Lemonade Chronicles Life; Gently Squeezed

Category Archives: Life And Family

The Reluctant Smile

12 March 2018 8:07 pm ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

In this week’s pencil drawing I take a different approach. Instead of someone famous I attempt to draw an awesome picture of a grandmother. This grandmother was fondly remembered by their grandchild in a Reddit post. The person who posted the picture indicated that their grandmother didn’t really like smiling in photographs, but they were able to capture a smile in a candid photograph. I was moved by the picture and offered to draw it for them.

I feel that I fell short in appropriately representing the grandmother’s smile – I felt the drawing was, while technically good from lighting and shading, a bit dark.

Here’s the process.

First, please enjoy the wonderful picture of the grandmother.

The wonderful candid capture of the smile

Here’s the start of each Read More

Posted in: Art, Drawing, Life and Family ⋅ Tagged:

Define: Love

2 July 2015 11:50 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

When we do wrong (and we all do wrong) God calls it sin and it separates us from Him. God has provided a way for everyone to gain and maintain their relationship with Him.

God's Love through Jesus - that we all need.

God’s Love through Jesus – that we all need.

Posted in: God's Country, Jesus, Life and Family, signs of God ⋅ Tagged: , ,

God is good…

12 October 2014 9:01 pm ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

God is good...

Posted in: God's Country, Jesus, Kid's Stuff, Life and Family, Nonfiction, signs of God

Cactus

14 May 2013 7:09 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

Only the toughest survive in the harsh Arizona climate. And even then, the toughest sometimes succumb to the realities of the life cycle.

The Rigors of Arizona Desert Life

The Rigors of Arizona Desert Life

Hiking through the Usery Mountain Recreation Area with my wife, Patti, I came across a cactus that had seen better days. The texture of the inside demanded my attention and made me think about the challenges life throws at us and what those challenges can do to us. Read More

Posted in: God's Country, Life and Family, psychology, signs of God

Choosing the Right Woman

13 May 2013 8:34 pm ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

Choices, like Baskin-Robbins ice cream, come in many flavors.

Actually, I prefer Dairy Queen to Baskin-Robbins, but there was no witty way to tie in DQ with the concept of multiple choice options. DQ blizzards – in particular, Reese’s peanut butter cup – are my favorite; that’s what I choose when we enjoy a dairy-based confectionery treat.

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Posted in: Life and Family, Nonfiction, personal essay, psychology, short story

The Bowling Ball

26 April 2013 12:00 pm ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

 Bowling balls, for those who live outside New England, are large spheres, about the size of a soccer ball. They are made of compressed plastic or resin and have three holes (two finger and one thumb) to make gripping a ball this size easier. These spheres are used in ten-pin bowling and are measured in pounds. Their weight ranges, typically, between six and sixteen pounds. Read More

Posted in: Kid's Stuff, Life and Family, literary journalism, Nonfiction, psychology, short story

New Suits

14 April 2013 9:49 am ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

New Suits by Rick Forristall

The seemingly innocuous task of buying a suit takes on a whole new meaning

The seemingly innocuous task of buying a suit takes on a whole new meaning

“Okay guys, it’s time to go,” Dad said to us, somberly. His challenges were plenty during those days – most would consider them insurmountable. This day’s required activity surely didn’t make his life any easier – spending money he didn’t have for an event he probably wished away, four hundred or ten thousand times every day.

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Posted in: Kid's Stuff, Life and Family, Nonfiction, psychology, short story ⋅ Tagged: , , , ,

The Canteen Truck: The beginning and ending of my life of crime

11 April 2013 9:27 pm ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅

(This is a memoir writing assignment for my Nonfiction Fundamentals course with Southern NH University.)

The Canteen Truck

(The beginning and ending of my life of crime)

Disclaimer: some names have been changed to protect the guilty – or maybe because I forgot them?

“C’mon Rick, you’re the perfect size.” Wow, that is so cool; no one ever said that about me. “Perfect size, yay! Perfect size for what?” I ask while running fast to John. John’s a big kid, three years older than me. “C’mere,” he says, wrapping his arm over my shoulder and behind my neck. His hand lands on my other shoulder. “D’ya see that truck? It’s called a canteen truck.” “You’re silly,” I say, chuckling. “I know it’s a canteen truck.” “Do you know what’s inside it?” I tell him sure I do. There’s candy, cookies, gum and Cokes inside – where we lived, near Boston, we called any soft drink a Coke back then. “Why?” “We want some,” said John.

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Posted in: Kid's Stuff, Life and Family, Nonfiction, psychology ⋅ Tagged: , ,

Save Marriage with one Simple Step

25 February 2013 9:03 pm ⋅ Leave a Comment ⋅
Sobering Marriage Statistics

Sobering Marriage Statistics

Did you know, according to the US Census Bureau (Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2012 http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s0131.pdf), in marriages starting during the period 1985 – 1989, only 66% reach their 15th anniversary? Yet what is it we focus on when preparing for the wedding day?

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Posted in: Life and Family, psychology