by Sharon Kennedy A snow packing roller like dad used (pic. from my Ireland trip)As January winds blow into February, we continue to hunker down and hold on. Those of us who call Michigan’s Upper Peninsula home know we’re facing eight or more weeks of snow, icy winds, and freezing…
By Sharon Kennedy My old wristwatches and clocks (above) Everybody wants to know where the time goes. Most of us have no idea what happened to January, but we all know that after Valentine’s Day February will go just as fast. Once the fuss of St. Patrick’s Day is over,…
Sharon in Plaid (center) with siblings A plaid shirt is as much a part of my wardrobe today as it was when I was a kid. Some of you might remember the plaid shirts that matched the plaid lining in our overalls. Such garments were staples for kids in the…
by Sharon M. Kennedy Sharon is no longer afraid of Herefords! s I grew up on a farm in the eastern end of the Upper Peninsula where winters are long and cold. As a youngster, I loved the first few snowfalls, especially if the snow was packy. It was great…
by Sharon M. Kennedy Growing up on my sideroad in the 1950s was a lot different than it is today. In those days, the county lacked the sophisticated equipment required to level snow banks. As kids, we often dug holes in the four feet high banks and hollowed out forts….
by Sharon M. Kennedy I’ll admit it. I’ve committed the only unpardonable crime in America. It has nothing to do with a legal infraction that could easily be dismissed by hiring a competent lawyer. I didn’t make elaborate coup plans or check out questionable Internet sites. The silent crime more…
by Sharon Kennedy Melancholy is as much a part of me as my right arm. What would I do without my constant companion? Who would I turn to for comfort? Sometimes I stand in my yard and feel the wind upon my face. Regardless of the season it doesn’t take…
As retold by W. Somerset Maugham, 1933 (The Speaker is Death) There was a merchant in Baghdad who sent his servant to market to buy provisions and in a little while the servant came back, white and trembling and said, “Master, just now when I was in the marketplace I…
by Sharon M. Kennedy Puff the Cat guarding the fruitcake Say what you will, but I like fruitcake, my version anyway. I bypass all the candied, sulfite-riddled sticky peel and go straight for dates and nuts. I drench them with frozen orange juice and a good amount of amaretto and…
by Sharon M. Kennedy Prior to selling them last year, every December I got out my collection of Christmas dishes. Some had trees on them. Others were vintage green with red holly. One set depicted snowmen. Over the years I purchased miscellaneous sets from various places because dishes are my…
by Sharon M. Kennedy Mom heading to the wellhouse to check her mouse trap line Remember when a mouse was something you caught in a trap and didn’t want to touch? When I was a kid, checking Mom’s trap line was my least favorite chore. I didn’t mind any other…
by Sharon Kennedy In 2018, now retired Capt. Ray Sheldon of Escanaba invited me to sail aboard his ship, the Joseph L. Block. On Nov. 14, the ship was at the Cedarville quarry around 1800 hours, in other words, 6:00 p.m. EST. I don’t drive at night so I arrived…
For those of us who lived on a farm in the old days, the slop pail was an essential kitchen fixture. Most farmers kept a few pigs and anything not consumed by the family was thrown in the pail. Table scraps, potato and carrot peelings, onion skins, celery strings, and…
Throughout the years most of the women I’ve had the pleasure of meeting had two things in common. At one time or another, they all tried their hand at selling Avon products and when that idea fizzled, they took a cake decorating class. I have to admit, I’m part of…
One characteristic of all newlyweds or seasoned house hunters is their insistence upon stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, and stone floors. The marketing genius who came up with the idea of going sockless must be the same one who brainwashed homebuyers into thinking they need a kitchen outfitted with “upgrades”…
For years I longed for a beautiful leather chair. It was my opinion that every writer’s study should have bookshelves teeming with dusty classics, a fireplace to give the room a cozy feel, and a luxurious leather chair to complete the look. Mind you, my so-called study was only a…
Joseph L. Block (courtesy of Roger LeLievre) Years ago when the Great Lakes teemed with freighters the sound of a foghorn breaking the morning stillness was a familiar one. The Soo Locks would be thick with ships heading upbound for Lake Superior and Duluth or downbound towards the St. Lawrence…
I was walking down the road this morning and noticed the fields were full of vegetation going to seed. I thought about the seasonal cycles and how nature knows when it’s time to wrap up one and begin the next. The fields and forests have no calendars or smartphones to…
One morning a long time ago I was chatting on the telephone with my brother when the conversation unexpectedly turned to something he referred to as the “Thursday Night Bellyache” aka TNB for short. I asked if it was a new malady raging across the country. Was it something mentioned…
As September winds blow into October, woodsheds should be well-stocked and stacked to the rafters. If this winter is anything like the last one, wood-burning stoves, furnaces, and fireplaces will get a daily workout trying to keep the cold at bay. Although I don’t heat my home with wood, one…
Two women, both loners who had rejected a safe, predictable lifestyle and turned their back on tradition, met one April afternoon in 2018 and talked for an hour. Although strangers, they soon discovered they had much in common. At the age of 50, each had made a major decision in…
My brother was driving his old white Dodge pick-up real slow and I knew why. Malcolm was in the bed, and my brother was trying to miss all the ruts in the lane leading to the open field behind his house. He didn’t want to jostle the dog. My heart…
Uncle Steve and the rototiller (1972) Uncle Steve’s garden stretched before me like Adam’s Eden. Every kind of edible plant that could survive Michigan’s Upper Peninsula weather poked its head through the rich brown soil. Bright red tomatoes hung from thick green vines. Hiding underneath enormous elephant leaves, zucchini roamed…
Summer slipped away like warm rain running down a drainpipe. Autumn winds carried wildflower seeds in all directions ensuring next year’s pastures would be abundant with Queen Anne’s lace, yellow mustard, bluebells, and delicate pink Roses of Sharon. School bells clanged the opening of another academic year. Girls in…
Sharon M. Kennedy joins more than a dozen Upper Michigan authors from all ends of the peninsula will gather on October 9th, 2021 for the 4th Upper Peninsula Authors Day Book Fair at the Campfire Co-Works in downtown Marquette. Participating authors from Upper Michigan will gather to meet their current…
