Blog

Blog

The (Unofficial) Obituary of Howard Beetle

Howard Beetle passed away on June 17, 2020 on top of a bathroom sink. He was a longhorn beetle and an Iowa forest native. As…

joyclevelandMarch 17, 2021

Blog

Happy New Year?

Today is the last day of 2020. As I write this blog, I’m debating with myself. Should I wish everyone a Happy New Year? Didn’t…

joyclevelandDecember 31, 2020

Blog

What Happens in the Kitchen: A Holiday Confession

We humans like ‘perfect’—perfect hair, perfect weather, perfect kids, perfect WiFi, perfect cheese plates… According to one website, the perfect cheese plate must have the following: Homemade wheat…

joyclevelandDecember 20, 2020

Blog

The WAIT Button

In my corner of the world, I’m looking at brightly-colored leaves that are hanging onto branches for dear life. Many of their cohorts have floated…

joyclevelandOctober 23, 2020

Blog

BLOG Paused for TRASH PICK-UP

Can we 'talk trash' for a minute? Years ago I lived in a community that only allowed one 33-gallon bag of garbage per week. (I…

joyclevelandAugust 3, 2020

Blog

The HELP Button

A few weeks ago, I was mowing. In Iowa, mowing is a fact of life. We were months into the spring season and rain and…

joyclevelandJune 24, 2020

Blog

The ESCAPE Button

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could just push an ESCAPE button? That’s how I felt on a particular evening in 1998. My kids were…

joyclevelandMay 8, 2020

Blog

The PAUSE Button

Many years ago, I lived in 'Crazy Town.' I was a full-time, stay-at-home mom for seven years. By 1995, I had four young children, a…

joyclevelandApril 28, 2020

Blog

The DELETE Button

I think it’s safe to say I’m shaking in my tennis shoes. This ‘feels’ like my first day of kindergarten. I’ve just read articles on…

joyclevelandApril 14, 2020

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