Category Archives: Random Ruminations

Elbows Off The Table

Posted on January 24, 2018 by Silver in the Barn

  “If your mother serves fried combat boot, you kids will eat it.” Thus ended any potential debate on the edibility factor of canned beets and succinctly describes the negotiation-free tone of my childhood. We were five kids who held … Continue reading →

Posted in Random Ruminations | Tagged , , , , , | 37 Comments

“When Books Went to War”

Posted on December 29, 2017 by Silver in the Barn

I read literature because I find traces of my private self within its pages. All my qualities -admirable and abundantly less so – are there, and in recognizing them I feel a lovely sense of relief that I’m not entirely … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, History | Tagged | 46 Comments

For Better or Worse…

Posted on November 6, 2016 by Silver in the Barn

His books, his booze, his Brooks Brothers shirts are all at home, but he is not. In their eighties, my once inseparable parents have been wrenched apart, physically anyway, by the disabling symptoms of Parkinson’s. Dad is in a veterans’ … Continue reading →

Posted in Random Ruminations, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 86 Comments

Defending the Chamois

Posted on May 30, 2015 by Silver in the Barn

The extraterrestrial has moved from the gardener to the blogger. If the gardener baffled, the blogger bewilders. Once again the Human Ambassador is summoned. ET: Why is the blogger frustrated and unhappy? HA: She feels pressure to remove some favorite things from her writing. ET: … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, Random Ruminations | Tagged , , , , , | 163 Comments

Turtle Update: Free At Last!

Posted on May 21, 2015 by Silver in the Barn

Five Photos, Five Stories #4 (only one more to go!) Challenge Rules: I am to post a photo each day for five consecutive days and attach a story to the photo. It can be fiction or non-fiction, a poem, or a … Continue reading →

Posted in Challenges, Random Ruminations | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 82 Comments

Bookplates, Bats, and Bovines. Oh My.

Posted on May 10, 2015 by Silver in the Barn

When I spied this vintage bookplate, my frugal side reminded me I really don’t need another owl image.  The little bat in the corner, however, proved too much to resist and  I now have an addition to my owl collection. Are you afraid of … Continue reading →

Posted in Art, Random Ruminations | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 130 Comments

The Ecstatic Gesture

Posted on May 7, 2015 by Silver in the Barn

This is not a post about daffodils, I assure you, in spite of the quote I am about to share. As we all know, the only way to plant daffodils is to pile them on to a tray, and then … Continue reading →

Posted in Random Ruminations | Tagged , , , , , , , | 155 Comments

War Stories: The Painting

Posted on April 20, 2015 by Silver in the Barn

I grew up listening to war stories told by my father, US Army Signal Corps, and my mother, a German child of WWII. This is the third in the series. The others are here and here. And maybe even here, now that … Continue reading →

Posted in History | Tagged , , , , , , , | 157 Comments

A Morning With Jocelyn

Posted on April 10, 2015 by Silver in the Barn

My very occasional housekeeper, Margarita, appeared yesterday with her “tail.” That’s how Mexican people refer to their trailing children, she explained, and with spring break upon us, the tail meant a visit from ten-year old Jocelyn. I first got to … Continue reading →

Posted in Garden, Random Ruminations | Tagged , , , , | 149 Comments

Flying Carpets

Posted on April 2, 2015 by Silver in the Barn

As I sit down to write about airport carpets, it occurs to me that a dear friend’s description of my blog as “quirky” might be right on the money. It can’t be helped, I’m afraid. I am drawn to the … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 142 Comments