Talya Tate Boerner - grace grits and gardening

Sea Gifts

June 16, 2016 By Talya Tate Boerner

The best part of my recent book tour through Florida had very little to do with my book tour through Florida. It was more about the people I met, the sights I saw, the food I tasted, the things I felt and learned. Time passed at a leisurely pace, my mind felt open and boundless. Sea gifts. A good thing.

The first time I saw the sea I was young and we were in Mexico, on the Pacific side, and I found sand dollars and brought them home. I’ve never forgotten those early impressions—the vastness of the ocean, the salty breeze, palm trees and sandy dunes. The seashore was a place of myths, miracles, history, science, the unexplained and remarkable.

A place for thinking.
A place for not thinking at all.Continue Reading

Ten Tips for a Fun Family Reunion!

June 14, 2016 By Talya Tate Boerner

Here in the South we are all about “the reunion”. Family reunion, church reunion, class reunion… If you belong to a group of some sort—and of course you do!—there’s a good chance you’ll receive an invitation to a reunion before the end of summer. You may even be asked to plan it. Today I’m sharing my ten tips for a fun family reunion, tips to make yours a roaring success from planning to execution.

1. Planners gotta plan. There are a few people in our family who always step up and take charge. Whew! These people form the primary planning committee. They suggest two or three dates and a couple of locations and everyone votes. It’s the democratic way.

2. Spread the Word. Once a date and location is decided upon, it doesn’t take long to spread the word in our family. We are a group of talkers, and we have a family Facebook page. The thing to remember within a large family is that people get news different ways. It’s important to cover all the bases via email invitations, phone calls, Facebook, and mail paper invitations. (American Greetings has a great online site for printing free invitations!)Continue Reading

Yoda’s summer house, I found.

June 10, 2016 By Talya Tate Boerner

Yoda’s summer home, I found. Deep within the remote river swamps of the Apalachicola National Forest, he lives. Magnificent and beautiful, the area called to me, in a dark force sort of way.

Signs warned of alligators and bears. On high alert, I was, watching, mindful ever.

Yoda’s friends, I glimpsed—lizards and swallowtail butterflies. Hidden, alligators and bears stayed away.

Luckily, lost, I didn’t become.