With Sarah's help, I took some queenly advice!

Here's the advice, straight from H.R.H. Jill Conner Browne, THE Sweet Potato Queen, given to me on April 15, 2015, by way of a Facebook Message: Go out TODAY and buy yourself a FIVE-YEAR CALENDAR and start filling it up. Give no thought WHATSOEVER to being sick in any way. See yourself as healthy and vibrant, doing all the things you are putting in the calendar. Begin thanking God TODAY for your health and well-being. Praise Him for how wonderfully you are made and for all His magnificent Creation, of which you are an important part. All is well and all WILL BE well. xxoojill Thanks, Jill!

My friend Sarah came to my apartment yesterday with Burgerville Chicken Tenders and French Fries and the FIVE-YEAR CALENDAR, plus an added treat, the One Line A Day, A Five-Year Memory Book. Both the calendar and the book are exquisitely made so that they feel good in my hand, at my fingertips.




I'll be writing in them with my little Mama's favorite Papermate Sharpwriter #2 USA lead pencil, the one that advances the lead with a twist of its tip. Since she always wanted to have plenty on hand to use in her crossword puzzle books, I had a couple of unopened packages after she died in January, 2011. Since then, I've made my way to that section of either Freddie's or Walgreens, picked up another package and enjoyed the memory of watching her diligently complete one puzzle after the other while sitting in her recliner in front of the TV--Mama aced every single one! Now I keep a pencil atop this thick glass picture frame--that's us on July 9, 2004, taken by Lamont at the Bijou Cafe, downtown Portland. We ate breakfast there before going to the airport on the MAX and flying back to Jackson, Mississippi, after our first visit with Lamont and his brother Leland in Portland. Sweet memories.



See the tabs? There is one for each month in each of the five years. Enjoy my first entry!



I am astounded at the versatility of the memory book. You can see here how you're able to write in the year on a particular date before you record your memory! Brilliant!

ABC Wednesday - N is for Necessity, the Mother of Invention

Y'all know Mama loves to do crossword puzzles. She subscribes to two of the little magazines. Being almost 83-years-old and left-handed, she has a huge need for the spine of said magazines to be pliable, to open back so that she can get to the spaces to write in her solutions.

I'll never forget the first time I heard her hammering away, in the kitchen. "What are you hittin'?" I asked. "My puzzle book," she answered. She's done it every time that the book proves itself to be too tightly glued for her comfort. I thought y'all would enjoy a series of photos depicting the process, blow by blow.

Inside ...

Outside ...

And a lot more inside, up and down the spine ...












Checking ...




She doesn't hit her fingers, just the puzzle book. Amazing! And she always does this during the day so as not to disturb any neighbors.