Serve by Design

We are vacationing in Texas with family and friends and have had recent opportunities to use Google Translate. One was at the Walmart in the Austin area and another was at the Holiday Inn in Granbury. This free translation service is so handy to access through a smart phone and it immediately enhances communication! When we checked into our Granbury motel, I mentioned to management at the front desk that we would not be needing full room service during our brief two-night stay. We customarily, in such cases, just change out our washcloths and towels. Later in the day, I saw the housekeeping lady at the end of the hall. When I tried to speak to her about our preferences, she immediately replied in broken language, “No Habla Inglés!” Credit: Mohamed Hassan Image: pixabay.com The woman held her index finger up to signify that she needed one moment. She then opened an app on her cell phone and handed it to me. The English-Spanish translator was ready to use. I spoke into the microphone, ...

  During the course of an average summer, I deal with an assortment of living things. Our yard becomes a sanctuary for squirrels, rabbits, chipmunks, and a variety of birds from the beloved Cardinals to the bullying Bluebirds. We also have to control some welcomed pollinators like honeybees and bumblebees, but we're on guard against too many pesky wasps and spiders! We have had geese and ducks from a nearby pond try to lay their eggs under our bushes and “start their families” on our premises as well. Several years back, our dog Freddie gingerly rolled one of those goose eggs out of his mouth and onto the ground right in front of me. His tail was wagging wildly and the expression in his eyes seemed to say, "See what I brought you today, master! Do you still like me?!"😕 However, in the nearly thirty years we've lived in this house, I don’t think I have ever had a sizable tortoise (or turtle) take up residence under our rose-lavender flowering rhododendron plant though...