by Susan Mattern | Nov 14, 2018 | Atheist, Life, Religion, Values
I know, I know, I’m an atheist, and I don’t believe Jesus was the Son of God because I don’t believe in a God. But having been a Catholic for 38 years, and a nun for 6 of them, I do know something about Jesus. Or at least the values that Jesus...
by Susan Mattern | Nov 11, 2018 | Happiness, Money
Twenty years ago, an elderly friend died and left us $5,000. It was a complete surprise –– he had never once mentioned it –– and the thing I regretted most was that I wasn’t able to thank him for the gift. A few days after we received the check, I wondered how I...
by Susan Mattern | Nov 10, 2018 | Car, Life
I wrote a blog last week about the two things I wanted in a new car: cup holders and it had to be red! Well, we bought our new car. First of all, it wasn’t a red Ferrari, which I’m very glad about. Their mileage is terrible, and the price tag is $242,000....
by Susan Mattern | Oct 29, 2018 | Car, Family, Ferrari, Life
My husband noticed a Ferrari in front of us the other day. It turned into the McDonald’s drive-thru right in front of us. I laughed. “Fast food! Maybe that’s how he was able to buy the Ferrari.” It was actually my husband who noticed that the...
by Susan Mattern | Oct 20, 2018 | Family, World War II
[Photo: Ed Harper next to his plane in World War II] I’ve been privileged to know many amazing and wonderful people in my life. One of them was my brother-in-law, Ed Harper. Ed died four years ago at age 93. He was the second-to-last survivor of the original...
by Susan Mattern | Oct 19, 2018 | Blogging, Writing
I started writing blogs so that I could tell people about my book, “Out of the Lion’s Den.” I created a Facebook author page, which is @susanmatternauthor and went on Instagram (as mattern.susan) for the same reason. My blogs have actually been so much fun...
by Susan Mattern | Oct 14, 2018 | Food, Scotland
I have loved every moment of my visits to Scotland, and now that we have an adopted set of relatives there courtesy of my daughter-in-law’s mother, it’s even more special. Even though I’m Irish and German, I felt an immediate affinity for Scotland....
by Susan Mattern | Oct 12, 2018 | Confidence
There are many ways to gain confidence. I’ve belonged to Toastmasters for years, and I’ve gradually gotten to be a better speaker just by getting up in front of people and conquering the fear of public speaking. Everyone in Toastmasters is like me – people...
by Susan Mattern | Oct 7, 2018 | Human Connection
I was a guest at a wonderful wedding recently. A long-time Pakistani friend, the bride, got married to a young man of Irish Catholic heritage. The wedding took place here in Orange County. What a delightful blend of cultures. The bride wore a traditional Pakistani...
by Susan Mattern | Oct 4, 2018 | Life
Rain in California is very different than rain in other parts of the country. I know that from years of experience. When I was growing up in St. Louis, it was either raining or it wasn’t. Let me explain. The weatherman- yes, it was always a man- might...
