Suzanne Schaffer

There were some strange television shows on after school in the late 70's. Bewitched , M*A*S*H , Happy Days , Laverne and Shirley , and That Girl . I never liked watching between school and dinner unless there was an Afterschool Special on because I found the shows to be boring. The humor was probably over my little-girl intellect but to this day I relate these shows to dark rainy days. Do you know a That Girl? The one that fills your mind with unkind memories? The one Marlo Thomas played was not the kind of girl I'm talking about. She was sweet and kind but the phrase That Girl only makes me think of one thing and my That Girl was Kendra.  Early last week I attended the auction of a doll collector. I filled a mini van with dolls that I intended to resell. One of these dolls reminded me of Kendra. From the minute I saw it it filled me with a hint of resentment. I put it aside because it was an old chalk doll and I figured it was worth something, but every time I sat down ...

Since I was teen in the eighties the above picture is one I'm familiar with. Cassette tapes were the rage and we'd sit with our fingers on the record button just waiting for the new Amy Grant song to come on the radio (Saved by Love, released the summer of '88..) so we could record it for our own.  One company coined the phrase, "Is it live or is it Memorex?" for their cassettes, insisting they had the best quality. Their question has been floating in and out of my mind for the past several months, with a slight change. My new tagline reads: Is it real or is it menopause? Because, really. What is going on? One day I'm merrily living life and then BAM! I suddenly look in the mirror and feel worthless from head to toe. My dreams and goals look like nonsense. My self image is still there somewhere. I can't find it though since it's being hidden by brain fog. If I do find it I certainly can't talk about it because my words come out all be...

I can hear my husband clanging tools around in the garage. He's going through his twenty-four year collection and putting together a tool box for our twenty-two year old son.  Gulp. When did we become parents of an adult who is able to move out and live on his own? He's coming home tomorrow to collect the furniture he's chosen from our house and some other things. He's been gone for a few years but has always come home for summer and holidays. This time it's permanent. There won't be any more summers at home. I won't have to tiptoe around while he's still sleeping. I won't have to chase him out of the shower because he's been in there for a very long time. I won't have to buy Cooper cheese or boxes of Macaroni & Cheese anymore.  The tool box Wayne is putting together for him will last him many years. He'll hang pictures, tighten bolts, and fix small accidents with it. It'll stay by his side as he begins new chapters...

My fourth grade teacher died last week. He was my favorite teacher of all to that point, and remained so throughout my schooling. His class was the one everyone wanted to be in.  He brought the incubator to school. We were the lucky ones.  We got to watch the chicken eggs go from lifeless white ovals to beaks pecking through the shell. When the chicks emerged our class was the first to see it. The other classes paraded through to catch a glimpse of the miracle of life but we sat with it all day long. Fourth grade was a turning point in my life. It was the last year of public schooling I had. It was the year my best friend Vicky moved to Florida and my crush (Shawn) moved to that far away land of Ohio. Vicky and I spent many hours playing ding dong ditch at Shawn's house. I still have my diary from that year.  Apparently Shawn passed this PTA Parent's note out one day. My mother never saw it (until now, sorry mom!) My 4th grade Valentine from ...

As I sit on my porch on this warm spring afternoon I can hear the songs of many different birds. Bees dance from flower to flower and the breeze quietly blows in waves through the needles on the pine trees. I hear the hum of traffic on a nearby highway and the winding of a fishing rod as my five year old next door neighbor practices his fishing skills. He casts his line into the grass with abandon. Not caring where it lands, just enjoying the action of doing it. "Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you." I Peter 5:7 (NIV) "Cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken." Psalm 55:22 (NIV) As I watch him playing in his yard these verses come alive to me. He looks back and asks his daddy if he's doing it right. He wants to be strong enough to reel in the big one so he practices letting go over and over. Simply cast it out as far as we can. Sometimes we have to let the same things go over an...

  Exciting news for fans of Denise Hunter's stories: Her book The Convenient Groom  is making its silver screen premiere as a Hallmark Channel Original Movie! Join Denise and other readers on Facebook  on June 16th for a fun author chat party at 8:00 PM EDT (that's 7:00 Central, 6:00 Mountain, & 5:00 Pacific)! Denise will be chatting about the book, answering your questions about the book-to-movie process, and of course, there will be plenty of fun giveaways too: a $100 Amazon gift card and 25 signed copies of Denise's newest book, The Goodbye Bride ! The movie releases two days after the author chat party on Saturday, June 18th, 9 EDT/8 CDT. Click here for details and to find out more about the movie. Get your copy of The Convenient Groom  so you're ready for a fun book discussion. You can order your copy and find out more about the book here . Hope to see you on June 16 for Denise's  The Convenient Groom Pre-Premiere Facebook Party !

I'm aware I've been fairly silent lately. I've a lot going on as I'm sure you do too. Just wanted to take a moment to share some of my favorite cooking hacks with you.  I always use parchment paper when I bake. Line the baking sheet with it (preparing my oven fries above) and cleanup is a breeze.  Here you'll see me wearing gloves. I wear these disposables when I'm doing messy kitchen work. Mixing meatballs, marinating chicken, or anything that forces an in depth hand-washing. This allows me to continue in the kitchen without having to spend much time scrubbing my hands.  What are your favorite kitchen hacks?