Talya Tate Boerner's Blog, page 40
March 13, 2018
Toltec Mounds Archeological State Park
A few weeks ago when I was driving the back roads from Stuttgart to Little Rock, I came upon the sign for Toltec Mounds Archeological State Park. Of course, this resulted in a little side trip. It isn’t every day you come upon prehistoric mounds protruding from rural, flat Arkansas.
I’d always heard about Toltec Mounds. Oddly enough, this was my first visit.
Toltec MoundsToltec Mounds originally consisted of eighteen mounds built by the Plum Bayou Native Americans between 650 A.D. and 1050...
March 11, 2018
Sunday Letter: 03.11.18
Dear Sunday Letter Friends,
Since my last Sunday letter, the whole week blurred right on by. And what I worried might happen with these Sunday letters is about to unfold… I didn’t blog about anything all week, and now I have two back-to-back letters.
Must do better.
John and I spent a couple of days in Hot Springs. A mid-week road trip messes with my brain. I had one of those, “What day is it?” type weeks. Add this morning’s time change to the equation, and I’m really out of sync.
I’ll keep...
March 4, 2018
Sunday Letter: 03.04.18
Dear Sunday Letter Readers,
How are you? Fine I hope. When I was a kid, I started letters to friends in this way with six words, six syllables. The opposite of compelling. Flat as a flitter. Really grabs you and makes you want to keep reading, doesn’t it?
Makes you say, “Boy, I bet she’ll be a writer someday.”
March 2, 2018
the thinks in my brain and planting Truffula seeds
The thinks in my brain? They float and flit and maybe end up on a blog page. Maybe they’ll end up in a book someday. Maybe they’ll simply disappear beneath the worm moon going nowhere at all.
My makeshift greenhouse. It doesn’t look like much yet, only a bright window in the garage. Impossibly small seeds sprinkled into soil, watered with a dribble, fussed over, talked to as though I’m “in charge of the last of the Truffula seeds.
And Truffula trees are what everyone needs.”
Happy coleus cu...
March 1, 2018
Book Reviews for February 2018
Book Reviews for February 2018 I’ll start my February book reviews with a confession. I didn’t read as much as I’d hoped. I lost prime reading time to Olympic coverage. (For the most part I enjoy the Olympics, but I feel guilty if I don’t watch, like it’s my duty as an American to cheer USA athletes in sporting events I know nothing about.)
Also, let’s not forget, February is the shortest month for reading and everything else.
These are my excuses.
Other than having a stack of “to-read” book...
February 27, 2018
Thai Carrot Soup
Soup pairs well with wintertime, but so many of my favorite soup recipes are heavy and carb-laden. As much as I’d love to hibernate until spring, I don’t have time to feel tired and sluggish. I can’t imagine any of us do. Thai Carrot Soup is a winner in my recipe book not only because it’s a nourishing meal, but it tastes delicious without forcing me into a long winter’s nap.
Know what I mean?
Remember the Campbell Soup saying, “Soup is good food?” It’s true.
Thai Carrot Soup checks ALL the...
February 25, 2018
Sunday Letter: 02.25.18
Oh man, now that I’m doing a regular Sunday Letter, I’m even more aware of how quickly time is passing. BUT. While the week flew by, the waterlogged days felt long.
I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of the rain. All week, my view has been this:
It’s called cabin fever.
Between storms, we walk Lucy and Annabelle. Between storms, we look for signs of spring in our lenten roses beginning to bloom, in the birds that sound so incredibly cheerful.
How do you push through the end of winter bla...
February 21, 2018
Louisiana Purchase Historic State Park ~ a bucket list place!
I’ll just say this right off. Louisiana Purchase Historic State Park is now at the top of my favorite historical sites in Arkansas. A few weeks ago when I was in southeast Arkansas, I took a little side trip to this incredible spot.
That bucket list you have? Go ahead and add this park to it.
It’s located not too far from Brinkley, Arkansas.
Don’t Know Much About History…My intro to American history came about via Keiser Elementary. You remember how th...
February 18, 2018
Sunday Letter: 02.18.18
Today makes two Sundays in a row for my Sunday Letter. I’m not patting myself on the back yet, but one more, and we may have ourselves have a trend. If you missed my inaugural Sunday Letter, you can read it HERE.
The past week disappeared into a windy blur, a jumble of weather. Yes, we had seventy degrees followed by freezing weather followed by sun then fog. Nature always promises surprises this time of year. Just when I feel I may wither from cabin fever, sharp-bladed daffodil shoots slice...
February 16, 2018
A Spring Day during Winter. Another School Shooting.
Yesterday, Mother Nature blessed us with a spring day during winter. A brief respite. The chance to shed sweaters and coats and feel warm sunshine on bare arms.
Northwest Arkansas enjoyed temperatures in the mid-seventies.
John grilled steaks wrapped in bacon.
I searched for signs of spring. New life hides beneath dry leaves.
This all happened after I spoke at the University of Arkansas OLLI luncheon held at Bordino’s. OLLI invites an author to speak monthly. Lunch with an author, they call...
