤️
\n“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”\n1 Peter 5:6-7 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-02-20T02:55:04-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/02/20/spring-is-in-the-air.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/02/19/a-good-nights-sleep.html", "title": "A Good Night's Sleep", "content_html": "![\"Banana](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/942d08f08c.jpg\")
\nI’ve slept in a number of hotels in the last month. I only had one less-than-perfect stay and that was in St. Augustine, Florida. I can’t even tell you the name of that hotel. Mr. Virgo spoiled me with hotels and restaurants since that was his career. He taught me what to look for, how you give feedback in a way that ensures a problem is fixed, when and how to send food back, and how to ask for a better rate. Consequently, I can be pretty critical of hotels and restaurants so when one goes above and beyond, I like to give kudos.
\nI rarely make reservations ahead of time when I travel, which would have made Mr. Virgo crazy. He had to know where we were going, when we would get there, and what restaurants were in the immediate vicinity. I find the walk in rate is generally lower than what you find on the internet. Sometimes you can get better rates on the discount travel sites like Travelocity or Hotels.com.
\nMy friend Deneene and I drove to Cincinnati on Wednesday. I was riding shotgun so we navigated to the funeral home first so we would know where it was then backtracked to find a hotel. I will not stay in a motel with the door opening to the outdoors. I’ve stayed at too many where street people pound on your door at 3:00am. It’s safer to be in a hotel with indoor hallways and resulting security cameras when you’re traveling alone or don’t have a man with you. At least, that’s my feeling so that’s what I do.
\nWhen we got to an area with multiple chain hotels, I did a search and found a number of affordable rooms, but I was drawn to this particular one…Hampton Inn Cincinnati - King’s Island. The price was $109. I told you before when I was traveling in Florida that I ask the front desk if they can meet the discount price on my app. Well, again, I felt this nudge when I went in and didn’t say anything. Just “Do you have a room for two with two Queen beds?” The desk clerk quoted me $89.99…already much lower than the Internet price. Then I asked if they had an AARP rate and they went down to $80.29! And, let me tell you…it was well worth every penny. The bed was comfortable and the linens divine. And I have to say, breakfast was great but I was especially taken by the personal messages written on every banana in the fruit basket. It’s little touches like that which gives a hotel stay that something extra and makes you feel pampered and special.
\nStaying in hotels with nice, new mattresses and box springs really brought home how abysmal the mattress was that I’ve been sleeping on at the farm. I swear it’s at least 30-40 years old…maybe more. I noticed when I got home that one of the area K-Marts was closing and they had Serta mattresses and box springs 40% off so I bought a set. It seems the box springs is about 3/4" smaller than the old one so when I sat down on it, it went right down through the frame and hit the floor with a thud. Today I measured and went to Lowe’s for boards to use as slats in the bed frame. In case you don’t know this, you can give your measurements to the staff in the lumber department at Lowe’s and they will cut it for you. Pretty handy if you don’t have power tools! Now I have my comfy new bed at home and I feel like the vacation is ongoing and with the temp in the high 60’s yesterday, and a long walkabout, it still is! ❤️
\n“When you lie down, you will not be afraid; when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.”\nProverbs 3:24 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-02-19T02:55:33-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/02/19/a-good-nights-sleep.html", "tags": ["Travel","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/02/17/looking-back.html", "title": "Looking Back", "content_html": "![\"Rear](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/237cd33b45.jpg\")
\nAfter a long day driving to Cincinnati, standing in a receiving line for nearly two hours, and sitting through a gut wrenching funeral, my traveling companion and I were exhausted. We got up yesterday morning and had a wonderful hotel breakfast. (I know…it sounds like an oxymoron. Try Hampton Inn Cincinnati/King’s Island) We stopped at the front desk, asked for a late checkout for 12:30 and went back upstairs and slept for two more hours. The beds were fabulous, the linens luxurious, and the room was quiet and well appointed with a fridge, microwave, and coffeepot. All for $80 with an AARP discount. I have found some great deals this month.
\nDeneene and I met Jamie for lunch at the Rusty Bucket. Really, really clean, great food, attentive staff…even Mr. Virgo would have given it his stamp of approval. Deneene and Jamie are both “Ranchers” and widows. Coincidentally, they were both introduced to me by high school classmates of mine. I first met Jamie two years ago when I did a “salon” with our mutual friend, Marion, who is an artist. Over lunch, we all talked about how far we’ve come in our journeys through widowhood. I loved listening to Deneene and Jamie discussing things they had learned by reading this blog. They spoke of the box where I placed my memories of Mr. Virgo…keeping him within reach where I can bring him out when I need to visit or work through something but not holding him right in front of my eyes all the time. Listening to them filled me with pride…pride in these strong women who have found a way to make something beautiful with their lives after suffering something so unbearable.
\nOn the way home, I listened to Deneene’s stories as I watched the flat Ohio landscape slip by. My eyes wandered to the side mirror and it occurred to me these three brave widows made good use of the sand left in their hourglasses yesterday. We didn’t look back to lament where we’ve been. We all know that sucked. No…we looked back and celebrated how far we have come. Life comes back to us as we come back to life. ❤️
\n“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”\nJeremiah 29:11 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-02-17T02:55:23-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/02/17/looking-back.html", "tags": ["Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/02/15/collective-hearts.html", "title": "Collective Hearts", "content_html": "![\"Heart](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/f3d07058ef.jpg\")
\nI went to the mall last night after dinner and watched people. Couples holding hands. Young families entertaining little ones, trying to tire them out before bed. Singles on solitary shopping excursions, perhaps assuaging their own pangs of loneliness on “International Couples Day”. I totally indulged myself with some chocolate. I didn’t feel bad. I’m not alone. I’m never alone. I do sometimes get lonely, but I wasn’t last night. Alone or lonely. It’s a matter of vernacular.
\nThe same is true for grief and mourning. Grief is a matter of singularity. It is the path you alone walk in your journey. It is the price of love. Great love incurs great grief when the beloved is gone. Mourning, however, is a matter of the collective hearts of those who lose a person in common. It is shared. It is an act of social responsibility to mourn the loss of those important to you. You attend funerals of those you mourn to show respect, to share the pain you feel with others who are also feeling the loss to whatever degree it strikes them personally.
\nI am heading to Cincinnati today to attend Anna’s funeral. As we discussed last week, Anna and I graduated from high school together. We knew each other but weren’t friends, per se. My friendship with Anna developed after we realized we shared a birthday. We became closer over discussing her mother-in-law breaking her hip, the birth of her beautiful grandchildren, and her fear that no one would know her if she showed up 45 years late to a class reunion. I think she was pleasantly surprised that she was welcomed with open arms and indeed, we did miss her and remember her. She vowed she and her husband would return for the 50th and now, that won’t happen.
\nWhy am I traveling four hours to the funeral of someone I only really “knew” through a few Facebook exchanges and the common bond of graduating from the same class? Because. Because, it’s what you do. This one hit home, even though I hadn’t seen Anna for 45 years. Our collective hearts are broken and we mourn together as a group. It is the only thing I can do…actively do…to show her children that their mother’s life meant something to me. It would be easy to do nothing and stay home. I’m done with taking the easy way out. Today, I bring my heart to Cincinnati in hopes of offering comfort. ❤️
\n“My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”\nPsalm 73:26 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-02-15T02:55:49-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/02/15/collective-hearts.html", "tags": ["Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Positive Energy"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/02/12/a-country-mile.html", "title": "A Country Mile", "content_html": "![\"hat](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/8b65090603.jpg\")
\nI had one of the best days ever yesterday. It was absolutely the perfect culmination of my vacation. I’ve been in Bristol visiting my cousin and his wife. I love them so much. I was in 1st grade when Tommy went in the Navy. He came back on leave once in his Navy whites and I fell in love. I was ten. I’ve always been close to Tommy and Suzy so visiting them is a treat I treasure.
\nYesterday we took the buggy and rode all around the dam and the river road. We went to the market and bought local apples and sourwood honey. We came back for lunch then drove into town. We went to Bristol Motor Speedway and actually walked inside. That was pretty cool. While I’ve never understood the allure of NASCAR, I’m open to the experience. We came back home and I took a nap before dinner. Then, our dinner guests arrived.
\nI met Mark and Barb here a year and a half ago. I had attended church with my cousins and a large contingent got together for lunch after. There must have been thirty of us spread out over three tables. I remember marvelling over these beautifully poised southern women mothering their children. Teaching them to be social…gently correcting and guiding them through the interactions that are required of polite young people. It was charming and refreshing.
\nMark sat at my left that day and we instantly bonded over stories of fly fishing on the Frying Pan River. Both Mark and his wife are doctors so we had lots in common. Last night the discussion varied from education to book recommendations…food and wine to colleges…football to travel. Genealogy to neuroplasticity. There was much love and laughter and very stimulating conversation. It was icing on the vacation cake.
\nToday is a travel day. I’m heading home to the farm. As much as I would love to go back to Florida this very minute, the party has to be over sometime. So, I’m on the road again.\n❤️?❤️
\n“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”\nEphesians 4:29 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-02-12T02:55:49-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/02/12/a-country-mile.html", "tags": ["Family","Travel","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","The Grand Adventure"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/02/11/intimacy.html", "title": "Intimacy", "content_html": "![\"Cottage\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/bd9d83f491.jpg\")
\nIntimacy: a close, familiar, and usually affectionate or loving personal relationship with another person or group.
\nI arrived at my cousin’s house in Bristol, TN a couple of hours before dinner.
\nI stayed in the Ramada Inn in Statesville, North Carolina last night. I tried the old “Can you meet this price on the Internet?” routine to no avail. The front desk clerk said, “Buy it on the internet, then.” So, I sat in the car in front of the hotel, purchased the room for $63 and went back in to check in. Just off the interstate, recently remodelled, and a hot buffet breakfast that was quite good. What’s not to love?
\nI am thrilled to report your prayers are doing the job! My cousin’s mesothelioma is “stable to improved” on the new experimental drug they’re using. He looks great, has more energy, and is happy and optimistic. It does my heart good to see him.
\nI’m happy here. These people surrounding me share my background, my blood, my history. There is a different level of intimacy in a circle of people you have been a part of your entire life. There is comfort in the knowing and loving. That’s one of the biggest parts of a relationship that I have missed. That shared sense of community you get when you’re part of a family. I have that…just not every day.
\nLosing my classmate Anna drives home how tenuous our time here really is. As I read her obituary last night, it reminded me…she and I shared a birthday. Same day, same hospital. Maybe our mothers relaxed back on their pillows and chatted about the wonders of childbirth. Maybe we had incubators that lay side by side in the nursery. Anna and I shared a special bond through a day on the calendar. I have missed that intimacy of close, personal relationships. I’m ready for more of that. ?❤️?
\n“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”\nEphesians 4:2 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-02-11T02:55:01-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/02/11/intimacy.html", "tags": ["Grief","Hope","Positive Energy"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/02/06/sigh.html", "title": "Sigh", "content_html": "![\"Sunset](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/945bc2363d.jpg\")
\nI hate leaving. What a beautiful week it’s been. Beauty and fun at every turn. I was hoping for a gorgeous sunset for the last night and, while it wasn’t colorful, Florida did not disappoint. If money was no object and I could have anything I wished, I would live on the farm in West Virginia in the spring and fall, Colorado in summer and at Christmas, and Florida the rest of the time. But, until I WIN the Powerball, I’ll settle for getting here for even a little bit of a break in January or February. I am so grateful for this opportunity.
\nI had the opportunity to see my dear friend, Lionel, yesterday. I haven’t seen him since my mother died thirteen years ago. My mom had promised my brother a trip to Florida that spring but she died before they could go. I stepped in and brought my brother down to Disney World. Gary has cerebral palsy and had never done anything like that. Lionel drove over from Tampa to spend the day with Gary and I. It was so wonderful to see him and his beautiful family (I got to see all three of his kids!) and spend a few hours catching up over some pretty decent Mexican food yesterday.
\nI got back to Clearwater in time for this one last sunset. I noticed a large group of people down the beach and walked into the middle of a big Super Bowl party…just in time to catch the National Anthem. My heart swelled with hope and pride when I turned to the woman beside me and the man on the other side…standing, hats off, hands on their hearts…singing, some crying with the emotion of the moment. I cheered along with the crowd when they panned to show the soldiers watching from overseas. It was beautiful to share this moment with complete strangers and feel that human relationship. There is hope for a better tomorrow. There is always hope.
\nI leave today for St. Augustine. I’ll stay there a couple of nights and I’ll have to get up early to catch the sunrise. Keep following along…we’ve still got a week of fun ahead of us! Let’s go! ❤️
\n“Those who live at the ends of the earth stand in awe of your wonders. From where the sun rises to where it sets, you inspire shouts of joy.”\nPsalms 65:8 NLT
\n", "date_published": "2017-02-06T02:55:14-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/02/06/sigh.html", "tags": ["Travel","Hope","Positive Energy","The Grand Adventure","Fun"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/02/05/another-day-in-paradise.html", "title": "Another Day in Paradise", "content_html": "![\"Pool](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/dc5eaf1167.jpg\")
\nThe wind was pretty cool yesterday so I only stayed at the beach 30 minutes before I chucked that idea and headed back to the hotel pool. This is a little slice of heaven right here. The buildings blocked the wind and it was really nice.
\nNo meals out yesterday except for an iced coffee at McDonald’s. Didn’t drive the car anywhere either. I needed a lay low day since today I’m heading to Tampa to see a friend I’ve known for 40 years. I love the place I’m staying and it’s three weeks till the season starts here so it’s pretty reasonable, comparatively. It’s the size of a one bedroom apartment and really quite livable. I cooked dinner last night…pork chop, baked potato, and steamed broccoli.
\nAfter dinner, I walked down to the pier where I caught that great violinist that I posted last night. He was the nicest young man…Cal Morris. You can catch him on YouTube and on his website at www.calmorrismusic.com. I went out on the pier to catch the sunset and look at the wares of the street vendors. It was a beautiful evening.
\nSo, one more day on the Gulf side and I head to the Atlantic. It has been so wonderful here. I’ve never really gone someplace warm during January-February and I swear, I will do this every year if I have to eat beans and rice to do it. This trip has helped with the winter blues…tremendously. I might bring TOW-Wanda down next winter and stay a while! ❤️
\n“Sunshine is sweet; it is good to see the light of day. People ought to enjoy every day of their lives, no matter how long they live. But they should also remember this: You will be dead a long time. Everything that happens then is useless. Young people, enjoy yourselves while you are young; be happy while you are young. Do whatever your heart desires, whatever you want to do. But remember that God will judge you for everything you do.”\nEcclesiastes 11:7-9 NCV
\n", "date_published": "2017-02-05T02:55:24-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/02/05/another-day-in-paradise.html", "tags": ["Travel","Grief","Positive Energy","The Grand Adventure"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/02/03/old-friends-and-friday-fitness.html", "title": "Old Friends and Friday Fitness", "content_html": "![\"Artist](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/401bd08f82.jpg\")
\nI remember Color Day like it was yesterday. Our senior class had a designated day a few weeks before graduation where we had activities, built floats for a parade, and got to skip school to celebrate. Gail was literally the cutest kid in our class. Tiny, little petite spitfire comes to mind when I think of her. We knew each other pretty well although we didn’t hang out at each other’s house. But, as is often the case, Facebook has allowed us to rewrite history and develop close friendships with classmates we hardly knew. At least, that’s the way it’s been for me.
\nI saw Gail at the high school reunion in August and we all danced together. I knew she bought a place in Florida in the fall but didn’t realize she was this close to me until I saw a picture on her page of a place I was literally standing in. I texted her and we met for dinner last night. The Original Crabby Bill’s at 401 Gulf Avenue in Indian Rocks Beach was a happening place when we got there. It was packed and rightfully so. Yummy seafood, live music, and beach party atmosphere made for a loud but fun evening.
\nSince today is Fitness Friday, I’m recommitting to going out to play more. It’s just so difficult to keep up a good exercise program in the winter. I’ve walked at least four miles a day since I got to Florida so I’m going to keep going. I have kept off the weight I lost last year, but my muscle tone is definitely not as good as it was going into hibernation. I remember going to WV for a visit back in the late ’70s to introduce the future Hubby #2 to the family. We went for a run and my Uncle Bob laughed out loud at us running on purpose. They were farmers. Work was how they got their exercise. I may have to be resourceful out on the farm, but there are ways to work out without driving into town to a gym. There’s a perfectly good road to walk and hills to climb and they’re free.
\nAs for nutrition, lots of fresh seafood, salads and fruit, combined with increased physical activity and this just might turn into a weight loss vacation instead of the customary five pounds of self-indulgence that normally comes after two weeks of eating in restaurants. Win-win!
\nImportant PSA…wear sunscreen!!! I had a melanoma in situ in 2005 so it’s important for me to protect my skin. You, too! ❤️
\n", "date_published": "2017-02-03T02:55:45-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/02/03/old-friends-and-friday-fitness.html", "tags": ["Travel","Strong Women","Positive Energy","The Grand Adventure","Fitness Friday"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/02/02/the-perfect-day.html", "title": "The Perfect Day", "content_html": "![\"Palm](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/490715d3de.jpg\")
\nWhat an incredible day yesterday was! The temperature got up to 72. I walked nearly four miles on the beach, went back to my hotel and played in the pool and played in the sun. Then went for a long drive all the way down the peninsula to Pass-A-Grille Beach. Turned around and stopped at the shops at John’s Pass near Madeira Beach. Watched yet another beautiful Florida sunset and ended the night by taking myself out for dinner at The Conch Republic. Yummy seafood there and a fun ambiance! Got back to my hotel and was whupped so I’m sharing a post I wrote a couple years ago that someone else shared yesterday. It’s fairly timely.
\nFlorida sunshine is being good to me! ❤️
\n“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”\nGalatians 6:9 NIV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-02-02T02:55:13-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/02/02/the-perfect-day.html", "tags": ["Travel","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","The Grand Adventure"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/02/01/bounty.html", "title": "Bounty", "content_html": "![\"Pirate](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/3e18f23b47.jpg\")
\nI love Greek food. Spanakopita, dolmas, gyros, baklava…oooooh, I love it all! There’s a baked ziti that has a thick savory custard-like layer over it that’s SO good. I’m sure none of it is good for me, but if I get the opportunity to have Greek food, I don’t miss out. So, yesterday I headed for Tarpon Springs…the “sponge capital of the world”. And home to tons of Greek restaurants. Sixteen years ago, I ate at Pappas Restaurant but it closed a few years ago. I opted for Hellas Restaurant and Bakery. OMGosh! While the food was really quite good, the bakery was amazing! I stood in there and looked at every single item offered. I didn’t buy a single sweet…but they looked marvelous! Instead, I walked my three miles along the piers and walkways of town.
\nI ended the day watching the sunset over the Gulf and caught this Pirate Ship going out for a sunset cruise. There were fishermen catching drum and feeding them to the egrets and pelicans. Here and there musicians set up their open cases to busk for cash. The weather was warmer and hit near 70. It is supposed to be even warmer today. It was an absolutely pristine day. As I sat in the late afternoon sun, I could feel the life force flowing back into me. I have a friend living in Alaska…like, NORTHERN Alaska, just shy of the arctic circle. She goes months without seeing the sun at all. I can’t imagine that. I am so happy to be soaking up some sunshine this week. ❤️
\n“Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”\nPsalm 119:105 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-02-01T02:55:56-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/02/01/bounty.html", "tags": ["Travel","Positive Energy","The Grand Adventure","Fun"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/01/31/the-grand-adventure-brown-pelican.html", "title": "THE GRAND ADVENTURE 2017: \"BROWN PELICAN ON THE PIER\"", "content_html": "![\"Brown](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e11ce96702.jpg\")
\nDay 3: Splitting the drive into three days made the day of arrival an easy three hours or so. My total drive time was exactly 17 hours and just over 1,000 miles. I didn’t break any speed records and stopped as I needed to stretch my legs and have a snack. And…I spent a whopping $61 in gas to get down here! Hotels were $137 including tax. Food was around $20 because I brought most of it from home. Since I love to drive, I don’t count my time because the drive is half the fun and all the entertainment. My room is budget but certainly not cut rate. It has a pool and kitchen and is very close to the beach. There is a grocery about a mile and half away so I bought what I will need for the week for $85. I’m thrilled to have pulled this off without spending a mint! I don’t think I will ever go a whole winter without seeing the sun again.
\nI could hardly wait to get to the beach. It is unseasonably cool here right now. The high yesterday was 62 but, since it snowed in West Virginia, I will take 62 and sunshine on a beach any day of the week! I have been in Florida in January when it was so cold, we had to wear our ski parkas, hats and gloves to Disney World. By midweek it will be in the mid-70’s so I’m good with that.
\nOne of the first times I ever traveled alone was a year after Hubby #2 and I split up. I came to Florida to visit my sister/friend from high school. I drove all over the state. From Jacksonville to Tarpon Springs…Sanibel to Captiva to Naples…Ft. Lauderdale to Flagler Beach to Kissimmee and back to Jacksonville. It was a wonderful trip. Traveling alone takes courage and planning but it’s doable in one way or another, regardless of your budget.
\nSo, I’m here safe and sound. I’m in a safe area and a secure hotel. I’m getting the lay of the land and looking for fun things to do. I’ll keep sending youthese little “picture postcards”!
\n““Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”\nMatthew 11:28 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-01-31T03:00:25-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/01/31/the-grand-adventure-brown-pelican.html", "tags": ["Travel","Positive Energy","The Grand Adventure","Fun"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/01/29/gettin-out-of-dodge.html", "title": "GETTIN' OUT OF DODGE", "content_html": "![\"Road](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/7ab570c4bb.jpg\")
\nOk, kids…it’s that time of year when mama’s got itchy feet. The grey clouds of January in the Mid-Ohio Valley has turned me into a pale and grumpy girl and I have to head for some sun, sand, and surf! Yesss….you guessed it…it’s time for a ROAD TRIP! And you’re coming with me so turn on the sunlamp, play some Beach Boys, and slather on some coconut scented lotion, put on your sunglasses, get out the road map, and lets have some fun!
\nI’m not traveling with TOW-Wanda this time. I always get a little squirrelly when I think about pulling a 30’ camper in the snow over the Blue Ridge Mountains, so the big girl is holding down the fort at the farm. This is the econo-version of the Great American Road Trip! First, I rented a car. Now, before you freak out about the cost of that, figure that I get TRIPLE the miles per gallon in a small car than I get in my big, mama-honkin’ truck. And, I had an e-mail from Enterprise for a free upgrade. I tried making the reservation through the website but “free” upgrade actually increased the price and free is supposed to be free, right? So, I ordered an “intermediate” sized car. When I got to the desk, I showed the clerk the e-mail and actually GOT the free upgrade. A standard car turned out to by a Chrysler 200 with pretty much all the bells and whistles I could have needed. I brought my own GPS so I didn’t rent one. (For those of you who know me, I literally cannot find my butt with both hands and a flashlight so a GPS is non-negotiable!). This fine little American made automobile is imported from Detroit and I got a very respectable 34.6MPG on the highway coming down and that was over some fairly respectable mountains. As always, I do not divulge my exact location real time so I’ll tell you more about that tomorrow when I move on.
\nAnother really great money saver when I travel is the hotel.com app on my phone. Hotels put rooms out on sites like this when they have a lot of empty rooms and they don’t expect to sell out. You can get some really great deals last minute. I drove till I was tired, found an exit with a lot of chain hotels, opened my hotel.com app and found a reasonably priced, name-brand hotel. Then, with the app still open, I went to the front desk and introduced myself. I said, very politely, “I just found this really great deal for a room here and I’m wondering…can you match this or do I need to go through the purchase here online?” I’ve never had anyone turn me down. They always give me the price I found online. This time, I got a bonus. The clerk said she could do me one better if I had AAA. So, I got a perfectly respectable room just off the interstate in a large southern city for $55 plus tax. And I get a free continental breakfast. Not bad!
\nI carry a cooler on road trips with sandwich makings and healthy snacks. I allow myself one diet soda when I drive and save it for late in the day. The little caffeine boost keeps me alert during rush hour traffic and I feel like I’ve really had a treat since I rarely drink soda anymore. I buy one meal a day on the road…in this case, breakfast at Denny’s. That is always an affordable meal packed with protein.
\nI have some basic rules of safety when I travel. I carry a smart phone with internet access. I try not to drive too long after dark. I stop for gas at the big places like Pilot or Travel America because they are well lit, their gas is restocked frequently, and they are busy. And, if you have a Good Sams Club card, you get $.03 off per gallon when you prepay at Pilot…another savings that adds up over a long road trip. That’s the end of day one. Today I head further south and I’ll tell you more tomorrow about the sites I’ve seen so far. ❤️?❤️
\n“For it is written: “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you to guard you carefully; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’ ””\nLuke 4:10-11 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-01-29T02:55:31-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/01/29/gettin-out-of-dodge.html", "tags": ["Travel","Positive Energy","Fun"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/01/27/the-door.html", "title": "THE DOOR", "content_html": "![\"Window](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/19761ab7bd.jpg\")
\nThere is nothing beautiful about becoming a widow. It’s scary and sad and extraordinarily painful. For the longest time, I was certain there would never be joy again, even as I traveled in TOW-Wanda. I sat in a chair looking at a closed door. On the other side of that door was the rest of my life. Christina Rasmussen calls this the Waiting Room. We touched on that last week. I sat there for the longest time…in fear. I wasn’t afraid to move forward because I was alone. I wasn’t. God led my every breath and directed my every step as I navigated this grief journey. As a matter of fact, I can look back and see where every stumble was because I took my focus off of Him and tried to drive the bus on my own. I have long since decided I’m much better off when I ride shotgun with Jesus at the wheel. But, I was still afraid of moving forward.
\nFear of the unknown had me stuck. Fear of losing what little tangible evidence of the great love we had kept me from opening my heart to even the possibilities of loving again. I couldn’t bear the thought of loving…only to lose everything all over again. So, I sat…and waited, and waited, and waited. I’m not talking about my physical presence. That I was taking all over God’s green earth…to search for solace and peace and release from this hell I’d been thrust into. No, my physical being was doing quite well…seeing places I’d never seen, doing things I’d never done. All the while, my heart and mind sat, carefully eyeing that door.
\nOne day I was standing in the headwaters of the Frying Pan River. I had been fishing from the bank. It was a beautiful, hot, late-summer day. The current was gentle where I was. Suddenly, I felt restless…bored…frustrated. I realized I was tired of sitting there…waiting. I laid my rod and reel down, slipped out of my shoes and socks, rolled up my jeans and stepped into the icy water. The jolt from the cold made me gasp for air and I squealed as I stepped from stone to slippery stone. I walked to the middle and stood looking upstream. The door wasn’t there. That is the past from whence I came. It was done…no changing that. I turned downstream and envisioned the door. That was where I needed to go, fear or no fear. I closed my eyes and listened to the river riffling over the stones at my feet. I felt the water caress my knees as it coursed past me, making its way down out of the Rockies and into the sea. I reached out in my mind and touched the door. The smooth wood felt like satin under my fingertips. I slid my hand down and grasped the door knob and turned. With great trepidation, I pushed ever so lightly as the door slowly swung open wide. My heart was pounding because I knew once I opened that door, there was no turning back. I took a deep breath and stepped through.
\nNothing big happened. No cymbals crashing or trumpet call. Still, I had this sense of change come over me, like a cocoon opening and I stood trembling…waiting for my wings to fill out and dry. As I stood there, I became acutely aware of a bird calling in the tree above me. A camp robber was scolding me for intruding into its space. I turned my face up to the sun and let it warm me. The scent of the pines was so thick you could cut it with a knife. My heartbeat slowed down and I was free. Free to move forward at my own pace. Free to feel the sun and the wind and the water. Free to embrace this new life one choice at a time. Has it been easy? Decidedly not. Has it been scary? Certainly, at times. But has it been worth opening that door and stepping through? Oh, my gosh…yes, yes, yes. A resounding yes! There is healing in letting go. There is liberation in letting my heart open to even feel the possibilities of loving another. There is hope.
\nWhen I was sitting staring at that door, I had no idea what was waiting on the other side. I just took a leap of faith because it was just too painful for me to stay where I was. I needed to have hope. I needed to believe it would get better. And it has…thank God. ❤️
\n“Lord my God, I called to you for help, and you healed me.”\nPsalm 30:2 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-01-27T02:55:58-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/01/27/the-door.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/01/25/outside-is-free.html", "title": "OUTSIDE IS FREE", "content_html": "![\"Meme.](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/4e31e8d485.jpg\")
\nAs I plug along and copy the content from my blog here on Facebook and move it to my new website, I try to work from both ends of the spectrum. I work on new stuff for a while, then I work on the older, early writings. I have to do it this way as the early stuff is so painful…most of the time. Right now, I’m in the midst of the first spring/summer after losing Mr. Virgo. I have purchased Little TOW-Wanda and I’ve been out on The Grand Adventure for quite some time. I am enjoying looking back at the pictures of all the beautiful places I visited. So much of that year is a blur to me. The brain fog of grief had me pretty firmly in its grip for the first year and seeing these photos, and reading the meager writing I was able to produce fills in some blanks and makes me long for getting out on the open road again…wind in my hair, tiara twinkling in the sunlight.
\nAs most of the nation struggles with snow and cold, we are still deluged with this incessant rain. Grey skies are gonna clear up…put on a happy face! Meh. I’m not feeling it. I have been plunked down in front of this computer for days and it is slow going. But every day is progress and I will reward myself with an outing to town today or tomorrow.
\nYesterday was the Angelversary of my mother’s death. I posted it on my personal page and received an outpouring of love from friends and family. I love that people remember her and tell stories about her. I love that they speak her name. One of the things I hear the most from my readers who are grieving is they wish people would say his name. Talk about him, tell stories, remember. It normalizes grief. It acknowledges the fact that this wonderful person lived and we got to live with them. It keeps their memory alive. I appreciate that. I love it when someone tells me a funny mom story or Mr. Virgo story. My mom…I loved to make her laugh. And I had a talent for it. She lived a hard life and I took it upon myself to entertain her, boost her spirits, and make her laugh till she cried. Oh, I aggravated the heck out of her sometimes, too. That’s the nature of the mother-daughter relationship, is it not? But, her laughter was like sunshine to me and I would do whatever I could to bask in that glow.
\nI called her every Sunday night. Without fail. And I tried to visit her in West Virginia at least once a year. She came to Colorado a few times. I once lived in a very tiny house. Hubby #2 was in medical school and was on a rotation of work one night, sleep one night, study one night…on and on and on for nearly three years. For some reason…I didn’t see my mom during that time. There wasn’t room for visitors at my house and no money for a hotel or for a plane ticket home. So, I just didn’t see her. I made excuses. I put her off. I hate that I did that. I’ll never forget when I did finally make it home for a visit, her hair had gone completely white! I was convinced it was all my fault. Silly, that…but still. I can’t imagine not seeing my girls for nearly three years. It had to have been difficult for her. I tried to make up for it in her last years. I think I probably did. She was a very forgiving soul when it came to me. Not that I deserved it. But a mother’s love, you know.
\nI’m going on an adventure in a few days. Are you ready to travel with me? Get your sunscreen and your flip-flops out…there’s sand, sun, and surf coming your way soon! Wahoo!!! ❤️
\n“"‘Honor your father and your mother, as the Lord your God commanded you, that your days may be long, and that it may go well with you in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.”\nDeuteronomy 5:16 ESV
\n", "date_published": "2017-01-25T02:55:29-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/01/25/outside-is-free.html", "tags": ["Travel","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","Fun"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/01/23/monday-morning-motivation.html", "title": "MONDAY MORNING MOTIVATION", "content_html": "![\"Sunrise](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/b0791d9709.jpg\")
\nI’ve been reading posts lately about feeling stuck. I remember in my own grief journey, especially the first year or two, there were so many times I felt complete frozen. It was hard to get up and get out of bed, let alone do anything meaningful. There were long stretches where I wondered if I would actually make it. I was filled with despair. It’s always worse in winter. As I am sitting here, the rain is pounding on the tin roof of this farmhouse. At least it isn’t snow. Long dark nights and short grey days have a way of making even the sunniest disposition go sour.
\nI got an Amazon Echo for Christmas. I love it because I can “talk” to Alexa and she “answers” me back. Yesterday, I asked her what the 7-day forecast was and she kept looking for adjectives. Finally she said Friday was going to be “dreary”. It’s pretty bad when your computerized companion describes the coming day as dreary. That does it! I’m heading for some sun, sand, and surf…soon. Like…really soon!
\nHow do you start moving when things get stagnant and you get stuck? It’s OK to mattress surf for a day. I always drew the line and refused to allow myself two days of that. I went through a severe clinical depression in the ’90s…I’m not going there again. But, what do you do? How do you get motivated to get up and move. I had one goal every day. I figured if I did just one positive thing every day it meant I was moving forward, no matter how tiny the baby steps were. My goal every day was to clean my kitchen sink. I know. Not much of a goal, is it? Here’s what happened, though. I scrubbed that kitchen sink till it shined. And once the sink was shiny, my heart lifted a little. Then, a cup of tea sounded nice. Then, there was a magazine on the table that had pretty pictures of spring decorating and flowers. I always kept sunny magazines laying around the house and in my car. Those magazines helped me tremendously as I could escape into their glossy pages for a little bit when things felt overwhelming. You don’t have to read a lot…just flip through and escape.
\nSometimes my days were spent getting through every hour…a minute at a time. But every hour put me another hour ahead, another hour forward. You don’t have to make BIG progress every day. Just make SOME progress every day. Little tiny baby steps are still steps. Some days will feel like you took two steps forward and three steps back. As a matter of fact…you’ll have a lot of those days. Just remember…you took those TWO STEPS. That’s something. That’s forward movement. Don’t discount that, dear ones. Stand up and move. Make the choice to live…REALLY live. You can do this. You’re still here. Let me repeat that. You…are…still…here! Good for you! ❤️
\n“I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”\nPhilippians 3:14 ESV
\n\n", "date_published": "2017-01-23T02:55:12-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/01/23/monday-morning-motivation.html", "tags": ["Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/01/20/rise-up.html", "title": "RISE UP!", "content_html": "
![\"Meme.](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/bf04d631f9.jpg\")
\nI try not to touch the third rail. Politics is a touchy subject in polite society and can create a firestorm, as I’m sure you have all witnessed in your Facebook feed this last year. A simple statement, an expressed opinion…even an innocent “share” can bring on a backlash the likes of which you may never have witnessed before. Much of that is because it’s easier to hide behind a keyboard and say things that more than likely would never be said with direct eye contact.
\nI’m not going to take sides. I’m not going to pass judgement. I’m not asking who you supported in the election nor am I going to share who I voted for. But I WILL share who I support and that’s us…We the People. No matter which side of the fence you are on…no matter your beliefs…no matter your color, identity, faith, ancestry….I’m pulling for you to live a safe, fulfilling, happy life. Whether you are happy or sad today, there is a changing of the guard and we have a civic duty to be watchful of our leaders and our representatives. We have to express our opinions. It is our right.
\nI don’t know about you, but I was pretty self-involved the last four years. Mr. Virgo died less than two months after the last inauguration and I largely let others do my caring for me in that department. If I’m brutally honest, I have always shied away from politics because I’m not a fan of conflict. But…I’m awake now. I’m watching. It would be easier…much more comfortable…to stick my head in the sand. There are others who cannot speak for themselves. The Bible tells us to stand up for them.
\nA young man was invited to speak at Ebenezer Church in Atlanta this week. At the tender age of 15, this young man spoke eloquently about protecting the least of us. Royce Mann recited his poem “Rise Up” and was met with resounding applause. We can’t afford to be complacent. We cannot stick our head in the sand and hope others will do the work for us. It’s time…it’s past time…to rise up and speak up. For yourselves. For those whose voices are not heard. For those who have no voice. ❤️
\n\n“Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.”\nProverbs 31:8-9 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-01-20T02:55:01-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/01/20/rise-up.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/01/20/prayer-requests.html", "title": "PRAYER REQUESTS", "content_html": "![\"Woman's](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/805eaf7ad2.jpg\")
\nI know of a few families who need lifted up in prayer tonight. There are health issues and family issues involved that are unspoken with some of them. Also, I would like to ask for prayers for our country as we head into a new arena tomorrow. Whether you were for them or against them, I offer prayers for both the Obamas as they leave this office and the Trumps as they come in. God loves each of his children the same, no matter what our personal opinions are.
\nIf you have any special prayer requests this evening, please feel free to add them here. This is the time to lift each other up.
\n“Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” James 5:16 ESV
\n", "date_published": "2017-01-19T19:34:58-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/01/20/prayer-requests.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Hope","Positive Energy"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/01/19/no-worries.html", "title": "NO WORRIES", "content_html": "![\"No](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/de7d340dad.jpg\")
\nI used to worry about everything. I have a genetic proclivity for anxiety…a trait I have so generously shared with my children and at least one of my grandchildren. When I was in my twenties, a trip to the mountains would have me in a tizzy for days just thinking about going. At one point, I was nearly agoraphobic…there were only certain places I felt comfortable. I hated it. I hated that I couldn’t be in a play or give a speech because the idea of standing in front of people made me deathly sick. So, what changed?
\nI still get butterflies on occasion. And, on rare occasions, I get anxiety attacks. But I’ve been largely better after two major events in my life. First, I nearly died of an overdose in 2000. I’ve talked about it a little here, but not much. It was a very dark time in my life, my marriage was dying, I was at the tail end of a 7 year struggle with clinical depression, and I took two full bottles of pills and could have easily died had I not been found in time. It wasn’t like I made a decision to end my life. I was just in so much pain, I wanted to go to sleep. When I came out of that, I was much stronger and nothing really scared me much after that. Then Mr. Virgo died. I suffered severe panic attacks for about a year. Finally, I was diagnosed with PTSD and had EMDR treatments so no I rarely get anxious about anything. And worry? Nah…worry doesn’t change anything. It just ruins “now”.
\nI was interviewed on the radio yesterday. I had a half hour to tell my story and those of you who know me…I can just about tell you my name in that time. The show hosts said it was great. The gal who puts the show online said it was great. My friends have listened and said I did a good job. I listened to it and hear every pause, every “and…um”, every perceived flaw. So, I figured I just wouldn’t post it. Then I heard from a reader who heard it. And she said it was a wonderful interview. When I write, I re-read later and often think it isn’t good enough. But I have only erased and started over once in four years. Why? Because, I pray to God to bring me the words. These are the words I’m given. I don’t know who they’re for, or why I got this particular message. God just puts it on my heart and I do it. Same with any talks or interviews I give. It is what it is. Unless you are a speech coach, you aren’t going to really notice what I notice. And, if you ARE a speech coach…please contact me. I need your services!
\nIf you would like to listen to yesterday’s show on Highway to Health, you can do so here and I’m just not going to worry about it, OK?
\nmotherearthworks.com/index.php…
\n“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”\nPhilippians 4:6-7 NIV\n(My go to verse about worry and anxiety!)
\n#grief, #widow, #worry, #anxiety
\n", "date_published": "2017-01-19T02:55:12-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/01/19/no-worries.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Strong Women","Positive Energy","God"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/01/17/see-the-stars.html", "title": "SEE THE STARS", "content_html": "![\"Only](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/404ac721c5.jpg\")
\nI stumbled around for the longest time in the darkness of grief. I told people it was like trying to defuse a bomb blindfolded. One wrong move and I would just disappear…evaporate into a billion little pieces. I used to feel like I was, quite literally, one crisis away from losing it altogether. If one more bad thing happened, if I had to deal with one more medical emergency, if I had to white-knuckle my way through one more disaster…I just knew I didn’t have it in me. The thing is…I look back over the last nearly four years since Mr. Virgo’s death and I realize I survived every single thing that was thrown at me…exactly 100% of the time. There are still moments when I feel myself hanging on…but now it’s by the heavy chains of a sea freighter’s anchor…not by a thin, ever weakening thread.
\nTime has done a great deal to show me I am much stronger than I thought. God has never, ever let me down and I trust He will always either provide a safe place to land or teach me to fly. In the light of day, every single star in the half of the universe we face is there. We just can’t see them because of the sun. When things are going well and you are feeling strong and healthy, all the threads leading to your support system are there…but you don’t notice them because there is so much light in your life. It’s when things get dark…when there isn’t even a moon…that’s when you need to look for the stars. You need to look for those tiny beacons of light…those loved ones, those helpers, those angels, and for the Strength of the One who is greater than yourself. As Dr. Martin Luther King said…“Only in the darkness can you see the stars.”
\nAs I was leaving church Sunday morning, I felt a tap on my shoulder and jumped. One of the ladies I’m getting to know came up and welcomed me back after my long trip to Colorado. We exchanged greetings then she told me how much she enjoys reading Marshmallow Ranch every day…that it is so uplifting. She went on to say that even though she has not lost a husband, there are all kinds of grief and my posts have helped her. I have been moving the early posts of my blog from Facebook to the new website this week. That means I dive back down into the darkest, most paralyzing time of my life. And it wears on me. I have dreams again of CPR and ambulances and caskets. I was feeling really tired Sunday morning after another night of fitful sleep. But when my church friend put her arm around my shoulder and told me how much my writing helps her, and others, it lifted me up. It made me feel centered and stronger and more forward focused. And I told her so and thanked her for telling me.
\nWe should lift each other up at every opportunity. When I write my posts, I do not know what is going on in your lives. I don’t know what you need to hear. But I always pray over my keyboard and ask God to bring me the words He wants me to say and the people who need to hear it. Then I seek ways I can be of service to Him. I knock on the door of his heart and ask him to shower me with these blessings that I beseech of Him. And finally, I ask him to walk with His hand over all of YOU, to guard YOU, to bring peace, healing, and abundance into your lives. I was so grateful to be lifted up on Sunday. It set the tone for the week ahead.
\nWhen it is dark…may you see the stars. ❤️
\n“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up….”\n1 Thessalonians 5:11 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-01-17T02:55:23-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/01/17/see-the-stars.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Hope","Positive Energy"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/01/15/rainy-days.html", "title": "RAINY DAYS", "content_html": "![\"Rainy](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/0c98aa7db4.jpg\")
\nI am always amazed at the amount of water shed from the sky here in West Virginia. After living forty years in the semi arid climate of Colorado, this is a shock to the system. Oh, the humidity is great for my skin. And I have stick-straight hair so humidity is the only thing that gives it a little body. But, man….dark, gray, rainy days can really wear on a person after a while.
\nThe creek has been running awfully high this week from all the rain. The ground is saturated. There’s a dead tree out by the road alongside the creek and it has shed some branches that have partially blocked the culvert. Unfortunately, I didn’t notice that till now and it isn’t safe to get down in there to clear it out so it will have to wait. I have a rain gauge out front. I haven’t emptied it since before I left for Colorado so it’s been at least five weeks. It is full to the top…twelve inches! I have no idea how long it has been full so who knows how much rain we’ve received? I walked the creek from the road to up behind the barn just before dark and I don’t think it’s going to flow over. And if it does, it will go over the road before it comes in the house. At least we didn’t get the ice storm they predicted.
\nI’ve been glued to my laptop all week migrating content from FB to the new website. It’s slow going because I’m also backing everything up in a Word document. Rainy days aren’t so bad when you’ve got a nice cup of tea and some soft classical music in the background. I seldom curl up with a good book anymore, though. Ever since I started writing after Mr. Virgo died, I try not to read other people’s work. I find it taints my thinking and I don’t want to run the risk of inadvertently plagiarizing someone. Writing soothes me…it sharpens my mind and keeps me focused. It has done wonders toward healing my heart and spirit. I am very protective of my writing time. You can ask anyone with whom I have stayed in the last four years…I retire early even when I am a guest so that I may write. It’s therapy, hobby, recreation, and mental exercise. It’s as much a part of my day as breathing now. Early on, I would sometimes schedule a week’s worth of posts ahead of time when I traveled in case I was out of cell or wifi range. Eventually, I found myself writing anyway so I just write. It’s what I do. It’s what I love. ❤️
\n“The words of the mouth are deep waters, but the fountain of wisdom is a rushing stream.”\nProverbs 18:4 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-01-15T03:00:05-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/01/15/rainy-days.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","The Farm"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/01/11/ncaa-basketball.html", "title": "NCAA BASKETBALL", "content_html": "![\"NCAA](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/14da4c95d5.jpg\")
\nI have never been to a college ball game and I’ve always loved the Final Four. When I learned that WVU was playing Baylor who are undefeated, I knew I had to make the trek up to Morgantown…a place I’ve never been, believe it or not. Wow, what a game! WVU defeated Baylor, 89-68. There is so much excitement at a game when you attend. Lots of audience participation and of course, it’s always fun to watch college students supporting their team.
\nBaylor was ranked #1, not only in the Big 12, but also in the NCAA. The Mountaineers played with finesse and took them down. It was great fun to watch! I think the greatest highlight for me beyond the actual win was watching the students storm the court and the entire coliseum singing “Almost Heaven, West Virginia” with John Denver. It brought a tear of pride to my eyes to see our boys in Blue and Gold upset such a great team.
\nWest Virginia has devout fans. I ran into friends at the game and that always makes me feel the closeness of our friendly state. We may be small, but we are fierce! Today, I’ll have a look around the campus and explore the town before I head back to the farm. It’s always nice to do something fun and adventurous…something I have never done. And…since this is my year to “REACH”…I’ll be doing more of that. Come on along…it’s gonna be a fun year! ❤️
\n“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”\nProverbs 3:5-6 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-01-11T03:00:55-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/01/11/ncaa-basketball.html", "tags": ["Travel","Positive Energy","Fun"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/01/10/content.html", "title": "CONTENT!", "content_html": "![\"Laptop](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/4d07b39a4f.jpg\")
\nOk, double entendres taken into consideration, I am content on this beautiful, sunny day…sitting at the farm, writing. AND…I have been copying my posts from Marshmallow-Ranch-the-Facebook-page to Marshmallow-Ranch-the-web-page. This is the meat and bones of my work…what my media mentor, Janine Pettit of Girl Camper fame, points out is my most valuable online asset…Content! Content! Content!
\nI have been writing this blog for four years now. At least three and a half years of that saw a new essay every single day. That, my friends, is a BOATLOAD of content! Now, before you get too concerned…Marshmallow Ranch isn’t leaving Facebook…not entirely. But, it has been bothering me for quite some time when I think of the sheer volume of work I have floating out in the nether regions of the Internet that I really have no control over. In this day and age of Internet hacking, I don’t know what I would do if Facebook was suddenly wiped out and there was no record of all this writing! Out of sheer convenience, I have written every post directly to Facebook…no Word documents, no back up other than printing out about two and a half years worth of posts. It’s beginning to give me the willies, so I decided to do something about it…for a number of reasons.
\nFirst off, my initial impetus to create an independent web page came from my agent. She loves my book proposal. But, with the steady growth of social media, publishers look for your social media presence as an indicator of how big a ready-made audience you come to them with. How many books can you expect to sell just by the sheer numbers of followers you have on your blog, podcast, etc.? She told me about a fellow who had written an exceptional book but she couldn’t find a publisher because he “only” had 400,000 followers on his blog. 400,000? Oy! So, in all practicality…I either have to quit, which I am not about to do, or focus on expanding my social media presence. And, since Google does not catalog content from Facebook, I am creating and populating www.marshmallowranch.com in order to be found more easily in Internet searches.
\nThis whole endeavor was pounded home yesterday when I was copying content to populate the new blog. I was searching for my very first blog post on Marshmallow Ranch telling you all that Mr. Virgo had died. I was scanning back through the pages when I realized that would just take forever so I typed in the date I was looking for. Suddenly, everything disappeared except for that date! Just one post! OH. EM. GEEEE! I nearly fainted! I did everything I could think of to get it back and finally logged completely out of the system, logged back in, and (BIG heavy sigh)…there it was. All four years! That clinched it for me. I knew I had to double down my efforts and get this show on the road.
\nThere are a lot of irons in the fire for this year besides migrating content over. Ever since I did the first podcast with Janine, I have been smitten with the idea of having my own show. A year ago, she encouraged me to start and I wasn’t ready. I felt I’d best be writing the book. But, since my agent has encouraged me to build first, write second, I’ve been “given permission”, so to speak, to do something that really excites me. It’s still in the very raw thinking-it-through stage, but coming together. Another thing I’ve been approached to do is start a widow’s mentor group here in West Virginia. I am researching the Modern Widow’s Club as I like their format and have reached out to them to initiate conversation. Say a little prayer that this all works, if it is God’s will for me!
\nLike I said, the new website will not replace this Facebook page, but you may notice when you scroll back through the recent posts, only the first few sentences appear on the page with a link that says (Continue reading on my website at…). It will take you to my webpage. You can either leave a comment there or hit your back arrow to come back to the Facebook version of Marshmallow Ranch and like or comment. (Facebook algorithms LOVE audience participation…likes, comments, and shares are always much appreciated.) I feel somewhat awkward asking you to help me boost these numbers because, at the end of the day, the numbers aren’t the most important thing…YOU and the message are!
\nThere is an option to leave an e-mail address, through a link at the top of this page and on the new webpage. Please leave one for me, if you don’t mind. I promise I will never abuse the privilege…I will never sell your e-mail address or spam you. I would like to create a monthly newsletter with content that is not necessarily found on the blog. I will be interviewing other experts in the grief community. I will invite others to share their stories. I am developing this site so I can reach more people who grieve. The more people we reach, the more people we help, the more people are touched by what God puts on my heart to say. Your sharing helps this site grow. It’s the Prayer of Jabez in action…it “enlarges my territory”…my sphere of influence. I wanted to be perfectly candid and open with you and respectfully ask for your help.
\nPLEASE keep in mind, this is a very rough draft page…it’s going to be much more colorful and reflect who I am and what I’m all about. But you’ve got to start somewhere, right? I just wanted to give you all a heads up in case you’ve run across the links already. And, as always, I am forever grateful for your audience. I love what I do…and I love all of you! ❤️
\n“Jabez was more honorable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, “I gave birth to him in pain.” Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” And God granted his request.”\n1 Chronicles 4:9-10 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-01-10T03:00:32-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/01/10/content.html", "tags": ["Grief","Positive Energy","Writing"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/01/08/in-the-company-of-women.html", "title": "IN THE COMPANY OF WOMEN", "content_html": "![\"Meme](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/f875787b4e.jpg\")
\nIn the Company of Women
\nYesterday was my “girls day”. I met eleven other women from my high school class at 10:00 for our monthly therapy session…err, I mean, coffee klatche. One of the first things I did when I moved back to West Virginia two years ago was to organize these monthly gatherings of my classmates so we have connections as we head into the golden years of retirement. I have been blessed with this kind of supportive tribe of strong women all my adult life. Women in West Virginia don’t “gather” quite the same as they do in Colorado. I’m not sure why…culture, economics, traditional marital roles? Whatever…getting these wonderful women together has been a highlight every month for the last two years and I love every one of them!
\nAfter coffee, I joined a widowed friend who brought along one of her classmates who is also a widow (who happens to be a “Rancher” of three years! That always humbles me.) We visited for four hours and talked about a project we’re thinking of doing together. More on that when things get firmed up.
\nI have grown to appreciate women so much more since losing Mr. Virgo. I was one of those tomboys who always seemed to enjoy male conversation and energy more than women in my earlier years. I was a builder and a maker…a little coarse around the edges. But women of a certain age grow into their strength and wisdom and I find myself gravitating toward them. I admire them. I emulate them. I celebrate them. I’m proud to be one of them. And I seek out their company whenever possible. I tell my daughters not to lose touch with their women friends because they’re going to need them someday. I don’t think they get it…yet. But, they will.
\nI ended the day by taking myself out on a dinner date to the very first sit-down restaurant I ever went to…Jimmy Columbo’s. Jimmy’s opened the year after I was born so it’s an institution in my hometown. It’s still family owned and operated with photos of locals, family, and celebrities lining the walls. The first time I went there, I was on a date with the young man who would become my first husband. I had no idea how to order from a menu. I had never eaten a tossed salad before. When the waitress brought me my salad last night, I took the first bite and closed my eyes. I was suddenly seventeen again, heart fluttering, my shirtwaist dress freshly pressed, a white cardigan around my shoulders. I smiled and thought about how far I’ve come since I was that young, star-crossed girl. How much I have experienced and learned. How much I have grown. I thanked God for the wonderful, strong women in my life. I thanked Him for restaurants that still make a really great homemade Italian dressing. And pasta. I always thank God for pasta. ❤️
\n“She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come. She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.”\nProverbs 31:25-26 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-01-08T03:00:35-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/01/08/in-the-company-of-women.html", "tags": ["Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/01/05/its-not-about-youunless-it.html", "title": "IT'S NOT ABOUT YOU...UNLESS IT IS", "content_html": "![\"Blue](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/b0d23ae829.jpg\")
\nIt’s Not About You…Unless It Is
\nIn keeping with the theme of the New Year and yesterday’s post about body image, let’s explore a little more about self….self-image, self-control. How many times have you felt the sting of someone else’s judgement? How often have we believed what someone else has said about us? And I’m not just talking about people we know and love…people who are supposed to love us. I’m also talking about complete strangers…the rude man behind us in the checkout line…the clerk at the post office…the young girls on the bus who snicker behind their hands, whispering something you can’t quite hear but you know it’s you they are targeting.
\nJudgement. We experience it every day. And face it…we do it ourselves all too often. No? Remember that old lady taking her half out of the middle on the freeway this morning? Yeah…I thought so. We try…we fail…we try again. One of the Four Agreements is “Don’t take anything personally.” It’s not about you. It’s just not. When someone says something bad about/to you…it has everything to do with where they are in their journey in life. It has absolutely nothing to do with you personally. It’s a little harder to take when you think that something they say GOOD about you doesn’t have anything to do with you either. Ouch! But here’s where we forget to turn the statement around.
\nWhen YOU judge someone else…when YOU gossip about someone else…when YOU say something sharp and mean to another person, known or unknown…it has NOTHING to do with THEM and EVERYTHING to do with YOU. Double ouch! It has everything to do with where you are on your journey…in your development…in the course of the evolution of your mind and spirit. I am as guilty of this as anyone and will be the first to admit I don’t always turn it around when I’m the perpetrator. I have a tendency to want to blame someone else for my sad state of personal growth in the moment.
\nSeventeen years ago, I had a major falling out with my dearest BFF. This was huge…an ugly fight, and a resulting parting of the ways. We didn’t speak for ten years. Then, miraculously, at the ten year mark, I started seeing her here and there on Facebook. I wanted to stay mad because I had placed myself in the poor victim box. I didn’t want to look at my side of the street. One day, she posted a funny video and I was in it. My love for her rushed back in and I realized how much I had missed my friend. I also realized she had no way of knowing the personal growth and insight I had attained during those ten years. So, I reached out. I said “Enough already…I miss you and I hope you’ll take a chance to get to know this newer, wiser version of me…sort of Ginny 4.2.” I’m grateful I chose a good quality friend to begin with because we gifted each other with another chance…a new friendship. It’s not like it was before. WE aren’t who we were before. But I cherish her friendship and welcome this funny, intelligent, beautiful woman back in my life. The high road doesn’t guarantee absolution, unfortunately, but you just might be surprised by the new dynamic an old friendship can take on.
\nThis is a new year…a time for starting over. A fresh slate. If there is someone your actions has affected, now is a really good time to let them know you’ve grown from the experience and you hope they can forgive your stumble as you journey through this thing called life. Maybe you’ll never hear from them again. But…maybe they have been just waiting for you. ❤️
\n““Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool.”\nIsaiah 1:18 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-01-05T03:00:51-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/01/05/its-not-about-youunless-it.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/01/04/the-dancing-of-life.html", "title": "THE DANCING OF LIFE", "content_html": "![\"Pregnant](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/36eda49895.jpg\")
\nThe Dancing of Life
\nAs we head into the New Year, resolutions in hand, I felt it was time to revive a discussion we have periodically about body image. I know I am not the only woman who has had an ongoing love/hate relationship with her body. Thank GOD I’m past that at this beautiful stage of crone-dom! I am supremely confident in my own skin now. I own it. I love it. I know I am beautiful and I work it.
\nWe women, especially those of my generation, were taught to “be seen and not heard”. We were taught that loving yourself and your beauty was vain and being vain is bad…ergo…WE are bad if we see beauty in the mirror. Madison Avenue began a lifelong assault on women with the onset of Twiggy and dictated to us, by the whims of so-called “fashion” designers, what beauty is. What is an acceptable body size? What is acceptable? ACCEPTABLE! Ok, I’m calling “Bullshit, Pauline!” Yes, we should be healthy. And yes, we should be fit enough that we can care for ourselves and our families without collapsing in a heap, sweaty and out of breath. But size? Appearance? Fashion? That matters far less than the kindness you carry inside. I care far more about the size of your heart than the size of your a**!
\nThose of you who have been following me for some time know that I reached a tipping point about a year ago. I had been asked to speak at the International Conference on Positive Aging in Washington, DC and at the time of the request, I weighed over 200 pounds. I wasn’t disgusting. I wasn’t ugly. I still loved myself. But I wasn’t aging very positively and since that was the point of the conference, I changed my eating habits and started playing outside more often. As a result, I have maintained a weight loss of 41 pounds and have a great deal more energy and stamina. I love myself even more now. That isn’t vain. That is self-caring. We cannot feed another when our own cups are empty.
\nI’m going to tell you a little story about something that happened last night at dinner. I am telling you this without judgement and I hope you will accept that and be non-judgmental as well. I had dinner last night with Hubby #1 and his wife as they passed through town. I always look forward to visiting with them as I love them and consider them as much my family as my own flesh and blood relatives. We had a lovely dinner at a Japanese restaurant. Our conversation ran the gamut from family to world events to “have you heard from so-and-so?” I thoroughly enjoyed it. As the evening wound down, we donned our coats and prepared to say good-bye till next time, when Hubby #1 touched a lock of my hair and said, “What are you going to do about this?” I looked at him, puzzled. “What do you mean?” I said. “Well…this grey. You usually color your hair. I’m just not used to seeing it like this.” Well, let me tell you…in the past, that would have done two things. Hurt my feelings and ticked me off. I would have internalized the comment and felt bad about how I looked. I would have questioned my decision to let my hair shine its glorious silvery grey and perhaps even made an appointment to see my hairdresser to correct this “problem”. Instead…I laughed. Loud. I smiled at this man I have known and loved since we were literally children. This man who earned the right to speak candidly to me by virtue of sharing my bed for a portion of my life and giving me my firstborn child. I laughed and said, “Hell, no! I love my hair just the way it is! As a matter of fact, I love MYSELF just the way I am…I’m not changin’ nuthin’!” He didn’t say it to be mean. He just hadn’t seen me in a while. And besides, no one else’s opinion means anything to me. MY opinion is what counts.
\nAs the meme attached states, how can you hate anything about your body when you have felt the dance of life within? I was so pleasantly surprised by my own reaction to what would have felt like a barb to the younger, more fragile version of me. Now I revel in this beautiful woman in the mirror…the one with the long silver locks, with the wrinkles and the stretch marks, with the age spots and the cellulite, with the sagging breasts and the poochy belly. I EARNED this beautiful body. Right this very moment, I’m in love with my beautiful, bada** self. And vanity has absolutely nothing to do with that.
\nGo on. Look in the mirror. Look at that beautiful woman with new eyes. Love her kindly. Be gentle with her heart. Treat her Spirit with the respect she deserves. If she needs a little extra TLC, give it to her. Celebrate her ability to carry you around every day. After all, what you see in that mirror is just your vessel. It’s the you INSIDE that that was created in the image of God. Own that! ❤️
\n“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”\n1 Peter 3:3-4 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-01-04T03:00:12-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/01/04/the-dancing-of-life.html", "tags": ["Family","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/01/03/happy-birthday-ranchers.html", "title": "HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RANCHERS!", "content_html": "![\"Cup](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/16181618ac.jpg\")
\nFor someone as big a tech-head as me, I am absolutely stunned sometimes by new developments in technology. A week ago, I sat for twelve hours working on my new website with my uber talented son-in-law. At the end of that marathon, he asked me if I write my posts on Word first then transfer them. I shook my head. He said, with a questioning look on his face…“You write them directly on Facebook? On your laptop?” I shook my head again…and held up my cellphone. My iPhone 6 Plus, to be exact. His jaw dropped. “You write 1,000 word essays…on a cellphone?!?!” I laughed. In my defense, after writing an essay every single day for the last four years, I’ve gotten really fast with that right index finger and I hunt and peck my way through a 1x2 inch touchscreen “keyboard”. Still…he shook his head and said…“Stay right here. This is going to blow your mind!” Then he went downstairs.
\nA few minutes later, this brilliant man that my older daughter had the good sense to marry, came back upstairs and handed me something straight from computer heaven! A tiny, folding, portable, bluetooth keyboard that wasn’t much bigger than the cellphone itself. I was flabbergasted! Why have I not been made privy to such a wondrous invention??? After turning it over and over in my hands, folding and unfolding, I asked…“Where do I get such a miraculous gadget???” He smiled and said that word that thrills all technogeeks…“Amazon!” I immediately pulled said site up on said phone and purchased said item with PayPal. Didn’t even have to get my wallet out! Oh, how I love technology!!!
\nSo, now…I’ll be typing my posts on this little gizmo in a quarter of the time, leaving me an extra forty-five minutes every day to do something else. That’s an extra 1.629464285714286 days!!! Wow!
\nToday is Marshmallow Ranch’s 4th Birthday. Four years ago, I started this page as a way to promote jewelry I was making from antique silverware and maps in my art studio I had cleverly named…Marshmallow Ranch. At the time, it was nothing more than a spare room upstairs in my house in the Rocky Mountains. Three months later, Mr. Virgo died and this project grew out of my desperation to have someone to talk to about this horrible grief journey I was on. I knew I couldn’t be the only one on this path so I reached out. There were less than 400 “Ranchers” at that time. And now…look at us! I am very proud of this wonderfully supportive group of fellow travelers and look forward to many more years of sharing as we navigate this thing called grief…one campfire at a time. ❤️
\n“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”\nEphesians 2:10 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-01-03T03:00:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/01/03/happy-birthday-ranchers.html", "tags": ["Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","Holiday"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2017/01/01/reach.html", "title": "REACH", "content_html": "![\"Happy](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/141664bed4.jpg\")
\nEvery New Year’s Eve I come up with a new word to focus on for the coming year. I have been mulling words over for the last several days. At first I was going to choose “adventure” but that didn’t seem to encompass all that it could. It seemed limited to travel and that’s not all I do.
\nThis is going to be a really big year. Yes…I’ll be traveling a good bit. And yes, much of it will be with TOW-Wanda. But there are other things happening. BIG things!
\nFirst off, I’m launching a website which is very exciting. One of the biggest problems I find with Marshmallow Ranch being housed on Facebook is accessibility to older posts. We have people here who lost their loved one last week and we have some whose loss was decades ago. I’m closing in on the 4th anniversary of Mr. Virgo’s death. I’m not in the same space I was three…two…or even one year ago. When new people tune in, I’d love to have a menus where they can just click “Year One” or “Year Two” and then read things that are more pertinent to what they’re going through. The new writing helps provide hope that there will be joy again, but it isn’t easy to relate to the ship when what you need is a rope.
\nAlso, I’ve been exploring the idea of creating my own podcast show. I have a couple of friends who are encouraging me, as well as my agent. To be honest, in this day and age, publishers want to see an author with a ready made following before they jump and publish anything for them. I need a larger social media presence if I’m ever going to make this thing fly the way I feel it can. These are steps I can take that will help boost that and help Marshmallow Ranch become more discoverable in the search engines. This is all about “expanding my territory” as Jabez pled to God. If this is supposed to happen, God will make it so.
\n“Reach”…that is my word for 2017. Reach…for the stars! Reach…for love! Reach…for success!
\n“Reach”. It encompasses many dreams…it promises to be a great year!
\nHappy New Year!!! ❤️
\n“A gift opens the way and ushers the giver into the presence of the great.”\nProverbs 18:16 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2017-01-01T03:00:36-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2017/01/01/reach.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","Holiday"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2016/12/31/auld-lang-syne.html", "title": "AULD LANG SYNE", "content_html": "![\"A](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/ff7e2d6bf9.jpg\")
\nWell, here it is…the last day of 2016. I didn’t think this year would ever end. It’s been a real mixed bag as far as current events. We lost a number of celebrities we were most familiar with…most all too soon. We went through one of the ugliest political seasons in memory. Weather was unpredictable and natural disasters occurred with far greater frequency than in some years past. Worse than all that, we continue to lose our military and service workers as well as world citizens whose only crime is that they live and breathe in the “wrong” place and time. All this and more brings us down and it has been extremely difficult for many to get through.
\nEvery year, I begin with a new word for the year. Something to hold onto…something to strive for and embrace in an effort to bring into my life and the world in general a positive influence…a higher vibe…in a effort to improve the planet and its inhabitants. This year’s word has been “thrive”. I decided at the end of last year, to nearly “survive” was not nearly good enough and I had to work toward thriving. And I feel I have accomplished that.
\nI began a new ritual at the beginning of the year. I read, and started praying, the Prayer of Jabez…daily. Within two weeks, I was interviewed and photographed for an article in the New York Times’ finance section on widowhood and retirement. I was subsequently invited to submit a proposal to speak at the International Conference on Positive Aging in Washington, DC. That invitation spurred me to make a drastic lifestyle change and I lost forty-one pounds and increased my activity level…getting outside to play and making new friends in the process. In March, I was interviewed and appeared in a story on Fox News about changing the face of people who live in their campers full time. I was also interviewed for a podcast episode of Girl Camper. In April, I was approached by Italia Gandolfo of Gandolfo, Hilen, and Fountain Literary Management Company and offered a contract to write a book. I was selected for the Positive Aging Conference and spoke in August. I was approached by a former screenwriter for Saturday Night Live and Dawson’s Creek to give an interview for her new podcast which will begin broadcasting in January. I was interviewed again for the Girl Camper podcast. In addition, I spoke to several groups over the course of the year as well as made some wonderful connections for future speaking engagements. I am being interviewed for a radio show in a couple of weeks. I am building an independent website (with the expert guidance of my brilliant son-in-law.)
\nSo, for all intents and purposes, I would have to say unequivocally…this has been my year to thrive. While it certainly has been busy, I haven’t “busied” my way out of dealing with my grief. As time and hard work has eased the weight of my grief, I have begun to move past a lot of the most difficult parts and deal with the waves with a strength only swimming at the deep end could have given me. I have ventured out socially and reaped the rewards of new friendships. My loss no longer defines my life. It is a deep scar that I carry with me always yet it doesn’t occupy my every thought. It is an unfortunate part of my story yet it isn’t the WHOLE story.
\nAs we bid adieu to the old and ring in the new, please accept my sincere thanks for being a part of my life this year. Your presence here on The Ranch has helped me more than you could ever know. And let me be the first to wish you a very Happy New Year! Here’s to a new year filled with good things. If we cannot find them…may we create them and color our lives with “rich and royal hues”! ❤️
\n“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”\nRomans 8:18 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2016-12-31T03:00:50-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2016/12/31/auld-lang-syne.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2016/12/30/my-miracle.html", "title": "MY MIRACLE", "content_html": "![\"Woman](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/93905ba401.jpg\")
\nI’ve suffered from Palmar Plantar Psoriasis for the last three years. Only 1-3% of psoriasis suffered have this particular variety. I’ve literally tried everything. I’ve had expensive allergy testing. I’ve used countless tubes of steroid creams. Then, three weeks ago, a friend prayed over my hands. While I was in Colorado, I was driving by a marijuana dispensary and felt compelled to go in when I “heard” the message “They can help you.” I showed them my ands and they handed me a jar of ointment saying, this will fix it." I thought that was that till I drove by an apothecary and got the same nudge…“Go in…they can help you.” Ok, I’m a listener. And I’m practicing obeying. I found a parking space and went in. “I have this on my hands and feet.” I told them. “You need this.” they said…and handed me a proprietary blend of essential oils and various emollients. I started for home and for the third time, I felt that now familiar nudge and stopped at the hot springs pool. I soaked for three hours then applied my purchases and put on a pair of clean, dry socks and went home. While I was only able to visit the hot springs one more time during my visit, I continued to use the cannabis ointment twice a day, the eczema cream as often as possible, and dropped the steroid cream to about twice a week. As you can see by the picture, after less than two weeks on the regimen, my skin is quite noticeably improved.
\nI was never a proponent of legalizing marijuana until I had this personal experience. God still answers prayers, as you can see the healing in this picture. He doesn’t necessarily reach down and touch a finger to your injury…but He brings insight to a doctor, and He nudges you to a place that has what you need. I have no doubt my friend’s prayers over my hands have worked. This is the first time in years that I can open doors, pick things up, and walk without pain. I am even getting the feeling back in my fingers. I’m not a medical professional and I’m only relating my own personal experience. We may not see God raising people from the dead these days, that does not mean God isn’t still in the miracle business. I just wanted to share with you my holiday miracle! ❤️
\n““Unless you people see signs and wonders,” Jesus told him, “you will never believe.””\nJohn 4:48 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2016-12-30T03:00:14-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2016/12/30/my-miracle.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2016/12/27/im-on-my-way.html", "title": "I'M ON MY WAY", "content_html": "![\"I](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/447bc33428.jpg\")
\nThere have been many times in my life when I felt lost. I spoke the words into the universe and it became so. I believed it. And…there have been times when I was truly lost. I had no sense of direction. I was depressed, hurt, angry, grief stricken. Like the first year after losing Mr. Virgo. “Lost” doesn’t begin to describe what I was going through. I was the walking dead. The second year was worse but only because I was awake and aware I was walking through fire. The third year has brought many awakenings and amazing discoveries.
\nI’ve made a new best friend. She’s kind and caring. She’s smart and capable. She’s funny and tender. She’s a little crazy, but in a really good way. She’s brave. She’s so very brave. She’s assertive but not aggressive. She’s flighty but still dependable if you don’t mind her flexible schedule and her personal interpretation of time. She’s fiercely loyal yet when she’s done, she’s done. She’s really creative and wants to learn new things. She’s not very patient. And she’s kinda stubborn. I met her on the top of a mountain in Colorado. She was sitting there, really quiet, like she had been waiting on me forever. She was SO excited when I saw her and introduced myself. I swear, she hasn’t stopped talking since. She has so much to tell me about herself that some days all I can do is listen. Her words tumble out in an animated cacophony of thoughts. I have to laugh at her some times because she interrupts me and forces me to pay attention, like my baby did when she was two. She pisses me off sometimes because she calls in the middle of the night and wakes me up with new ideas or maybe a worry or two. But, I love her. I love her more than I thought I ever could. I see her every day. Our shadows are identical. She’s that amazing woman I see in the mirror. She’s who I am becoming. I am not lost. I am on my way. ❤️
\n“For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.”\n1 Corinthians 13:12-13 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2016-12-27T03:00:23-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2016/12/27/im-on-my-way.html", "tags": ["Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2016/12/24/the-gift-is-in-the.html", "title": "THE GIFT IS IN THE GIVING", "content_html": "![\"woman](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/4b27e49c98.jpg\")
\nI live in West Virginia most of the year. My grandchildren live in Colorado, so I needed to create a ritual for each one…something they could look forward to, and cherish the memories of, for years to come. When I’m visiting, I spend one full day with each doing just what they want to do. And, since the first sentence my twelve-year-old granddaughter uttered was “Shopping for shoes!”…she and I headed for the mall for our “Girl’s Day Out” yesterday. It was a beautiful outing, she got exactly what she wanted for Christmas, and we had several hours of quality time to re-establish bonds that are stretched by time and distance.
\nAs we left the mall and began the long drive home through traffic, we talked about how going into a large mall two days before Christmas is like chumming for sharks in a fish tank. You’re elbow-to-elbow with a zillion people, standing in lines that wrap around the stores, and the parking lot??? OMGosh! Everyone is jockeying for position to make their great escape and 4-way stops mean nothing to these people. You take your life in your hands…and for what? Stuff. Stuff they’ll outgrow. Stuff that will go out of style or they’ll rapidly grow tired of. I ruminated on this the entire drive home while my granddaughter snoozed with the exhaustion of mall-fatigue in the passenger seat.
\nI had to stop by my daughter’s house for a swim bag then drop my granddaughter off at swim practice before heading to the grocery store. Suddenly…I felt Mr. Virgo’s love, specifically his love of Christmas, in the car with me. It took my breath away and then I felt that now-familiar, soothing “voice” of the Holy Spirit say, “Turn here.” I was dead-even with Walmart so I immediately turned in. I’ve learned to listen. I drove up and down the rows looking for a parking spot, waiting for the next whispered direction. This time it didn’t come in words but a little mini-movie. I smiled as my mission was revealed. I was feeling buoyant…a bubbly sense of love, good cheer, and Christmas spirit…the Spirit of Giving instead of the vapid extravaganza that played out in the mall earlier.
\nI walked into the store and went straight to the Christmas cards and searched for the perfect one then headed to customer service. I asked if I could anonymously pay for someone’s lay-away. They informed me they “called in” the layaways a week earlier. If they weren’t paid off, the merchandise went back out on the floor. She started to go ask someone about what to do, when the mini-movie started up again and I said, “No…please don’t bother. I’m supposed to do it another way.” I headed over to the ATM and withdrew some cash. Not a lot. Not enough to hurt my budget. But enough to make a difference in someone’s holiday.
\nThe card was perfect…a pop-up card with gifts that said, “Surprise!” when you opened it. I tucked the bills in the folds of the popup and sealed the envelope. Then I wrote on the front of the card. I wrote about Mr. Virgo dying four years ago and how much he loved Christmas. I told them I had asked Santa that first Christmas to give me a new heart because mine was broken. Then I told them it’s been four years and I have my new heart now. I told them I know how times are tough these days but there is a loving God that gave His only Son for us and while I couldn’t give so grand a gift, I could give them this small token and that I wished them a Merry Christmas. I signed it “Your Special Santa”. Then I said a prayer and I asked God to show me who needed this gift.
\nI wandered through the store till I was drawn to a young couple looking through the toy aisles…picking something up…putting it back. Obviously they were calculating fun factor vs. cost. They were not dressed well. They looked like they worked hard for everything they had and it wasn’t much. I tried not to be too obvious. I didn’t want them to think I was stalking them. I really wanted the woman to walk away from her cart so I could drop the card on her purse but, of course, she didn’t leave her belongings unattended. Finally, I got the push I was waiting for. I walked up to them and said to the young woman, “Excuse me…I think this is yours.” She said, “Mine?” I hugged her and said, “Merry Christmas.” and walked out of the store. It felt SO good. It made me cry. I am so blessed. That was my gift to myself this year.
\nTonight is the first light of Hanukkah and Christmas Eve. Some celebrate the Festival of Lights by giving small gifts every night for eight nights. And, some celebrate the birth of Jesus. He came in a stall, born amongst livestock, and laid in a manger. What if…. What if the innkeeper didn’t really shun them? What if the inn really WAS full and there was no room to offer the expectant parents? What if the inn keeper apologized and offered them the next best thing…a quiet, safe, warm place for Mary to bring the Christ Child into the world? He was born in a lowly place…he died in the most tortuous way, but the Gift was in the Giving.
\nI quickly walked away from the young couple who a few moments before had been trying to balance a meager budget to stretch over the holidays. I wish I could have seen their faces but I didn’t look back. That wasn’t part of my gift. Tears stung my eyes as I felt how proud Mr. Virgo was…that he was remembered in just such a way. I think I walked a little taller to my car. Such…Joy!
\nHappy Holidays! Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Joyous Kwanza!
\nMay you and yours find Peace in this Season of Giving!
\nLove…\nGinny ❤️
\n“Whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward them for what they have done.”\nProverbs 19:17 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2016-12-24T03:00:12-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2016/12/24/the-gift-is-in-the.html", "tags": ["Grief","Positive Energy","Holiday"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2016/12/22/good-energy-is-contageous.html", "title": "GOOD ENERGY IS CONTAGEOUS", "content_html": "![\"good](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/7b1ba7ed76.jpg\")
\nI met a young couple at the hot springs a couple weeks ago. There are several pools and I hopped in the first one I came to as it was so cold coming out of the locker room. As I am wont to do, I struck up a conversation and within moments, the young man remarked on my energy. He said there was a certain “light” about me that radiated. I replied that it didn’t come from me…it was God within that shined through me. I only have two jobs…love God and love people. If I do those two things, everything else pretty much works itself out. And, if I’m doing those two things correctly, it shows.
\nI was so impressed by these young people, I felt compelled to exchange contact information and within a day or two, received a text from my new friend, Hailey Nicole, asking if I’d like to get together before I head back to West Virginia. We agreed to meet for lunch. I met her at PF Chang’s yesterday. Hailey has an interesting story. She had a brain stem stroke a few years ago when she lived in London. Her heart stopped. Her breathing stopped. She woke up from a coma after a week with her mother by her side. She had visual disturbances and the entire left side was affected. Thankfully, the plasticity of the brain allowed her to heal and you would be hard pressed to know she had a stroke by looking at her.
\nHaley was different though. She had trouble with words. She forgot them. She mixed them up. And if she looks at numbers, such as a price, she only sees the last two. That’s ok if something is $99. It’s a whole different ball of wax if it’s $999. So she has to look, then look again before she buys something online. She had a tendency to run late. It took her forever to do things. She nicknamed this new persona…Agnes. In her efforts to diffuse a scary situation, she told people a crazed old woman named Agnes had moved into her body. She was confused and embarrassed. Once she had improved as much as she was likely to, she realized she needed to learn how to live with this alter ego she had created. Thus, her blog Embracing Agnes was born. (https://www.facebook.com/Embracing-Agnes-274409786025148/) she had only written a handful of blog posts when life got in the way. But after visiting with me at the pool, she felt compelled to start writing again.
\nYou never know when your light is going to affect another person. When I posted the link to the Girl Camper Podcast the other day, I alerted my friend Diane Smith and told her she and our friend, Jan Hodson, played a big roll. She shared the podcast with her family and friends with the same sentiment….you never know who you might impact with the light of God shining through you. The third piece of this puzzle was connecting Haley with Kimberly Paul, the gal who interviewed me for her new podcast that debuts next month. I felt Haley’s story would be perfect for Kimberly’s show.
\nSynchronicity. I love how things fit together. I love how I’m drawn to be in the right place at the right time. I’m just part of the wind. ❤️
\n“In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”\nMatthew 5:16 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2016-12-22T03:00:01-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2016/12/22/good-energy-is-contageous.html", "tags": ["Grief","Sisters on the Fly","Positive Energy","Girl Camper"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2016/12/21/little-a-grandchilds-heart.html", "title": "LITTLE: A GRANDCHILD'S HEART", "content_html": "![\"A](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/43bd16d920.jpg\")
\n“Little” is nine-years-old but her soul is ancient. This is my deep, insightful thinker. My wise comforter. She was five when Mr. Virgo died and it was her sensitive, thought provoking wisdom that touched my heart more than all the comforting remarks put together. She’s spiritual and we talk about God and Jesus and heaven. We really “get” each other.
\nWhen I visit my family in Colorado, I make a special point of spending one full day with each of my grandchildren…one on one. I’m trying to instill in them the preference of experiences over stuff. When I asked “Little” what she wanted for Hanukkah and Christmas (we celebrate both in our family), she said she wanted to do something crafty. “Little” is a maker…just like me. I wasn’t at all sure what we would end up doing but I knew we had to start at the mall. After wandering around for a while…and enjoying a plate of traditional lemon crepes…we wandered into Williams-Sonoma, one of my all-time favorite stores. An idea began to grow. I found a set of American Girl cookbooks and an apron/oven-mitt set that she fell in love with. We added matching measuring cups, spoons, and a spatula and she came away with a respectable beginning of a cooking arsenal.
\n“Little” has ADHD and she brought it up in our quite lengthy conversation as we browsed. She described herself as “unique”. I love that. I told her I was unique as well and while I had never had a formal diagnosis, I’m sure I have ADHD. She looked up in awe.
\n“Really?!?!” she asked.
\n“Yes. When I was little they didn’t have the medicines to help like they have now. But I learned to compensate…just like you’re doing.” I don’t want her to ever feel “less than”. I don’t think I need to worry. She’s pretty amazing.
\nWe sat out in the mall for a bit and browsed a cookbook and settled on Chicken Noodle Soup. After picking up the ingredients on the way home, “Little” and I made a huge pot of soup and cheese quesadillas. It was a big hit and “Little” had her moment to shine outside of the shadow of her older sister. It was beautiful.
\nThese beautiful beings teach me more about life in three weeks than I get in the whole six months between visits and I love them beyond belief. ❤️
\n““See that you do not despise one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven.”\nMatthew 18:10 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2016-12-21T03:00:38-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2016/12/21/little-a-grandchilds-heart.html", "tags": ["Family","Uplifting Stories","Positive Energy","Holiday"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2016/12/21/tonights-peaceful-moment.html", "title": "TONIGHT'S PEACEFUL MOMENT", "content_html": "Tonight’s Peaceful Moment
\nThis is Christmas!
\nTonight’s Peaceful Moment Link
\n", "date_published": "2016-12-21T03:00:09-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2016/12/21/tonights-peaceful-moment.html", "tags": ["Hope","Positive Energy","Peaceful Moments","Uncategorized","Link"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2016/12/21/girl-camper-podcast-ginny-mckinney.html", "title": "GIRL CAMPER PODCAST #63: GINNY MCKINNEY - LESSONS LEARNED", "content_html": "\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/f0cf6b8df8.jpg\")
My dear friend, Janine Pettit, interviewed me in September when we were camping at Beaver Creek State Park in East Lebanon, Ohio. In this episode, we discuss lessons I have learned along the way and how the Sisters on the Fly saved me in my grief. I speak about two of my fellow Sisters who impacted my grief journey in the most positive ways. Have a listen ...you always learn something new about camping, and life, from Janine's wonderful podcast series!
\n\n", "date_published": "2016-12-21T03:00:01-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2016/12/21/girl-camper-podcast-ginny-mckinney.html", "tags": ["Hope","Sisters on the Fly","Positive Energy","goRVing","Girl Camper"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2016/12/17/the-graduate.html", "title": "THE GRADUATE", "content_html": "![\"Young](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/9b1e8759f4.jpg\")
\nI was thirty-six when she graced my world with her presence. Her sister…her only sibling…was nearly sixteen. She was a beautiful baby with a head full of black hair and huge green eyes. She was a serious child. She didn’t laugh till she was nine months old. People teased me that the soles of her shoes weren’t dirty till she was three. They weren’t far off. She was our precious and we carried her everywhere.
\nIt was apparent from an early age that daughter #2 had an old soul. People marveled at her. They’d cross the street just to talk to her….touch her on the arm. She has always been a sensitive person and wears her heart on her sleeve. She knew from a very early age that she was different than the other girls. She wasn’t fru fru and girly. She struggled at the hands of bullies who called her names but she stood up. Her coping skills weren’t refined but she grew into them.
\nAnd yesterday, she graduated from college. It was not easy for her with ADD and dyscalculia (inability to make sense of numbers). It took her nine years to get her bachelors degree. But she stood up every time she was knocked down and I am so very proud of her for never giving up!
\nCongratulations, Moon Pie…and all my very best wishes for a beautiful life! ❤️
\n“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”\nGalatians 6:9 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2016-12-17T03:00:28-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2016/12/17/the-graduate.html", "tags": ["Family","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2016/12/15/merry-bright.html", "title": "MERRY \u0026 BRIGHT", "content_html": "![\"Bottle](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/5c604ac0ed.jpg\")
\nI came to the mountains Sunday to spend time with my sweet brother and to visit friends. I’ve soaked in the hot springs, eaten at my great restaurants, and browsed in the beautiful shops. I’ve driven around and gazed at the Christmas lights. This is a resort town in Colorado, full of rustic, twinkly good cheer and it has done my heart good to revel in it.
\nYesterday, I took my coffee up to the cemetery and sat with Mr. Virgo for awhile. I surprised myself by how quickly I was reduced to a puddle of tears. I haven’t cried in a long time, but this outpouring of grief was deep…from the depths of my heart. While it was sadness pouring out, it was wrapped in love and gratitude. I sat for a long time…whispering my love message into the ether and felt comforted in the end.
\nI decided to stop at my favorite shop on my way out of town. The other day I shared that I hadn’t purchased a special ornament this year. I haven’t seen any of the Ne’Qua ornaments that we loved, but there…nestled on a shelf…was the sweetest bottle-brush tree ornament and it made my heart smile. I felt Mr. Virgo whisper, “For your farmhouse Christmas!” I asked them to wrap it well and put it in a box and I’ll hand carry it home.
\nThere is a reason the rear view mirror is smaller than the windshield. I look forward more and more. It is what it is, yet all is as it should be. My world is still Merry and Bright…I just hold his memory in my heart now…this fourth Christmas without him. And my heart is filled with love. ❤️
\n“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them.”\n1 Corinthians 12:4 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2016-12-15T03:00:40-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2016/12/15/merry-bright.html", "tags": ["Travel","Hope","Positive Energy","Holiday"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2016/12/04/a-victorian-christmas-in-the.html", "title": "A VICTORIAN CHRISTMAS IN THE JULIA-ANN DISTRICT", "content_html": "![\"Victorian](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/501546b611.jpg\")
\nThere is a historic district in my hometown that has the most amazing homes built by lumber barons, oil and gas men, lawyers, doctors, and government officials in the latter half of the 1800’s. Every summer, the Julia-Ann District holds a garden tour and every Christmas they hold a tea and tours of these magnificent mansions. I have a close family friend who owns a house that is like living in a museum. It is stunning, truly. I have always wanted to volunteer for the Christmas Tour and this year it worked out. I led tours through a home that once belonged to a family in the oil field machinery business and now houses the offices of the WV Baptist Convention. It is a three story home built in 1880 and was really quite modern for its time. I climbed up and down steps for five hours this afternoon so I not only had the fun of leading tours, I also got my exercise. By 5:30 last evening I had climbed three stories…24 times! Wowza…and that was in cowboy boots! It was great fun. I’m thinking I really need an entire Victorian wardrobe. I love the fashions of that era. But…it depended on where you stood on the social ladder whether you sat in the lap of luxury or served those that did.
\nOne of the interesting tidbits of information I learned before the tour involved the reasoning behind floor to ceiling windows in Victorian homes. There was an old superstition in the Victorian Era to never bring a casket through the door of a house that was used by the occupants. It invited spirits into your home. Since funeral homes were not common in those times, either a false door or floor to ceiling windows were built into the front formal parlor or sitting room to allow a casket to be brought into the home. Communities had groups of women who took it upon themselves to attend to the dead and “lay out the body”. The departed would lay in state for 3-4 days to allow time for family to arrive. Since this was before embalming was common, the practice of placing flowers around the room was a practical solution to any bad odors.
\nSo, there’s your “I learn something new every day” moment. ❤️
\n“My people will live in peaceful dwelling places, in secure homes, in undisturbed places of rest.”\nIsaiah 32:18 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2016-12-04T03:00:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2016/12/04/a-victorian-christmas-in-the.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","Fun","Holiday"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2016/11/25/babies-buddy-brushhoggin.html", "title": "BABIES, BUDDY, \u0026 BRUSH-HOGGIN'", "content_html": "![](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e1c9f2abcc.jpg\")
\nThanksgiving in rural West Virginia. Work still needs to be done on a farm…no matter what day it is. The son-in-law’s field next door grows some sort of inedible huckleberry bushes that cows won’t eat. And it chokes out the hay. It overgrows when the pH is off in the ground so the field needed brush-hogged (a brush hog is a really big mower that will cut through small trees and scrub brush) and then very finely ground limestone spread on it. All hands are needed when a big job comes up and Thanksgiving is the perfect opportunity with the extra company around.
\nWe walked down to the shop and there was a problem with one of the spreaders. The axle was frozen and wouldn’t take grease so they got the wheel off, heated the axle with a blow torch till they could make it move enough to get some grease in it. Once it was reassembled, two of us sat on the spreader while they drove it down through a field till the wheel moved freely. How they know what to do for these problems is beyond me but it was fun riding over through the farm in a convoy of three tractors, a bobcat and the pickup full of farm dogs. They always want to go where the action is.
\nThanksgiving is all about family after getting a good chunk of work done. We gathered seventeen of us around our particular brand of traditional Thanksgiving fare…brown beans, corn bread, mashed potatoes, sauerkraut, beef, pork, coleslaw, and several sweets. It’s totally different than the typical turkey and dressing feast. The beef and pork was home raised and butchered right here on the farm. It’s a simple, humble meal served to wonderful, earthy, hard-working people. It’s loud and boisterous and fun. There’s football and Nerf gun fights and crying babies and teasing and jokes and gratitude…gratitude for the love of a good family, a solid hand-built home, and the abundant blessings of a loving God.
\nI love my life.
\n❤️
\n“Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his wonderful deeds for mankind, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the hungry with good things.”\nPsalm 107:8-9 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2016-11-25T03:00:16-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2016/11/25/babies-buddy-brushhoggin.html", "tags": ["Family","Positive Energy","Fun","Holiday"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2016/11/24/give-thanks.html", "title": "Give Thanks", "content_html": "![\"Give](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/67f815284b.jpg\")
“Give Thanks”
I have more to be grateful for than I could possibly recount here, but I’ll list a few.
\nLOVE - I am grateful for the deep love I have in my life. Those closest to me are my rocks and I can never adequately thank them for all they do for me. To give love is divine. To be given love in return is a precious gift I will never take for granted.
\nSHELTER - While I have my camper TOW-Wanda that I’ve lived in most of the last two years, I am especially grateful to be given the opportunity to live on and take care of the family farm. The home of my heart…my uncle understands this is my healing place. A place where I am closer to those who have gone on before me. Another generous gift I’ll not take for granted.
\nWORDS - I have the joy of writing an essay every single day. Even though now it is more like an obsession, really. I cannot imagine not writing…even for a day. It’s as automatic as breathing and brushing my teeth. And, as a result of my writing, I have all you good people to interact with on a daily basis and I love you all. Your support far outweighs any efforts I put into this and I am deeply grateful for this blog.
\nMR. VIRGO - Three weeks before he died, we actually had a discussion about death and what we would want when the time comes. I remember telling him that if he died the next day, it would be a tragedy…but if I would have had him for one day, my life was surely richer for it. I am grateful we told each other often how much we loved each other. There are no regrets…only warm memories of having had a wonderful man in my life.
\nMUSIC - My world started getting color and sound back in it about two years after losing Mr. Virgo. I am grateful for the opportunities to go listen to live music with my friends. I am grateful for a Bluetooth speaker so I can fill my house with music.
\nAnd, last but certainly not least…
\nGOD and my CHURCH - I wouldn’t even HAVE a life if it wasn’t for the Grace of God. And my life is enriched by Pastor Justin and my Church family at The Warehouse Church. They bless me every day and help guide me through my spiritual journey.
\nI am thankful for so many things. My life is beautiful and sweet and peaceful. I am spending this holiday with my West Virginia family…those wonderful people who hold such special places in my heart. May you all celebrate Thanksgiving with loving kindness and gratitude. ❤️
\n“I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.”\nPsalm 9:1 NIV
\n", "date_published": "2016-11-24T02:30:52-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2016/11/24/give-thanks.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","Gratitude","God","Wisdom","Choices"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2016/11/22/fill-er-up.html", "title": "Fill 'er Up", "content_html": "![\"Woman](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/b13bfcd01e.jpg\")
“Get your tank filled.”
Borrowing from part of Sunday’s sermon, I’m going to run with this. I took the Ford in to get the oil changed and new brakes and asked them to check the engine. It had been running a little rough, I thought. After carefully checking it over, they determined I probably got a bad batch of gas and it would work itself out. I usually buy the lowest grade unless I’m towing my camper. That’s when I put high test in it…when I need to make sure it runs well and has the most energy.
\nOur bodies are like that F-150 engine. If we put crappy food in it, it isn’t going to perform at its best. You’ll be sluggish. The better your food intake, the more you can accomplish in your life.
\nWe need to feed our spirits in the same way. If you don’t feed your soul with “happy”, you can’t possibly reflect that back into the world. That doesn’t mean all sadness can be rectified with a big dose of happy…it can’t. But, you can ask my daughters. The first trip out after Mr. Virgo died…even before the funeral…I made them take me to Target and I bought every funny movie I could find in the $5 bin because I knew I was going to need that. We went home, popped popcorn, and had a comedy marathon. It helped tremendously to bring some normalcy into a distinctly abnormal, tragic situation.
\nJust like using a computer, “garbage in, garbage out” is relevant in so many areas of our lives. But we have to make choices. I know it’s not as simple as that, but putting joyful things in front of you goes a long way to helping lighten the load of grief. ❤️
\n“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” James 1:2-3 NIV\n
\n
![\"Albert](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e5f2d1c568.jpg\")
“A word from the wise.”
It’s been a little over a week since the election. I don’t know about you…but I felt emotionally and physically exhausted after being subjected to such derision and anger on a daily basis. I, quite literally, was numb from the whole process and escaped through a cleaning frenzy the likes of which this house has not seen in years. And that’s from a woman who never watched TV throughout the entire campaign. I jumped on the Peace Train. I prayed and wrote and meditated and tried to wrap my head around the whole thing. Who I voted for doesn’t matter as much as the fact that I voted…there’s problems from both sides. I ride in the neutral zone here on The Ranch because politics raises passions and I respect you all…regardless of politics.
\nOne SHOULD be passionate about one’s beliefs. This election highlighted how divided we are as a nation. While I preach a message of peace, that doesn’t mean I should shirk my duties as a concerned, active citizen. I should learn everything there is to know about the issues that effect the world today. And…I can do that without hurting anyone. It is my responsibility to be a contributing member of society and research legislation so I can make informed choices in the polling booth.
\nThis isn’t easy for me. Conflict makes me extremely uncomfortable…being the child of an alcoholic can make it very difficult to be around verbal disagreements. However, I can still suit up and show up without entering into the fray. I can be passionate about being the change I want to see in the world. I don’t have to advertise my position in order to affect change. I can help…and I can do it from a place of love. ❤️
\n“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” Proverbs 19:21 NIV\n", "date_published": "2016-11-17T02:30:33-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2016/11/17/on-being-passionate.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Comfort","Peace","Wisdom","Fear","Courage","Presence","Choices","Change"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2016/11/01/facebook-live.html", "title": "Facebook Live", "content_html": "\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/b57cd846b3.jpg\")
So, Thursday evening I am going LIVE here on Marshmallow Ranch. I'm giving a talk at 6:30 Eastern Time. I'll be talking about the Prayer of Jabez and how it has impacted my life. Tune in if you can. It will be saved here on the page for viewing later if you can't make it live. I'll be speaking to a group of people so I can't interact with comments, but feel free to leave them. I can respond later.
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n", "date_published": "2016-11-01T01:30:55-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2016/11/01/facebook-live.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2016/10/24/pickin-and-grinnin.html", "title": "Pickin' and Grinnin'", "content_html": "\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/543e5d0944.jpg\")
I took my time getting home yesterday and decided to stop at Tamarack near Beckley. This is an amazing gathering of WV artisans showing and selling their wares. I had to stop in the grill and have some fried green tomatoes. Yummmmmm! I walk the full circle and when I got back around to the front, a small group of musicians had gathered for an impromptu demonstration of Appalachian mountain music. What a treat!
\n\n\nThe other day, a friend was helping me move some things around at the farmhouse and I came upon my great grandfather's walking stick. The music yesterday made me smile as I remembered my great grandpa dancing the soft shoe across the back porch with that stick in hand, his bowler hat perched precariously on his head at a rakish angle, as my Pop-Pop played Turkey in the Straw on the fiddle. I now own that fiddle. I own that walking stick. And I'm living in that farmhouse. My life is so rich with memories. It was a delight to listen to that great music today. I spoke with the gentleman who makes dulcimer and psaltries at The Tamarack and he invited me to come down any time for a free lesson and demonstration. I've been thinking of doing some live broadcasts here so maybe that would be a fun one to do!
\n\n\nI got back to the farm after dark so there was no time to park and unhitch the camper. I'll do that today. Suffice it to say, it was a fabulous week away and I'm ready to get back to work on my writing!
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2016-10-24T01:30:47-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2016/10/24/pickin-and-grinnin.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","Gratitude","Memories"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2016/08/28/the-wrap-up.html", "title": "The Wrap Up", "content_html": "\n“I will turn my ear to a proverb; with the harp I will expound my riddle:”
\nPsalm 49:4 NIV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/8fdbad8485.jpg\")
After every professional football game, there comes the final analysis. The best is highlighted, the worst is evaluated. And, when you're evaluating yourself, you are your own worst critic. I'm sorry the video didn't come out. There was a lot of background noise and you can barely hear me. The talk was well received though and the people who recruited me said I was inspirational. I think an even bigger highlight than speaking was the incredible, interesting people who attended the conference. These people are changing the voice and public perception of people over 60. I met some wonderful people and networked for two full days.
\n\n\nI am so glad I had this opportunity and hope to be invited again in two years when they meet in Denver. Today is a travel day as I head back to WV.
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n“A good man brings good things out of the good stored up in his heart, and an evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up in his heart. For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”
\nLuke 6:45 NIV\n
Wardrobe provided in part by Confetti Design of Glenwood Springs, CO
\n\n", "date_published": "2016-08-28T01:30:26-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2016/08/28/the-wrap-up.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","Gratitude","Presence"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2016/08/27/the-conversation.html", "title": "The Conversation", "content_html": "\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/7a3f7d836c.jpg\")
This conference is being run in a format unlike any I've ever attended. It is entirely conversational. Small groups gather at round tables to hear a speaker present their talk. The ensuing discourse comprises the other half of the session. It offers an open sharing of ideas and allows true connections to be made among the participants.
\n\n\nI attended yesterday's sessions regarding alternative modes of housing for seniors that allow them to age in place. We discussed co-housing, house-sharing, and how to select a proper home-mate. The benefits of co-housing far outreach the obvious decrease in living expenses. Health and safety, security, and reduction of the carbon footprint are all valuable benefits. I've been considering for some time that I won't be able to live the gypsy lifestyle forever so this has at least introduced the conversation in my mind. Short of having another relationship, co-housing answers a great many problems with living alone. And, even if there were another relationship, I've learned all too well not to assume it will last forever. Co-housing is a valuable option for seniors wishing to live independent, happy, and healthy lives for as long as possible.
\n\n\nOh, all three sessions I attended yesterday were live streamed on CSPAN and my son-in-law's mom recorded it for the grandchildren. I was strategically seated in full camera view. Nana rocks!
\n\n\nSo, today's the day I speak to these very cool people! I'm so jazzed!!!
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2016-08-27T01:30:38-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2016/08/27/the-conversation.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","Courage","Aging","Press"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2016/08/22/alone.html", "title": "Alone", "content_html": "\n“They will still bear fruit in old age, they will stay fresh and green,”
\nPsalm 92:14 NIV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/b94ba73554.jpg\")
Mary Ann writes: \"Happy for you. I know being on the water in my kayak is my happy place and I presume it is for you too. One question...how have you managed to do this alone? I have only been on the water one time since my husband died in June. Going alone just doesn't seem like a safe idea. Even the time I went with friends, wrangling the kayak onto/off the top of my (his) truck was difficult for me. I'm wondering if/how I'm going to keep doing this. Would appreciate any insights.\"
\n\n\nWell, Mary Ann...I made a conscious decision early on that I was not going to let widowhood hold me back from doing anything I wanted to do. I am determined to figure out a way to make whatever I attempt work, no matter how big of a challenge it is. Yes, getting the kayak up and down off my truck is difficult and it takes a lot of maneuvering and figuring out leverage. I bought a cradle with suction cups that allows me to slide the kayak into the rack on the roof of the topper. I lay the tailgate down and stand on it. I close the topper window and raise the end of the kayak up over that cradle. Then I get down and lift the other end till the balance shifts and the nose comes down and the tail goes up. Then I climb back up on the tailgate, slide the kayak forward in the rack till it's in position, and tie it down.
\n\n\nAs for going out alone, I never do anything alone without notifying someone of my whereabouts and when to expect me back. I always keep an active fishing license because you pay a search and rescue fee with your license fee. I have never kayaked alone on the Ohio River, but I did on Standley Lake in Colorado. I have to tell you, the problem there wasn't my ability, it was being alone and some activities are better shared. I have plenty of friends who want to get together and do activities. I would suggest MeetUp as a way of finding like minded individuals to do activities with. Also, church groups, recreation centers, Y's, and women's clubs are excellent ways to explore new activities and make new friends.
\n\n\nNow, in the larger arena of \"alone\", it can be difficult to find ways to be alone that don't involve reminders that you're...well...alone when you are missing your spouse. Understanding friends go a long way towards making you comfortable stepping outside of the box. I fought being alone for so long because I really didn't want to be \"one of those widows\" who would rather spend time with their cats than socialize. Now, while I am certainly open to another relationship, I have truly come to enjoy a certain amount of solitude and might resent someone trying to horn in on it.
\n\n\nThe key is, for me...I had to walk through a lot of grief before I could come anywhere close to saying not everything about being alone sucks. The thing I miss the very most is the physical contact...hugs and kisses and making love on a lazy afternoon are palpably absent. I am such a physical person, being alone in that sense sometimes feels like a prison sentence. But I have God in my life. Knowing that He carries this burden for me, that He weeps for my pain, gives me comfort. I trust in Him to provide for all my needs...including a companion if He sees fit for me to have one...and that makes me feel less lonely. He brings me joy on a daily basis. That is how I manage alone.
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2016-08-22T01:30:35-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2016/08/22/alone.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","Courage","Choices"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2016/08/04/napping-in-the-rest-stop.html", "title": "Napping in the Rest Stop", "content_html": "\n“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”
\nPsalm 147:3 NIV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/4152b74645.jpg\")
So, it's 90 degrees, you've been driving four HOURS, you've snacked on everything within reach in the cab of your truck, and it's nap time. What do you do? Why, you pull into this beautiful shaded rest area by a lake, put up the window shades, crack the windows, lay your seat back, put your hat brim down over your face...and snooze for an hour. After you lock the doors, of course. Safety first, you know!
\n\n\nA fairly uneventful day. I left Topeka by 8:30 and a little after crossing the Mississippi River, my speedometer dropped to zero, my odometer readout went blank, and my cruise control stopped...but everything else was working fine. I asked Siri to take me to the nearest Ford dealer. Twenty-five miles later, I pull into Farina, Illinois at 4:29. They close at 4:30! The nice young man ran a diagnostic and there is a sensor in the transmission that tells the speedometer how fast it's going. It misfired but when they started it back up, it reset itself. They said there's nothing dangerous to it and if it happens again, just pull over, turn the truck off and restart it. It will reset automatically and then get it fixed when I get home. Thank you, God! Nothing dangerous. Nothing expensive.
\n\n\nStill really hot in the middle of the breadbasket of the Midwest. As I write this, I'm sitting in a Bob Evans in Terra Haute having breakfast for dinner. I deserve a little comfort food! I could drive on in if I want. It's not that much further. I'll let you know when I get home!
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n", "date_published": "2016-08-04T01:30:23-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2016/08/04/napping-in-the-rest-stop.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Road Trip"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2016/07/21/rancher-spotlight.html", "title": "Rancher Spotlight", "content_html": "\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/b01089a7a3.jpg\")
Good morning, Ranchers. I want you to meet Jackie, a \"Rancher\" from Wichita. Jackie has been following Marshmallow Ranch since before Mr. Virgo died. She can't quite remember how she found me but she thinks it was one of my ads I used when I was first making jewelry. For those of you who are new and may not know, I started this page as a way to promote my art studio (called Marshmallow Ranch) and the jewelry I made out of antique silverware and maps. She liked the necklaces because they were unique so she hit \"like\" and started reading my posts.
\n\n\nJackie clearly remembers the day I came on here and announced to you all that my husband had died. She remembers going to her husband and telling him what had happened. She felt a little maternal instinct kick in as she followed my progress. Jackie interacts on my blog a lot and I always look forward to hearing what she has to say. Her husband is a pastor and she always has something encouraging for me.
\n\n\nA couple of weeks ago, Jackie sent me a private message to say her wonderful son-in-law had died in a tragic accident while hiking one of Colorado's fourteeners. You were so wonderful to send prayers when I asked for them and she wants to thank you for the love and support. Her family lives here in Colorado so she is here for the funeral and to help with the family. We thought I might drive through Wichita and visit when I was coming cross country this summer but I went a different route. We couldn't be this close without finally meeting in person.
\n\n\nI drove down to the south side of Denver yesterday and met Jackie at Mimi's Cafe for a late lunch. I knew her right away when she walked in, of course. There are so many of you I would recognize from your profile pictures because we've interacted for so long. I felt I was truly meeting a friend. Jackie's been here for it all...the uncontrollable tears, the journey into the wilderness, the attempts at \"dating\", the campfires and tutus and cowboy boots. Every morning, she and her husband go sit in the rockers in front of the giant picture window where they birdwatch. He pulls out his phone to tell her what the weather is going to be. She pulls hers out, looks at a different app and corrects him. He reads off the news headlines. She pulls up Facebook, opens my blog, and asks him, \"You want to hear what's up with Marshmallow today?\" He does, of course. Then she proceeds to read my post to him.
\n\n\nI listened to Jackie talking and thought to myself...\"This is why I do this. This is why I write...day after day after day. So people like Jackie can read to their beloved. So she can take what I've experienced and apply it to her life to help her daughter through her grief. To better prepare herself should the unthinkable occur and she is faced with her own grief walk. This. This is why I write.\"
\n\n\nThank you, Jackie. It was an absolute delight meeting you! I'm so humbled.
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2016-07-21T01:16:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2016/07/21/rancher-spotlight.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","Fun","Gratitude","Friends"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2016/07/14/drumroll-please.html", "title": "Drumroll, please...", "content_html": "\n“Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”
\n1 Thessalonians 5:11 NIV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/878051e1aa.jpg\")
The book proposal has been submitted! I hit \"send\" around 3:00 yesterday afternoon. Forty-three pages, nearly 20,000 word proposal for a thirty chapter book with a projected word count of 76,000 words! Holy cats!!! Within moments, I was dancing around the kitchen like I'd just chugged three Red Bulls. Within an hour I was like \"Hmmmm, I hope she likes it. Do you suppose I should have talked a little more about this and a little less about that? I wonder how long it will take to hear from her! OMGosh! They're gonna hate it. I mean, what's so important about my story?\"
\"Shut up, Ginny, and dance!\"
Wahoo!!! I danced, then I went out for dinner with Sisters and celebrated with Mexican food! Afterward, we walked around this lake. Michelle timed the walk perfectly so we could catch the sunset from the far side. Beautiful night!
\n\n\nNow, this doesn't mean I'm done. This just means the proposal is done. At least the first draft is. Now I keep working on the chapters while I wait to hear from Italia, my agent. I'll never be \"done\" writing because there will always be another book, another post, another story. I'm good with that. I cannot imagine a day without writing. I really can't.
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2016-07-14T01:30:15-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2016/07/14/drumroll-please.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","Writing","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2016/07/12/water-world.html", "title": "Water World", "content_html": "\n“In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”
\nActs 20:35 NIVA\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/5946e0235f.jpg\")
So, what do you do when it's your daughter's birthday and she wants you to go to Water World with the crew but you accidentally erased a whole chapter of your book over the weekend and hadn't quite got around to backing it up properly and it was absolutely nowhere to be found and you need to write the whole darned thing over and it was one of the more difficult chapters to write anyway because it's all emotional and you thought you were done with that part but apparently that was just a pipe dream? Well, you go to Water World and plug in your laptop and write and your family love you and support you and make sure you're comfortable and have plenty to eat and drink and then you float down the Lazy River for an hour while you take a break and it was so awesome you didn't want to stop but the sun was hot enough to fry an egg on the sidewalk and you prayed the sunscreen would do what sunscreen does so you can sleep comfortably after a huge dinner of ribs, beans and coleslaw! That's what you do! And, at the end of the day, you thank God for giving you another chance to get it right. My life is blessed!
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n", "date_published": "2016-07-12T01:30:59-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2016/07/12/water-world.html", "tags": ["Family","Positive Energy","Fun","Writing","Be Joyful!","Littles","Friends"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2016/07/09/mirror-mirror.html", "title": "Mirror, Mirror...", "content_html": "\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/c106c0fa2b.jpg\")
I read this the other day. A woman's idea of hell is an off white dressing room with a harsh fluorescent light overhead. One whole wall is mirror. No, wait....make that THREE walls so you can get all kinds of good angles! And, the tiny little attendant brings you oh-so-cute outfit after oh-so-cute outfit, each a size...maybe two...too small. And she does this for, like....EVER!
\n\n\nI went out yesterday and tried on dresses for my high school reunion. I've had a picture in my mind of what I wanted and what it would look like on me. Let's just say, I have a very VIVID imagination. Even after losing 35 pounds, I STILL don't have the body of a much younger me. As Trainer Paul said, after I walked the Quincy Hill steps NINE times...\"Ginny...I hate to burst your bubble. You may FEEL quite young at heart, but your knees are...in fact...chronologically 63 years old.\" And, so...apparently is my body.
\n\n\nDo I feel bad about it? Oh, maybe I'm a little disappointed that I wasn't more realistic in my expectations. But, you know what? I've lost weight. I'm much more toned. I look pretty darned good. Not \"pretty darned good for my age\" or \"better than a lot of other women\". That's comparing and indicates insecurity and a sense of competition, neither of which applies to me.
\n\n\nOther women are not my competition. We're here to lift each other up, not try to outdo each other.
\n\n\nBut, still...dressing rooms suck!
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2016-07-09T01:30:16-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2016/07/09/mirror-mirror.html", "tags": ["Health","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Aging","Change","Fitness"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2016/07/04/the-scent-of-rain.html", "title": "The Scent of Rain", "content_html": "\n“Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.”
\nHebrews 4:16 NIV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/24055fd03a.jpg\")
Petrichor: the smell of rain on the dry earth. There is something magical about that scent. I remember living in an old farmhouse back in the early '80s. Even though it was in a highly populated urban area, it was the farmhouse for the original land that was subsequently developed with the housing boom after WW2. The house had huge trees around it and large windows you could fling open wide to let in the fresh summer breeze. It always stayed cool with thick walls of buff-colored brick and heavy, dark wood inside. For some reason, when I smell the scent of rain, my mind conjures up that house.
\n\n\nWe were poor as church mice. Hubby #2 was an intern so my daughter and I were on our own a lot. I baked our bread...made our yogurt. I even made homemade tofu. We had a VW van camper. I read Mother Earth News religiously. I wore cut offs and football jerseys and went barefoot everywhere. We listened to the classical station and PBS. We gathered together to listen to Prairie Home Companion while I crocheted or quilted. I canned our food and made jams, jellies, pickles. We gave the only bedroom to my daughter and we slept out on the sun porch which, trust me, was colder than you know what in the winter!
\n\n\nBut, summer....ahhhhh, glorious summer, with its thunderstorms and barbecues and bike rides is the stuff of legend. It is what gets us through the dark days of winter...the memories of the scent of rain.
Happy Fourth of July, everyone...let freedom ring!
❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2016-07-04T01:30:55-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2016/07/04/the-scent-of-rain.html", "tags": ["Family","Positive Energy","Memories"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2016/06/26/balance.html", "title": "Balance", "content_html": "\n“Land that drinks in the rain often falling on it and that produces a crop useful to those for whom it is farmed receives the blessing of God.”
\nHebrews 6:7 NIV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/958302020e.jpg\")
A dear friend sent me a message yesterday in reference to the Roller Coaster post. She has studied Ayurveda, a 5,000 year old system of medical care with roots in India. It is based on maintaining balance between body, mind, and spirit. According to the Chopra Center, \"Recognizing that human beings are part of nature, Ayurveda describes three fundamental energies that govern our inner and outer environments: movement, transformation, and structure. Known in Sanskrit as Vata (Wind), Pitta (Fire), and Kapha (Earth), these primary forces are responsible for the characteristics of our mind and body.\" If one or more of these energies get out of balance, it can be a huge instigator of anxiety. With travel, heat, altitude, emotional upheaval surrounding illness in the family and missing my man...it's no wonder I felt ungrounded.
\n\n\nEverything in the world is made of energy. We are affected by energy, both internal and external. When something gets too excited, it causes a response somewhere else...because, energy cannot be created or destroyed. Achieving balance while grieving is a monumental task as I'm sure you've found. It doesn't take much to send all those rocks tumbling at your feet.
I spent the day yesterday writing my book proposal. It's a zen activity for me to write. I get centered. I meditate. I pray. Then I get in the zone and let it flow. For some reason, the flow is easy this week and I can get so much done. I have to be in the right creative space to write. I found my balance yesterday.
Today, we're heading out on a road trip to the Olympic Trials. My oldest and her oldest are attending. Her youngest and I are hanging out by the pool!!! It will be a lovely trip with my beloveds.
\n\n\nBalance. It's all about balance.
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2016-06-26T01:30:04-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2016/06/26/balance.html", "tags": ["Health","Family","Positive Energy","Littles","Healing"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2016/06/09/morning-on-the-river.html", "title": "Morning on the River", "content_html": "\n“I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.”
\nPhilippians 4:11 NIV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/12a7cbcd20.jpg\")
Everyone should have a place they can go to for solace. A place where they can find peace. While I find my love with my family, I find my peace on this river. There isn't a bad moment here. It's alive...a flowing mass of energy that strengthens me and soothes my spirit. This river makes my heart sing. My friend Paul finds his spirit on the shores of Lake Superior where he is gathering his soul up even as we speak. My sister/friend has the beach while my brother/friend has the jungles of Costa Rica. These places act like lightning rods in reverse. The energy comes from the earth itself and flows up and through us and restores something within.
\n\n\nI can find this energy in the mountains of Colorado. I've found it on the beaches of Mexico, rafting in the sea caves of Hawaii, and flying into the sunrise over the North Atlantic. But there's no place where I feel it stronger than on this river. I'll miss it this summer but I'll have an even greater source of energy soon. I'll have my girls!!!
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2016-06-09T01:30:14-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2016/06/09/morning-on-the-river.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","Gratitude","Peaceful Moments"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2016/05/23/motivation-monday-pounds-down.html", "title": "Motivation Monday - 27 Pounds Down", "content_html": "\n“He built his sanctuary like the heights, like the earth that he established forever.”
\nPsalm 78:69 NIV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/a03e3a008d.jpg\")
My relationship with food has changed. I've been a yoyo dieter all my life. I've been lazy and eaten everything that isn't nailed down. I've stuffed my emotions down with ice cream and chips and cookies and...and...and! The list goes on and on. I've felt how good thin feels only to wind up heavier than I was before. I've stood in front of a mirror and loathed my tummy and thighs and upper arms. I've resigned myself to accept where I am and that's just the way it is. I've told myself I'll always be fat. But, listen to me...I've changed my thinking. Yesterday morning everything became clear for the very first time in my life. Please indulge me as I share my Pastor's message of the day.
\n\n\nPastor Justin spoke of Jesus healing the crippled woman in the Synagogue. She was bent forward, walking for 18 years, looking down at the dirt. She was an outcast because she was disfigured...she was different. Jesus called her to the center of the Synagogue and told her to stand straight and tall. And, she did so. There was an ensuing argument as to whether it was appropriate to heal on the Sabbath and Jesus scolded the priests saying all services should be to the betterment of the people, no matter the circumstances.
\n\n\nWe all have disabilities. Some are quite obvious and are seen by the world. Others are hidden and carried throughout our lives, often under an umbrella of guilt and shame. The fact that the woman was bent over looking at the dirt is symbolic of someone without hope. Someone living under the impression that things will be like this forever. Internal disabilities can manifest in many ways. Addiction. Anger. Abuse. Self-indulgence in eating, spending, sleeping. All of these things display a mark of injury to the psyche by one source or another.
\n\n\nI was sexually abused by two different men by the time I was 13. My father was a verbally and emotionally abusive alcoholic. I married too young. I had a husband whose love language was so far removed from mine that I withered on the vine. I made extremely poor choices. I was bent over, seeing no way out. I stood tall once I accepted Christ in my life. And Mr. Virgo nurtured my newfound stature, reinforcing my worth and value...as a wife, as a mother, and as a human being. Then he died. And my resolve slipped. Not my faith, but my resolve, my ability to remember I am a beloved child of God. The weight of grief bent me back down into that all too familiar posture where I saw only my feet. And I fell back into old patterns of coping. I ate irresponsibly and ballooned to tip the scale at over 200 pounds early this year.
\n\n\nI am fortunate to have recognized what I was doing and made the decision to thrive this fourth year after losing Mr. Virgo. But what's to keep me from slipping again? The parable of the crippled woman who was healed by Jesus, that's what. He touched her. As He has touched me. I won't bend over again. I will stand up tall, straighten my crown, and remember Whose child I am. Am I still broken? Of course...we all are. But I no longer need to carry the weight of my burdens. As the tattoo on my wrist reminds me, my burdens are as light as a feather because God carries them for me.
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2016-05-23T01:30:27-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2016/05/23/motivation-monday-pounds-down.html", "tags": ["Health","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Choices","Fitness","Monday Morning Motivation"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2016/05/14/raising-our-standards.html", "title": "Raising our Standards", "content_html": "\n“On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God. Indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, the synagogue leader said to the people, “There are six days for work. So come and be healed on those days, not on the Sabbath.” The Lord answered him, “You hypocrites! Doesn’t each of you on the Sabbath untie your ox or donkey from the stall and lead it out to give it water? Then should not this woman, a daughter of Abraham, whom Satan has kept bound for eighteen long years, be set free on the Sabbath day from what bound her?” When he said this, all his opponents were humiliated, but the people were delighted with all the wonderful things he was doing.”
\nLuke 13:10-17 NIV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/0fdac22286.jpg\")
One thing I know for certain...there are no accidents. No coincidences. There is just too much synchronicity in this world to believe the events of our lives are just happenstance. It's all too complex, too interrelated to be formed by chaos.
\n\n\nI am with a group of the most amazing women. Most are Sisters on the Fly but not all. Some have never towed a camper but they did it like a boss. Every woman I have met has been kind, fun, adventurous, strong. Last night was an absolute blast. We had a catered meal, and a DJ with karaoke. I danced and sang for hours! Then I had some gals over for a glass of wine afterwards.
\n\n\nNot only were these women admirable, but we seemed to really click on a deeper level...as if there is a purpose we were brought together. This is a very special weekend and I am so grateful to have met these wild, wonderful women!
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2016-05-14T01:30:36-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2016/05/14/raising-our-standards.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","Camping","Fun","goRVing","Girl Camper","Girl Campers"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2016/05/02/lessons.html", "title": "Lessons", "content_html": "\n“Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”
\nJames 1:17 NIV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/76192ffe9f.jpg\")
I've been working with a trainer the last two months. We exercise together four or five times a week. Anyone who exercises knows it's a whole lot easier when you're with someone. There's not only the accountability factor, but the motivation and encouraging comments that come with having an exercise partner is priceless.
\n\n\nIt's important when you exercise to stay in breath so you are aerobic...your muscles getting the oxygen they need. One way of assuring that is to carry on a conversation. If you can't talk more than a few words with all the huffing and puffing, you should really slow down the pace a little. Imagine my delight when I can exercise AND carry on a conversation. It helped make the activity much more pleasant.
\n\n\nAnd now my trainer, who has become my good friend, is moving on to his next adventure. I am so happy for him, but selfishly I will miss his encouraging words and fun conversation. He has taught me many things. I'm not invisible. Everything we do in life should come from a place of love...for others, for ourselves, for the planet, and for God. Our bodies are machines that need the proper fuel in order to function properly. And, I'm probably not drinking enough water.
\n\n\nNow comes the hard part. Now I have to stay motivated to get out there and keep exercising at the same level of intensity. I can do this but it will be an adjustment. I hate goodbyes so I'll just say \"See ya later, my friend. Thanks for believing I could make the changes I needed to get healthy.\"
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2016-05-02T01:30:49-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2016/05/02/lessons.html", "tags": ["Health","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Fitness","Friends"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2016/04/22/fitness-friday.html", "title": "Fitness Friday", "content_html": "\n“The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace.”
\nNumbers 6:24-26 NIV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/c2ee256506.jpg\")
I cannot believe a week has passed already! Time literally crawls from January to March. We hit April and it's like cresting the apex of a roller coaster...suddenly screaming down the rails toward September at break neck speeds. And it's just been a crazy week. I haven't worked out nearly as much as I've wanted to this week. My attention has been divided. Taxes took five times longer than it should have because of computer issues (ok, operator issues). Then I had to catch up with the blogs I write for, other than my own...the Sisters on the Fly Blog and The Local Coffeehouse Locator Blog. Once that was done, I gathered my notes for a podcast episode on GirlCamper. It'll be my first as a Correspondent and I'll be talking about camping in Colorado. I'm very excited about that! I'll give you a link when it goes live.
\n\n\nSo, here it is...Fitness Friday. With only two workouts under my belt this week, this is an excellent time to talk about what to do when life gets in the way of going outside to play, aka exercise. The number one thing to remember is, you don't have to quit just because you got off track a little. There's an old saying...It doesn't matter how far you've gone down the wrong road, just turn around. It's just a bump in the road. I have a workout scheduled with my trainer, Paul today. We're going hiking on trails today climbing hills in the woods. It will offer me a different view. Being a Gemini, I get easily bored and need to change up my workout routines to keep it interesting. I even took two semesters of geology once so I could have something different to look at during my hikes in Colorado. That's pretty extreme!
\n\n\nI did go out this week and buy a bathroom scale. I don't normally weigh myself, but I want to keep track and move in the right direction since I'm documenting this fitness journey. The good news is, yesterday I officially hit 20 pounds lost! The bad news is, that just about puts me where I was this time last year. But hey...remember that path? Well, I turned around...and so can you! There are several Ranchers who have kicked their activity up a notch. How are you all doing?
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2016-04-22T01:30:18-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2016/04/22/fitness-friday.html", "tags": ["Health","Positive Energy","Fitness"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2016/04/08/fitness-friday.html", "title": "Fitness Friday", "content_html": "\n“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”
\n1 Corinthians 10:13 NIV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/8d1cb0a109.jpg\")
Balance. There are many things we need to balance in life. Work and play. Family and jobs. Kids and finances. Exercise and food. I once worked for an old school Doctor. He carefully explained his diet to every patient. And it was SO simple.
\n\n\nHe reminded his patients...\"The last bite does not taste any better than the first one did. Stop testing that theory.\"
\n\n\nHe told them \"If you eat one calorie less than you burn off, you will lose weight. But it's going to take a heck of a long time to do it. Do yourself a favor and widen the gap.\"
\n\n\nI loved that guy. Everything was very simple with him.
\n\n\nI hate the word \"diet\". It is synonymous with \"deprivation\". I prefer \"nourish\". We know full well what is nourishing to our bodies. I ate four boxes of Hagen Daz ice cream bars (10/box!!!) between Thanksgiving and Valentine's Day, I am embarrassed to admit. We won't even talk about the Pop-Tarts. I was sequestered, writing, watching the snow fall, depressed with winter, bored. I knew what I was doing but I did it anyway. And now I'm paying for it.
\n\n\nWe develop habits and addictions. We soothe and comfort and reward and punish with one of the most important things our body needs to survive. We should love our body back to health. We should apologize to it for neglecting it. We should nurture it back to health. Change is difficult. We don't like change. But let me tell you something. We can change it now...or the nutritionist is going to change it for us in coronary care.
\n\n\nIt's not too late. You're not too old, or too fat, or too far gone. One thing. Change just one thing. Add fruit instead of pie. Put the salad dressing on the side and just dip the edge of each bite in it for flavor. Try sprinkling a little nutritional yeast over your veggies instead of cheese. Then it will be easier to change two.
\n\n\nIf I can stop eating ice cream, so can you! I love you guys. I want you to be healthy. This was dinner last night. Yellow fin tuna, quinoa, cucumber salad, fruit salad, roasted crinkle cut squash with snow peas and red peppers. That was a boatload of food and I couldn't finish the whole thing. And there's not a ton of calories. I don't count calories. I don't weigh and measure. I follow Dr. Huttner's diet plan and drink lots of water and it always works for me.
\n\n\nMy posts are never intended as medical advice. I just tell you what I do. Always ask your healthcare professional before starting an exercise program or making major dietary changes.
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n***Don't forget to check in Monday for something B-I-G!***
\n\n\nWhat could it be?
\n\n\n?
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2016-04-08T01:30:43-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2016/04/08/fitness-friday.html", "tags": ["Health","Positive Energy","Wisdom"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2016/04/07/cheerleader.html", "title": "Cheerleader", "content_html": "\n“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.”
\n1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/ccac518261.jpg\")
I'm your biggest fan. I'm the cheerleader that wants to rocket my team into first place. I think it is our moral obligation to build each other up, to nurture each other. To applaud the triumphs. To give a hand up after a fall. To help you dust off and get back out there.
\n\n\nPollyanna. Yep, that's me. But not in a vapid way. I just want to see you succeed! I want you to be your best YOU. I want to encourage you. Why? Because....you are awesome! Inside you is a uniquely beautiful individual. You have capabilities you haven't even thought of yet. You have talents the world needs. You're smart, and funny, and kind. You've had experiences that have knocked off some of your rough edges. You've had wounds that cut deep...but still you got up and did what had to be done. You are brave! You are strong!! You are a fierce Warrior Princess in the face of your own weakness!!!
\n\n\nBe proud of who you are. Be proud of your accomplishments. Be brave enough to change those things that need changing. Be strong enough to stand up and be counted! Be BOLD!
\n\n\n***There's something BIG happening! Stay tuned....it's coming Monday!!!***
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2016-04-07T01:30:41-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2016/04/07/cheerleader.html", "tags": ["Health","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Choices"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2016/03/25/fitness-friday.html", "title": "Fitness Friday", "content_html": "\n“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”
\nPhilippians 4:8-9 NIV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/2c708447e9.jpg\")
This was a really good week. I worked out hard enough to see results but not so hard as to burn out or cause injury. I listened to my body and took a day off when I needed to. It's a delicate balance between pushing yourself and knowing when to back off. AND...making yourself keep going. I can get lazy if I take a day off because then I think maybe two would be better and before you know it, I'm back to square one.
\n\n\nI am eating healthier than I have in years. Good, healthy salads with superfoods...i.e. dark green, leafy veggies, craisins, walnuts, avocado, EVO. Yummy stuff! I've discovered the joys of quinoa. It's a tiny grain that's packed with protein. I toast it a bit in the skillet, add veggie broth and cook till it's light and fluffy then I add a variety of sautéed veggies.
\n\n\nMy weakness is sweets. I came up with a great recipe yesterday. Sweet potatoes are a complex carbohydrate and they are packed full of fiber and vitamins. I usually bake six at a time and have one with dinner. I add a little butter, a few chopped walnuts and a little drizzle of agave syrup. Delicious! I'm having a dinner party tomorrow night and I want to serve a healthy dessert so I played around with a couple of the leftover baked sweet potatoes. OMGosh! This is SO good! You hardly miss having a crust. If you try it, let me know how it worked for you. I've only made it the once but it was super easy and came out great.
\n\n\nCrustless Mini Sweet Potato Pies
\n\n\nPreheat oven to 350°F.
\n\n\nPeel cold baked sweet potatoes and mash in a bowl with a fork. In a separate bowl, whisk eggs till frothy. Add vanilla, pumpkin pie spice, agave syrup, and salt. Mix well and combine with mashed sweet potatoes. Beat till a smooth consistency.
\n\n\nSpray a muffin pan with Pam Baking Spray. Fill each muffin cup to the top and sprinkle each with a few walnut pieces. Bake any extra mixture in a coffee mug.
\n\n\nPlace muffin pan on a cookie sheet and bake on the middle rack of a 350° preheated oven for 30-35 minutes or until set.
\n\n\nYield: 6 individual servings plus a little extra, depending on the size of the sweet potatoes.
\n\n\nCalories: 143 per serving
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2016-03-25T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2016/03/25/fitness-friday.html", "tags": ["Health","Positive Energy","Baking","Fitness","Cooking","In the Kitchen"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2016/03/22/purpose.html", "title": "Purpose", "content_html": "\n“Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well.”
\n3 John 1:2 NIV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/76712d0a31.jpg\")
We never meet someone by accident. People are placed on our path for a reason...to exchange information. To give...or receive...or both. Recently, I have seen God actively working in my life. He's throwing things and people down in front of me almost faster than I can pick them up.
\n\n\nA month ago, when I was contemplating my place on this grief journey and considering how I want to proceed, I made the decision to get fit. Boom! Paul came by way of a friend. Paul is a personal trainer. My daughter is on a fitness journey and just started Advocare. Boom! Paul uses Advocare. I decided to do the 24 Day Challenge with my daughter. Boom! Paul hooked me up with a distributor. I've had opportunities presented that are exactly what I need. I've met people that have the knowledge or skills I need. This isn't serendipity or circumstance. There's no way this isn't divinely orchestrated.
\n\n\nWhen I am in tune inside...when my heart is aligned with my higher power...my life becomes a giant tuning fork, humming it's beautiful love song into every corner of the universe. Others may be minding their own business, moving right along with their daily living, when they catch wind of my \"song\" and it matches theirs. And they are unable to stop themselves...it's like a magnet and they will cross streets to get near it. And when you get two people together whose vibe is in sync? There's no stopping that. It takes on a life of its own. And gathers more and more people with matching love light. It's real. I've seen it over and over. That's what's been happening the last month. It's a beautiful thing.
\n\n\nYou have to get quiet to hear the vibrations. The still small voice. I'm just starting a new meditation series on weight from Oprah and Deepak Chopra. I'm really looking forward to getting still and listening. This last week away was an excellent start. It's time to reach and grow. It's Spring!
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2016-03-22T01:30:15-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2016/03/22/purpose.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","God","Fitness"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2016/03/13/the-aftermath.html", "title": "The Aftermath", "content_html": "\n“See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the season of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land.”
\nSong of Solomon 2:11-12 NIV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/d82d03b525.jpg\")
I was up before dawn yesterday. The house was still. Always still. The stillness doesn't make me sad anymore. As a matter of fact...I pay it no mind. I padded to the kitchen and turned on the burner to warm my new favorite beverage...chaga tea. It hasn't completely replaced coffee as my morning beverage of choice, but it's getting close. I mixed a small handful of fresh blueberries, walnuts, and high protein granola into a couple tablespoons of yoghurt and drizzled a little agave syrup over it. I stood in the half light watching a tugboat push barges slowly upriver, sipping my tea and enjoying the fact the linoleum is no longer freezing under my bare feet.
\n\n\nOnce I put away the breakfast dishes, I dressed for biking and left to fill the truck with gas and went to pick up a friend. We drove over to Athens, Ohio to the Farmer's Market. I bought a big bag of assorted organic greens and sweet potatoes, some tabouli (awful), couscous (yummy), and hummus (haven't tasted it yet). Then we headed for the bike path. We rode 16 miles, double what we did on Wednesday. It felt great! I got a little numb in my hands and feet. And my \"sitter\". But that will get better in time.
\n\n\nAfter our ride, we went to a really good restaurant. Casa Nuevo. It is employee owned. The tip is factored into the price of your meal and if you choose to leave extra, it goes to a charity. Good, clean food, vegetarian and gluten free. I had taco salad which was wonderful.
\n\n\nI came home and lit my propane campfire and watched the river for a bit. I got a text from another friend and we met for dinner and drinks and watched the WVU game. Then I came home to a quiet, peaceful house...alone. And that was ok. I want to thank you all for your blessings and prayers that my day go well. It really did.
\n\n\nAnd so begins the 4th year...the Year of Fitness. My word of the year is THRIVE!
\n\n\nI leave you with this...in memory of my sweet, handsome man.
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2016-03-13T01:30:07-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2016/03/13/the-aftermath.html", "tags": ["Health","Positive Energy","Choices","Fitness"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2016/03/07/strive-to-thrive.html", "title": "Strive to Thrive", "content_html": "\n“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
\nJohn 14:27 NIV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e28afd66b3.jpg\")
A friend of mine is struggling with the waves of grief again. It's been four years. Doesn't matter. Grief works that way sometimes. You can be fine...really fine for long stretches of time. And then something smacks you in the forehead and you remember that piece of your brokenness that you placed in an iron box. Grief drags you over by the ear and forces you to look at it again. Try as you might, you can't turn away. As hard as it is to go through it yourself, it's just as hard to watch a friend standing in the fire and know you can only stand there with the salve to bandage the burns after Grief has had her way.
\n\n\nI was relating this to someone and they said it sounded like someone else they knew...meaning me. That has given me pause. I had to ask myself if I am stuck in my grief. I mean, I can see how it might look that way from the outside. I honestly don't believe I am. I don't sit at home and cry. I live with hope. I'm not depressed. But I do talk about grief...a lot. This blog is my ministry. I write about my experiences with grief. I write about my relationship with Mr. Virgo as well as my loss. I write about my feelings which sometimes includes those directly related to grief. My blog is my story. My books are my story. I am NOT my story. And as I head into this last week before the third angelversary, I'm going to explore that with you.
\n\n\nI've had a paradigm shift this week. And I have made a decision. The first year was the \"Year of the Great Fog\". The second was \"The Year of Diminishing Pain\" because the fog had lifted. The third was the \"Year of Blessed Relief\" because I could finally breathe and explore my personal and spiritual growth. I've decided the fourth will be the \"Year to Thrive\". I'm awake. But, oh my gosh! I have looked at myself in the mirror. I love who I see, for the most part. A confident, younger-looking, wise woman with a heart full of love and positive energy. That being said, my conditioning and diet have really fallen by the wayside. I have a lot of exciting opportunities being presented to me. I want to have the energy and stamina to get out there and really enjoy the next couple of decades. I'm not going to be able to participate like I want to unless I get in better shape.
\n\n\nI started working with a personal trainer this week and I'm going to incorporate my work with him here in a weekly update...\"Fitness Friday\". I need the accountability and it gives me more to talk about than just my loss. Don't worry...I'm not going to preach at you. I'm a Documentarian! I don't preach...I bring you into my world and show you what it's like to live here.
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2016-03-07T02:30:58-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2016/03/07/strive-to-thrive.html", "tags": ["Health","Positive Energy","Wisdom","Aging","Choices","Change"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2016/02/15/sister-mavis.html", "title": "Sister Mavis", "content_html": "\n“Souls who follow their hearts thrive; fools bent on evil despise matters of soul.”
\nProverbs 13:19 MSG\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/7840acedb2.jpg\")
No, really...I was a DJ for about a year or so. Man, that was a fun gig. I had a weekly show on KDNK, Public Radio for the Roaring Fork Valley. Located in Carbondale, KDNK (named after the Dinkle Building where it is housed) was a bastion for alternative programming. You could hear any manner of DJs from stay-at-home-moms to nurses to members of City Council.
\n\n\nI joined up at the urging of my good friend, Ryb. She had a great show where she played music from the '60s, '70s and '80s. This was back in the days of vinyl. My show was every Wednesday. I played all new release music. Record companies sent us albums all the time so I would come in, grab an armload, and sit down at the sound board...the two turntables to my left. I listened to a record and chose the first song while the show intro played. Then I would listen to the next on the other turntable to choose a song with the best segue.
\n\n\nI was never as good at it as my friend, Ryb. She was awesome. She had a great speaking voice. She had secured good sponsors for her show. She was immensely popular and I always listened to her, and Flash, Ribo, Steve Skinner. Those were some fun days.
\n\n\nOne of the best parts was when I was asked to fill in on Sister Sister, an improvisational comedy program that was on air once a week. It seems I gravitate to Sisters, be it comedy or 'on the fly'.
\n\n\n'Sister Helen', 'Sister Edith Hurdle', 'Little Sister' and myself...'Sister Mavis', regaled the airwaves with stories of life in the laundromat with polyester mumus and bouffant hairdos. They even had commercials. One of their 'sponsors', my particular favorite, was Cellulite Spackle. This was a fictitious product you spread on your thighs before you put on your pantyhose.
\n\n\nThere was also a weekly episode of....Mascara Nightmares. The girls would discuss their most horrifying makeup experiences. I clearly remember the one where Little peeked in the oven to see if the biscuits were done and the heat fused her lashes together. She thought she was going blind!
\n\n\nAhhhh...the halcyon days of youth when we owned the world. It was a special time in a special place with such special people. You couldn't recreate it now if you tried. So, I'm left with these really great stories and fun memories.
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2016-02-15T02:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2016/02/15/sister-mavis.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","Fun","Art"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2016/02/06/the-fields-of-gettysburg.html", "title": "The Fields of Gettysburg", "content_html": "\n“A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment?”
\nEcclesiastes 2:24-25 NIV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/8eb1799d68.jpg\")
Mr. Virgo was a Civil War buff. When he was a little boy growing up in South Philly, he was in the Boy Scouts and they went on a field trip to Gettysburg. They were taking a tour of the battlefield and trying to find a particular place. Mr. Virgo kept pointing over the edge of a hill, insisting what they were looking for would be found there. Finally, the adults listened to him and, sure, enough, it was exactly where he said it would be. When asked how he knew, Mr. Virgo told them he had been there before. His dad was on the tour with the boys that day and overheard the conversation. When they got to the car, his dad asked him what he was talking about. He told him he had been there before. But his dad said he hadn't ever been there. Mr. Virgo said, \"Yes, I was. It was when I was a soldier!\"
\n\n\nLast night, The Fields of Gettysburg was being performed at the newly refurbished People's Bank Theater. It's sort of like Jesus Christ Superstar for history buffs. Written by John Walsh, a local musician, I thought it was a brilliant concept and the original score was excellent. It followed the story of six people and how their lives intermeshed, both on and off the field of battle. I was particularly touched by \"Ghosts on These Fields\" and \"Bread Alone\". I am so glad I went. Mr. Virgo would have loved it.
\n\n\nI love surprises and this was certainly a pleasant one.
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2016-02-06T02:30:32-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2016/02/06/the-fields-of-gettysburg.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","Fun","Art"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2016/02/02/emails.html", "title": "15,578 E-Mails???", "content_html": "\n“So Saul said to his attendants, “Find someone who plays well and bring him to me.\"
\n1 Samuel 16:17 NIV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/374b7a39d8.jpg\")
Oy! Ok, here's what happens when you only use hand held devices to access the Internet, write every blog post, use myriad apps, and check your e-mails. Those e-mails don't go away on their own. And I have a VERY bad habit of just reading them and closing them without deleting them. I decided to get out my new(er) computer yesterday and realized I haven't updated Windows since last April. I never use this computer, although I should because it is the new one. And you wanna know why I don't use it? Because, there's a glitch in Word 2013 and that's the program I use for writing my book and instead of being patient and trying to fix the problem, I get frustrated, shut it down, and go back to my old laptop. Which is getting full. And old. And obsolete. And slow. So yesterday, I decided I'm bigger than that. I can put in the time necessary to get this thing up to speed. Yeah...right!
\n\n\nFirst off, I checked my e-mail. There were 15,578 of them! No lie. Holy cats! I spent the better part of two hours sweeping them out and managed to get all the way down to just over 13,000. Sigh. That will have to wait. I tried to boot up Word and it crashed, as expected. I tried the troubleshooter and didn't get anywhere. I went to the Microsoft page to troubleshoot from that end and got a message that I haven't updated Windows since the Reagan administration. Ok...slight exaggeration. I checked to see how many critical and recommended updates that have accumulated since April. There were....ummmm, 82! This was obviously going to take a while. I set the new laptop aside and picked up the old laptop. Which I had updated 2 hours prior and the little wheel was still turning with the message \"Restarting\". Once I got everything kind of put back together, I went back to do a second scan for updates and there were 122 more! Seriously...I am not a very patient person.
\n\n\nSo, I picked up my phone to write this post the \"old fashioned way\". And check my e-mail. Oy!
\n\n\nI don't know about you, but I find myself far less organized since Mr. Virgo died. And I wasn't terribly organized before. I just don't seem to have the head for details like I did. There is such a thing as \"grief brain\"...a kind of emotional jet lag that hits hard with acute grief but gets better over time. But then you have the normal effects of aging thrown in. So it's hard to tease out what is what. At any rate, I messed around with those computers for over 12 hours yesterday and was half cross-eyed when I finally gave it up for the night. Today is another day.
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2016-02-02T02:30:33-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2016/02/02/emails.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Wisdom"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2016/01/10/fly-fishing.html", "title": "Fly Fishing", "content_html": "\n“For there is a proper time and procedure for every matter, though a person may be weighed down by misery.”
\nEcclesiastes 8:6 NIV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/c7f459c315.jpg\")
My father was an avid fisherman. He mostly fished with lures and bait in the local rivers and lakes. But once a year we would go to the mountains and stay with my cousins and he would fly fish. We had very little money so we usually stayed with family but I remember one summer we stayed in a cabin. It was the coolest vacation ever!
\n\n\nMy dad tied his own flies. He showed me how and I was fascinated. I would sit along the shallows and watch him cast over and over, occasionally landing a small brown or brookie....maybe a rainbow. I was never allowed to fly fish. The equipment came at a dear price and I couldn't swim. It wasn't even a consideration.
\n\n\nWhen I joined the Sisters on the Fly, I bought fly fishing equipment. I went to a large Sisters gathering and signed up with a guide for a group lesson. I don't know if it was the guide, or the number in the group, or the equipment, but...I hated it. Hated it!!! I was SO disappointed. I almost got rid of my gear when I downsized, but I decided to hang onto it and try again.
I met a really neat lady yesterday at the Fly Fishing Show. Paula Fothergill was married to the late Chuck Fothergill, the fly fishing guru from Aspen. She now works for Casting for Recovery, an organization that teaches women with breast cancer and breast cancer survivors how to fly fish. It is the main charity Sisters on the Fly members contribute to. In talking with Paula, we discovered we lived in the same small town in Colorado. She asked if I fly fish and I related my experience. She said, \"Come with me!\" and she took me to meet the general manager of Telluride Outside...John Duncan. I quickly discovered how well respected Chuck Fothergill was, as Paula handed me over to John's capable tutelage. He selected an 8.5' 5 pound Scott rod, a medium weight that is well balanced and excellent for the novice fly fisher.
There is a pond set up inside at the show to practice casting. We took our turn and in 5 minutes, I was hooked, so to speak. I was so excited! All it took was a knowledgeable, patient instructor and good gear to make all the difference in the world. Now I can't wait to get out on the river and catch my first trout on a fly!
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\nPhoto Credit: Sisters on the Fly
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2016-01-10T02:30:52-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2016/01/10/fly-fishing.html", "tags": ["Strong Women","Sisters on the Fly","Positive Energy","Peaceful Moments","Memories"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2015/11/19/writing.html", "title": "Writing", "content_html": "\n“Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows everything will live. Fishermen will stand along the shore; from En Gedi to En Eglaim there will be places for spreading nets. The fish will be of many kinds—like the fish of the Mediterranean Sea.”
\nEzekiel 47:9-10 NIV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/aa5488e29d.jpg\")
I've been talking about this book for what seems like for-EV-er! A friend sent me a meme the other day about the different stages of writing a book. It starts with grabbing a cup of coffee and a Superwoman cape all the way down to \"Holy crap! This is such a bunch of hoo-haw! No one in their right mind is going to want to read this stuff!\" Then you eat your way into an ice cream coma. Well, pass the Haagen Daz, kids...I'm at that point. I know it's only because I've read this stuff like...a GAZILLION times that I think it isn't any good. Then I stumbled upon a flash of total brilliance, if I do say so myself.
\n\n\nInstead of going to my usual coffee shop and writing my requisite hours yesterday, I went to the library. I found a table and before doing anything else, I sat there and let my eyes wander around the room. And there it was...to my right. That beacon that calls the reader to MY SECTION....the sign for \"New Non-Fiction\" was right beside my table! It was a sign!
\n\n\nI set out the accouterments of my trade...laptop, iPad and iPhone for handy reference, and the original manuscript and set to work. Ok...I sat there and looked at it. And looked. And looked. And looked some more.
\n\n\n\"Write!\" I commanded myself.
\n\n\n\"Shut up...I'm thinking!\" My SELF said back.
\n\n\nI sat back and shut my eyes and asked myself...
\n\n\n\"What are you feeling?\"
\n\n\n\"I feel like a fraud! Look...I'm surrounded by BOOKS! Real life, page-turning books! All I have is this stack of papers and a promise. I'm just a writer.\"
\n\n\n\"And what do you WANT to feel?\"
\n\n\n\"I want to feel like an AUTHOR!\"
\n\n\nAnd...BAM! Seriously....just like that, I stepped aside and looked at this woman with a huge body of work that she has poured her heart and soul into and saw...an author! I felt it in my bones. It was like a surge of electricity went right through me and in the next two hours, I got more done than I have in the last year!
\n\n\nThe power of the mind is an incredible tool we rarely tap into with purpose. Yesterday, I hit the mother lode.
\n\n\nStay tuned! And don't forget to go to iTunes and subscribe to Girl Camper podcasts. I am featured in Episode 5: Life's Left Turns - When things just don't go according to plans. Janine Pettit has asked me to be the Girl Camper Correspondent and call in with updates as I travel so there will be more of these.
\n\n\nYou can subscribe and download this and other podcasts HERE.
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2015-11-19T02:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2015/11/19/writing.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","Writing","Insight"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2015/11/13/retreat.html", "title": "Retreat", "content_html": "\n“While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the Lord my God for his holy hill— while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. He instructed me and said to me, “Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding.”
\nDaniel 9:20-22 NIV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/4254bc6c82.jpg\")
Sometimes I get so tired of grief. I want it to just go away. Leave me alone. I just want to BE. I don't want to have to deal with all the crap that comes with it. I didn't ask for this in the first place. You get me, don't you. I know you do. Those of you walking this journey totally get this. The thing is...it's like the Hotel California. Grief can check it any time it wants...but it can never leave. Not entirely. But what it can do is change. It can ease. It can retreat.
\n\n\nIt's ok for you to retreat, too. You don't have to fight this battle every single live long day. You don't have to carry the weight of this 24/7. I get respite when I hand it over to God and ask him to carry it...and me...for a while. Just a while...till I catch my breath. Till I feel stronger. You don't have to go to a fancy schmancy spa place to have a retreat either. Here are some gentle, self-care things you can do to give yourself that little extra love and support you need. You can set aside some special time and make a day or just an afternoon of it. Or just incorporate some into your daily routines. I guarantee you will at least feel stronger, a little more centered, a little less stressed out if you take care of yourself. And it doesn't have to cost an arm and a leg.
\n\n\nTry some of these and let me know how they work for you:
\n\n\nAll these thing are easy to do and great, but FIRST...pray. Give it up. Hand it over. Lay all those worries and cares down. God listens even when we don't have the words.
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2015-11-13T02:30:51-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2015/11/13/retreat.html", "tags": ["Health","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2015/11/03/setting-goals.html", "title": "Setting Goals", "content_html": "\n“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.”
\nRomans 8:26 NIV\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/33e0406e3b.jpg\")
Yesterday we touched on ways to ward off the winter blahs. One of the suggestions was to set goals and check items off the lists you create to achieve them. But, how do you set goals? And what do you do when those goals just keep hanging out there like a carrot on a stick? At the end of the first year after Mr. Virgo died, I breathed an audible sigh of relief. Now I could say \"He died last year.\" It gave me a false sense of comfort that it was \"almost over\" and I was going to get my life back...or some semblance of it. Little did I know the second year was going to be harder because the numbness was gone. And now, here I am, over halfway through the third year and what are my goals? I have no earthly idea!
\n\n\nA fellow Rancher said her goal was to find someone else to love happily ever after but now she's five years into this without a knight in shining armor in sight. You could have knocked me over with a feather as I realized that's exactly what I've been doing. I have been looking at every male encounter as a potential mate. Good grief...what was I thinking?
\n\n\nThat's the point though, isn't it? I wasn't thinking. I haven't really been thinking about long range goals. I've been planning to feel better this week. Maybe this month. I've been chasing happiness but at what cost? No one else is refilling the coffers.
\n\n\nWhen I got back from Myrtle Beach, I had to sit down and take a serious accounting of where I am. Not just financially, but in general. That little \"Hey, girl...how ya doin'?\" pep talk we girls gotta have on occasion. And I wasn't happy with what I saw. I have been feeling a shift lately...a ripple in the force, so to speak. Good things will come of this as it is just another layer of the onion.
\n\n\nStay tuned tomorrow for Part Two of \"Setting Goals\". This is far too big a topic for one post to cover.
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2015-11-03T02:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2015/11/03/setting-goals.html", "tags": ["Health","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Growth","Choices","Change","Insight","Control"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2015/10/28/breathe.html", "title": "Breathe", "content_html": "\n“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”
\nProverbs 19:21 NIV\n
I seem to write a great deal about breathing. Breath is life. It is powerful, cleansing, vital. We catch our breath at the sight of something beautiful. It can be so beautiful in fact that it's breathtaking. We breathe a sigh of relief. We breathe deep the smell of rain on a breeze. Our breath quickens with passion, becomes shallow with fear. We fill our lungs and cry out with the sudden searing pain of the first breath in the moments after birth. We wait with baited breath in moments of great anticipation. We slip away with a sigh as our last breath leaves us.
\n\n\nBreathe. Gurus tell us to control our breathing. Yogis tell us to focus on our breath. Midwives tell us to pant to ease childbirth. Emergency responders tell us calmly, \"Just breathe.\" Conscious breathing can ease anxiety and relax us for sleep. I often remind you to breathe. The world is a hectic place. Life is sometimes a difficult place to be. Grief can make you have an actual sensation in your chest. A heaviness. An ache. It can give you the feeling that you can't take in a deep breath. Sometimes the waves of grief come over you so hard you feel like you're drowning. The waves crash and knock you to the ground. It's ok. Sometimes you find precious gems while you're down there. Just breathe. Then stand up again.
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n“By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, their starry host by the breath of his mouth.”
\nPsalm 33:6\n
![](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/7834259c21.jpg\")
![](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e8232b8f13.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/a1f8e57f82.jpg\")
It's easy to stay in our comfort zone. And, as uncomfortable as grief is, sometimes it's easier to pull the covers over our heads and stay in a cocoon. Because people will excuse us. \"Poor thing...she's a widow, you know.\" That scenario can end up being a thief...of time, self-confidence, friendships, experiences. Getting back up on the horse isn't easy and you have to do it over and over and over again.
\n\n\nThis rain has left me in a funk the last couple of days...my mood feeling as grey as the October sky. So I did something to stretch my wings. Even though I'm not necessarily comfortable in the ocean, I stood on the beach and let the surf of high tide rush over my legs. It looked a whole lot scarier from this photo's vantage point than it actually was. The water barely covered my knees...but I could feel the power of it as it rushed by me. It felt exhilarating and alive. It brought me back to myself, my heart beating fast, foam dancing all around me. Ok, don't scold me. Maybe it wasn't the smartest thing I've ever done...and I'm not planning on doing it again. But, for a moment, I stood on the edge. And I woke up.
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2015-10-05T01:30:10-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2015/10/05/taking-risks.html", "tags": ["Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Growth"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2015/08/11/adversity.html", "title": "Adversity", "content_html": "\n“See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”
\nIsaiah 43:19\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/3eb1fe4ae1.jpg\")
The little in pink is my youngest when she was about 5 or 6. The little on the left is her best friend, Kiersten. She moved away at the end of the 3rd grade and we didn't find each other again till last year on FB. We reconnected when I received the news that Kiersten had been in a terrible car accident up in the mountains. She broke her neck and was paralyzed from the neck down. Her mom, Patty, came from Maine to be with her.
\n\n\nAfter a week in the hospital, Kiersten was moved to Craig Rehabilitation Hospital in Denver and the grueling work began. She had 7 or 8 different types of therapy daily. Her injury turned out to be Brown-Sequard Syndrome where the spinal cord was stretched, bruised, and damaged...but not severed. Her paralysis slowly improved and she worked hard to get better. The weight training area was in the cafeteria. While others were sitting around talking after dinner, Kiersten would be over there lifting weights and working out. She was determined she would get better. And she did. She walks. She still writes with her right hand but has learned to do everything else with her left hand. Her right side gets tired more easily. But she is a walking miracle. We all learn from adversity that we are much stronger than we ever thought we were.
\n\n\nI remember this beautiful young woman when she was just a little girl having sleepovers at our house. I read to her and told her grand bedtime stories that I made up. And last night I got to have dinner with her and her mom. On my way home, Patty texted me to say Kiersten told her after I left how much she loved me when she was little. And how she remembered those stories. Strong women from loved little girls grow. Invest in our future. Treat every child as you would treat your own. I was so touched that she remembered.
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2015-08-11T01:30:42-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2015/08/11/adversity.html", "tags": ["Health","Colorado","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","Love","Courage","Memories","Littles"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2015/08/06/shopping.html", "title": "Shopping", "content_html": "\n\"I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh.\"
\nEzekiel 11:19\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/f235794cb9.jpg\")
I met friends for lunch yesterday. We sat on the patio overlooking the beautiful backdrop of the Rocky Mountains. Three friends. We met through Sisters on the Fly. Laughing for a couple of hours over Chinese food was just what I needed after the episode of heat exhaustion on Friday. I felt alive again. After lunch, I had an item to return so I walked across the street to the mall. I used to LOVE shopping. If shopping was an Olympic sport, I would have been on the podium. I got my degree in shopping. Downsizing and purging my life of 95% of my possessions has ruined the shopping experience for me. I pick up an item, think about where I'll put it and what I'll have to get rid of in order for it to fit, and then check the price tag. The first thing that goes through my mind is how many nights at a cool campground can that money give me and 99.9% of the time, that beautiful item goes right back on the shelf. This is distressing because my Olympian spirit is being trampled. So yesterday I decided to try a different tactic and shop for entertainment.
\n\n\nI wandered through the mall and watched the other shoppers. Families out in droves for back to school bargains, shopping for those coveted outfits that will boost little Janie or Johnny's chances of not being ostracized in the hallways. Overly stimulated children standing at their mother's elbow, crying. Couples walking hand in hand. Daddies holding mommies' bags while they elbowed their way through the sale racks. It was shopper's hell. I figured I'd better escape the families so I headed for the lingerie department. Now, there are two things I do not compromise on. Skin care products and lingerie. I know they cost a boat load of money, but I only want fine quality when it comes to what I hold closest to my skin. It makes me feel beautiful and that in itself is priceless. I love the lingerie department. It's like going into the library only instead of books, you get a luscious tactile experience that is only heightened by the hushed reverence of the shoppers and the soft music in the background. It's almost a religious experience.
\n\n\nIt was in the nightie aisle that I found Henry and Mim. Henry was ancient, sitting in a wheelchair with his wife's purse perched precariously on his woefully thin thighs. Henry was watching Mim as she carefully looked at each little nightgown with something akin to awe. She felt the fabric between her fingers. She carefully checked the label for laundering instructions, peering over the wire rimmed glasses perched on her nose. When she found just the perfect one, she tottered over to Henry and said, \"What do you think of THIS one, darling?\" And Henry...sweet, wise Henry, veteran of a lifetime of these Saturday excursions, replied, \"Oh, Mim...that one brings out the blue in your eyes!\" Mim beamed happily as she looked from her new nighty to the love of her life with a gentleness that melted my heart into a little puddle on the floor, right there in Macy's. That. That is what I'm searching for.
\n\n\n❤️
\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\"May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your youth.\"
\nProverbs 5:18\n
Photo credit: thevintagegirlie.wordpress.com
\n\n", "date_published": "2015-08-06T01:30:31-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2015/08/06/shopping.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","Love","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2015/07/14/towwanda-grande.html", "title": "TOW-Wanda Grande", "content_html": "\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/3dad893250.jpg\")
I've had the big trailer for 9 months now. She's 29'5\" from the hitch to the spare tire on the back. That's long when you're used to 16'. Add the truck and I'm a good 42' long with a topper and a kayak. I'm definitely haulin'!
\n\n\nThis life isn't for everybody. I've had women drop their jaw when they learn I live full time in this thing. Most men want to give me a high five. I tried explaining to someone how I don't like sleeping inside houses now because they make me feel claustrophobic. It's not the SIZE…it's the idea of being cooped up in one spot. I feel sorry for people whose views never change. They don't know the joy of taking off on vacation and packing everything you own. You literally have everything you need right behind you. I love traveling and pulling over at lunch time to fix something to eat, stretching out for a little siesta, then heading back out on the open road.
\n\n\nI am a vagabond. A meanderer. I live a bohemian life. But I am a realist. There are a few drawbacks to living like this. Gas isn't cheap so if you can spend long stretches of time in one spot it sure helps the budget. This reduces the wear and tear on both your vehicle and your camper. There's not a ton of storage so I have a rule…if something comes in, something else has to go out. The sinks and countertops and stovetop are lower than those in a conventional sticks and bricks home and believe it or not, that discourages me from cooking sometimes. It's just awkward. The wastewater tanks have to be emptied when you're dry docked, as I am a good portion of the time. That means hooking this monstrosity up and hauling it across town to the nearest RV dump. And, because it's so big and hooking up is such a chore, I am far less likely to take off and go on a spontaneous adventure.
\n\n\nThat being said…it's mine. I own it, lock stock and memory foam mattress and the security of that alone makes everything else worthwhile. Yes, I love my life…my little house on wheels.
\n\n\nGod Bless this Trailer Home!
\n\n\n❤
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2015-07-14T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2015/07/14/towwanda-grande.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","Camping","The Grand Adventure","Gratitude","goRVing","Downsizing","Widow","Road Trip"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2015/07/08/oy-mein-gott-in-himmel.html", "title": "Oy! Mein Gott in Himmel!", "content_html": "\n\"By faith he made his home in the promised land like a stranger in a foreign country; he lived in tents, as did Isaac and Jacob, who were heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.\"
\nHebrews 11:9-10\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e180d8f570.jpg\")
That's Yiddish/German for \"OMG!\" I went to Zaidy's yesterday…a Jewish deli. (Zaidy is Yiddish for Grandpa.) I lived 27 years of my life as a Jewish mother. When Hubby #2 joined a practice in a small town in the mountains in Colorado, we started organizing dinners, parties, and holidays for the Jews (and lapsed Jews and latent Jews) in our little community. I love the holidays and traditions and most of all…the food! My picture was often in the newspaper cooking some delicacy or other…or lighting the Menorah with my younger daughter to celebrate Chanukah. My favorite meal to prepare was the Passover Seder. Matzoh ball soup, gefilte fish, chopped liver, brisket, potato kugel. Oh…enough to make you swoon! We started out with about 10 guests the first year. I finally had to move the Seder to a bigger venue after serving a sit down dinner for 45 people in our basement. After that, it was held in the basement of the Presbyterian Church and the last one I organized and cooked for sat 75. That's one thing a Jewish mother does best….feed a ton of people! I got great satisfaction from it.
\n\n\nI was down in Cherry Creek yesterday and decided to pop into Zaidy's for a late lunch. I ordered the lox and bagel with everything and a couple of pletzels (yes, that is spelled correctly)…an oniony flat bread. Oy! SO good! And such warm memories.
\n\n\n❤
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2015-07-08T01:30:01-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2015/07/08/oy-mein-gott-in-himmel.html", "tags": ["Colorado","Travel","Positive Energy","Gratitude","Comfort","Be Joyful!","Memories"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2015/06/29/serenity.html", "title": "Serenity", "content_html": "\n\"Let me get you something to eat, so you can be refreshed and then go on your way—now that you have come to your servant.” “Very well,” they answered, “do as you say.\"
\nGenesis 18:5\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/366d145521.jpg\")
This was my view last night as I sat on the patio visiting with my friends. This is such a magical place. I've posted from here many times and its beauty never ceases to amaze me. The mountain you see in the distance is Mesa Verde, home of the Ancient Ones…the Cliff Dwellers. There's good energy here. But alas…it was just a short stay this time as I head out on the road again today. Not at all sure where I'm heading. Footloose and fancy free…that's me!
\n\n\nSue and I had some good discussions about my book this weekend which will involve some revisions but will make it even better. I'm looking forward to getting this done.
\n\n\nI'll send pics of the sights today.
\n\n\n❤
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2015-06-29T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2015/06/29/serenity.html", "tags": ["Travel","Positive Energy","The Grand Adventure","Gratitude","Peaceful Moments","Road Trip"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2015/06/02/good-morning-from-indiana.html", "title": "Good Morning from Indiana!", "content_html": "\n\"He made the moon to mark the seasons, and the sun knows when to go down.\"
\nPsalm 104:19\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/700b70b73d.jpg\")
I didn't sleep well Sunday night. Most people left the campground right after the music was over, but several stayed and some people took advantage of the empty field and drove ATVs around all night. So, needless to say, I slept sporadically.
\n\n\nI was going to stay overnight last night with my friend in Troy, Ohio but she has been blessed with a ton of real estate business so I'll visit with her on my way back. I drove till 2:00 in the afternoon then pulled into a rest area for a 2 hour nap. I drove for another couple of hours before stopping for the night. As I have done in the past, I won't be revealing exactly where I am each day. This is to appease my safety conscious family and friends. But it's a very nice, clean, quiet, safe RV Resort just off the interstate. My adventure of the day was a yucky one. My black water tank was full and unfortunately was clogged so emptying it was a yucky chore. But I got it done. Thank God for the shower in this camper!
\n\n\nI love to drive. I do some of my best thinking while I'm driving. One of my dearest friends asked me last night how it feels to be traveling alone again. I had so much company in the last few months that I was seldom really off by myself. And it's interesting. It's different this time. Not boring. Not really lonely. But I feel room in my life and in my heart. Not an emptiness like I felt before. Not an urgency to replace something I've lost to fill up that void either. No, this is different. I feel a space opening up in me. A place of peace…of ease…of calm. Like the soothing flow of a river after making it through rough water. I'm not sure what this is yet or what it means, but it feels good.
\n\n\n❤
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2015-06-02T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2015/06/02/good-morning-from-indiana.html", "tags": ["Travel","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","Camping","The Grand Adventure","Comfort","Widow","Road Trip"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2015/05/29/andit-begins.html", "title": "And...it Begins!", "content_html": "\n\"I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.\"
\nEzekiel 36:26\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/a6d7f1bf3d.jpg\")
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What a treasure it is to gather with a large variety of humans seeking the same goal. Four days of peace, music, and fun in the sun! The vibe is good...mellow. Reminiscent of the early outdoor concerts of the '60s. Aging hippies getting their groove on. Middle aged couples trying to recover a part of the dream. Days when they were filled with love and promise. Days before the pressures of life took away their ability to play. So here, they don their tie dye and walk barefoot, holding hands with hopeful love. And with the right portion of sun, sound, and sensual dancing, sparks are igniting the embers of a long, too cold winter. And it's summer!!! Young people smelling like patchouli and herbal refreshments, dreads, flowing gauzy skirts dancing with that sheer freedom youth allows. Little ones running around blowing bubbles and chasing balloons.
\n\n\nA music festival thrusts you into a melting pot of humanity. It is an excellent opportunity to throw off that coat of conformity and allow you to fly...to allow you to be YOU!
\n\n\nIt just doesn't get much better than that. Celebrate life!
\n\n\n❤
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2015-05-29T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2015/05/29/andit-begins.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Strong Women","Positive Energy","Camping","Fun","Aging","Presence","Peaceful Moments","Be Joyful!","Widow","Road Trip"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2015/05/28/live-the-life.html", "title": "Live the Life", "content_html": "\n\"David and all Israel were celebrating with all their might before the Lord, with castanets, harps, lyres, timbrels, sistrums and cymbals.\"
\n2 Samuel 6:5\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/7f2d9f6c80.jpg\")
Well, the sun has set on this chapter of my Grand Adventure. For those of you who are relatively new, here's a recap. Husband died, sold the house, bought a trailer, gave everything away, moved to West Virginia to take care of Aunt, didn't work out, house sat for six weeks, lived in my camper on the banks of the Ohio River during the worst winter WV has seen in many years (without running water!), listened to tons of live music, renewed friendships and made lots of new ones, bought a bike and a kayak, downsized even more, and now I'm heading for the Nelsonville Music Festival then back to Colorado for the summer. Whew…I'm exhausted just thinking about it!
\n\n\nThis was an expensive lesson I learned here. I paid to move things here. If I would have known the time with my aunt was going to be so short, I would have done things differently. I think the biggest take away is to never make assumptions. Always communicate your needs and desires clearly and listen to the spoken and unspoken words of others. Don't put all your eggs in one basket…have a contingency plan. Forgive. Nurture relationships. Appreciate your surroundings. Pray…a lot! And remember Who guides you through this wilderness.
\n\n\nI ran errands all day yesterday, but the most satisfying thing happened at dusk. I fit the last thing into the back of the pickup truck like the last piece of a puzzle. There's no more room…but I own nothing else so it really doesn't matter. To stand back and look at my handiwork was gratifying. To stand back and marvel that every single thing I own is resting on eight wheels was pretty humbling. Well, minus the items stored in my friend's basement but I'll be going through those in the fall and getting rid of more.
\n\n\nI did it! I simplified my life. Now, the only thing left is to LIVE it. Wanna come along???
\n\n\n❤
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2015-05-28T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2015/05/28/live-the-life.html", "tags": ["Travel","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","The Grand Adventure","Wisdom","Downsizing","Widow","Road Trip","Starting Over"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2015/05/27/morning-has-broken.html", "title": "Morning Has Broken", "content_html": "\n\"My heart is not proud, Lord, my eyes are not haughty; I do not concern myself with great matters or things too wonderful for me. But I have calmed and quieted myself, I am like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child I am content.\"
\nPsalm 131:1-2\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/fa9cbd14e7.jpg\")
One more day! My friends and I hit the road tomorrow for the Nelsonville Music Festival. I'm really excited…now. Yesterday morning? Not so much. Yesterday I was overwhelmed. I had a list a mile long. I knew I needed to go out to the farm for at least one, probably two loads. I have taken several loads to the local mission. I've donated to the church resale shop. I've taken four loads to family members. A friend is keeping a couple of paintings for me as well as Mr. Virgo's wall clock. I took at least five or six truck loads to another friend for storage. I'm so grateful they have the room and offered to help me out. So, I was faced with two trips out to the farm, a couple loads of laundry, and the list.
\n\n\nThe festival will be hot and crowded. I had a picture in my mind of campers crammed together like sardines with no method of escape. Three things that have bothered me in the past…heat, crowds, no escape. Then, on top of that, I need to be fresh to head west on Monday. Too much. Too, too much. I woke up at 4:00, overheated and queasy. I promptly texted my friend and said I couldn't go. I just wanted to hit the road. And in true friend fashion, she said…well, I can't post what she said. *grin* Suffice it to say, she did what we always do to each other. She virtually grabbed me by the scruff of the neck and said, \"Cut it out!\"
\n\n\nShe was right, of course. I was feeling overwhelmed and trying to unburden myself with one of three missions coming up. I couldn't let go of the stuff at the farm. It had to be moved, no question. I couldn't let go of Colorado. I need to see my babies. So the only thing to let go of was the music festival…something I've looked forward to for five months. When your head is spinning with worry, you can get stuck there, spinning forever like a forgotten 45. Fortunately for me, I have friends who won't let me get by with that crap. I love them for that.
\n\n\nWhat totally turned my head around was when my friend said… \"Nelsonville is not your enemy. Anxiety is!\" Bam! I snapped right out of it. It's amazing what the mind can do to you.
\n\n\nAnd now? Everything is off the farm!!! Downsized even further, yet it will be pruned further still in the fall. Now I'm looking at Nelsonville as my reward…and I can't wait! Today I have a zillion things to do before we leave tomorrow. Once I get to the music festival, I'm going to kick back and chill for four days!!! Yes!!!
\n\n\n❤
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2015-05-27T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2015/05/27/morning-has-broken.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Wisdom","Fear","Courage","Choices","Road Trip"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2015/05/18/finding-your-passion.html", "title": "Finding Your Passion", "content_html": "\n\"“Have you ever given orders to the morning, or shown the dawn its place, that it might take the earth by the edges and shake the wicked out of it?\"
\nJob 38:12-13\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/b07c26d0a7.jpg\")
There are things I like to do. There are things I love to do. Then there are my passions! I'm not talking about family, or jobs, or your house or garden. I'm talking about that one thing that strikes a deep chord within you and you know…in every cell down to your bones…that this is what you were born to do. It gives you a joy like no other activity, hobby, job you've ever done. Writing for Marshmallow Ranch is my passion. Last night I got to do something even greater…public speaking! I was so honored to speak at New Wineskins last night. This is a Pub Church celebrating their first birthday today.
\n\n\nIt wasn't that long ago that I could never have dreamed of going out there and speaking to people. I noticed some butterflies cropping up Saturday night. I decided to nip that in the bud by totally changing the focus. Instead of being nervous, I decided to be excited because I was going to get to tell people about my walk with Jesus!
\n\n\nSeriously, this was a beautiful evening. A relatively small group. They laughed. They cried. And I never lost them. I want to do it again!!! What an amazing night!
\n\n\n❤
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2015-05-18T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2015/05/18/finding-your-passion.html", "tags": ["Faith","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Courage"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2015/05/15/wildlife-refuge.html", "title": "Wildlife Refuge", "content_html": "\n\"The Lord said to him, “Who gave human beings their mouths? Who makes them deaf or mute? Who gives them sight or makes them blind? Is it not I, the Lord? Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say.”
\nExodus 4:11-12\n
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The last few months, I have passed a government facility going back and forth to town. I've always wanted to stop in and check it out. Yesterday was the day. What a beautiful building. The conservancy has purchased, or partially purchased, many islands in the northern Ohio River and have planted flood resistant trees, shored up eroding beaches, and worked to build up and preserve and protect natural flora and fauna. The nice gentleman at the desk told me that Middle Island is the only one in the system that you can drive your car onto. He gave me directions for access and I headed off for a nice little adventure. I spent the better part of an hour sitting alongside the river listening to a symphony of bird song. Now I want to come back with my kayak and circumnavigate the island.
\n\n\nI know, I know...I'm supposed to be out at the farm going through stuff and hauling it to town. I think there just might be a memorial bonfire instead.
\n\n\nI'll bring the marshmallows!!!
\n\n\n❤
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2015-05-15T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2015/05/15/wildlife-refuge.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","Fun","Peaceful Moments"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2015/05/14/a-fairy-tale.html", "title": "A Fairy Tale", "content_html": "\n\"Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.\"
\nRevelation 22:1-2\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/8bb31ba9d6.jpg\")
Once upon a time there was a Princess. She was very sad and lonely so she did things to try to make herself happy. Her very favorite thing was shopping. She shopped and shopped and shopped till her castle was very full and there was no more room. Yet, she was still sad.
\n\n\nOne day a Prince came and they fell in love and got married and the Princess was very happy. But the Prince died. And the Princess was lost without him. She cried and cried till there were no more tears. She didn't know what to do. Shopping wasn't fun anymore. She had to find something else to make herself happy.
\n\n\nShe discovered the joy of sporting goods stores and Home Depot. She wore absolutely outrageous red cowgirl boots and fringed jackets and embarrassed her grand daughter in the mall. She lived in a trailer and paddled upstream in a kayak. She rode a bike and camped under the stars and listened to music and danced with wild abandon around an open fire. She traded her tiara for wings and a pickup truck.
\n\n\nAnd she was finally free.
\n\n\n❤
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2015-05-14T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2015/05/14/a-fairy-tale.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Peace","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2015/05/13/unexpected-bliss.html", "title": "Unexpected Bliss", "content_html": "\n\"You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.\"
\nIsaiah 55:12\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/70427b5357.jpg\")
I had lunch yesterday with a Facebook friend that I graduated high school with. After four hours talking nonstop, we left as real life friends. We didn't know each other all that well in school which is a shame really. I believe I missed out on a good friend all these years.
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/83ee7eab4e.jpg\")
I had things to do yesterday but when my lunch hour turned into the unexpected joy of four hours of heartfelt conversation, I felt it was much more important to eat ice cream and get my toes done than to drive to the farm for another load of stuff. I seldom have conversations with the pedicurist but she asked where I live and what I do. So, I set my phone aside and engaged in a beautiful moment of sharing with a woman from the other side of the world with a vastly different cultural background than mine. Her name is Happy...and aptly so. I told her I live everywhere. She was concerned about how I get my mail. I told her I am a writer. She asked what I write about. I told her about losing Mr. Virgo and how I write to tell people there is life after this terrible pain. She went on to tell me she is Buddhist. We spoke about the importance of living in the moment because this is what we have. We spoke of being happy. In her words, \"We can go to bed at night with shoes on our feet and wake up the next morning, never to see those shoes again. You must be happy with what you have.\" I loved her immensely.
\n\n\nMy wish for you today is to find your bliss...be happy in your shoes.
\n\n\n❤
\n\n\n\"In the way of righteousness there is life; along that path is immortality.\" Proverbs 12:2
\n\n", "date_published": "2015-05-13T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2015/05/13/unexpected-bliss.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","Gratitude","Peaceful Moments","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2015/05/09/breathe.html", "title": "Breathe…", "content_html": "\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/c4d3343cbf.jpg\")
I'm beginning to feel the crunch of time a little bit. There's SO much to do before I head back to Colorado. We went from nice, spring temps to sweltering heat overnight so you have to make a mad dash in the mornings to get stuff done before it's too hot. I don't like the extremes of weather. If it was 65-75 degrees year round, I'd be a happy camper.
\n\n\nThe other day I went on a bike ride. It was 85 degrees and there wasn't a bit of wind. I managed to ride 45 minutes and that was enough for me. A little over halfway through the ride, I stopped for water and looked across the creek. The hillside was covered in redbud and dogwood trees. It was beautiful! It made coming out that far worthwhile.
\n\n\nThat's the way life is sometimes. You struggle along keeping your head down, determined to get through it. Then, when you stop and take a breath, you look up and find yourself surrounded by beauty. The trick is to keep your head up the whole time.
\n\n\n❤
\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2015-05-09T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2015/05/09/breathe.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","Peaceful Moments","Choices","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2015/05/03/wonder-women.html", "title": "Wonder Women", "content_html": "\n\"But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded.”
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/5ac7208b66.jpg\")
Women are amazing beings. We are fire and ice, blood and wine, satin and steel. We can do anything. Yet, I hate telling young girls they can be anything they want when they grow up because they have never considered it a possibility that they COULDN'T. I used to say that. Now, I prefer to encourage them to find their passion and go for it with everything they have in them.
\n\n\nMy older grand daughter sat in my camper with me the first summer after losing Mr. Virgo. This is my quiet child. Up to that point, I'd swear we never spoke for a total of an hour in her young ten year life. But this day, she found her words and her comfort zone with me. We talked about summer vacation. She said she didn't like it…she'd rather be in school. I asked the inevitable adult question. \"What do you want to be when you grow up?\" She told me she wanted to be a teacher, like her mommy. \"An admirable profession\", I said. Then I asked if she wanted to teach because her mommy does, or because she has a great passion for teaching. She kind of sheepishly dipped her eyes and grinned. \"Because mom teaches.\" \"That's cool\", I told her. \"You're mommy is a great teacher. You could be a great teacher, too. But let me ask you this. What excites you? What problem do you see in the world that you could fix? What's something you could change that would make this world a better place to live in?\" Her eyes lit up. She said, \"Nana, did you know we have the capability to send people to Mars right now but there's no way to bring them back? They can't carry enough fuel with them. I want to figure out what they can take with them that they could turn into fuel to make the return trip!\" \"Well, see there? THAT'S a passion! That's something that could make you excited to go to work every day just like you're excited to go to school every day!\" She seemed satisfied with that and the topic meandered on till she was finished being social and was on to other new and exciting things.
\n\n\nWe are all Wonder Women. Don't ever forget that. It's our job to BE that. It's our job to bring up young girls to believe that they already ARE little Wonder Women and they need to find the place in the world where their talents are most useful and gives them the most joy.
\n\n\nIt was never a dress…it was a woman of power and courage!
\n\n\n❤
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2015-05-03T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2015/05/03/wonder-women.html", "tags": ["Strong Women","Positive Energy","Choices"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2015/04/14/get-moving.html", "title": "Get Moving!", "content_html": "\n\"Folly is an unruly woman; she is simple and knows nothing. She sits at the door of her house, on a seat at the highest point of the city, calling out to those who pass by, who go straight on their way, “Let all who are simple come to my house!” To those who have no sense she says, “Stolen water is sweet; food eaten in secret is delicious!” But little do they know that the dead are there, that her guests are deep in the realm of the dead.\"
\nProverbs 9:13-18\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/186a9437e0.jpg\")
I love this time of year. I come out of hibernation ready to move. I'm glad I worked out some over the winter so it wasn't a total shock to my system getting back out there. Frank the FitBit says I walked almost 4.5 miles yesterday so that's great. I really wanted to ride my bike too but it was late in the afternoon and 84 degrees so I settled for walking. My walking buddy came with me and regaled me with funny stories to take my mind off exercising. That made it go faster. Once I get started, I really do enjoy exercise. But it is SO wicked hard for me to get started. Then, once I start exercising, it's far easier to rein in my diet because I KNOW how far you have to walk to work off a slice of pizza! Once I get my brain working like that, I'm good to go.
\n\n\nExercise builds up your confidence. Confidence builds self esteem. Self esteem makes you carry yourself better into the world. It makes you more approachable. I'm not invisible anymore. People greet me, make eye contact and smile at me now. My invisibility came from the inside. Making up my mind to get out there in the world set the wheels in motion so I could engage.
\n\n\n❤
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2015-04-14T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2015/04/14/get-moving.html", "tags": ["Health","Positive Energy","Fitness"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2015/04/06/women-can-do-things.html", "title": "Women Can Do Things!", "content_html": "\n\"Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.\"
\n1 Corinthians 9:24\n
My friend and I finished her bathroom! Women With Power Tools!!! This represents several weeks of work and a lot of planning, but two gals with gumption got it done!
\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/482be0bf50.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/9a1d51bcd5.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/5c2f4c0085.jpg\")
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/30727e6bf4.jpg\")
I am so happy my second daughter was still living at home when Mr. Virgo and I got married. She got to witness firsthand the way a woman should be treated in a relationship. I remember one morning, she came in to wake me up and crawled in bed beside me. Mr. Virgo came in right behind her with a cup of coffee for me and a kiss good morning. I thanked him and turned to my daughter and said \"Don't ever settle for less than this kind of treatment, baby girl.\"
\n\n\nI wish all women had that kind of role model. There's so much I wish I had been told back when I was just starting out. I had dinner last night with my high school slumber party girlfriends. It made me sit back and think about what might have been different for us if someone would have taught us more. So, in addition to the message in today's meme, I'll list a few snippets of wisdom.
\n\n\n1) Never make someone a priority to whom you are merely an option. This is easier said than done sometimes, especially when the feelings are not equal. We tend to want to make excuses, rationalize, and flat out pretend. Don't. Just don't.
\n\n\n2) If one of you isn't \"into\" the relationship, there isn't a relationship. This isn't the normal waxing and waning of ardor. This is \"You're doing all the work and he's just there for the beer.\"
\n\n\n3) If you have to ask if you are loved, he's not doing his job.
\n\n\n4) Your body is \"Powerball\". Don't give it away for a \"Scratch Ticket\".
\n\n\n5) Wear matching bras and panties. No one else may ever see them, but YOU'LL know you are someone to be reckoned with.
\n\n\n6) Have enough money of your own to pay for the security deposit and first few months rent on an apartment if you have to get out.
\n\n\n7) A guy may say something blatantly unkind and hurt your feelings. Everyone makes a mistake. A mistake made more than once is a choice. Don't make excuses for him.
\n\n\n8) You will not change him. You CANNOT change him. Do not…do not…do not try to change him.
\n\n\n9) Don't neglect your girlfriends. Nurture those relationships. You're going to need them some day. Trust me on this.
\n\n\n10) Trust your gut. If something doesn't feel right, believe that.
\n\n\nAnd last….people show you who they really are. Please…believe them.
\n\n\nNow, all of this being said, I want to tell my male readers…I'm not male bashing here. These tips can just as easily be reworded and given to men. I'm addressing women mainly as that is my reader base. Just know I'm sensitive to your issues as well.
\n\n\n❤
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2015-04-03T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2015/04/03/never-settle.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Positive Energy"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2015/03/20/out-of-the-stillness.html", "title": "Out of the Stillness", "content_html": "\n\"Strength and dignity are her clothing, And she smiles at the future. She opens her mouth in wisdom, And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.\"
\nProverbs 31:25-26\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/60699e9935.jpg\")
Grief shuts you down. After Mr. Virgo died, my world went silent. No TV. No Music. Even the sounds of a loving, boisterous family set my teeth on edge. I retreated within myself. Not necessarily in a depression like I have felt in the past. It was more like grief sucking the life out of me and placing me in a vacuum. A place I needed to go to heal…but not to set up camp forever.
\n\n\nI have mentioned in several posts that life on the river has been a soothing, healing, spiritual experience for me. I can't put my finger on the exact moment but sometime in the last several weeks I started to wake up. I met a circle of friends that enjoy live music and I started going to every venue I could and listened to every note. It was therapeutic. I began to connect to the rhythms…the beat of the music, the beat of my heart.
\n\n\nI have a friend I can talk music with. He's one of those individuals who knows the names of groups and what albums they put out and when. He can quote lyrics of obscure recordings. I wish my brain worked like that. He loans me CD's to listen to. This means I have to bring music into my personal space…my car, my house. And something remarkable has happened. My heart is so wide open and fresh that when I lay music across it, I feel it to my bones. It's almost as though I can hear colors in the notes. I sit in the dark in my camper…listening to Lyle Lovett and Paul Thorn. Neil Young and The Allman Brothers. Leon Russell and Emerson, Lake & Palmer. Life pours in with every song.
\n\n\nWhen you have lived in the desert for so long, the gentle rains of spring coax you out of the ground. And with great hope, and strength, and courage…you turn to face the sun and bask in her warmth.
\n\n\n❤
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2015-03-20T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2015/03/20/out-of-the-stillness.html", "tags": ["Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Growth"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2015/03/14/being-alive.html", "title": "Being Alive", "content_html": "\n\"We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.\"
\n2 Peter 1:19\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/6263caf53e.jpg\")
There's something about listening to live music that speaks to my soul. I love the ambiance of an intimate venue. My brother friend Greg says there are many venues in the valley where I lived in Colorado but I just didn't know about them and probably wouldn't have gone if I did. Consequently, I have experienced far more entertainment in the last few weeks than I have in years. It's good for my spirit.
\n\n\nTodd Burge headlined with special guest, Larry Groce. Todd was debuting his new album. It was a lovely collection of songs written by Todd. It made me want to dance. It made me want Spring.
\n\n\n❤
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2015-03-14T01:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2015/03/14/being-alive.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","Fun","Gratitude","Peaceful Moments"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2015/02/26/self-sufficient.html", "title": "Self Sufficient", "content_html": "\n\"They ministered with music before the tabernacle, the tent of meeting, until Solomon built the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. They performed their duties according to the regulations laid down for them.\"
\n1 Chronicles 6:32\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/022dd07aed.jpg\")
One of my friends has been in the throes of renovating a bathroom for the last three weeks. She has a hired man who does work for her but because of other commitments and this abysmal weather we've been having, he hasn't been there to work. And the empty shell of her bathroom sits there staring at her. My friend is a strong, self reliant woman so she decided to take matters into her own hands. She knew how to do just about everything but use the circular saw. I did a great deal of construction when I renovated my mom's house so she texted me Monday and asked if I could help her. I went over yesterday morning and, first things first, we headed to Panera for coffee and breakfast. That's the only way to start a project! Then it was off to Home Depot and Lowe's to buy supplies. In just a few hours, we had all but a small section of the floor covered with new underlayment in preparation for new flooring. We'll finish Friday.
\n\n\nOne of the most satisfying and empowering things you can do is learn to use power tools. Building something with your own hands gives you such a sense of accomplishment. Don't be afraid to stretch and do something you've never done before. You can do anything!
\n\n\n❤
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2015-02-26T02:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2015/02/26/self-sufficient.html", "tags": ["Strong Women","Positive Energy","Fun","Choices"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2015/02/02/kindness-matters.html", "title": "Kindness Matters", "content_html": "\n\"For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.\"
\nHebrews 3:4\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/755afb279e.jpg\")
You know those cool signs with the sayings painted on them that are so popular? I love those. I have three or four of them and I rotate them around the camper in my décor. One is a big sign with two words…Kindness Matters. I am a huge proponent of kindness. Kindness will change the world. If I slip and do something unkind, I die a thousand deaths till I can somehow make things right. I was raised to be generous and kind….but it has to be done anonymously. If you let someone know about it, it doesn't count. I love when I go through the drive through at Starbucks and the car in front has paid for my order. In turn, I will pay for the person behind me. I often wonder how far down the line it goes.
\n\n\nThere are many ways to pay it forward. I love bookstores. I love to browse, read a few pages in the center of a book…and when I find a passage that moves me, I have been known to slip a crisp five dollar bill between the pages with a note that says \"You are Special.\" or \"You are Loved.\" That way, somewhere down the line, someone will come across that and hopefully do a kindness in return. I know of people who buy meals for others in a restaurant. The other day, a friend of mine leaned over when the lady in front of him wasn't looking and he swiped his card to pay for her groceries. I give away hugs to complete strangers…being careful, of course. There are so many ways to show kindness. What will you do today to make the world a kinder place?
\n\n\n❤
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2015-02-02T02:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2015/02/02/kindness-matters.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","Love","Peaceful Moments","Kindness"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2015/01/19/a-message-from-god.html", "title": "A Message From God", "content_html": "\n\"Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.\"
\nRomans 12:13\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/dd86a7db71.jpg\")
I was sitting in church yesterday morning, coffee in hand, reading the bulletin. I came across an item asking for people to give a 3-5 minute testimony during the halftimes of an all day basketball tournament at the local Christian school. Now, lately I have been feeling a call to speak, as evidenced by our recent talk about Victorian salons. But there's no way I could EVER talk for just 3-5 minutes about ANYTHING! No, this feeling was coming on strong in just the first few minutes of church and it had a deeper dynamic to it I couldn't quite put my finger on. The sermon was wonderful. The subject was being grateful for the Blessings we are given. Being BOLDLY grateful…out loud. To give credit where credit is due. To thank God openly.
\n\n\nI have always been mindful in my writing that, even though I consider it to be faith based, I don't want to come across as \"preachy\" since that was a major turn-off for me growing up. If I were to influence someone, I would prefer it be through example. More to the point, I just didn't want to offend anyone who does not share my beliefs or make them feel I am in any way judgmental if you don't… because I certainly am not. But that takes me back to the ten lepers…only one of whom came back to properly thank God for curing his leprosy. It was through being grateful, and expressing it, that he was healed.
\n\n\nMany of you have told me, if I attached a scripture to my writings, it would be your daily devotional. The message I kept getting in church yesterday was \"Tell them. Tell them who gives you all your Blessings. Give them a verse…just a verse. You don't have to \"preach\"…just give your readers a verse that you read that offered you comfort or insight. Just tell them!\" This voice was getting pretty insistent, ok? And right then, my phone vibrated. It was sitting face up in my purse and I instinctively glanced down. It was a message from a friend and I knew he was in church at the time. What on earth could he be sending me during church? It was SO unlike him.
\n\n\n\"You cannot run from God's love.\"
\n\n\nWhoa! Six words. Right there on the iPhone screen. A text from God…via a friend in Florida. Now, if I wear my underwear outside my clothes in Walmart and walk around talking to myself and tell you God speaks to me through my television set…THAT'S crazy. But when you're sitting in church contemplating whether you should talk about God more in your blog, and your friend suddenly feels compelled to pick up his phone and text you something that just \"popped in his head\"…THAT'S a message one cannot ignore. So, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to start adding a scripture at the bottom of each post. Something that supports or illustrates the subject. I'm not going to be quite so afraid to share with you when God moves me to. I'm not going to tap dance and pretend to be anything I am not. I'm NOT going to preach at you. I'll understand if it's not your cup of tea and you want to bail on me…no hard feelings. I love all of you…no matter what. It's just something I feel I need to do…for me…for God. Because, He has Blessed me way above and beyond anything I deserve. Truly. It is my time to speak.
\n\n\n❤
\n\n\n\n\n\n", "date_published": "2015-01-19T02:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2015/01/19/a-message-from-god.html", "tags": ["Faith","Uplifting Stories","Positive Energy","New Ideas","God","Wisdom"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2014/12/30/born-to-sparkle.html", "title": "Born to Sparkle!", "content_html": "\nA time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
\nEcclesiastes 3:7\n
![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/320319e858.jpg\")
Do you ever look at your little girl pictures and wonder where your sparkle went? It takes a lot to dull my shine, but lately…I just haven't been feeling it. Then I came across this picture in my archives. Just look at this little girl! She's got her nekkid baby doll, a pretty dress with shiny party shoes, and she's at her grandma's house. What else IS there to life? She hasn't been molested or abused. She hasn't seen her parents fight. She hasn't dated or married or divorced. She hasn't had babies. She hasn't worried about how to pay the bills. She hasn't sat on the edge of the bed at 2am waiting to see the headlights signaling her daughter's safe return home. She hasn't comforted her bullied child. She hasn't held her grandchildren. She hasn't lost her mom. She hasn't met the love of her life. She hasn't lost him. She hasn't known grief.
\n\n\nShe hasn't known grief. But she will. She'll have trouble breathing. She'll step on that rake in the grass all too often. She'll feel the grief rise and fall in her chest like the tide. She'll reel with the pain and she'll learn how to take it. She'll vow never to hurt again, but she will. She'll vow never to love again, but she will. She'll think she can never sparkle again…but she will.
\n\n\nShe will.
\n\n\nBecause…look at this little girl.
\n\n\nShe was BORN…TO…SPARKLE!
\n\n\n❤
\n\n", "date_published": "2014-12-30T02:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2014/12/30/born-to-sparkle.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Positive Energy","The Farm","Growth","Gratitude","Wisdom","Forgiveness","Courage","Aging","Choices"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2014/12/04/the-friendly-skies.html", "title": "The Friendly Skies", "content_html": "\n![\"\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/5475a28778.jpg\")
I love to fly! Love, love, love it! It sure isn't what it used to be though. As with everything else it seems, prices go up and service comes down. Gone are the days of spacious seating and tasty meals. With the price of gas down, you might hope for lower ticket prices but that's not going to happen. I drove six hours each way to save $300 on my flight. And…I bought meals, gas, and lodging that far exceeded my savings. However, I do get to spend the night at both ends of my trip with my good friends, Cindy and Randy. Cindy lived in the flat below me when I lived in England. It is such a treat to spend time with them.
\n\n\nMr. Virgo didn't care too much for air travel. He spent far too many years as a road warrior traveling five days a week, living out of a suitcase. It held no allure for him like it does for me. We flew together only once. In 2011, we decided to leave Denver and move back home to our house in the mountains. We quit our jobs the first of June, moved, and worked on the house and yard for about a month. Then we flew to West Virginia. Mr. Virgo had never met my family or seen where I grew up. We had a wonderful time visiting and exploring the state. I wish we could have had a longer time together. He wanted to show me many of the wonderful places he had traveled and lived. He was such a fun travel companion.
\n\n\nThe weather prediction, at least as far out as I can see at this point, looks wonderful. Highs in the 50's with clear skies. It doesn't get much better than that for December!
\n\n\n❤
\n\n", "date_published": "2014-12-04T02:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2014/12/04/the-friendly-skies.html", "tags": ["Family","Positive Energy","Fun","Be Joyful!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2014/08/14/summer.html", "title": "Summer", "content_html": "![\"summer](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/49e8041fc3.jpg\")
“I love summer!”
I live for summer! That’s one of the reasons I’m moving back home. Colorado has 3 seasons…July, August, and winter. And August is iffy. Someone remarked the other day that there are terrible winters back east. Yeah…in January and February when they’re supposed to be. I can take 8-10 weeks of winter. I want to be on the other side of the weather report. I want to watch the snowfall from afar seeing pictures of adventurous mountain folk pushing their cars out of ditches while I’m out on the porch admiring the redbud and dogwood trees with my morning coffee. I want to see a zillion brilliant colors spread over the hillsides in the fall and know what each tree is. I want that feeling of endless summer stretched out before me. Yep, I’m a summer girl and I don’t care if it’s hot and humid and sticky and rainy with mosquitos. Give me a full rain barrel and a saucepan for dipping and I can cool off right quick with a moon bath. Yessss…I love summer!!! <3
\n", "date_published": "2014-08-14T01:30:07-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2014/08/14/summer.html", "tags": ["Colorado","Positive Energy","Fun","West Virginia","Courage"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2014/08/04/a-simple-life.html", "title": "A Simple Life", "content_html": "![\"simple](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/185015e90b.jpg\")
“A Simple Life”
I’m back! Here it is, August 4th already…can you believe it? Those three weeks literally flew by. I’ve missed you all even though I did peek in from time to time. And I am rested, refreshed and rearing to go!
\nI’m still snuggled up in bed, preparing my mind for the onslaught of civilization. I’m listening to the morning call of a whip-poor-will knowing full well in a few hours I’ll be hustling through busy international airports. I’m not looking forward to it…and I LOVE to fly. I want to pour a cup of coffee and go out on the front porch, the familiar stretchy squeak of the screen door spring the only sound louder than the morning birdsong. I want to see old Mama Kitty curled up in the corner, one eye opened slightly in protest over the crude interruption of her peaceful slumber. I want to listen to whip-poor-wills every day for the rest of my life.
\nI need to head to Colorado. I need to settle some business. I need to snuggle my babies and spoil them a little bit. I need to do the really big purge and get rid of the things in life that weigh me down. I am so grateful to my son-in-law’s mom for sitting me down and telling me to look at what I want my life to look like and make it that. I will miss my kids and grandkids and my Colorado family like crazy, and I will travel to see them as often as I can. But I also know I need to live where my heart sings…where I can stretch out and be free…where I can own a piece of God’s country. It’s time to go home.
\nMoney will only stretch so far. When you have x-amount of dollars to spend on housing and you have a choice of a repossessed HUD home in a dicey neighborhood or a hundred acre farm, tell me…where would you go? What are you willing to let go of in order to set your heart free and give it wings? How far are you willing to fly?
\n", "date_published": "2014-08-04T01:30:07-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2014/08/04/a-simple-life.html", "tags": ["Family","Uplifting Stories","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Love","Peace","Presence","Downsizing","Choices","The Cats"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2014/06/30/road-trip-into-the-wild.html", "title": "Road Trip Into the Wild", "content_html": "I saw lots of beautiful, wild places on this last road trip! Here are a couple of photos.
\n![\"wild](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/fd61dbdee0.jpg\")
“Wild Hot Springs - Reno, Colorado
It was nearly 100 degrees the day Sue and I stopped here. The water was almost too hot to get into. The spring has been dug out and lined with rocks and cement with a sandy bottom. It is deep enough to get down in up to your neck. It was SO hot, we couldn’t stay in long, but every time we got out, the horseflies came and bit us. It was awful! We didn’t stay there too long. I think it would be wonderful in the winter.
\n![\"long](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/34abb0cf4c.jpg\")
“Climbing into the wilds of Colorado.”
My friend Sue and I went over Red Mountain Pass and caught this long view of the far mountain above tree line. So many vistas look like paintings out west. There is a rare and wild beauty in the wilderness of Colorado.
\n", "date_published": "2014-06-30T01:30:04-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2014/06/30/road-trip-into-the-wild.html", "tags": ["Colorado","Travel","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","Camping","The Grand Adventure","Growth","Gratitude","goRVing","Grace","Courage"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2014/06/22/laughter-is-the-best-medicine.html", "title": "Laughter IS the best medicine!", "content_html": "![\"irish](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/8849e42332.jpg\")
“Laughter really IS the best medicine!”
I am blessed to have good friends who really enjoy making me laugh. Whenever I feel I’m painting myself into a corner, I know I can call these people up…anytime, day or night. The stress of life just melts away. Last night it was watching “When Harry Met Sally” and laughing our butts off even though we had seen the movie many times. Thursday it was a day spent with a dear friend browsing shops and eating our way through two towns. Tonight it was a phone call with my buddy in Florida and laughing about everything whether it was funny or not…simply for the joy of hearing the laughter of the other.
\nA couple of days after Mr. Virgo died, I went to Target and bought every funny movie I could find in the bargain bin. I knew I was going to need laughter as much as I was going to need tears. Laughter releases endorphins…natures opiates. Those “feel good” hormones that make any pill easier to swallow. They create a sense of euphoria when taken in large doses. They’re “good for what ails ya”, as my grandma used to say. I’ve been blessed with an oversized funny bone. I’ve been known to entertain myself when I can’t sleep by writing stand-up comedy routines instead of counting sheep. Laughter has carried me through my darkest days, and it will continue to do so.
\nI hope you laugh at the little things, the absurdities of life, the slapstick antics of the people surrounding you. We all deserve to feel good…and make others feel good. Here’s to laughter!
\n", "date_published": "2014-06-22T01:30:43-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2014/06/22/laughter-is-the-best-medicine.html", "tags": ["Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","Fun","Growth","Gratitude","Comfort","Grace","Wisdom"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2014/05/31/creativity.html", "title": "Creativity", "content_html": "![\"creativity](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/551df73d6f.jpg\")
“Creativity”
I am “off the grid” for a few days of R&R with some girlfriends. No water, no electric, no cell service for 30 miles. Bliss!
\nToday’s post is about the creative mind. This list is SO me! I change my mind constantly. This has caused me problems in relationships because, unless a partner is extremely flexible, they are left wondering what the heck just happened. I have a tendency to be eccentric. Just look at that profile picture! I certainly color outside the lines and dream big. I love creatives. They march to their own drum. They are exciting risk takers that have great big juicy lives. So, why then am I so attracted to Virgos? Mr. Virgo held the string to my kite. He kept me from flying off the face of the earth. I have a really good friend who is a Virgo and does the same thing…listening patiently, giving advice, ready to grab that string if I ask. It’s the Gemini in me. I want to learn and do….EVERYTHING. And sometimes…sometimes I MIGHT do it twice….unless I change my mind!
\n", "date_published": "2014-05-31T01:30:13-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2014/05/31/creativity.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","Gratitude","Grace"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2014/05/19/new-shoes.html", "title": "New Shoes", "content_html": "![\"sandals\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/873ae2cc14.jpg\")
“New Shoes!”
I wrote recently that I have been having trouble with plantar fasciitis. It turns out my older daughter has the same problem. We both break out the sandals as soon as the snow melts and wear then till it’s too cold to feel your toes. This can wreak havoc with your feet when you get no support.
\nShe has a pair of these sandals and when I tried them on, I knew I needed a pair as soon as possible! They are made by abeo. They have two arch supports. The traditional one and one under the ball of your foot to support the metatarsal arch. Oh my…they are divine…pricey but well worth it. I walked all day yesterday and wore them all day today and no more pain.
\nWe bought them at The Walking Store. They scanned my feet to determine where my pressure points are and knew my size precisely. I also purchased a pair of exercise shoes with orthotics so I can get back to walking comfortably.
\nOh dear…orthopedic flip-flops. I am old.
\n", "date_published": "2014-05-19T01:30:20-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2014/05/19/new-shoes.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","Growth","New Ideas","Gratitude","Aging"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2014/05/14/girl-camping.html", "title": "Girl Camping!", "content_html": "![\"camping](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/07c21e4a13.jpg\")
“Girls don’t need a camper to go camping!”
I’ve had people tell me they would love to join Sisters on the Fly but they don’t have a trailer. You actually don’t need a trailer to join. And if you do have one, it doesn’t need to be one of those cute vintage numbers you see in their news stories and books. Anyone with a sense of adventure who wants to join are welcome. You could sleep in a tent, or your car, or take a cue from this enterprising lady and set up a portable boudoir! Isn’t this fun?
\nI’ve been chomping at the bit to get back out on the road in TOW-Wanda. I’m heading to see the kids this weekend to celebrate a belated Mother’s Day and watch my older grandchild in her swim meet. I’m meeting some friends to camp the weekend after Memorial Day. I’m only scheduled for one more Sisters on the Fly event this year. I’ll have to watch the schedule closer. The popular events fill up fast. This summer my focus really has to be on selling this house!
\nToday is devoted to moving down the checklist of things that need to be done before I can list. I’m actually making progress on that disaster room I call a studio/office. I have a ton of pictures on the walls and they all have to come down and get boxed up. Plugging forward…one step at a time!
\n", "date_published": "2014-05-14T01:30:53-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2014/05/14/girl-camping.html", "tags": ["Sisters on the Fly","Positive Energy","Camping","Fun","Girl Camper","Girl Campers"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2014/05/09/rerun-of-the-rocks.html", "title": "Rerun of the Rocks", "content_html": "![\"rocks\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/f640ddb9a3.jpg\")
“Rerun of The Pile of Rocks”
This was my most popular post ever. It was read by nearly 64,000 people and shared nearly 1,000 times! I have had several requests to post it again. Thank you all so much for your support!
\nThe Pile of Rocks.
\nMy younger daughter wears her heart on her sleeve, just like I did when I was growing up. She’s the fixer, the tenderhearted one who wants everyone to be happy. It took me many, many years to finally gain the insight I needed to help her. She thinks in analogies like I do so this is how I taught her to take care of herself in her relationships.
\nGod gives everyone a pile of rocks. There are big rocks for the big things in life like families, jobs, houses, health. There are medium sized rocks for the average things in life like friends and laundry and soccer practice. Then there are small rocks for the mundane trivia of life like grumpy store clerks or the guy that cut you off on the freeway. God gives us extra rocks sometimes for those unexpected crises like a death in the family or the unexpected loss of a job. But, HE never gives us more than we can carry. The problem comes when WE pick up rocks that are not ours.
\nPicture, if you will, sitting in a great big circle with everyone you come into contact with. We’re all sitting here with our pile of rocks in front of us. Just the right amount of rocks. Just the amount that you are capable of carrying because you need to take them back home at the end of the day. Suddenly, the woman sitting across from you says something hurtful to you. If you internalize and take that personally, she has just thrown you one of her rocks and you dutifully stacked it on your pile. Now, a few folks down is your best friend. She’s having a major issue in her life and wants someone, anyone, to carry this burden for her. So you reach over and gladly take one of her rocks because that’s what friends are supposed to do, right? You sit here all day long, every day, in your circle getting rocks thrown at you and picking up others until you can’t even SEE over your pile, let alone pick it up and carry it back home!
\nIt’s one thing to get up, walk over to your friend and help her carry a particularly heavy rock for awhile. It’s quite another to try to carry everyone else’s rocks plus your own. Let others carry their own rocks. Stop trying to own the world’s problems cause honey, you really can’t live long enough to take care of everyone else. That’s THEIR pile of rocks!
\n", "date_published": "2014-05-09T01:30:26-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2014/05/09/rerun-of-the-rocks.html", "tags": ["Family","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Growth","Wisdom","Courage"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2014/04/28/til-next-time.html", "title": "'Til Next Time", "content_html": "![\"vintage](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/240cd3ff8a.jpg\")
“Cowgirl Caravan”
Ok, remember your very favorite slumber party when you were a girl. Now, picture that very same slumber party but this time there’s fifty girls, you can do whatever you want for four days, and you’re not going to get in trouble. (Well, ok….at least no one is going to TELL on you!)
\nThat’s what a Sisters on the Fly event is like. I feel like I got to sit at the cool kids table because we’re ALL cool kids! I remember when I was in my thirties and it occurred to me I had forgotten how to play. We get so caught up in our families and work and responsibilities that we push that playful girl into the background. SOTF makes girls out of women. It’s a safe place to let off steam and act silly and laugh till…well, you know. We can dress up in silly outfits and wear tiaras and tutus with our cowgirl boots. We can smoke a cigar or streak through the campground nekkid and earn a merit badge for it! (That actually happened on this trip. If there was a CPR badge, I might have streaked because anyone who witnessed it would be at grave risk!) Fun….just plain fun! Can’t wait for the next gathering. I have found my tribe.
\nHappy Trails!
\n", "date_published": "2014-04-28T01:30:32-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2014/04/28/til-next-time.html", "tags": ["Colorado","Travel","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Sisters on the Fly","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","Camping","The Grand Adventure","Fun","Growth","goRVing"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2014/04/27/get-in-tune.html", "title": "Get in Tune", "content_html": "![\"bob](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/e51e646937.jpg\")
“Some people feel the rain, others just get wet.” Bob Marley
Like my little six year old grand daughter, I have always been a deep thinker. For a long time, I thought everyone thought the same way I do. But we all think and dream in different colors. And sometimes, time itself wears us down to the point we really are just putting one foot in front of the other…slogging through life. I’ve heard people say they have no control. Life just happens willy-nilly and $#@! happens. Well, yeah…sure. Life hands us lemons a lot of the time. Our control comes in what we do with what comes our way. Do we take out our umbrellas and dance in the rain? Or do we just get wet? It really is a choice and that puts us in control.
\nI hope you splash in the puddles of life!
\n", "date_published": "2014-04-27T01:30:31-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2014/04/27/get-in-tune.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Peace"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2014/04/12/joyfulness.html", "title": "Joyfulness", "content_html": "![\"waterfall](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/0a244329e6.jpg\")
“Joyfulness”
“Joyfulness keeps the heart and face young. A good laugh makes us better friends with ourselves and everybody around us.”\nOrison Scott Marden
\nIn the weeks and months following Mr. Virgo’s death, I wasn’t sure I would ever really laugh and feel joy again. True…I bought TOW-Wanda and joined Sisters on the Fly so I would have joyful things to look forward to, but it was truly difficult to look far enough ahead to see long lasting happiness. But, eventually, I did feel joy. I got my sense of humor back. I laughed again. There were times when I had to make the conscious decision to be happy, but those times have become fewer and farther between.
\nOne of the first things I did in the days before the funeral was hit the bargain bin movies at Target and buy several comedies. My daughters and I watched a couple of them and I also found them to be very helpful during the dark months of winter. Another thing I did was surround myself with really fun and funny people. I have this one particular friend that can always, always, always make me laugh. When I’m down, I can call him and after the obligatory consolations, we are off on a laugh fest that has us rolling. I have several friends like that, actually. Laughter is SO important. It really IS the best medicine!
\nIf you are new to this journey, trust me…you will laugh again. Your loved one wouldn’t want you moping around being sad for too long. On the other hand, take whatever time you need to grieve. And know it’s a roller coaster. There isn’t a single trajectory. There isn’t a right way or a wrong way. There is only YOUR way.
\n<3 Ginny
\n", "date_published": "2014-04-12T01:30:29-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2014/04/12/joyfulness.html", "tags": ["Colorado","Uplifting Stories","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","Gratitude","Grace"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2014/03/26/seeking-inner-peace.html", "title": "Seeking Inner Peace", "content_html": "![\"inner](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/f5cc5ee774.jpg\")
“Seeking Inner Peace”
What a glorious day I had yesterday! I had a nice lazy start then headed over for yoga in the yurt. Many others had the same idea. This was my first ever yoga class and my inner voice would NOT shut up! “Look at these people. They know what they’re doing and you look like a pretzel. Do these leggings make my cellulite as obvious as I think they do? Man, this woman beside me breathes loud! Jeez-o-Pete…just how long IS 80 minutes? I’m glad I just signed up for one class today!” Yack, yack, yack. Yoga is supposed to be peaceful and feel good. If I had to do one more downward facing dog I was going to have to get up off the floor and go punch Doug…Namaste THAT! But, I got through it, went to the restaurant and ate a lovely, calorie laden feast for breakfast, and promptly returned to The Sanctuary…aka TOW-Wanda…to take a much deserved nap. After all, I think I broke a sweat in that yoga class!
\nAfter nap time, I tried to put together a 6 ton hydraulic press (yeah, I know…I’m a mystery to ME, too!). Low and behold, there were pieces missing. Why do I always think it’s a good idea to buy stuff on eBay? I called a guy friend and asked him to see if there is a Harbor Freight in Santa Fe and he sent me the address. I’ll be heading there today so hopefully they’ll have the parts. Oh…..WHY do I have a 6 ton hydraulic press with me on vacation? I thought you’d never ask! I have to get some inventory built up for these two art show/sales and I can write off my trip if I work and show my jewelry to shops where I stay. I think I have figured out a way to flatten spoons without using a 3 pound hammer and smashing various fingers and or thumbs. Smart!
\nAnyway, after the missing parts fiasco, I was feeling pretty frazzled and that inner chatterbox was yammering on about always missing the boat or some Tom foolery so I headed for the pools to soak. I stopped in the gift shop (ALWAYS a bad idea). This place is a spa and they take their quiet VERY seriously. There are signs everywhere that say “Whisper Zone”. There is actually an employee that walks around the pool area with a sign that says “Whisper Please”. Well, I was feeling all Ghandi-esque, what with the yoga class and all, and promptly swung my pool bag into an entire display of wind chimes! Two dozen faces turned to glare at me and then started laughing at my vain attempts to silence said chimes. Good grief! I browsed and bought a hat to shade my face and a diet coke (remember the cellulite comment from my inner roommate in yoga class? Well, I got her some potato chips to shut her up!). As I was heading to the checkout, I passed the book stand and saw The Untethered Soul. This is EXACTLY the book I was looking for. It’s all about putting a sock in that inner $&@@$’s mouth and freeing yourself from the constant whining and second-guessing and critiquing that voice does and free you to live in peace and quiet. Sold!
\nNamaste!
\n", "date_published": "2014-03-26T01:30:08-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2014/03/26/seeking-inner-peace.html", "tags": ["Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace","Peace"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2014/03/18/go-do-its-travel-tuesday.html", "title": "Go. Do. It's Travel Tuesday!", "content_html": "\n
![\"meme\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/ee2b4dd561.jpg\")
“Go do those things!”
I’m planning my next trip. I have at least two weeks, maybe three, with a free schedule. I’ve been invited to participate in a couple of art shows and need to get some things made. I can just as easily pack up my portable studio and make art on the road so I’m heading south. I want to hit NM then back up through the Four Corners and visit the sights in SE Utah.
\nI love my little trailer. It offers me a sense of security. It’s cozy. It’s the playhouse I never had as a child. My fort. My treehouse. My princess castle. If you have the means to have a trailer of your own but fear is stopping you, find someone local who can show you the ropes. Sisters on the Fly has chapters everywhere. With your membership, you can do a search for Sisters in your area. We are always ready to help a newbie learn to spread her wings and fly! Honestly, it isn’t that difficult to learn and you’d be surprised how easy it is to handle a small trailer.
\nIf trailering isn’t your thing, I still encourage you to find your way out for adventures. There’s a big, beautiful world out there just waiting to be explored. You can do this. I got your back, girlfriend!
\n", "date_published": "2014-03-18T01:30:20-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2014/03/18/go-do-its-travel-tuesday.html", "tags": ["Travel","Strong Women","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","Camping","Growth","Comfort","Courage"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2014/03/16/seek-and-ye-shall-find.html", "title": "Seek and Ye Shall Find", "content_html": "![\"meme\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/6282444783.jpg\")
“Seek and Ye Shall Find”
I was discussing this with a friend the other night. This verse can mean so much more than just seeking God. It doesn’t matter what, or who, it is we’re seeking….we will find it.
\nWe all know someone who always seems to have bad luck. They have endless complaints, nothing goes their way, and they can never catch a break. They are unhappy people. They WANT to be happy (or, at least they SAY they do). But, what are they actually seeking? If you look for the bad in people or situations, that’s all you will ever see. You have chosen to filter your vision through a lens that can only see darkness. The key word there is darkness.
\nWhen you turn your face toward the light, look for goodness, and hope for the best, that is what you will find. At least, most of the time. It’s the same principle you will find in “The Secret”. The universe is like a giant menu. The words that come from your mouth are the orders you are giving to the Great Waiter. Choose them wisely or you will find yourself with a meal you didn’t want.
\n", "date_published": "2014-03-16T01:30:51-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2014/03/16/seek-and-ye-shall-find.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","Growth","Gratitude","Grace"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2014/03/13/springtime-in-the-rockies.html", "title": "Springtime in the Rockies", "content_html": "![\"camper](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/5c337b34c8.jpg\")
“Springtime in the Rockies”
I headed to the lake Sunday afternoon. I needed to be alone with my thoughts and memories. The anniversary of Mr. Virgo’s death has come and gone. I loved being in the trailer alone. I talked to him. I cried for him. I wrote…and read…and prayed…and napped. I stared at the water and the birds. I listened to the wind and the geese. And I let it go. This year. This awful, heart-breaking, life-changing yet beautiful, blessed year. This change came from a 12 month gestation to birth a different version of me. Older, wiser, deeper. Grief knocked off some of those sharp edges and has humbled me in ways I never knew. And now? Now I’m ready to face whatever comes my way! I’m ready to tackle new projects. Travel to new places. Finish writing my book. Keep writing here. Take more pictures. Make more jewelry. Enter speaker training (not all who train are chosen, but it is a skill I can use anyway!). Paint. Learn. Grow. Teach. Fish. Hike. Camp.
\nLife is a precious gift. I don’t want to miss one single moment of it. So, I’m heading off to watch my grandchildren sing in the chorus of their first stage production!!!
\nI’ll get back to you from the road!
\n<3 Ginny
\n", "date_published": "2014-03-13T01:30:18-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2014/03/13/springtime-in-the-rockies.html", "tags": ["Colorado","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Prayer","Hope","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","Camping","The Grand Adventure","Growth","goRVing","Wisdom","Courage"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2014/03/04/travel-tuesday.html", "title": "Travel Tuesday", "content_html": "![\"vintage](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/325a368cf8.jpg\")
“Travel Tuesday”
Hire me. I’m looking for the perfect job. Hire me, pay for my travel, and I’ll write about it! Sound good? Yeah, it does. Will it happen? Stranger things have! I’ll just send that little thought out into the Universe and let it gather some light and see what comes back to me. In the meantime, the reality is, we have to pay for our own travel.
\nI did a search of the internet and found a neat website. Women Traveling Together. They offer tours in groups no larger than 18 women travelers. 80% of the women who purchase trips are traveling unaccompanied. Once you are signed up, you can enter a secure area on their website and get to know the others on the trip ahead of time and find common interests. They also offer a membership program for $45 a year which allows you access to other solo travelers for meet and greets and planning travel outside of WTT. There is a bulletin board for posting a trip you are planning and announce you are looking for a travel companion (or two or five!).
\nThe prices are pretty hefty. But the tours look organized, the activities look like fun, and there is safety in numbers. That security is worth a lot to women traveling alone.
\nCheck them out at www.women-traveling.com
\n", "date_published": "2014-03-04T02:30:41-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2014/03/04/travel-tuesday.html", "tags": ["Travel","Uplifting Stories","Positive Energy"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2014/03/02/i-was-so-much-older.html", "title": "\"I Was So Much Older Then...\"", "content_html": "![\"farmhouse](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/0ab90fd67b.jpg\")
“The Farm”
Bob Dylan was right…“I’m younger than that now.” There have been times in my life when I was SO old. I had hung my identity on a hook by the door and became something I wasn’t. I was not being genuine. I was being a chameleon and trying to fit into a situation that wasn’t healthy. It made me old beyond my years.
\nAbout 55 years ago, I was standing by my grandma’s rocking chair…in that window to the right of the door there. I was looking out the window asking her how Jesus walked on the water. She looked at me with kindness and said I just had to believe. I was skeptical and went on a 45 year search for “the truth”. It brought me full circle to the same chair, in the same window, in the same house. I just have to believe. Once I made that decision, everything fell into place…well, sort of.
\nOne thing I didn’t realize till Mr. Virgo died is…I’ve always made someone other than God the center of my universe. My kids, my spouse, myself, my house….my focus was off. Somewhere deep down, I could feel it but it was so foggy, I just couldn’t see it. I’ve been a Christian for 10 years now. And even then, I didn’t have my focus right. Since Mr. Virgo died, I have made Christ my Heavenly husband and my focus has been very clear. Having been in that state for the last year, I can really tell when my eyes shift 2 degrees off center. It makes me feel…dimmed, as if some of my sparkle has diminished.
\nThe song we sang in Sunday school about letting our light shine is really true. When people see me and tell me I’m glowing, or I sparkle, or I’m getting younger, it’s not me they are seeing. It’s the light God has placed in me that I shine out on the world. When you are walking YOUR path, your true path, the one God has in mind for you, you are in tune with a much higher frequency than anything here on earth. You cannot help but glow!
\nThere’s also something to be said for the wisdom and experience gained in 60 years to make you let go and live your life. Without that tension you carry around with you while you’re growing up. Without the worry about the day-to-day life of raising a family, developing a career, feeding the hamster. We are wise. We are wonderful. We are beautiful. We are free. We can dance and sing and travel and paint and write. If I died tomorrow…I am invincible today! Today I have everything. Right this minute I have my health. I have joy. I have family and friends who love me. I have a roof over my head and food in my fridge. I have wonderful, wonderful memories of an epic love story. But most importantly, I have Jesus in my life and I will never, ever be alone again. And, as long as I keep my focus clear, I can keep on sparkling!
\n", "date_published": "2014-03-02T02:30:17-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2014/03/02/i-was-so-much-older.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Growth","Peace","Humbled"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2014/02/24/nap-time.html", "title": "Nap Time!", "content_html": "![\"camper](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/2f906a1b3e.jpg\")
“Stressed out? There’s a nap for that!”
Ah, to be a kindergartner. To be five and the only responsibility is tying my shoes and keeping a goldfish alive. Someone to give me a cold glass of milk and a warm cookie. Someone to tuck me in with a kiss to my forehead. It’s nap time.
\nEntire cultures revolve around naps. Some corporations in Japan offer small cubicles where workers can take a much needed break from the hustle and bustle of a busy life. Einstein worked for a few hours at a time then slept, rising to repeat the cycle and look what it did for HIS brain! I’m not talking the escapism of depression here. That kind of napping is unhealthy. No, I’m talking about taking a break from the BUSY and slow down. A power nap. A peaceful nap. An oasis in an overly cluttered life.
\nMy schedule has been pretty packed here of late. Gone are those large stretches of time that I needed to survive this year of grieving. I sleep well at night. But occasionally I need to just stop and recharge. I have a friend in her eighties. She is like a mom to me. As a matter of fact, she and her husband stood up for me as my parents when I married Mr. Virgo. I was visiting her the other day. The sun was shining through the south windows. We were enjoying a lazy day, chatting by the fire, when we both started yawning. I feel quite at home at her house, so I just told her I was going to lay down for 30 minutes then I would take her to her doctor’s appointment. I came out refreshed and ready for whatever the rest of the day offered me.
\nWe don’t always have the opportunity to nap, but if you can swing it…go for it. I’ll have cookies and milk for you when you wake up!
\n", "date_published": "2014-02-24T02:30:10-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2014/02/24/nap-time.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","Camping","Gratitude","Comfort","Peace"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2014/02/16/new-frontiers.html", "title": "New Frontiers", "content_html": "![\"SUV](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/f3538ea0f6.jpg\")
“New Frontiers”
I was sitting in a local restaurant having brunch on Sunday after church. This has become a ritual for me…a time to either visit with a friend that I invite to join me, or dine alone. I delight in the company when someone comes along, but the times alone allow me the opportunity to reflect on the sermon of the day. And, since this week’s sermon was on sex, what better time to discuss new frontiers…of all types. (No, I’m not going to get into a discussion about sex…today anyway!)
\nAs I sat gazing out the window of this charming little restaurant, I watched some people across the street unloading kitchen equipment into a building that will house a new bakery/cafe. I was reminded of when I began my own little needlework supply store as a recently separated woman thirteen years ago. I was thrilled, hopeful, scared to death. Would people come? Would they buy? Could I sell enough thread to keep the doors open? (Turns out, I could not, but that’s a story for another day.) I imagined this new entrepreneur, setting up shop, planning, praying. It is a new frontier where this person is headed. And we, as widows, are headed to new frontiers as well.
\nMy journey took me to a little 16’ travel trailer. TOW-Wanda is her name. She is new, not the vintage trailer I had dreamed of, but with classic lines that make her look older than she is. When I bought her, I remember a remarkable feeling coming over me. A feeling of security, of safety, of somehow ‘coming home’. When we were children, we all had forts, playhouses, tents, tree houses. Places where we could find refuge from the stresses of childhood…parents, siblings, bullies…anyone who dimmed our light. We needed that little fantastical escape to recharge our batteries. We don’t stop needing that just because we are older and alone. Being in TOW-Wanda does that for me, even if I’m sitting at the curb in front of my house.
\nWe will be heading into the travel season before long. If you have ever thought about having a travel trailer and have the means to get one, then by all means, do so! I travelled alone for three months last summer and never felt threatened or frightened. If I didn’t know how to do something, I just Googled it. If I needed help with something, I just asked for it…there are always helpful “neighbors” when you are camping. And if you need company, trailer and RVers are the BEST! They will invite you to their campfire. When they find out you are traveling alone, they will offer help and either share their meal or they will invite you for cocktails at Happy Hour. I found the typical response was disbelief from the wives…“You’re doing this ALONE??? Oh, I could NEVER do that!” Yes, honey…you can…and you may have to…so watch and learn.) Men were typically quite impressed with my ability to back my trailer into the tightest of spaces and hook/unhook the trailer without A) taking out the tree or the picnic table or B) having to ask for help.
\nAs we get closer to trailer time, I’ll share some posts about travel for the unaccompanied woman. There’s a big, bright world out there, ladies, and it’s ours for the taking. All we have to do is suit up and show up!
\n", "date_published": "2014-02-16T02:30:08-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2014/02/16/new-frontiers.html", "tags": ["Colorado","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Camping"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2014/02/15/testosterone.html", "title": "Testosterone", "content_html": "![\"testosterone](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/7323caa882.jpg\")
“Testosterone”
I miss having some around. I have guy friends that I don’t get to hang with nearly enough. But, I miss romance. I miss that masculine protective strength. That big bear hug that tells you everything’s going to be ok.
\nThe day we buried Mr. Virgo, I was wandering around the house, speaking to people, hugging friends and family. I realized I needed some testosterone. I went to Mr. Virgo’s humidor and got that really expensive cigar I bought him for Christmas. I have very little alcohol in the house but I had some cognac that I used for cooking. I grabbed that and went around gathering the men and headed for the front porch. We sat out there and dedicated this little soirée to the memory of a good man. It was a lovely ritual. My clearest memory of the funeral, really.
\nTestosterone. That little thing that makes a man a man. I really can’t imagine living the rest of my life alone. I know women who say they wouldn’t have another man if he was delivered to their doorstep. There’s nothing wrong with that, but I’m not one of them. I will love again. I think the difference this time will be loving on my terms. I want to be careful not to lose myself in the process.
\nWhat about you? Would you do it again if the person were really special?
\n", "date_published": "2014-02-15T02:30:00-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2014/02/15/testosterone.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","New Ideas"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2014/02/01/saint-elizabeths-hospital-for-the.html", "title": "Saint Elizabeth's Hospital for the Criminally Insane", "content_html": "![\"jail\"](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/25dfd0ec4c.jpg\")
“St. Elizabeth’s Hospital for the Criminally Insane”
Our topics of discussion this week have been pretty heavy…death, dying, abuse, and difficult relationships. All this angst can be a bit of a downer if you focus on it all the time, so I’m going to tell you a true story…one of the funniest I have ever heard.
\nA friend of mine teaches OSHA-style safety courses all over the country. He speaks to maintenance, engineering, and automotive workers on various safety topics.
\nHe was sent on an assignment to Saint Elizabeth’s Hospital for the Criminally Insane. He and his class met in a conference room. He notice a soft chime at 4:00 and everyone stood up, thanked him, and left for the day. He was a little puzzled but brushed it off and counted it as an opportunity to catch up on a little paperwork.
\nAs he answered e-mails, filed reports, and made phone calls, he heard some noises but didn’t really pay attention. After an hour or so, he gathered his items and headed out for the hotel. He turned right outside the conference room door, just as he had several times that day, and ran right smack dab into a locked security gate. He was somewhat puzzled, but turned to go out the other way and sure enough…there was another locked security gate. Now he’s growing concerned and walks back into the conference room thinking he can at least get out through a window. Hellooooo? This is a hospital for the criminally insane, remember? Every window had bars on them.
\n“Hmmmm…how did I miss that?!”
\nHe put his things down, rummaged around for his phone and called the administration office. He heard the connection, then the first ring. Simultaneously, he heard a phone ringing in a nearby office. After several rings…nothing. They’d gone home. He tried the assistant administrator and hears a second phone ringing farther down the hall with the same results. Everyone was gone.
\nHe began to panic. I mean, here he was, trapped in Saint Elizabeth’s Hospital for the Criminally Insane! He remembered his home office was in Denver, two hours behind him, so staff would still be there. He dialed and checked the closets while waiting for them to pick up.
\n“Thank you for calling “ACME”. This is Carol. How can I help you?”
\n“Carol! Oh, thank goodness you’re there! This is “Bob”! You have to help me…I’ve been locked in Saint Elizabeth’s Hospital for the Criminally Insane and I can’t get out!”
\nSilence.
\n“Hello? “Carol”? Are you there?”
\n“Ummm, yes…I am. Listen, can you repeat that?”
\n“Yes! I need your help! I’ve been locked in the Saint Elizabeth’s Hospital for the Criminally Insane and I can get out! No one answers the phone!”
\nSilence. Then muffled laughter as those gathered around the speaker phone in the home office grasp the full concept here.
\n“Oh, nice…speaker phone. Well, now that you’ve had your fun, can you do something and get me some help here? It’s getting dark!”
\n“Sure, Bob…don’t go anywhere. Just stay right where you are.”
\n“Cute. Just hurry, will ya?”
\nYou know that game called ‘Telephone’? The one where you tell someone something and by the time it gets through 4 or 5 people it doesn’t resemble the original message whatsoever? Well, by the time the message got to the burly security guards, they heard “Unauthorized intruder in Conference Room B. Proceed with caution.” The guards burst in, guns flashing, and my friend is ordered down on the floor, searched for weapons, then dragged outside to the parking lot. After a lot of hubbub and a little bladder indiscretion, they finally accepted who “Bob” said he was and sent him on his way.
\nBob hopped in his large commercial equipment van and took off on the nearest freeway. It wasn’t two minutes when he had flashing lights behind him and he got pulled over. Obviously, “Bob” was distraught and perhaps not thinking too clearly.
\n“What’s the problem, Officer?”
\n“Sir, do you realize you can’t drive this type of vehicle on this road?”
\n“Excuse me?”
\n“This commercial van…it’s not allowed owed on a parkway. It’s against the law.”
\n“Awwww, man…you have GOT to be kidding me. What a crazy night! I just got let out of Saint Elizabeth’s Hospital for the Criminally Insane and now this?”
\nThe police officer’s eyes got big as saucers, he put his hand on his weapon, and backed up about three feet.
\n“Sir, put your hands on the steering wheel where I can see them!”
\n“What? Oh! Oh, my gosh…no! You’ve got it all…”
\n“Sir, put your hands where I can see them!”
\nHands were thrust through the window. Back up arrived. Phone calls were made. Finally the cop with the gun got a radio message, listened, nodded. He called over to my friend.
\n“You’re not any chance “Bob White”, are you?”
\n“Yes, yes! That’s me!”
\n“And you really got yourself locked up in Saint Elizabeth’s Hospital for the Criminally Insane?”
\n“Bob” detected a bit of unveiled sarcasm.
\n“Yes. That was me.”
\n“Alright, fine…get out of here!”
\nAnd he did. And no one forgot. Ever. It’s been years and people he is introduced to say, “Oh, hey! Are you that guy?” And they all laugh and laugh and take pictures. Poor “Bob”.
\n", "date_published": "2014-02-01T02:30:43-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2014/02/01/saint-elizabeths-hospital-for-the.html", "tags": ["Positive Energy","Fun"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2013/11/09/ptsd-emdr-grief.html", "title": "PTSD - EMDR - Grief", "content_html": "![\"freedom](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/edae8f1414.jpg\")
“Freedom”
A while back we discussed my nemesis…panic attacks. I suffered my first panic attack in second grade when three things happened in rapid succession. First was a little bandy rooster of a preacher in my grandma’s church who preached hellfire and brimstone. He literally jumped from the pulpit, stuck his gnarly finger in my face, and with veins bulging and spit flying, told me I would go to hell if I did not believe. I wet my pants right there in the pew and decided it was much safer to follow the “Church of Ginny”. At school, I was bullied by a teacher who somehow chose me to be the poster child of stupid. It got so bad I couldn’t eat. She would save my untouched lunch tray to show my mom. It was decided I would bring lunch from home. I would stand in line to wash my hands before lunch and pray out loud asking God to please make me hungry so I wouldn’t get in trouble. I was beaten by both the principal and the teacher because I couldn’t eat. And if you got it at school, you got it twice as bad when you got home. Thankfully we moved over Christmas break. The third thing that happened was getting molested by a high school neighbor kid. When I told my friend’s mom, she grabbed my friend, put her hand on my chest, and pushed me away so she could shut the door in my face. But not before warning me to NEVER tell anyone about that, EVER again. I didn’t tell my mom till I was 35. Three things, in and of themselves, that were devastating. But together, they cemented a lifelong anxiety disorder.
\nI was fortunate to find a good therapist many years ago who helped me find my voice. Once Mr. Virgo came along, panic attacks were a thing of the past, to my great relief. However, since he died, I have had a few episodes and I certainly don’t want to head down that path again. One of the worst was this summer at an arts and crafts fair. I was standing in the food court area when the man next to me started choking. I mean, Heimlich Maneuver choking. I have worked in medicine since 1971. I am certified in CPR, but I was frozen. Suddenly, in my mind, I was back in the ER and they were doing CPR on my husband. It freaked me out. At my physical a few weeks ago, I mentioned this to my doctor. I’ve done all this grief work alone but we decided maybe it was time to get some professional help. She recommended a good therapist and I met with her the next day.
\nOurs is a small community so I know the therapist who was recommended, but just socially. I told her the story of losing Mr. Virgo and the subsequent intrusive thoughts and panic attacks and she felt I have PTSD from the trauma. There is a fairly new therapy called EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) that is recognized as a very effective treatment for PTSD. She recommended we try it and I was game for anything to take this away.
\nMy first treatment was last Wednesday. Karen asked me what the singular most painful thought/image was surrounding my husband’s death. Without a doubt, it was walking back into the trailer after calling 911 and seeing him on the couch. I knew as soon as I saw him where this was going and that I was going to lose him that day. Just the thought of that image caused me so much distress that it was physically painful to sit there in the office. On Karen’s scale of 1-10 with 10 being the worst emotional pain ever, I was at about 15. She asked me to hold that image in my mind and watch her fingers as she rapidly moved them back and forth in front of me. She did this for several seconds, stopped, and asked me to take a deep breath, then asked me what I was experiencing. We repeated this about 6 times and the thought, the picture of Mr. Virgo on that couch, was just…gone! I literally cannot conjure up that image anymore. I mean, I know it happened, and I know it was awful, but I just don’t see it. Instead, when I walk into that trailer in my mind, I see the empty sofa and I can feel Mr. Virgo standing behind me to my left. There was a small window over the sofa and all you could see that day was the side of the next trailer. But in my mind’s eye, I see a huge picture window over that sofa with a gorgeous view of a mountain lake, the sun setting reflecting gorgeous, radiant colors from every surface. It is absolutely amazing!
\nI will visit with Karen a couple more times to clean up the residuals of those events that started my lifelong anxiety disorder as well as witnessing the actual CPR. I cannot tell you what a relief this is. If you, or someone you know, suffers from PTSD symptoms or anxiety/panic attacks, I would highly recommend you speak to your healthcare provider about EMDR and see if it’s right for you. It truly is powerful.
\nHave a fabulous Saturday, everyone!
\nPhoto courtesy of ashleyeder.com.
\n", "date_published": "2013-11-09T02:30:16-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2013/11/09/ptsd-emdr-grief.html", "tags": ["Hope","Positive Energy","Growth"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2013/07/28/tunnel-on-needles-highway-custer.html", "title": "TUNNEL ON NEEDLES HIGHWAY - CUSTER STATE PARK, SOUTH DAKOTA", "content_html": "![\"Tunnel](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/5ce0965d42.jpg\")
\nOn our way to see the Crazy Horse Monument. There were places on the Needles Highway that we had to fold in the side mirrors to get through the tunnels! Fun!
\n", "date_published": "2013-07-28T02:00:59-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2013/07/28/tunnel-on-needles-highway-custer.html", "tags": ["Family","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Camping","The Grand Adventure","Fun"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2013/07/27/mount-rushmore-south-dakota.html", "title": "MOUNT RUSHMORE, SOUTH DAKOTA", "content_html": "![\"Mount](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/2c010f9b7d.jpg\")
\nWay cool! So much fun being with family!
\n", "date_published": "2013-07-27T02:00:30-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2013/07/27/mount-rushmore-south-dakota.html", "tags": ["Family","Travel","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Camping","The Grand Adventure"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2013/07/27/bear-country-usa-south-dakota.html", "title": "BEAR COUNTRY USA - SOUTH DAKOTA", "content_html": "![\"Bear](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/444f877ecb.jpg\")
\nBear in Bear Country USA Park, South Dakota.
\n", "date_published": "2013-07-27T02:00:29-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2013/07/27/bear-country-usa-south-dakota.html", "tags": ["Family","Travel","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Camping","The Grand Adventure","Fun"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2013/07/27/apatosaurus-rapid-city-south-dakota.html", "title": "APATOSAURUS - RAPID CITY, SOUTH DAKOTA", "content_html": "![\"Apatosaurus,](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/4f5c2ceeb7.jpg\")
\nWho knew?
\n", "date_published": "2013-07-27T02:00:28-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2013/07/27/apatosaurus-rapid-city-south-dakota.html", "tags": ["Family","Travel","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Camping","The Grand Adventure","Fun"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2013/07/24/clematis-on-the-farm.html", "title": "CLEMATIS ON THE FARM", "content_html": "![\"White](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/0c11593788.jpg\")
\nI have been running around like a chicken today. Trying to get everything done before the next round of travel. This was taken in the front yard at my family farm. My grandma loved flowers. My aunt told me that all the flowers on the hillside beside the house had been lovingly transplanted from the old home place back on the hill. Grandma was a wonderful woman and was a perfect role model for her family.
\n", "date_published": "2013-07-24T02:00:29-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2013/07/24/clematis-on-the-farm.html", "tags": ["Family","Grief","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2013/07/19/smokehouse-on-the-farm.html", "title": "SMOKEHOUSE ON THE FARM", "content_html": "![\"Old](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/71a5ef6fb2.jpg\")
\nOh, my gosh! I passed 600 likes!!! Thank you all SO much for joining me on this amazing journey. I’m taking a little break here at home doing some deep cleaning that didn’t get done in the spring. I’m enjoying practicing mindfulness as I do each chore. Very Zen, cleaning the stove!
\n", "date_published": "2013-07-19T02:00:07-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2013/07/19/smokehouse-on-the-farm.html", "tags": ["Grief","Positive Energy","West Virginia","The Farm"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2013/07/19/upper-frying-pan-river-above.html", "title": "UPPER FRYING PAN RIVER ABOVE BASALT, COLORADO", "content_html": "![\"Upper](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/93f9f7feb3.jpg\")
\nHere fishy, fishy, fishy!
\n", "date_published": "2013-07-19T02:00:03-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2013/07/19/upper-frying-pan-river-above.html", "tags": ["Colorado","Travel","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","Camping","The Grand Adventure","Fun"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2013/06/25/piedra-river-ranch-weminuche-wilderness.html", "title": "PIEDRA RIVER RANCH - WEMINUCHE WILDERNESS, NEAR PAGOSA SPRINGS, COLORADO", "content_html": "![\"Piedra](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/c77e635319.jpg\")
\nI think this would be one of the most beautiful places to live. Mr. Virgo and I lived not too far from here in 2008 for about a year. I was a little disturbed that the trees didn’t fully leaf out till June, but what little time we had off together was absolutely beautiful. We often drove up Pagosa Boulevard out and back down Plumtaw Road to Piedra Road. We made a day of it and hiked and had picnics. This ranch was pretty much the end of the road in this one section and it really is stunning. It was a beautiful summer, except for the part where Mr. Virgo wrecked the ATV and was in the hospital for a week, but that’s a story for another day.
\nIt was all good till the leaves started falling off in August. Then I realized just how high we were, and it wasn’t from something we were smoking! Winter came with a vengeance. It started snowing on the first of December. We probably had a foot of snow on the ground. One night when we went to bed, it was snowing but didn’t think anything of it. When I got up the next morning and went in to make coffee, I noticed I couldn’t see out of the kitchen window. But sometimes the snow blows sideways and sticks to windows so again, I didn’t think anything of it. We got ready for work and decided to drive in together. We raised the garage door and there, as far as you could see, in a very nice level plane, was 5 feet of snow! I know this because I am 5'5" and this snow came to my nose! Have I mentioned that I really HATE snow? I know, I’ve lived in Colorado since 1975 and I really HATE snow. And the older I get, the more I hate it. That year, it snowed 7 feet of snow in less than 2 weeks. It snowed so much that they ran out of places to put it. Thank goodness that job only lasted till January and we were out of there. So yes, in this picture, it is a beautiful, peaceful place to live.
\nI have decided this winter is going to be different. I am going to go somewhere where the sun shines and the sea whispers my name. Where I can bury my toes in the sand and my nose in a book. Where I can have little drinks with exotic ingredients and paper umbrellas brought to me in my chaise lounge. Someplace warm and wonderful. I have a friend who lives in Belize who has been after me for the last 13 years to come visit her. I think I just might do that come January or February. Yep, gonna hit the cheapo airfare sites and give myself something wonderful to look forward to! But first, I am heading home to the beautiful hills of West Virginia. My home of origin. I’m heading out of here tomorrow and will visit with my daughters. Hubby #1 and his family are in town visiting so I get to see them. Then my brother and I will fly to WV on Thursday. Lots of fun things are planned there so I will take lots of pictures and post as I can. Cell and Internet are spotty in the Mountain State.
\nTalk to you soon!
\nHugs,
\nGinny
\n", "date_published": "2013-06-25T02:00:23-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2013/06/25/piedra-river-ranch-weminuche-wilderness.html", "tags": ["Colorado","Travel","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","Camping","The Grand Adventure"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2013/06/22/super-moon-new-castle-colorado.html", "title": "SUPER MOON - NEW CASTLE, COLORADO", "content_html": "![\"Super-moon,](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/8eb971ea7f.jpg\")
\nMr. Virgo was the photographer in our family. When he bought his super duper new camera, I inherited his “OLD” camera. I had never in my life had as nice a camera as that OLD camera! But, try as I might, Mr. Virgo and I could be standing right beside each other, taking the same picture, on auto-everything, and his photo would be great and mine would look like one of my early attempts with the little Brownie camera I got when I was ten! So, now that he is gone, I have been trying my hand with his super duper camera and editing software. Bingo! It’s the camera! OK, maybe it’s not ALL the camera. I’ve been studying a ton of websites online for tips. Like, how to take pictures of the moon. My photos all show a bright, white orb in the sky that could just as easily be a filtered shot of the sun. This evening I Googled “How to take pictures of the moon” since it’s the Super Moon tonight. I wanted to get a shot with it rising over the mountain but I couldn’t read that fast! I found the trick is to use manual settings with a very fast shutter speed and still use auto-focus. This keeps your f-stop in the correct setting. Or something like that. I don’t know. All I know is I FINALLY got the shot of the moon I’ve been looking for. Now that I know what to do, I will try to get a shot of the moonrise from up around Genesee or Red Rocks so I can see it coming up over the horizon above Denver. I’m sure having fun with this new camera. Mr. Virgo would be proud…or horrified that I’m touching his NEW CAMERA! :-O
\n", "date_published": "2013-06-22T02:00:35-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2013/06/22/super-moon-new-castle-colorado.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Fun"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2013/06/21/colorado-wildflowers.html", "title": "COLORADO WILDFLOWERS", "content_html": "![\"Colorado](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/3e72bda33a.jpg\")
\nI called my second ex-husband (yes, Mr. Virgo was hubby #3. Third time’s the charm, right?) to wish him Happy Father’s Day. He was driving and a captive audience so we had a nice, long conversation. The subject came around to the question of how I am doing. After awhile, he commented that this whole process is really complicated. As usual, I think of what I SHOULD have said a day or so after the fact. What I should have said was, I don’t look at it as complicated. Complicated has a certain negative connotation to it. I look at my loss and the grief that follows as complex and multifaceted. You figure out one thing at a time but you are faced with an ever changing landscape to navigate. I view this whole process as a diamond. The more facets there are, the more valuable it is. The more lessons I can learn. The more directions I can grow. We are faced with many losses in life. When you face yours, look for the diamonds.
\n", "date_published": "2013-06-21T02:00:47-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2013/06/21/colorado-wildflowers.html", "tags": ["Colorado","Family","Grief","Positive Energy","Camping"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2013/06/15/bear-creek-falls-above-the.html", "title": "BEAR CREEK FALLS ABOVE THE BOX CANYON - OURAY, COLORADO", "content_html": "![\"Box](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/789ce0c880.jpg\")
\nAs a widow, I have been finding myself still having trouble making a real meal. I mean a real, fix-a-few-things-and-sit-at-the-table-and-eat kind of meal. I had dinner with my dear, “little brother” last night and he cooked. It was a simple meal…an Indian dish served over rice. But it kick-started me into rethinking my dining habits.
\nMr. Virgo did his PhD thesis on the loss of real dining as a society, so meals in our home were an occasion. I know I have spoken of this before, but thought I would revisit the issue since it has been three months since he died and I’m still not really cooking the kind of meal I could sit down and savor.
\nMy food preferences have changed drastically over these last months. Mr. Virgo was an Irish, meat-and-potatoes man and rather than cook two meals, I ate the same thing. I gained weight. I never slept well. I had headaches. I was pre-diabetic last time I had my blood checked. Not good things. After I started getting my appetite back, I really was SO hungry for fresh, fresh, fresh foods. Salads, steamed veggies, and crisp, cool fruit became my mainstay. I do have fish once in awhile. I love tofu and I eat eggs a few times a week. I am sleeping better and have no headaches. I haven’t had my blood retested, but I am sure things are better there, as well.
\nWhen I went to the store today, I made up my mind that today I would cook. I would have a real meal and take the time to sit down and really taste the food God has been so gracious to provide for me. I love this time of year when the market is full of yummy choices in the produce department. Tonight I nibbled on a few garlic and herb pita chips dipped in spicy, three pepper hummus while I prepared my meal. For my main course, I had wild mushroom agnolotti with Mediterranean olive, sun-dried tomato, and lemon bruschetta and some shaved, aged Parmesan topping. I also had a few lightly steamed asparagus spears and an ear of bi-color corn. I loved how the lemon in the bruschetta gave off a pleasing aroma as it sat on the warm pasta. The crisp, fresh bite of the asparagus was a lovely contrast and what isn’t to love about a gold and white ear of sweet corn?
\nOf course, it’s different not having someone to converse with over the evening meal. I don’t have TV and I swear I’ll never eat another meal in front of one as long as I live. So, I read some of an Oprah magazine. The topic? Loving the age you are! How wonderful life is. I hope you all have a grand evening, as well.
\nGinny
\n#grief, #widow, #travel, #dining
\n", "date_published": "2013-06-15T02:00:12-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2013/06/15/bear-creek-falls-above-the.html", "tags": ["Colorado","Travel","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Hope","Positive Energy","Camping","The Grand Adventure"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2013/06/12/sisters-on-the-fly-and.html", "title": "SISTERS ON THE FLY AND MY TOW-WANDA SAVED ME", "content_html": "![\"Sisters](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/fda303f23d.jpg\")
\nAnd there she is….TOW-Wanda! Dressed in all her finery at the “Home on the Grange” event for Sisters on the Fly! I knew that coat was going to come in handy some day!
\n", "date_published": "2013-06-12T02:00:51-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2013/06/12/sisters-on-the-fly-and.html", "tags": ["Colorado","Travel","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Hope","Sisters on the Fly","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!","Camping","The Grand Adventure","Fun"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2013/05/26/dallas-divide.html", "title": "DALLAS DIVIDE", "content_html": "![\"Dallas](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/4a36506cb8.jpg\")
\nTomorrow I head home from Part 1 of The Grand Adventure. I have had a fabulous time on this trip and have truly enjoyed my visit here with Sue. She lives on 10 acres overlooking Mesa Verde. We got up this morning and practiced yoga on the southern patio. Then we walked around the property and she showed me places where pottery sherds from the Anasazi just lie out on the open ground. Amazing! There is also a beautiful canyon on the back of the property. Yesterday we went early to Silverton and watched the end of a bike race, visited with friends, and then drove to Ouray for lunch. Afterwards, we drove to Ridgeway and soaked at the Orvis Hot Springs (clothing optional…scandalous!!!) We got home in time to see the beautiful moonrise over the La Plata Mountains, had a fire and made S’Mores. The day before was a day of trekking around Durango and out to dinner with friends. Lots of photos I will be posting. I go home tomorrow and regroup for the trip Thursday to Denver and on to my first Sisters on the Fly event!
\n", "date_published": "2013-05-26T02:00:25-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2013/05/26/dallas-divide.html", "tags": ["Colorado","Grief","Overcoming Obstacles","Positive Energy","Camping"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2013/04/04/a-new-trailera-new-life.html", "title": "A NEW TRAILER...A NEW LIFE", "content_html": "So, I got home from Denver yesterday with the new trailer! Yay! Spent the afternoon putting things in it and started decorating. I’m going with a turquoise and red theme from the 40’s/50’s. I had a mailbox full of cards which was very nice. I had several packages of supplies that were delivered. And one box from a friend back home in WV. I opened it and there was a beautiful quilt she had made for me. It has the Lord’s Prayer on it. What a sweet gift! Thanks Ginny! Check out her page at Log Cabin Country Quilts in Marietta, OH
\n", "date_published": "2013-04-04T02:00:43-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2013/04/04/a-new-trailera-new-life.html", "tags": ["Travel","Uplifting Stories","Grief","Strong Women","Hope","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!"] }, { "id": "http://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/2013/03/28/my-new-trailer.html", "title": "MY NEW TRAILER", "content_html": "![\"SPORTSMEN](\"https://mashmallowranch.micro.blog/uploads/2026/a8b3ae57e9.jpg\")
\nWell, girls…after much deliberation and discussion with my family, I decided to go with a new trailer, but with a Retro feel to it. In reviewing the spec on the ‘69 Cardinal refurbished trailer, there was no bathroom, only an icebox, and the only bed was the convertible dinette. My daughter and I went shopping today and found this baby. She has that Retro feel, sort of like the old Tag-a-Long. But, she’s 16’ long, has a bathroom with toilet and shower, two burner cooktop, microwave, 3-way refrigerator, AC/furnace, sink, convertible dinette, bunk beds, and an awning. All for the same price as the rebuilt one! I can still decorate her and she’ll become a faux vintage trailer. Now…I need to come up with a name for her! Any ideas?
\n", "date_published": "2013-03-28T11:01:16-06:00", "url": "https://marshmallowranch.com/2013/03/28/my-new-trailer.html", "tags": ["Overcoming Obstacles","Strong Women","Positive Energy","TOW-Wanda!"] } ] }