The Call: Better Together — Cheryl Dennis thinks these two make a great couple, but he’s been ignoring them since Ash Wednesday. I wonder if they feel slighted. The Response: Olive Oil — Jessica With a call like “bottle”, I knew I’d be throwing together a still life. But the only bottle I could find […]
The Call: Flame Red — Jessica Sometimes the call seems like it’s a piece of cake. Say “blaze” and the first thing in my mind is a gorgeous sunset blazing across a colorful sky. Well, we don’t often get sunsets like that around here — and then there was also our rainy, overcast forecast for […]
The Call: Ring of Keys — Cheryl Many people like to get out of the house as often as possible. They like to travel, to explore, to wander hither and yon. Me? Not so much. I’m generally very content to just enjoy the life I’ve created at home. The Response: Magic Content Box — Jessica […]
The Call: Curly Tail — Jessica Sometimes, when the call comes through for the day, I wonder what on earth was going through my mind when I chose that word. Curly? I must have just thought it sounded cool because no one in my house has curly hair. What, I wonder, did I think I […]
The Call: Spent Rose — Cheryl Peeled like yellow fruit, The dead rose finally shares Its gutsy details. The Response: Pine Cone — Jessica A week ago, walking home from the park, the boys and I stopped to pick up some freshly fallen pine cones. Brought into the warm house, they have spent all week […]
The Call: Catholic — Jessica We were watching the cardinals take their oath on entering the conclave this morning. I thought it was a great opportunity to pull out our much neglected atlas and browse the countries as the cardinals were mentioned. It certainly drives home the universal nature of our Church. Response: Love of […]
The Call: Bike Hanging from the Rafters — Cheryl Dennis used to be an avid cyclist. Before we were married, but when we lived in Colorado, he raced in the Longmont Criterium and completed the Elephant Rock Century (eating a lot of bananas in the course of riding 100 miles, he says). These days, his […]
The Call: Roots of Style — Jessica I wouldn’t go so far as to say that I have a definite photographic style. Yet. I’m working on it. But I would attribute what I have to these three books. Every book Michael Freeman has written as been informative to me. But Perfect Exposure was so chock-full […]
The Call: Counting Down — Cheryl Dennis and I are working hard to pay off our mortgage. After converting our 30-year to a 15-year, we converted our 15-year to a 10-year. It should be killed in just about seven years. We’re making great progress, but sometimes it’s hard to be patient when we think about […]
The Call: The Dumb Ox — Jessica Virtue is a habit of the will. — St. Thomas Aquinas Well, that may actually be a very loose paraphrase of Aquinas but it’s pithy and it works with teenagers. It’s one of those sayings that I repeat to the kids all the time. So often, in fact, […]
The Call: Cobwebs on a Crucifix — Cheryl The notion that cleanliness is next to Godliness holds no currency for me. : ) The Response: Smiles & Hugs — Jessica As a stay-at-home mom for the past 17+ years, I have brought home no paycheck. But I’ve been paid in smiles, hugs and kisses. And […]
The Call: Chips & Queso — Jessica Queso is always a creature comfort but even more so on a wet, snowy day. We are thoroughly enjoying our “snowquester” today in the metro D.C. area. Response: Small Creature — Cheryl Before Dennis and I got married, Dennis got a cat: a black cat named Moses. One […]
The Call: Splashing — Cheryl Every year, as Spring approaches, a large puddle forms in front of the house. It drives me crazy, but the kids tend to see all that water in a different light. The Response: Size 14 — Jessica My oldest son has really large feet. Size 14s to be exact. I’m […]
The Call: Lunch Time — Jessica Even though they may be humble, sparrows are very messy eaters! You should see the amount of seed that this little guy and his friend were tossing up during their lunch break at my bird feeder. What a mess! Response: Cows at the Fence — Cheryl Thoughts of owning […]