Patricia Jones

1 week ago | alliancetimes.com | Patricia Jones

Last week Earl and I went to California, and we were mugged. By whales. Three humpbacks. “Mugged” is the official term, meaning we were held up. When whales swim close to a boat, we are required to shut down the engines and propellers and wait until the whales move on. The three humpbacks came right beside us and entertained us with their blows, flips, and dives for about thirty minutes.

2 weeks ago | alliancetimes.com | Patricia Jones

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.”I remember memorizing the Preamble to the Constitution as a child, and I can still recite those words.

1 month ago | alliancetimes.com | Patricia Jones

Many of you may have met Earl’s mother Delma during the year she lived with us. She could no longer remain living alone in her home because of dementia. After a year, her disease had progressed enough that we placed her in assisted living. Gradually we liquidated her assets to pay for her care. First, savings and CDs. Investments. Sell car. Cash out life insurance. Sell house and land. After a stroke she was partially paralyzed, and assisted living no longer provided enough care.

2 months ago | alliancetimes.com | Patricia Jones

Brrrr – It’s cold outside! It’s been too cold for so many of our regular outdoor activities. But we have enjoyed the birds in our backyard. We have feeders with birdseed and with sunflower seeds. Suet feeders attract woodpeckers. All those pumpkins and squash we bought in October have been stored in our garage. Now we bring them out, one at a time, and cut a hole in the side to allow access to seeds and flesh. What kinds of birds hang around Alliance in the winter?

Jan 22, 2025 | alliancetimes.com | Patricia Jones

Several years ago I was sitting at church fellowship with a friend who was about 25 years older than I was. I’ll call her Alice for this article. Alice pulled an envelope of cash out of her purse to buy something from a child in our church. I was surprised she carried that much cash, and she was surprised that I didn’t. A stay-at-home mom and housewife, Alice was given a certain amount of money every month from her husband. She had an envelope for groceries and an envelope for other expenses.