Branna (McCarty) Shores

Love’em or hate ‘em, pickles have a pertinent place in America and beyond.  The stats state that the average American packs away 8.5 pounds of pickles a year and Midwesterners are driving the trend. It’s time to realize the relevance of this requisite relish!  The prevalence of the pickle dates back many decades, even centuries. Cleopatra…

Crayons.  I credit Crayola for creating my craze for collecting. In the 1960s, Crayola crayons were a popular and affordable item, with boxes containing 8, 16 or 24 crayons, starting at a paltry price of 19 cents. The brand also introduced a built-in sharpener to the box of 64 crayons, which launched in 1958 –…

There was a time, in the words of John Denver, I would say “Country roads … take me home.” However, have you driven through Hamilton County lately?! Retailers, regal housing and roundabouts have replaced the rugged roads to my original nest in Noblesville. As we all know, Nob City has flourished since its days as…

The word fall has new meaning as I approach my 67th birthday.  What used to signal back-to-school sales and the turning of leaves now represents the risk of breaking a hip. “Taking a trip” doesn’t necessarily mean heading to Brown County anymore. This is my ode to getting older, my friends. Yes, I see things through…

Everyone has their demons and I certainly have mine: the Devil himself, diets and donuts. Don’t get me wrong. These things do plague me, but I have always preferred counting my blessings over calories. Nonetheless, the issue of food and weight has weighed heavily on me (no pun intended) my entire life. And as promised last week, this week…

The word is DOUGH. What first comes to mind – the bread you eat or what results in a receipt? Cash or crumbles? I care less about cash and careen more toward the cuisine. Yet, food has always been my frenemy. It’s always been something I’ve loved and longed for, but its lasting effects have invariably left…

When you were a kid, were you longing for a “Lassie”  or yearning for a lively Labrador like “Old Yeller?” In later years, I know my kids were begging for some Beethovens, but St. Bernards were out of the question! There are so many decisions when deciding to adopt a dog. But one thing is for sure,…

It was the mantra of the “He-Man Woman-Haters Club.” Yes, the lively, laughable Little Rascals declared the radical rule that disallowed Darla and her disciples, the MacGlicuddy Girls, investiture into their sacred grounds.  However, we girls who watched this delightful, yet debatable dilemma knew that boys had “cooties,” so the girls were better off anyway.…

As we’re facing the upcoming summer-to-fall transition, it reminds me that not only Mother Nature dictates our “seasons.” We roam through runs of relationships our entire life –  periods of preferred peers as kids, countless courtships and rendezvous’s with our various “Mr. and Mrs. Wrongs and Rights,” the perpetual period of parenthood and the ups…

How can this be? It seems like just yesterday that school let out for the summer.  Oh the agony…my winter blues are waiting in the wings. I remember the days when summer break meant three full months of frolicking fun in the sun. The end of July meant bracing for the upcoming “Dog Days of…