I'll Call It Like I See It

by sheila morris

For any who want more, complete list of all posts by month since 2011
  • The Tahoe Ten

    The Tahoe Ten


    The Tahoe Ten: East meets West for four days of fun and frivolity

    at beautiful Lake Tahoe

    (l. to r.) Debra, Pretty, me, Audrey, Jo Ann, Angie, Chris, Joan, Nekki, Francie

    Last week our friends Nekki and Francie placed Pretty and me on another American Airlines jet for our second (remember our first trip was to France) 2023 vacation requiring air travel thanks to their miles generosity – this time flying across the country from South Carolina to the California/Nevada border in Lake Tahoe where we met our old California friends Audrey and Debra we hadn’t seen in more than a dozen years, made new California friends Joan, Angie, Chris and Jo Ann we hoped we didn’t have to wait another twelve years to see again. I have christened us The Tahoe Ten.

    sign in kitchen in our lovely rental home – ok, this made me nervous

    Joan (packing necessities) arranged this fabulous trip for us!

    Francie had a tendency to supervise while Jo Ann remained cheerful, always helpful

    Angie admires Debra’s parasol for boating excursion on Lake Tahoe

    All Aboard!!

    Meanwhile, back on land…

    nighttime fun and games included Trivial Pursuit and shooting pool

    South Carolina Slo and California Chris big winners for very long game of 8-ball

    Pretty and me with Lake Tahoe and Sierra Mountains in background…

    on an unforgettable drive to Fallen Leaf Lake

    Audrey at Fallen Leaf post office

    (before our next stop at Harrah’s later that afternoon)

    special thanks to Jo Ann and Chris for poker education!

    sadly, Nekki’s luggage made trip to Phoenix instead of Sacramento

    (so she was seen wearing Pretty’s night gown)

    she and Francie were all smiles when Nekki’s luggage finally arrived

    all good things have to come to an end, but as Joan found out at the airport…

    Francie the OG Prankster can’t let a trip go by without somthing to remember her for

    As my mother used to say, this will be a Memory Maker, and I couldn’t have said it better myself. Thankfully no bears came through the kitchen window in our lovely mountain house, but we couldn’t leave without hugging the one that greeted us as we said farewell to The Tahoe Ten. If laughter was any indication, our trip was also a 10 on a scale of 1 to 10. We loved being with everyone – both old and new friends. East met West with great success!

  • passing the torch at the beach

    passing the torch at the beach


    Let the word go forth from this time
    and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed
    to a new generation of Americans.”
    — John F. Kennedy, January 20, 1961, Inauguration Day

    (l. to r.) 3 year old Ella and her Nana, 5 year old Collins and her Kitty

    friends in the water

    friends on dry land

    Let’s blow this popsicle stand

    Grandma Camp at Folly Beach, South Carolina

    all photos courtesy of our designated photographer Nekki

    ****************************

    Slava Ukraini. For the children.

  • age is just a number, and Ella says hers is unlisted

    age is just a number, and Ella says hers is unlisted


    How old are you, Ella? my friend asked our granddaughter Ella. Ella looked at me. I looked at her. Tell her how old you are, Sweet, I said. Ella appeared disinterested in the question, almost as if she were thinking why are the elderly so concerned with my age – can’t they show more curiosity? No one ever asks me what I’m thinking about, for example.

    I’m 4 October, Ella finally replied.

    (which was her interpretation of what we typically say her age is:

    she’s 3 but will be 4 on October 1st)

    ****************

    Overheard at bedtime last weekend:

    Nana, why can’t you come live with me and Molly and Daddy and Mama? Ella asked.

    Oh, darling, Nana has her own house and has to take care of three dogs and Naynay, too, Nana replied.

    Naynay can take care of the dogs, Ella said.

    Problem solved.

    *****************

    Molly and me watching Wimbledon – I miss them both

    Pretty and I acknowledge and embrace our adoration of our two granddaughters Ella and Molly. We realized when Ella was born we would become the typical grandmothers who think their little girl might be the cutest, smartest and funniest child ever. When Molly was born, we were sure they both were.

    *******************

    Following a week of Vacation Bible School at Lolly and Pop’s church, I asked Ella if she knew who Jesus was. She said she did. I said well, good, tell me and Nana about him. Nana was in the front seat driving the car. Ok, Ella said and then came the slightest pause. She tilted her head slightly in Nana’s direction and said hmmm…Jesus was somebody that…hmmmm…(long pause)…he had…hmmm…he was really…hmmm… Naynay, I don’t know anything about Jesus.

    ************************

    Slava Ukraini. For the children.

  • blue bottle tree symbol of healing, hope and peace

    blue bottle tree symbol of healing, hope and peace


    our front yard pretty in pink on a summer Sunday

    my friend Julie on Sunday morning coming down…Wren

    lavendar crape myrtles in summer bloom on Wren

    our blue bottle tree a Southern tradition symbol of healing, hope and peace

    we wish for healing, hope and peace for the people of Ukraine

    Slava Ukraini. For the children.

  • the legacy of Carport Kitty

    the legacy of Carport Kitty


    Nine months ago in October, 2022 Pretty and I said our final goodbye to Carport Kitty, a calico cat we shared with our Cardinal Avenue neighbors for two years. We shed many tears that day and in the days since, but her legacy lives on in the carport she called home.

    ****************

    two feral cats flank stray cat in middle

    all welcomed in memory of Carport Kitty

    stray cat wants to come inside – definitely socialized by someone

    can you please give me a home?