Online paper gives us something to talk about

I just got an online subscription to the newspaper in my home town and it's done wonders for Mom and I. Before I call her I read the local headlines so when we're on the phone we have all kinds of things to discuss. We read the same articles so I can easily understand if she tries to tell me about a particular topic. Before she'd try to tell me about what she read but might forget a few details then realize it was not a complete story then she got flustered. This way I can ask her questions about the issues or people involved and it's a much better conversation.

On a more fun note: I won an honorable mention with the picture that you see to the right of this blog. It's Mom in the Summer of 2008. I submitted it to the local newspaper photo contest and won a small acknowledgement of $25 in gas. It's not a huge sum but it's something. The fun part is that the paper published it on Sunday, July 17, so Mom saw it and realized that I won with her photo. When I called her she was happy about it but said - with a chuckle - that the least I could do was use the gas to take her for a ride! I will gladly do that.