TOY KEEPERS

Are you a toy keeper? I must confess that I am. What to do. We must downsize. We need to declutter. The nearest grandchildren are far away in MICHIGAN. I borrow my neighbor’s daughters on a regular basis to get a dose of childhood joy in this house, but they are not into trucks and … Read more

PHYLLIS

On an otherwise ordinary afternoon, we decided to look around for a smaller, newer, more fuel efficient car. And there she was, white and gleaming in the sun. Clean as a whistle, a 2022 Kia with less than 3000 miles under her belt. The price was right. An observant passerby stopped to encourage us with … Read more

COTTAGE CHEESE NOSTALGIA

Remember the little TV birdie from the 1950’s? “I got six seconds to say…’Buy Kraft Cottage Cheese… you’ll love it love it… buy Kraft (BEEP) Cottage Cheese’”. Yesterday I learned that cottage cheese is making a comeback from the ‘90’s. Really? What do these infants know? Let’s go back to past eons for some real … Read more

CHEESECAKE THERAPY

We are just now pulling out of a three week trip into the Valley of the Shadow, from an injury that resulted in a deeply infected shoulder. After two surgeries and two weeks in the hospital, followed by a week of rehab, my husband is home and very happy to be here. I am happy … Read more

SPRING EXPLOSION

Somebody somewhere dumped over the paintbox. Color everywhere. The forest burgeoning with delicate green lace, backed by a sky of fathomless blue, reaching beyond space/time. Snowy pink tinged apple blossoms in the orchard. Bright blue jays vying with crimson cardinals on the windowsill feeder. Tiny lavender violets springing up in unexpected nooks and crannies. Golden … Read more

HAIR OBSESSION

After blogging about my red hair and seeing the reactions, I began to realize how much of my life has been focused on my hair. Why is this? I was born with the genes for what became a thick mop of auburn curls. For whatever reason, my mother thought it necessary to perm up my … Read more

RED HAIR QUANDARY

Here’s the problem. I was born a redhead, and that’s the main reason why my husband married me. He adores redheads. But somewhere along the way, my locks betrayed me. My lovely (even if I do say so myself) red hair gradually turned to a yawningly monotonous brown. And someone began to complain. “Married a … Read more

BIRD MAN OF DERRY

I married the Bird Man. This obsession of his is deeply rooted in his childhood summers spent with Uncle Kenny on the turkey farm in northern Minnesota. Once school was over for the year, he was shipped off to help out with those thousands of birds, and possibly to be moved out from underfoot of … Read more

DANDELION POPPER

It’s the time of year again when those sneaky little devils start popping up all over the lawn. Their perky blossoms shout out in contrast to the fresh green grass. I love yellow and green together. How springy is that? But someone has defined these guys as weeds, and I so it goes – we … Read more

SCATTERED SHOWERS

Long ago, the poet T.S. Eliot wrote this: ‘April is the cruelest month”. I think I may know what he meant. Days and days of sun versus rain. Scatttered showers, says the weather report. Temperatures refusing to move much above the 50 degree mark. Hovering between winter and summer, we hope for just one warm … Read more