By : Sally Valentine

May 17 2012

May 17, 2012

This is a picture of my most treasured garden flowers. No, they’re not the prettiest flower in my garden, although  usually there are more blossoms than this. But they’re definitely the most treasured, because they came from my mother’s yard. And they didn’t come directly from my mother’s yard; they came to my garden by way […]

By : Sally Valentine

May 14 2012

May 14, 2012 Lilac Festival

So what if the lilacs aren’t so good this year? Bring your own purple, and go to Highland Park anyway. The crafts, music and food are all as good as usual, and the azaleas, the rhododendrons, and the pansy bed are all outstanding this year. Maybe it’s time that some of the bit players in […]

By : Sally Valentine

May 14 2012

May 13, 2012

My daughters are in their 30’s now, but when I heard a child call out “Mom” today in Wegmans, I automatically turned to look. Does motherhood ever end? I don’t think so. My mother’s been gone 15 years now, but I still hear her voice saying “Keep on the straight and narrow.” I still feel […]

By : Sally Valentine

May 10 2012

May 10, 2012 Pet Peeve #2

I think we all get annoyed by the number of signs littering our landscape. Signs seems to be a necessary evil in today’s society, and sometimes they are actually helpful when we’re trying to find a location. The problem is that many signs outlive their usefulness. People seem to love putting up signs but not taking […]

By : Sally Valentine

May 07 2012

May 7, 2012 Pet Peeve #1

A week ago I was accumulating feel good moments. This week I seem to be accumulating pet peeves. When I’m out walking, my pet peeve is bicyclists who come up behind me without announcing their presence. Sometimes I can hear them coming; sometimes I can’t. I try to keep to the right, but that’s not […]

By : Sally Valentine

May 02 2012

May 2, 2012 GLA Writing Contest

Spring is the season of hope, so I’m taking a leap today and entering a writing contest. If you have an up-market manuscript secretly stashed under your bed like I do, check out the “Dear Lucky Agent” contest rules at www.guidetoliteraryagents.com/blog. This is Chuck Sambuchino’s blog on the Writers Digest website. If you don’t have a […]