Category Archives: Uncategorized

January 20th, 2025 ~ Monday (a very bad birthday for MLK and a dark day for America) I would be remiss, if I didn’t point out that it didn’t dawn on me until just this moment that my word of/for … Continue reading →

January 19, 2025 ~ Sunday (a lazy, cold, wintry day) One might think my cabin fever has taken over if I’m saying things like … hurkle-durkle. But, while I do have cabin fever (quite badly only after two days), that … Continue reading →

January 18, 2025 ~ Saturday (17° out and 5″ of snow … where is Spring?!) Hibernation … what I seem to be doing at the moment … is a seasonal heterothermy – ‘the physiological adaptation that allows animals to regulate … Continue reading →

January 16, 2025 ~ Thursday (mild/going for a walk before all hell breaks loose tomorrow) Birth days … unless you are E.T. or have been hatched, you have one. The day you were born was your birth day. The anniversary … Continue reading →

January 15, 2025 … Wednesday night (cold/the “Siberian Express” is on its way … brr!) And so it goes. Just when I had committed myself (sometimes I think I should commit myself!) to writing a blog post every day and … Continue reading →

January 3, 2025 ~ Friday (temperate, sunny, but still winter!) Is it Spring yet? The flakes are falling – and I am not referring to snowflakes – but my dry skin. Sorry – that’s really gross! I know – fat … Continue reading →

January 2, 2025 ~ Thursday (night: cold and dark … as nights usually are in January) Nearly 13 years ago I challenged myself to this blog … to write a piece, of whatever came to mind, every day for a … Continue reading →

January 1, 2025 ~ Wednesday night (dark) And so it (the New Year) begins … again. The same/but different. How can that be? Years ago in one of my early New Years posts I shared a quote from Dr. Seuss … Continue reading →

December 31, 2024 ~ Tuesday (late morning/sunny but chilly) Happy (almost) New Year. As I type, we’ve got another 13 hours (my lucky number) to go until we can close the lid on this year. And what a year! I’m … Continue reading →

December 18, 2024 (Wednesday/early morning) Grief … I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately. Grief and the grieving process. I don’t dwell on it … it is just one of those things that pops into my head (and heart) … Continue reading →

December 7, 2024 ~ Saturday (sunny, chilly now but going up to 64°!) It’s unusually warm here this week – with temps in the 60s this weekend. But, snow is forecasted for Monday! Welcome to December in Colorado! And, how … Continue reading →

November 22, 2024 ~ Friday morning (chilly, sun is rising, another day in paradise and political hell) I woke up today thinking, as I have done so since the election, of all things politics. Not exactly the nicest or best … Continue reading →

November 6, 2024 ~ Wednesday (early morning/it’s snowing/I’m crying) It’s early morning after the 2024 Presidential election. I am on my way to bed – again – as sleep is alluding me. I can hardly get any words out of … Continue reading →

November 4, 2024 (Monday morning – gray/mizzly/chance of snow … and destruction) I feel sick. Anxious. I can’t sleep. My stomach is doing better flips than I did as a cheerleader in high school. Triple ones – I never did … Continue reading →

October 3, 2024 ~ Thursday (still in the 80s or higher here!) Sweater Weather … the two words that bring coziness to mind along with crisp morning air, trees putting on their colorful displays, woodsmoke, and all things autumnal. Well, … Continue reading →

August 24, 2024 ~ Saturday (afternoon/need to go run errands but it’s in the 90s again!) Patience. According to the Oxford dictionary it means … the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset. … Continue reading →

July 18, 2024 ~ Thursday (another hot day expected – oh joy!) It has been one of those mornings. I’m grumpy due to the heat (more of the same) and isolation (my summer of silence due to throat surgery continues). … Continue reading →

June 10, 2024 ~ Monday (a lovely cool evening) I was going through my writing portfolio last night and came upon a story that I wrote in early 2021. I posted this on this blog in April of that year. … Continue reading →

June 8, 2024 ~ Saturday (evening/the robins are peeping their goodnights and the animals are restless) There is a squirrel in my kitchen. Well, not at this moment … we chased him out. But about 45 seconds ago there was … Continue reading →

May 26, 2024 ~ Sunday night (lilies, lilies, so many lilies) In the blink of an eye, two months have evaporated. It was late March when I last posted and just like that … it’s the end of May. How … Continue reading →

March 28, 2024 ~ Thursday (spring like temps but still 6″ of snow on the ground) Every so often I find myself out of the shower, not quite dried off, and wrestling to pull my yoga pants onto my damp … Continue reading →

March 18, 2024 (Monday – over halfway through this month! Crazy!) I was looking through my pantry last weekend while wondering what to make for dinner when my eyes spied a can of cannellini beans. That one little look brought … Continue reading →

March 10, 2024 ~ Sunday morning (sunny/warming up … first day of daylight saving time this year! Woohoo!) OMG … I can feel winter sloughing off of me as I type. It’s to be 65° today here, despite it being … Continue reading →

March 6, 2024 ~ Wednesday (sunny and mild) I saw a body get bagged this morning – as in a body bag – as in they would soon be on their way to the morgue. I felt awful, as just … Continue reading →

February 23, 2024 ~ Friday (afternoon/sunny/warmer than Feb usually is – nice) A million years ago (or so it seems), on this date, my childhood dog was born, Marvin. I’m thinking something like 60 years ago. How is that possible? … Continue reading →

February 11, 2024 ~ Sunday (Sunny, snow is melting and it’s the Superbowl ~ so what?!)) It snowed yesterday in my little corner of the world. I am not glad for it, other than it brings our thirsty trees and … Continue reading →

February 5, 2024 ~ Monday night (cold, late, dark) It’s funny when you get a look – however brief it may be – into another’s life. Even if you don’t know that person. So many things run through your head … Continue reading →

February 3, 2024 ~ Saturday pm (cold, snowy, purple skies) Good ol’ Punxsutawny Phil forecasted an early spring. Hooray and yahoo! However, maybe his prediction wasn’t to include this weekend. The dogs are snuggled on the couch; Mac is staring … Continue reading →

January 22, 2024 ~ Monday morning (unseasonably warm – I’ll take it!) I’d like to wish you all a Happy New Year – but we are already three weeks into this new year – so, I’ll wish you a Happy … Continue reading →

November 7, 2023 ~ Tuesday night (another day/another night/more meds, please) I consider myself a healthy person – relatively speaking. Yes, I’m sensitive to almost everything on the planet, allergic to a few others, and a sesame seed away from … Continue reading →

October 24, 2023 ~ Tuesday morning (the last few days of 70-80 degrees are upon us) I set myself up for this. I know I do. I’ve done it before … and I’ll do it again. But, it never gets … Continue reading →

October 12, 2023 ~ Thursday (Fall has arrived … it’s 48° and fall-chilly … finally!) As a kid growing up, we did not have fish. No tetras or goldfish in aquariums or bowls on any tabletops. And, for that matter, … Continue reading →

October 9, 2023 ~ Monday morning (Summer’s last hurrah this week – 80s before 50s!) It goes without saying (but I’ll say it anyway) that there are a lot (as in a LOT) of bad things happening around the world … Continue reading →

September 8, 2023 ~ Friday morning-ish (eating breakfast – this has been bubbling inside me for hours) A little short story for you today. ****** It was a dark and stormy night … If only. Danielle always wrote better when … Continue reading →

August 30th ~ Wednesday (hot afternoon, semi-wilted/baked/fried) Today I had an early morning dog-drop. 6:30 am to be exact. Early morning to some, normal morning time for others, pretty much “middle of the night” for me! Having finally fallen asleep … Continue reading →

August, 29th, 2023 ~ Tuesday (before my coffee, a very pleasant 76°, and nicely quiet) I could say it’s oddly quiet – but that might conjure up eeriness and disquiet. It’s the opposite of that – calm, sunny, a slightly … Continue reading →

August 3, 2023 ~ Thursday (HOT afternoon, chance (again) of thunderstorms) Despite the forecast stating we were to be in the low 80s these past two days – we are in the high 80s/low 90s with humidity, instead. I’m sticky, … Continue reading →

July 2nd, 2023 ~ Sunday night (68° at nearly midnight/tomorrow is to be warmer – hello dog days of summer!) Nearly three years ago – at the tail end of the “dog days of summer” (the hot period of summer … Continue reading →

June 22, 2023 ~ Thursday (torrential rains at the moment/marble-sized hail/craziness!) Happy Solstice and Happy Summer! It’s been a while – guess the lobster was vacationing – off at a clam bake or something. Actually, the lobster was on vacation … Continue reading →

April 15, 2023 ~ Saturday (tax day in America … a sunny, cool, spring day – at least it’s not snowing!) I need to do some things – like go to Home Depot and get more mulch and soil (I … Continue reading →

March 10, 2023 ~ Friday (Amazingly nice out – we must be expecting a surprise blizzard!) I like rainbows. Dorothy traveled over one. Israel (Izzy) Kamakawiwoʻole sang (so beautifully) about “somewhere” over one. Sunshine after storms creates them. They are … Continue reading →

February 2, 2023 … Thursday night (Groundhog Day … stupid rodent predicted six more weeks of winter!) And so I start off on a lovely note. I am one of those people, crazy perhaps, that thinks that the celebrity and … Continue reading →

January 13, 2023 ~ Friday (am needing coffee but though sunny, there’s still too much snow on the ground for this lover of green) … Well, earlier this morning, something came to my mind and I thought … Oh, that … Continue reading →

January 9, 2023 … Monday pm (a big melt today/less snow – hurrah!) Happy New Year! If you’re in anything like my mindset, the holidays seem like eons ago … and that the eve of this new year wasn’t a … Continue reading →

December 7, 2022 ~ Wednesday morning (too early) For those of you who know me, you know I’m a night owl – not an early riser. Yet – here I am. I was awakened by pounding on my front door … Continue reading →

November 7, 2022 ~ Monday (a difficult day) Today I said a (very, very) tearful good-bye to my sweet companion of 17 months … Annie. She came into my life on an extremely hot (for the NW) day in June … Continue reading →

October 31, 2022 ~ Monday (night/10:46 pm) I should be in bed. There, I said it. I’ve been thinking it for the past hour but something is gnawing at me. I am unsettled. Perhaps it was that today was Halloween … Continue reading →

September 25, 2002 ~ Sunday evening I’ve been here for four months now and I’m finally putting the final touches (so to speak) on my office. That can be narrowed down to finally hooking up my printer/scanner … dusting (for … Continue reading →

September 22, 2022 ~ Thursday (very early morning – yawn!) I can’t sleep. So what’s new? I’ve been here, now, for 4 months. Time flies when you’re sick and unpacking boxes! It also flies when you are doing everything else. … Continue reading →

September 9, 2022 ~ Friday (night/it’s raining and now blissfully COOL!) Hello Autumn! While this summer was brutal (in so many ways/and notice the PAST tense) … I’m not sure I’m quite ready for Fall. At least not in ONE … Continue reading →

September 4, 2022 ~ Sunday (late night/Monday early morning … 95° today though blissfully cool in the house now – finally/for once!) It’s after midnight … I just turned off my window a/c unit but the three fans are still … Continue reading →

It all started the night of my last blog post. It was late and my sweet tooth was wide awake. I’m not much of a “sweets” person but a hot, gooey, melty chocolate chip cookie from the oven sounded pretty … Continue reading →

August 18, 2022 ~ Thursday (night … 11pm … a lovely 68°) It’s one of those balmy nights that usually don’t happen in this area. Usually, in the summer, the nights turn cool once the sun goes down. We are … Continue reading →

August 9, 2022 ~ Tuesday afternoon (hiding out in the dining room with the window a/c cranked up as it’s a sunny and roasty 95° outside … hotter tomorrow!) I’m still organizing. Filing. Sorting. Purging. Setting things aside to “look … Continue reading →

August 5, 2022 ~ Friday morning (already too hot at 93° at 10:30 am … ) It’s my first extended summer in CO in ten years … and, to put it mildly, there’s been a LOT to contend with. The … Continue reading →

July 17, 2022 ~ Sunday afternoon (currently 85° inside the house/99° outside … another scorcher!) My island friends are probably shaking their heads at me … muttering “be careful what you wish for” and all that. I wanted more heat … Continue reading →

July 6, 2022 ~ Wednesday afternoon (82 lovely degrees/sun with puffy clouds) I’ve started this post in my head half a dozen times in the last two weeks. One day it was about something … the next day it was … Continue reading →

June 6, 2022 … Monday (84 degrees/cloudy/stormy skies in the distance) And here we are … again. I left Littleton on a sunny May morning back in 2012 (Chicago-bound) and arrived back again on another May morning … ten years … Continue reading →

May 18, 2022 ~ Wednesday night (nearly midnight mountain time/468.1 miles under my belt) Greetings from the road tripping Lobster! It’s been a while since my last post … I’ve been a little busy. Yesterday the moving van came to … Continue reading →

February 11, 2022 … Friday afternoon It’s sunny and 46 degrees out which means only one thing in mid-February in the NW … I have to get outside and take a walk with the dog! This is a piece I … Continue reading →

February 4, 2022 ~ Friday evening (balmy/NOT raining/periwinkle skies in the NW) I had every intention of writing about Groundhog Day … but, it came and went and even if we don’t have much of a winter in these parts, … Continue reading →

January 23, 2022 ~ Sunday early evening (cold/gray/foggy in the NW) It’s one of those days when I felt like doing nothing. And that’s pretty much what I did! Mission accomplished! I just took granola out of the oven – … Continue reading →

January 17, 2022 (Monday night/Martin Luther King Jr. holiday) I could go on a political rant … or musing … or pondering of some such something … but I won’t. I’m kind of sick of all of it and need … Continue reading →

January 15th ~ Saturday (but it felt like Sunday all day/gray and foggy) If the Creature from the Black Lagoon ever needed a vacation home ~ I’m sure he’d be able to find one out here … gray skies, deep … Continue reading →

January 10, 2022 ~ Monday (late afternoon/the sky is periwinkle/terminal twilight) And so it begins … Happy New Year! I say it every year … well, yes, we all do … but this year, I really mean it. As in … Continue reading →

December 12, 2021 ~ early Sunday morning I am one who cherishes the journey ~ whatever it may be. The destination is great to get to but the journey is the thing that matters … it’s to be savored, enjoyed, … Continue reading →

November 29th, 2021 ~ Monday evening (Covid/variants still a thing … closer to home this time … political chaos … wild weather) Evening came early today … I looked up from what I was doing at half past three and … Continue reading →

November 12, 2021 ~ Friday morning (gray/foggy/drippy, raining like crazy; day 15 of nasty virus/non-Covid) It’s one of those perfectly perfect November days … if you like fog, rain and gloom that is. It just so happens that I do. … Continue reading →

November 8, 2021 ~ Monday evening I drove up island today to have a wellness exam … you know all those women’s issues/things that you’d like to talk about, at my age, with another woman with knowledge on the subject … Continue reading →

October 25, 2021 ~ Monday evening (blustery, rainy, and a bit spooky) Halloween is approaching. Until a few years ago, when I purged my stash, I had almost as many Halloween decorations as I did for Christmas. And that is … Continue reading →

October 20, 2021 … Wednesday (gray, wet, and blustery up on this NW island) I watched Annie (my old lab) watching a fly the other day that was buzzing around her. She’s slow and lumbering and I was chuckling to … Continue reading →

October 7, 2021 ~ Thursday (sunny, puffy clouds, blue skies – a rarity here) “Purpose is the reason you journey. Passion is the fire that lights your way.” I have that saying written on my bedroom wall. I wake up … Continue reading →

October 5, 2021 ~ Tuesday (gray/heavy skies/wind advisory … aka: a normal day) Happy October! I’m a few days late in my monthly salutation … my intentions were good/my actions were lagging. This month is one of my favorites … … Continue reading →

September 27, 2021 ~ Monday morning (gusty and gray outside) I’m tired. 106 dog sits (166 including my own dogs) this past month have done me in! Once again, this is not the blog post I was thinking of writing … Continue reading →

September 10, 2021 ~ Friday I sat down to write a totally different blog piece today. It’s gray and cool out – very autumnal. I look out my dining window and see my (badly needing pruning) maple – branches heavy … Continue reading →

September 4, 2021 ~ early Saturday morning (flanked by dogs/in bed) Warning: don’t read this while eating! It’s early (for me) on this Saturday morning. The sun has barely appeared in the eastern sky and the fan is drawing cool … Continue reading →

September 1st, 2021 ~ Wednesday (cool and sunny on this NW island) Merely two blog posts ago I said that in a blink of an eye it would be September. Guess what?! I returned home late (late!) Monday night from … Continue reading →

August 22, 2021 ~ Sunday night The house is quiet. I love it like this. There is nary a whisper or breeze outside … just the slight tick of a clock and the soft puff of breath from a slumbering … Continue reading →

August 11th, 2021 … Wednesday (Sunny and 79 degrees on this NW island) Resilience … the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness. This word has been swirling around in this noggin of mine for a couple of weeks now. … Continue reading →

June 29, 2021 ~ Tuesday (the day after a record-breaking heat wave in the NW) October has arrived, once again. At least, tonight’s cooler temps remind me of some early autumnal evening. And, for once, I’m okay with that. For … Continue reading →

June 21, 2021 ~ Monday (the first day of Summer) If Summer could be encapsulated into one lovely 24 hour day … it could very well look like today … the first day of Summer … NW style. It was … Continue reading →

June 7, 2021 – Monday (now back in Denver but this was written on the plane enroute) I am restless. I’m on my way back to CO – flight #1 of the day – from Charlotte. A flight of a … Continue reading →

June 4, 2021 – Friday (somewhere in the South) Greetings … from North Carolina. I am at my new best friend’s place … Holiday Inn Express … in the tiny town of Apex, NC. Think country meets new build meets … Continue reading →

May 31, 2021 – Monday (for another 42 minutes … Memorial Day) I’m on my Southern “nosing around/hope to find a new hometown” trip. So, greetings from nearly Atlanta. I’m tucked into my clean (ahhhh) hotel room on the outskirts … Continue reading →

May 3, 2021 – Monday (raining = mist/drizzling) If, indeed, April showers bring May flowers – then they are here. I’ve been inside all day with four dogs and the remnants of a lingering headache. (Reaction to vax #2? Or … Continue reading →

April 25, 2021 ~ Oscar Sunday Tonight is the night of nights in the film industry. It is the live presentation, to the best of the best, of the Academy Award of Merit. The prize of prizes is a gold-plated … Continue reading →

April 20, 2021 … Tuesday It’s been one of those days … so, I needed one of those evenings. Today’s guilty verdict in the George Floyd death brings me no joy or happiness or even satisfaction because I believe it … Continue reading →

April 13, 2021 – Tuesday Below is a story I wrote for a competition … enjoy! Lily was in a mood. It was Tuesday and her afternoon to volunteer at the Senior Center. Like she didn’t have a million other … Continue reading →

April 13, 2021 … Tuesday When I was in fourth grade, many moons ago, I took piano lessons for a little bit. A little bit being approximately four months. Yeah, a very little bit. I stopped taking lessons after one … Continue reading →

April 11, 2021 ~ Sunday night (One shot in … the other vaccine shot coming! Woohoo!) A million or so years ago – you know, somewhere between when the dinosaurs roamed the planet and now – I was in high … Continue reading →

April 4, 2021 – Easter Sunday Hoppy Spring! From my dried raindrop spattered dining room window (boy do they need a good cleaning!), the sun is still above the tree tops … at nearly 7pm. Yay! I took my daily … Continue reading →

March 23, 2021 … early Tuesday It’s nearly 3 am … I’m allergic to the chihuahua on the pillow next to mine and scenes of Columbine are swirling in my head. I’m having PTSD flashes and the night is not … Continue reading →

March 12, 2021 ~ Friday (Covid has claimed 532,000 American lives, vaccines are forthcoming, Spring is in the air) After a year of feeling like everyday was Sunday … today felt like Saturday. Except it was Friday. I am so … Continue reading →

February 25, 2021 ~ Thursday (Vaccines available … Covid still raging) It’s a gray, leaky day up here in the NW. It matches my mood. If you do not know me or have not read some of my writing, I … Continue reading →

February 9, 2021 ~ Tuesday (Covid still raging, vaccines slowly finding their ways into the arms of Americans, former President Trump’s second impeachment trial begins) Today was a day unlike any other day that I’ve had in my life. I … Continue reading →

February 3, 2021 – early Wednesday (Groundhog Day, Covid raging: 447,000 US dead) How much wood could a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood? I should be in bed. It’s nearly 1am and my brain is on over-drive … Continue reading →

January 14, 2021 – Thursday (still covid, still Trump era, blah blah blah) You know the saying … that someone is “in the dark”? Well, that’s been me – figuratively and literally. Last night I was under my covers, flashlight … Continue reading →

January 7, 2021 – Thursday (day after the insurrection/coup attempt at our nation’s Capitol) Unsettled. My daughter emailed me that last night. That’s how she felt. I couldn’t have agreed with her more. I think a lot of us felt … Continue reading →

January 4, 2021 … Monday (before noon/still in pjs/raining) Bea and I just finished brunch. Her dog bowl is full but she won’t touch it until she’s finished off whatever I’ve been eating. Today was pork sausages and oatmeal. As … Continue reading →

December 29, 2020 – Tuesday (Post holiday/still Covid/let’s get this year over with) I have notepads … 12 of them/each one printed with seasonal things (snow, hearts, rainbows, leaves, etc …) and the month … that I put on/take off … Continue reading →

November 29th, 2020 – Sunday (Day 333 of this Covid-19 year) Today is day 333 of this strange and angst-ridden year. Amidst America’s raging virus stats and daily case numbers that rival complete year numbers for other countries … and … Continue reading →

November 25, 2020 – Wednesday … (the day before Covid-19’s Thanksgiving) We are in unprecedented times. How many of us thought we’d still be hearing those words … NOW? TEN months after the onset of Covid-19 in this country? I … Continue reading →

November 17th, 2020 – Tuesday (garbage day) The winds of change are blowing again … and they are good and strong and bringing hope. I find it sad and a bit startling that the only way I know the days, … Continue reading →

November 7, 2020 – Saturday And the election results are FINALLY in and … Biden and Harris WIN! OH, HAPPY DAY! I lingered in bed this morning, knowing that when my feet hit the unusually cold floor that we wouldn’t … Continue reading →

November 3rd, 2020 – Tuesday (Covid-19 = 93,581 new cases yesterday and more than 237,000 deaths in US to date … and today we have a voice.) It is Election Day in the US today. My body (first) woke up … Continue reading →

October 30, 2020 – Friday (Covid-19 is worst yet at >1000 deaths/day and 90K new cases per day, over 9 million cases and nearly 230,000 deaths to date in US alone and still no federal plan … neighbor Jo’s 90th … Continue reading →

October 18, 2020 – Sunday (Covid-19 ramping up in 42 states w/spikes and highest numbers of cases and deaths to date, nearly 200,000 Americans dead and counting, country upheaval on so many levels, political mayhem and the election now 16 … Continue reading →

October 3, 2020 – Saturday (Covid-19 running rampant = nearly 7.4 million cases in US w/209,000 dead, wildfires still raging, election going off the rails, you name it … ) It’s been a week. And that’s putting it mildly. If … Continue reading →

September 24, 2020 – Thursday (gray, heavy cotton candy clouds, waiting for a storm) Today I fed … COWS! As much as I’d like to, I’m just not sure I can convey how happy that makes me! That sounds so … Continue reading →

September 17, 2020 … Thursday night (The base of this post was originally written October 15, 2014 when I was a blog writer for Whidbey Life Magazine … 2014-2016) I had an anxious day. Anxious because we are still in … Continue reading →

September 13, 2020 – Sunday evening (covid raging, fires in the west raging, tempers raging … patience and tolerance flagging … 50 days until the election of our lifetime ) I am tired. Aren’t we all? I just read a … Continue reading →

August 29, 2020 … Saturday (end of Covid – nowhere in sight/Autumn right around the corner) It’s late August. How did that happen???? I’m biding my time. I want to get off island but told myself I can’t until I mow … Continue reading →

August 26, 2020 – Wednesday (RNC week/177K US dead from Covid/hurricane looming/fires burning/civil unrest/BLM marches and riots/election woes/political absurdities/economic downfall/jobs and lives lost/isolation/uncertainty…) Maybe if you just read what follows the date (above) you’ve had read enough. Me, too. I … Continue reading →

August 14, 2020 – Friday (still in covid/things are not improving/no end in sight) I lost a good friend yesterday. It’s been a tough week. A brutal week at times. And the one thing I kept telling myself was … … Continue reading →

August 8, 2020 – Saturday More writing portfolio findings … The Acquisition of Oscar – 10/12/2004 The cat is sitting on the stool next to me – staring into my soul – willing me to understand his intentions/needs/thoughts. I look … Continue reading →

August 7, 2020 – Friday (Day 14 billion (or so it seems) of Covid-19. As of yesterday there were over 4.9 million cases in the US with over 160,000 deaths. We are losing ground and hot spots are now in … Continue reading →

August 4, 2020 – Tuesday (as of today the US has >4.85 million cases of Covid-19 and over 159,000 deaths … and things are getting worse) I am trying to focus on niceness during my days. I read yesterday that … Continue reading →

August 3, 2020 – Monday night I need a diversion. A friend of mine is dying. I adore this man and I hate to have him gone from my life … but that is all I want right now – … Continue reading →

July 30, 2020 – Thursday (Covid-19 day 3, 456,789,023) I’m sitting here in my dining room with the windows open on both sides and the soft breeze is wafting through the screens. It’s to be 78º today. Lovely. I’d like … Continue reading →

July 28, 2020 – Tuesday IT finally arrived. SUMMER!!!! I know many of you have been trying to keep cool in the sweltering heat; weeks on end of 90º + temps … I’ve had three days now of not having … Continue reading →

July 27, 2020 – Monday (and yes, Covid is worse than ever) I like to think of myself as a sun baby … but truth be told – I’m a shade baby. Yep – for all my griping about the … Continue reading →

July 16, 2020 … Thursday (Summer (?) of Covid) Time. Even now with all the time I’ve (we’ve) got ~ there never seems to be enough of it. I left the house tonight around 9:15 on my nightly walk. We … Continue reading →

July 15, 2020 … Wednesday (Day 2,456,987,456,345 of Covid-19 and not an end in sight.) Here is one of my favorites from my writing portfolio … purely fiction, my friends! Leaf Pile Perfection – March 19, 2007  “Leaf pile perfection!” … Continue reading →

July 13, 2020 … actually a nice day out here in the NW! For whomever might be waiting for this … here is Part II of my attempt at a Romance Novel. Originally written in April 1993 … when days … Continue reading →

July 11, 2020 … Saturday (yeah, yeah – Covid is still raging) I’m tired. As I’m sure all of us are. I’m not just physically tired – but mentally. I am SO tired of everything! I’m tired of the angst, … Continue reading →

June 29, 2020 … Monday We are still in the midst of this pandemic. We are going on month five of issues/escalating cases, hospitalizations and deaths, resurgences, steps backwards and chaos. I have four friends who have lost parents to … Continue reading →

June 24, 2020 – Wednesday (yes – we are still battling Covid 19 … day 2,456,897,052) I must have been a cow in a former life. Seriously. The older I get the truer it seems. I’ve taken to an evening … Continue reading →

June 12, 2020 … Friday (Day 1,234,567,890 of Covid-19 Quarantining) I am sick. I am tired. I am sick and tired. Of Covid-19. And is it Covid-19, Covid19 or Covid 19? I’ve seen it all ways! And being one who … Continue reading →

May 26, 2020 – Tuesday (still sheltering in place – Day 2,465,839) … I’m on a roll. A lobster roll! Ha ha … omg – wouldn’t that be terrific if I WAS on a lobster roll … or was at … Continue reading →

May 23, 2020 … Saturday (Day 128,973 of quarantining … or so it seems) Here in the NW we’ve been under “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” orders for a while now. A LONG while (or so it seems) … and I’m … Continue reading →

May 21, 2020 … Thursday 8:30 pm I’m a numbers gal. Today is Day 23,011 in my life – not in Covid quarantining – though it does feel one and the same. You do the math. I sure know how … Continue reading →

April 25, 2020 … Saturday … Day 918,245 of quarantining “We’re all in this together.” Yeah – I know. How many times have you heard that this month? This week? TODAY? A lot. Just yesterday I saw a “BINGO” game … Continue reading →

April 94th, 2020 … Saturday (actually, it’s only the 18th) BUT … it seems like it’s the 94th of April and day 17,896 of quarantining. Oh, life, how we all miss you! Covid – I don’t know where you are … Continue reading →

April 5, 2020 … Sunday Happy Quarantine Sunday fellow lobster followers. Actually, I’ve been having issues when posting – so, you may not get this until Monday or Tuesday … but, regardless, hope it’s a happy day. Ted is across … Continue reading →

March 17th, 2020 … Tuesday Friday the 13th … I should have known then the date falling on a Friday and affiliated with a full moon would wreck havoc. Yeah – I should have known. That combination brings out the … Continue reading →

February 27, 2020 … Thursday It’s sunny out today! And it was sunny yesterday, too! Woohoo! An anomaly for us here in the NW. It’ll get gross again soon enough – but wow … 2 days in a row! I … Continue reading →

February 19, 2020 … Wednesday “Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it is learning to dance in the rain.” So here we are at this time of our lives … aging daily as in bodies, careers, … Continue reading →

February 18, 2020 … Tuesday “Like sands through the hourglass, so are the days of our lives.” One Life to Live … Days of Our Lives … All My Children … who doesn’t remember those titles of old/bygone soap operas? … Continue reading →

January 20, 2020 … Monday I would like to think it started with the Baltic Sea … but I would be wrong. It started years earlier when we signed permission for our, then 17 year old, son to go on … Continue reading →

January 19, 2020 – Sunday This week son (Ted) entered a short story contest. I was too chicken to sign up for it … deeming my writing skills “too rusty” compared to other works I’ve read lately. However, I still … Continue reading →

This is another blog post that, somehow, did not get published. So – a here’s a little something from late Summer. August 23, 2019 – Friday The days go by quickly …. the weeks and months more so and I … Continue reading →

November 12, 2019 – Tuesday 35.9943° N, 79.9353° W Those coordinates might not mean anything to anyone else … but to me they (hopefully) will mean HOME. FINALLY! As in FINE-ALL-Y! Yes!!!! After 9 years … umpteen “research” trips … … Continue reading →

October 17, 2019 – Thursday (Somehow this didn’t post … so, here it is now!) I roused myself from my warm bed long enough – to dash through the bedroom, avoid the slumbering dog on the floor, and grab my … Continue reading →

July 18, 2019 – Thursday I have a problem. And, it’s sitting in my driveway. My 24 year old Honda Odyssey van is on its last legs (so to speak). I shouldn’t be surprised … given its age and that … Continue reading →

May 23, 2019 – Thursday Last night I got BOMBED! No, not in the sense of an explosive incendiary device or that I was drunk as a skunk … I got BATH bombed. I filled the tub and put one … Continue reading →

March 6, 2019 – Wednesday One might say it’s a dreary day … the cloud cover is such that the sky is nearly white. The twigs and branches I see outside my living room window are brown … behind them … Continue reading →

October 16, 2018 – Tuesday I am coming up for air. My dad has passed away. My heart hurts. Grief is weirdly different for everyone. I know those things for sure … and yet, I don’t know what to do … Continue reading →

August 10, 2018 – Friday It is a beautiful and warm morning on the island (rare for us) … the sun is peeking over the mountains to the east … I’m still in pj’s eating breakfast (leftover chicken and noodles … Continue reading →

July 16, 2018 – Monday Okay, okay. No hysteria over 2 lobsters back-to-back. And yes, as per yesterday’s post, Summer has arrived on the island. And … omg … this morning was glorious … a sublime 73 at 11am, a … Continue reading →

July 15, 2018 – Sunday Easy! Summer – FINALLY – arrived here in the NW, a few days ago … on Wednesday, the 11th of July. Yeah, a bit late by anyone’s account. But it has arrived! Woo hoo! You … Continue reading →

June 16, 2018 – Saturday Summer of 1967 … no, Summer of ’68 … no, I can’t decide … it’s too hard. I was a decade old when the Summer of ’67 rolled around. It probably couldn’t have come any … Continue reading →

June 10, 2018 – Sunday I woke up today and it was October. No, I am not waking up from a coma  and as far as I know, all of my marbles are intact … but it’s still October. Except … Continue reading →

May 11, 2018 – Friday Mom’s Day is coming up and I’m feeling detached from the one whom I call mom and from the two that use that term for me! I’m 2079 miles away from my mom – and … Continue reading →

April 18, 2018 – Wednesday I know it’s Wednesday because Property Brothers was on when I turned the TV on this morning. Their shows run all day, on Wednesdays, on HGTV. Not a good sign that I recognize days by … Continue reading →

March 7th, 2018 – Wednesday It’s March. We are sliding into the second week and I’m feeling like I watched the NYE ball drop not too long ago … and wasn’t I just cheering on Punxsutawney Phil last week? Time flies whether … Continue reading →

February 9, 2018 – Friday I am usually a fairly even-tempered person. I try to live my life following the Golden Rule – treating others how I’d like to be treated. Few things get me angry: injustice or unfairness, ignorance, blatant disregard … Continue reading →

January 25, 2018 – Thursday “Language is wine upon the lips.” wise words from Virginia Woolf. Whether written or spoken, I am all about language. It rolls off my tongue and out of my finger tips and I am never … Continue reading →

January 12, 2018 – Friday If you know me, you know I am a talker. If you read my blogs, you know I can get a bit wordy. I am a Scrabble game lover, a letter writer, and word puzzle … Continue reading →

January 2, 2018 – Tuesday Happy New Year… 2018! It is once again a new year … time to get out our erasers and wipe our slates clean … turn the proverbial page … make a fresh start. Or as … Continue reading →

December 20, 2017 – Wednesday It was December 1964; I’m not sure the Norelco Santa commercial was on TV yet (one of my favs – a cartoon Santa sitting on an electric razor head, shaving a path, as he glided … Continue reading →

November 14, 2017 – Tuesday It sometimes takes being hit over the head with something for me to grasp it. Well, not literally. It’s not that I’m a slow learner … it’s just that, at times, I’m a slow realizer. … Continue reading →

October 30, 2017 – Monday It was a dark and stormy night…somewhere. Not here. Yeah, it’s a bit chilly and we’re bound to have fog in the morning but it’s been a decent month for us up here in the … Continue reading →

October 5, 2017 – Thursday I don’t know if it’s because there is a maple tree outside my window that is doing it’s “fall thing” and turning more crimson by the hour or if it’s that everywhere (as in everywhere) I … Continue reading →

September 5, 2017 – Tuesday I am heartsick. Plain and simple. Too much bombardment to the soul today. One can only take so much. I awoke this morning to skies heavy with smoke. At 9:30 it seemed like twilight. The … Continue reading →

August 28th, 2017 – Monday This lobster needs a reprimand … as it’s been absent, missing, gone, away, errant, delinquent … you get the picture. I started a post several times … maybe half a dozen … but then I … Continue reading →

July 4th, 2017 Happy Independence Day! Otherwise known, among others, as the 4th of July or Day of Picnics and BBQs or the ER’s Worst Day Ever! “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal … Continue reading →

Friday, June 23, 2017 It’s SUMMERTIME!  Finally. As in FIN-AL-LY! OMG. If our weather was to be 56 and rainy/gloomy/gray/gross this weekend – even for a smidgeon of it – I was ready to jump off the cliff or pack up … Continue reading →

April 30, 2017 It’s a sunny Sunday here in the NW … an oddity by all accounts. From inside my cozy home it looks balmy, breezy, inviting … and yet it’s about 48 degrees and is anything but. So, I … Continue reading →

April 11, 2017 – Tuesday Yesterday, April 10th, was the 100th day of the year. My how time flies. I was lying in bed last night, before Mr. Sandman visited, thinking about what I had done … I mean REALLY … Continue reading →

April 6, 2017 – Thursday Today’s choice was writing or working. Guess which one won out? I spent the morning cleaning woodwork. White woodwork. Lots and lots of white woodwork. I recently adopted a “black lab” who has an undercoat … Continue reading →

April 3, 2017 I should have put aside what I was doing this morning and written this post. Ideas and thoughts swirled around in my head and I thought … I’ll remember. I’ll do it later.  Problem is … it’s later. … Continue reading →

March 24th, 2017 – Friday It’s Friday! The weekend is tomorrow – yay! And I always find this funny – that I care – cuz I work from home and to everyone else, I have a perpetual week of weekend … Continue reading →

March 19, 2017 Well, it being Sunday and all, I had a “come to Jesus” meeting with myself this morning. All these years I pretty much thought that Martha Stewart and I were twins … not in looks but in … Continue reading →

March 15, 2017 Rain, rain – go away! Come again some other day.  It is raining and rainy. So, yeah, what else is new? I live in the PNW (Pacific Northwest) … it ALWAYS rains. Well, that’s not really true … Continue reading →

February 28th, 2017 And the Oscar for Best Picture goes to … We don’t know. We’re not sure. Something seems awry but we’re going to pass the problem (nice going, Warren) and have our co-presenter read it anyway. Poor Faye … Continue reading →

February 18, 2017 – From Hair to There If I were a roast or loaf of banana bread or any other baked good or savory dish in the oven, I’d say … “Put a fork in me-I’m DONE!” But I’m … Continue reading →

February 3, 2017 Making time. Planning. Taking action. Following through. It all sounds easy enough. I’ve done it before. And yet, here I am … another day, another week, another month have gone by and I haven’t made time, made … Continue reading →

February 2, 2017 It’s Groundhog Day! How much wood could a woodchuck chuck, if a woodchuck could chuck wood? Hmm … seems like an inane question even for an animal lover or environmentalist so, I’m not going to even try … Continue reading →

January 29, 2017 At 3:46 pm yesterday, Spring arrived on the island. I know … it’s January! Spring is a good six some weeks away and yet there they were … SEVEN robins … peeping and bobbing around my backyard … Continue reading →

January 26, 2017  … Day 25 of “From Hair to … There” I’m laughing as I type. Who would have thought that shaving my head would bring me such amusement? Certainly not I. The gross, naked chicken-skin was very quickly replaced by … Continue reading →

January 23, 2017 Let me just say this … I am not an activist. I am not a flag nor bra burner. I am not a rally- rouser nor sit-in sitter.  I am a writer. I march to the beat … Continue reading →

January 23, 2017 (repost from January 19, 2017 – system glitch) The dogs were all sleeping … that is until I opened up the cheese stick I brought to the table and then I had three awake-from-the-dead dogs glued to my … Continue reading →

January 23, 2017 (repost from January 12, 2017 – system glitch!) I have a big head. Not in the egotistical way, but physically/structurally. And not only does it seem big, but it seems inordinately large. As in huge. Massive. But only … Continue reading →

January 23, 2017 (repost from January 10, 2017 – system glitch) Apparently now is the time for me to become a spy or secret agent, private detective or some such profession where it is best not to be recognized. Today … Continue reading →

January 23, 2017 (reposted from January 4, 2017 – system glitch!) And so it goes. Here I am, fourth day into this new year, the lobster is crawling around the dining room table (metaphorically speaking only) and raring to get … Continue reading →

January 23, 2017 … repost from January 3, 2017 (glitch in system!) Happy New Year … 2017! Hope you had a delightful and safe NYE and that whatever “resolutions” you made have not already been broken! I promised, a while … Continue reading →

Friday, November 28th … evening Perhaps it was holiday let-down or due to extended exhaustion but for whatever reason after nearly 7 months of packing and unpacking and painting and 1178 tasks (per week), I came home from a late … Continue reading →

Wednesday, October 29th … just before midnight I should  be tucked into bed already—but, obviously, I am not! I am up, drinking tea, eyes sleep-weary and half-closed and still I type. One would think I’m on some sort of official, … Continue reading →

Wednesday, September 17th 9:53 pm Some days waking up is not all that it’s cracked up to be. Today was one such day. In years past I’d wake up and not think too much about how I looked. That first … Continue reading →

Monday, September 8, 8:38 pm I was doing just fine until he carried in the rat trap. Yes, a RAT TRAP. For my basement. In my HOUSE. I recoiled in horror as he entered through my patio doors carrying it … Continue reading →

Wednesday, August 13 11:56 pm Things are good. Although, slug slime is actually quite gross. For those of you who have never picked up or moved a slug, I thought I should inform you! I went out tonight and Seymour … Continue reading →

Friday, August 8 10:23 am It has been less than 9 hours since my last post – but, I guess, I want to give a glimpse of my new island life … to whomever wants it … in more than … Continue reading →

Thursday, August 7 … 11:13 pm Ideally we should all learn something new every day. And it doesn’t matter what we learn … just that we do it. That would be a good thing. Unfortunately, I learned recently that my … Continue reading →

Tuesday, July 22nd 5:36 pm Today I received a formal welcome to the island. I’ve been welcomed wherever I’ve gone in the last two weeks by the very friendly people who live here but today was different. I felt oddly … Continue reading →

Tuesday, July 8th … 5:29 pm And, she’s home. Me, that is … My traveling companions and I landed on the island and set foot in the new abode on the 3rd … and, having done this sight-unseen buying house … Continue reading →

June 29, 9:47 am I could grab your attention by starting out with something like … sh*t happens. Cuz it does but dog poop (which has been stepped in and rolled in) in a car is not a good thing. … Continue reading →

June 27th, 11:57 pm The moving van came yesterday – the day that I, for so long, never thought would come and all of a sudden the van was outside my door, loaded and at the end of the day … Continue reading →

June 24, 2014 11:57 pm The title of this post pretty much says it all … I’M DONE! Two words (well, actually, three words if you break apart the apostrophe) that tell nothing (really) … and encompass everything. I’m done with … Continue reading →

January 20th … 12:34 pm The lobster has been pinching me lately … ever so gently, until this morning, when I got pinched – BIG TIME! So, here I am – my loyal (few) followers … sharing with you the … Continue reading →

Monday, August 19th 11:23 pm Greetings from the wayward Lobster! Summer arrived in Chicago this morning. Finally. Unlike last year when summer seemed to arrive just after Valentine’s Day … this season’s long-awaited arrival, oddly enough, coincided with the first day … Continue reading →

Today – June 2nd, 2013 10:43 pm  Tonight as I was eating (my second helping of) coffee ice cream I had an “AHA” moment. One of those brain flashes when instantly things are clear and realization hits you subtly … … Continue reading →

Today … Wednesday, April 17, 2013 7:27 pm (to be precise) We’ve all been there. Well, perhaps not the men who might be reading this. And for all you guys I will say this now with fair warning. Men – go … Continue reading →

Today … April 7, 2013 11:48 pm There is something oddly comforting about sitting in a laundromat waiting for your clothes to dry. Yesterday I found myself sitting in such a place waiting for my faux feather bed to tumble its … Continue reading →

Today … March 19th, 2:54 pm I am sitting up in my treehouse office looking at something that is a rarity in this area … a blue sky. I mean a REALLY blue sky. It’s sunny, the sky is blue, … Continue reading →

Today – March 15 … 7:15pm Good ol’ Julius should have taken heed when he was warned by the soothsayer. But no, he instead went on to the senate gathering where he was stabbed to death. In hindsight he really … Continue reading →

Today … March 10, 2013 Greetings, lobster lovers! Draw me some butter … I’m back (once again)! I wanted to “catch up” and throw out a thank you to all of you who have been loyal “Lobster” followers … and … Continue reading →

Day 2/23 Today is the anniversary of my childhood dog’s birthday … Marvin. She was a standard, red dachshund named Ginger … but for some reason, we kids, changed her name because she just looked like a Marvin. I don’t know … Continue reading →

Day 367 (technically, THE LAST ONE) Today brings an end to my year-long challenge. I need a break and … I am off to the woods. That one sentence sounds perfectly lovely to me. So simple. So carefree. So quiet. If you haven’t … Continue reading →

Day 366 Well, I knew it had to arrive at some point … even though I was secretly hoping it would pretty much pass us by. But it didn’t. “Now is the winter of our discontent … ” At least my … Continue reading →

Day 365 Well, here I am … closing in on the end of my year of blogging. I must have messed up my numbering somehow as I came up with 367 days this year! Don’t I wish. I could have … Continue reading →

Day 364 Happy is the rodent who predicts an early spring … Well, I don’t know if the rodent is happy … but I sure am! Today is Groundhog Day … the best holiday on the calendar. Nothing sacred, nothing … Continue reading →

Day 363 In organizing some kitchen files the other day I came upon a folder of mine full of cheesecake recipes … 79 to be exact! Who needs 79 cheesecake recipes? Apparently I do. Or, technically, did … as I … Continue reading →

Day 362 Today was a really bad sciatica/back day. The double whammy of back badness. Practically intolerable. Days like today I vow to DO SOMETHING about it. But, other than some exercises, getting a massage or downing a horsepill for pain … I … Continue reading →

Day 361 Although I’ve only been up a handful of hours today, already I’ve learned much. I’ve learned that sleeping with two dogs and a cat doesn’t help one’s sciatica in the slightest. In fact, it might exacerbate the problem. … Continue reading →

Day 360 Today I ran wild with reckless abandon. Well, staggered with reckless abandon was more like it. My back is a crunched up, twisted mess again. However nothing was going to deter me from being wild and carefree today … Continue reading →

Day 359 As much as I think I would have loved to have lived in the 1950’s … all Leave It To Beaver-esque … I probably, more like undoubtedly, would have been miserable. I don’t sleep well now … how … Continue reading →

Day 358 I am up in my office, my treetop room … thinking. When I was little there used to be a television program on that was Treetop House … a stay-at-home nursery school of sorts. It was on around … Continue reading →

Day 357 … (or as I am feeling today … Day Whatever) I am disgusted. And I only have myself to blame. And my body. And my resolve. And probably in there somewhere, even if only a little, my genetics and hormones. … Continue reading →

Day 356 I, once again, am writing this post in the wee hours of the morning. The middle of the night. Breakfast time, if I were an owl or vampire. However, if could be late afternoon. Okay, late afternoon on … Continue reading →

Day 355 It’s not every day that something new happens or that you experience a “first”. Such as a first step, first kiss, first date, first taste of escargot, first perfectly baked soufflé, first car … you get the picture. Yesterday … Continue reading →

Day 354 It’s one of those days where I’ve been fighting a nagging headache for a few days already and today the light in my office seems to be searing into my brain. Not good. So, the light goes off … Continue reading →

Day 353 I’m defining myself … or at least partially defining myself. I consider myself a foodie. But I’m not really. Not in the actual sense of that word or meaning. I like food … yes. But I’m not a gourmet … Continue reading →

Day 352 I think Oscar has the Big D. Yep … just what you’re thinking … DEMENTIA! I am thinking he’s lost his sense of smell or eyesight or  brain power as I put his food down the other day … Continue reading →

Day 351 What a difference a day makes.  Yesterday it was 51 degrees … right now we are at 12 going down to -1 by sometime tomorrow. And what a difference a mere 34 years makes! Tonight I did something … Continue reading →

Day 350 Today it was, again, Springtime in Chicagoland. I think we reached 51 degrees before the winds started blowing the warmth towards the lake. We are awaiting the “Siberian Express” to deliver the coldest air Chicago has seen in … Continue reading →

Day 349 Here we are at day 349 … I have a bit more than two weeks left of this challenge … not that I’m counting or anything. It has been a good exercise for me and let’s just say, a work … Continue reading →

Day 348 It’s past the middle of January so I can now safely put up my Valentine’s Day decorations without feeling too weird about it. Nothing like pushing the holidays/seasons a bit. I don’t care … the sooner winter ends … Continue reading →

Day 347  “If a problem is fixable, if a situation is such that you can do something about it, then there is no need to worry. If it’s not fixable, then there is no help in worrying. There is no … Continue reading →

Day 346 There come moments in each of our days when something you hear is so ludicrous or so stupid or so awful or so whatever … that the only thing that comes to mind or out of your mouth is … Continue reading →

Day 345 I used to be a member of CPR … Colorado Pug Rescue. I was one of the transport people. When someone relinquished a dog or if a dog needed transportation across state … I’d be that person or … Continue reading →

Day 344 Well, little did I think that the rain I was so enjoying as I fell asleep last night would … due to the upper air disturbance which caused a change in the jet stream pattern allowing the Arctic air/cold front to push out the regional warmth … Continue reading →

Day 343 Unknowingly, I have moved to the NW. Or better said, the NW weather has descended on the Chicago area. Fine by me. It’s raining … again. And I am loving every pitter-patter moment. The dogs, um – not … Continue reading →

Day 342 Some days  you just have to forget everything and turn up Nat King Cole or Michael Bublé or Adele. Today was that kind of day. Nothing wrong … just a day for music. It soothes the savage beast. And … Continue reading →

Day 341 As the days slip away and we slide into the middle of January … I keep wondering when WINTER will make an appearance? Not that I want it, mind you … I’m just wondering. If the season decides … Continue reading →

Day 340 Dark and naked. Naked and dark. So seems my house and yard right now as I’ve taken down my Christmas decorations and lights. The house feels empty and already I am missing the lights and sparkle! I miss … Continue reading →

Day 339 I live with the Queen of Idiots. I have been working up at my desk for an hour or so and I have been hearing some swishing going on in my bedroom … accompanied by little yips now … Continue reading →

Day 338 Connections … I ventured outside today to put out the garbage cans for pick up tomorrow, to get my mail on the front porch and to lean out the door to let the dogs out and then back in … Continue reading →

Day 337 I’m comfortable. And that’s not good. Well, ordinarily comfort is a good thing. It’s a wonderful thing. It means life, in its many forms, is good and easy and cozy.  And I’m all for good, easy and cozy. … Continue reading →

Day 336 No sooner do I say it looks like snow … and it snows. I should have been a weather person. I was telling a friend, earlier today, that no snow is forecast, but it sure looked like snow … Continue reading →

Day 335 Ahhh, snow. Who doesn’t like those first few flakes? The glitter snow that falls from the heavens that transforms the bleak landscape into a sparkling fairyland? Who doesn’t like those big, fat, wet flakes that fall from the … Continue reading →

Day 334 My old postman called me the Catalog Queen. Since my move I have been demoted to Princess. I don’t get as many catalogs. My new postman, however, begs to differ. I still get a lot. As in a … Continue reading →

Day 333 Dorothy Hamill. If you were around in 1976 you know who I’m referring to. She is a world champion and skated her way to a gold medal in the Olympics that year. And you also know about her … Continue reading →

Day 332 Here I am on the first day of the new year … thinking of matters of the heart, matters of work, changes I’d like to make in both my life and work this year. I could fill a … Continue reading →

Day 331 There are 8 hours until midnight and the new year begins … eight hours to carry on with my old habits and ways … eight hours until the slate is, once again, wiped clean and a whole new … Continue reading →

Day 330 The nest seems emptier today than it has in a long time. Not really liking it much. Back when the kids were in high school Tim and I used to fantasize about what our “empty nest days” would … Continue reading →

Day 329 It gets to be this time of the year and I start feeling that anticipation building. I have butterflies for the new year. I look around my house and even though I’ve been doing nothing but non-stop redoing … Continue reading →

Day 328 A while ago I was introduced to a remarkable website that sends me a daily message … more of a life lesson at times … and more than not it is eerily appropriate for the day when read.  … Continue reading →

Day 327 Once again, it is late. Too late/early for my own good. A habit I plan to change in the new year. A habit I plan to continue (and do more of) is laughing. And I don’t mean just in the song … Continue reading →

Day 326 I should have sent this out earlier but better late than never … and the holidays are NOT over yet! As is said, “It’s not over ’til the fat lady sings.” And she might be waddling around more … Continue reading →

Day 325 Merry Christmas! We woke up to … SNOW! Right after I wrote that the odds were slim to none for getting any white accumulation on Christmas … Mother Nature proved me wrong, yet again! But, I’m happy to be … Continue reading →

Day 324 I am sitting here thinking how nice it is to hear movement in the house below me. No, we are not having an earthquake … Ted is home and the house, once again, feels alive. Living by myself has … Continue reading →

Day 323 Today is the 23rd … or was the 23rd as I am writing this, once again, way too late for my own good. Somehow my days have turned on an axis and my bedtime of late has been … Continue reading →

Day 322 Abcdefghijkmnopqrstuvwxyz …. What is missing?* Rudolph, Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet, Cupid, Donder, Blitzen and Olive – Who’s Olive? ** Today I dispensed candy canes along my route as I did my errands. Anyone within arm’s reach got … Continue reading →

Day 321 Well, with an hour or so to go on Doomsday Friday … we are still here. I think I’m safe in saying … we’re okay. Today I was trying (key word here) to drive the two miles to the … Continue reading →

Day 320 Here we are on the Eve of Destruction. If I had a poster board I might make a sign … The End is Near … and put it atop one of the reindeer in my yard. Fancy that. … Continue reading →

Day 319 Well, not many of you know it, but I had a boyfriend for a while. Actually, he was kind of a true love if ever there was one. The man was generous to a fault. On the first day … Continue reading →

Day 318 Yes, it’s been one of those days. I, unheard of for me, was up at 7 a.m. to greet Mr. Sump Pump man who was installing my new sump pump. Don’t ask. Another zillion dollars literally down the … Continue reading →

Day 317 Nine thousand, one hundred and thirty two days …  That is how old my “baby” turned today. How can that be? Every holiday letter I’ve sent out in the last 20 some years has said the same thing … Sam will … Continue reading →

Day 316 I have come to realize what I do when I need comfort.  And before I disclose what that actually is … I’ll tell you what I do NOT do. I do not clean my house. I do not … Continue reading →

Day 315 In light of the recent tragedy I thought I’d go completely in the opposite direction of emotion and throw out something humorous … if for no other reason, than to relieve, for a bit, the heartbreak we all feel. … Continue reading →

Day 314 I am heartsick.  IT has happened again. Every time children are gunned down I think that it cannot possibly happen again – EVER. And yet, it does. Shattered lives. Shattered families. I do NOT understand this. I just … Continue reading →

Day 313 The other day I was at the post office – standing in a long line of pre-holiday patrons awaiting my turn up at the counter, just like the rest of the people in line were awaiting their turn. … Continue reading →

Day 312 Today was 12/12/12 … one of those rare phenomena that happen in one’s lifetime. Today is my 312th post and I’m posting it around midnight. Go figure. I love these happenstance coincidences.  Every once in a while you’ll … Continue reading →

Day 311 Old King Cole was a merry old soul, a merry old soul was he … Nat King Cole sang one of my favorite songs of all time – Unforgettable … Cole Porter wrote songs that were lovely … … Continue reading →

Day 310 Besides visions of sugar plums dancing in my head … I have lyrics of yet unwritten songs spinning around in there, as well. I have been humming and singing bits and pieces of holiday carols for a few … Continue reading →

Day 309 I was going to write earlier today and then one thing led to another and time, as has been the case for the last 20 some years, flew by! I was out driving today and passed a home … Continue reading →

Day 308  There are days when I worry that Alzheimer’s is creeping up on me. It started when Tim died. Stress, grief, hormones, lack of sleep, poor diet … all combined to totally erase and eradicate any short-term memory cells and … Continue reading →

Day 307 Okay, I have a short wick. I know it. I have always been like this – well, as long as I can remember. My patience is short and sometimes my tolerance is shorter. And if there is injustice … Continue reading →

Day 306 Today as I walked across my lawn to check out the neighbor’s yard mauling/sewer repair job I nearly stepped on a dead squirrel. For someone with a very stiff back who doesn’t bend very well or move quickly … Continue reading →

Day 305 I am a sorority girl. A zillion years ago … twenty some years back in the last century … I became an initiate, at the University of Illinois, into the Greek sorority of Alpha Chi Omega. Little did I … Continue reading →

Day 304 Just when you think your day is turning rather crappy … you notice the plumber’s van parked in front of your neighbor’s house. Your day isn’t crappy … theirs is. Actually their basement is. Ew. Yes … my poor neighbors. Yuck. They … Continue reading →

Day 303 Deck the halls with boughs of holly … I’m sure whomever wrote those lyrics didn’t have any kids or animals in their home at the time. I mean, seriously, who decorates with HOLLY? The leaves are spiny and wicked! Well, … Continue reading →

Day 302 The fog rolled in – sometime in the last hour – and, once again, swallowed up the trees and surrounding homes in my “neck of the woods”. I let the dogs out before bed and was met at … Continue reading →

Day 301 Weather. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again … it’s fascinating to me. I should have studied meteorology at some point in my life. I’d make a great weather-gal … I could point to suns and clouds … Continue reading →

Day 300 Well, here I am … day 300! I’ve made it this far … I’m rather tickled with myself! I’d say I’d wish I could rewrite some entries … but it is what it is … and I wouldn’t … Continue reading →

Day 299 Wake up! If you are reading this you are certainly awake (or a very talented sleep reader) … but though awake … I would like you to wake up! Yeah, wake up and smell the roses … or … Continue reading →

Day 298 It’s the holiday season … I’m doing stuff around the house … I have the TV on, in the background, for company. Every third minute, or so it seems, some commercial is blaring out louder than the programming that … Continue reading →

Day 297 I saw Elvis today at the post office. Alive and well with thick side burn choppers to boot. He was not, however, sporting his light blue leisure suit … but jeans and a black jacket. Somehow the outfit … Continue reading →

Day 296 If these posts were printed, I could say, “No sooner had the ink begun to dry than …” But there is no ink … it is merely an illusion of ink. Cyber-ink I guess I’ll call it. So … Continue reading →

Day 295 There are five days left of November … 26,27,28,29, 30. My house is decorated (sans the tree). All the autumnal decorations and empty holiday bins have been put away. The leftovers have been eaten. The house has been washed … Continue reading →

Day 294 I woke up the other morning to an odd light. I don’t mean there was a spaceship in my backyard – however exciting that may have been – but the lighting was well … odd. I stumbled down … Continue reading →

Day 293 It’s nearly 1:30 am on Friday night/Saturday morning … and I’ve done it … again. I’ve waited too long to sit here and write … my assignment … my challenge … as my brain is BLANK. I am … Continue reading →

Day 292 I find it utterly pathetic that American’s have taken a holiday of togetherness and thankfulness and turned it into football and shopping … and I won’t even get into the gluttony part of it. Actually, I won’t even get … Continue reading →

Day 291 Today when many people are thinking about when they are going to join the throngs of (idiot) shoppers for Black Friday – all while stirring their cranberry sauce and looking at the ads – I am not. I am … Continue reading →

Day 290 I’ve been wondering about a few things all day … mostly about food and how things come to be. I mean, who made marshmallows? How did that come about? I can only imagine it was an accident with … Continue reading →

Day 289 Today I decided to toss my work aside (which seems to happen quite often these days) and partake in a little retail therapy before the craziness and hysteria of the holidays. I needed to get out and do something … Continue reading →

Day 288 There are days when, for one reason or another, the last thing I want to do is this blog … and usually it is. Today I had just finished laying insulation in the “meat-locker” aka: hall closet attic and was looking at … Continue reading →

Day 287 Though it’s a week before Thanksgiving and I really hate to admit it … it’s officially Christmas-time.  I know, I know. I saw Christmas stuff on the shelves next to the Back-To-School pencil packs back in AUGUST – but I … Continue reading →

Day 286 It’s a very sad day here in my household. I just read Alexandra Petri’s blog (www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/compost) and learned that the Hostess company is planning on closing its doors. Who would have thought this day would ever come? It’s the … Continue reading →

Day 285 I am a sucker for stupid t-shirts. You know the ones … the ones that have quirky or pithy sayings on them. The shirts with the pi symbol on it made of all pumpkins (pumpkin pi) or in the … Continue reading →

Day 284 Once upon a time, in the far away land of Habit, there lived many creatures. If I were writing a fairy tale of my day it would start as such … but I’m writing non-fiction and though a fairy tale … Continue reading →

Day 283 Later this week will mark the one year anniversary of my book being published. 148 Days ~ A Journey of Love and Loss took me nearly 3 years to compile. It was written during Tim’s cancer journey but … Continue reading →

Day 282 Today I learned two valuable lessons. Do not go anywhere after November 1st without gloves in my coat pocket or purse while living in this area … and to keep smiling.  It was 66 degrees here yesterday. It was … Continue reading →

Day 281 I am surrounded by turkeys. Not actual birds and I’m not referring (directly) to my neighbors, either. However, I am still surrounded by turkeys nonetheless. My neighbors to the south and north both have those giant inflatable turkeys … Continue reading →

Day 280 I’d like to do today over. I don’t like wanting that. Even thinking that – I feel like I squandered a day … that I threw away a precious gift … that I didn’t enjoy something that I … Continue reading →

Day 279 Curse you Miss Luchek! She was my 5th grade teacher and besides having a weird and complete fascination with all things Pooh (as in Winnie the …) and calling kids who did not do well on tests and homework … Continue reading →

Day 278 Well, once again, I am the recipient of a bad haircut.  And I only have one person to place all the blame onto … and that one person is myself. No … I didn’t go to a pricey salon … Continue reading →

Day 277 It dawned on me today, some time after dawn, that I am too old to stay up until 4am twice in one week. Well, it’s not that I can’t stay up that late … it’s the unwarranted expectation … Continue reading →

Day 276 V-I-C-T-O-R-Y … that’s our victory battle cry! All I can say is, I was a cheerleader for too many years. I’ve been watching the election results all evening … holding my breath when each state’s results were announced. … Continue reading →

Day 275 It is now technically election day … as it’s after midnight on the first Tuesday of November this election year. And though I say “day” it is roughly two-something in the morning and the polls will be opening, in a … Continue reading →

Day 274 I’m having deja vu … Or maybe it’s just being a creature of habit that I feel like I’ve been here, done this before. As in, time after time after time- before. This being what I normally do … Continue reading →

Day 273 The ceiling is low. No, I don’t mean my actual ceiling … but the sky, the cloud ceiling. It’s very low today. The sounds outside on this gray day are amplified and muffled at the same time. The … Continue reading →

Day 272 There are times when I’d like not to be a night owl. Tonight is one of them. I’m tired. It’s nearly 4 a.m. and I am still up and awake and doing things. If I were a vampire I’d be … Continue reading →

Day 271 Today is the beginning of one of my favorite times of year. It is November 1st. I happen to love the month of November.  I think most people find it a boring month; I find it perfectly lovely. I am … Continue reading →

Day 270 It’s All Hallows Evening … otherwise known as Halloween. And I know there is a bunch of history about this day – but when it comes right down to it, it’s really all about costumes, parties, bonfires and … Continue reading →

Day 269 On the day of the eve of Halloween I found myself walking the aisles of my local Walmart. Why? you might ask. Why indeed. I found myself asking that same question a few times during my visit. I vowed … Continue reading →

Day 268  While other people are hunkering down out east, in the dark, in the storm of all storms … I am eating ice cream.  Hurricane Sandy came ashore today … I haven’t really seen many pictures yet. I am sure we will … Continue reading →

Day 267 It’s astonishing that I didn’t have more cavities as a child growing up in the days before sealants and fluoride toothpaste. Apparently, I also grew up in the days before Raisin Bran and Wheat Chex were popular cereals. … Continue reading →

Day 266 I am on day something for painting my bathroom. I say, day “something” because this has been such a long process, I’ve lost count of how long I’ve actually been working on this teeny tiny bathroom … as … Continue reading →

Day 265 I am in the throes of a love affair. There are days when I think I would like to put an end to it … and then there are days when I wish for more. Much more. I’m in love with … Continue reading →

Day 264 It hit me just now … I have 100 days left of my blogging experiment! The countdown begins! Today I had a lovely, very unexpected little visitor. I recently pulled down all my storms on my windows – so no … Continue reading →

Day 263 I am a bookie. No, not that kind of bookie … but a lover of books. Without counting I would calculate that I have roughly  400. Maybe more. Not counting all of my educational and tutor books. And, as sad … Continue reading →

Day 262 Paint clothes = going on day 3. Painting actually done = minimal. Yeah, I’m doing just swell with my painting! These clothes can practically stand up by themselves and I have yet to get any paint on them! … Continue reading →

Day 261 The dog is, once again, in the bathtub. Mobes is not bathing or soaking in bubbles up to her snout … she is seeking refuge, as she has on and off for most of the day, as we are experiencing … Continue reading →

Day 260 I want to wear the red dress Marisa Tomei wore in the movie Only You. Of course, I want to look like she did, as well. It kissed her body and was the perfect dress for a dinner in Rome … Continue reading →

Day 259 Yesterday I put on my winter pea coat … complete with anchor imprinted buttons. What am I a sailor? In any case … there I was putting on my cozy coat when I thrust my hands into the … Continue reading →

Day 258 Well, my wish upon a star last night did not come true … and though I usually love rain … since my return back from Denver, I just can’t seem to get warm. The cold rain hasn’t helped. … Continue reading →

Day 257 Rain, rain – go away … come again another day. It’s raining, it’s pouring – the old man is snoring. He bumped his head and he went to bed and he couldn’t get up in the morning. If … Continue reading →

Day 256 My cat, Oscar, is 76 … as of today. He is 15 in human years … and well above that in cat years. He is a rescue cat. I stopped into the shelter one day, opened his cage and … Continue reading →

Day 255 Sometimes we need to just go with what the universe presents to us. Even though it might seem far-fetched … or not possible … or eerie. Even when it is, pretty much, down right creepy. Before Tim died … Continue reading →

Day 254 I hate good-byes. I am a big softie. I cry at Hallmark commercials and those ones at the holidays when the son comes home in the middle of the night and wakes everyone up by making coffee. When … Continue reading →

Day 253 I am an eater. And proud of it. If I could have one luxury in life it would be to have a personal chef … 24/7/365. I can actually say I don’t really associate with non-eaters. What fun … Continue reading →

Day 252 I am a lotions and potions gal. I’ve said this before. It’s no wonder I sold cosmetics for some twenty years … under all the dog furred yoga stretch pants I’m pretty much a girly-girl. Lock me in … Continue reading →

Day 251 If you are not an animal lover, specifically of dogs, go read something else … because you are not going to “get” this. I currently have two pugs, a lab and two cats. If I could possibly have … Continue reading →

Day 250 In no uncertain terms do I have a complete list of what I’d like to do in and with my life. I have ideas. I know a few things for certain. And mostly I just know I am … Continue reading →

Day 249 Maybe it was something I heard on the radio … but I don’t remember … but for whatever reason, I was thinking today not about things I WOULD like to do in my lifetime … but things I will (with … Continue reading →

Day 248 It’s raining. It’s also 45 degrees out. Add those things together and I’ve come to realize … I need a new wardrobe. Ordinarily I love rain. The pitter-patter of it on the roof, the sound of it as it sweeps across the … Continue reading →

Day 247 As is customary, at this time of year, my thoughts are focused. It’s my super busy time for business and with numbers to be crunched and customization art to be worked on and estimates to be calculated and orders … Continue reading →

Day 246 Peter, Peter pumpkin eater had a wife but couldn’t keep her. He put her in a pumpkin shell and there he kept her, very well. That is GHASTLY! It’s a Mother Goose nursery rhyme dating back to 1825. I’d, … Continue reading →

Day 245 How time flies when you’re having fun. I just realized I am more than 2/3rds the way through my year of blogging … 8 months of writing. Seriously … how can that be? I heard that the other day … Continue reading →

Day 244 Today was the coldest day I’ve experienced in months and months. NOT the snow that Denver woke up to this morning … but it has been in the 40’s all day with gray skies and high humidity -meaning it’s … Continue reading →

Day 243 I miss my old post office. Old – not as in antiquated but as in former.  When I walked in I was like Norm on Cheers … everybody knew my name. They knew me. I knew them. We … Continue reading →

Day 242 Tonight, as fate would have it, I am at a loss for words. Very unlike me … I always have words. I can always talk. I can always write. But, tonight, I am at a loss … and … Continue reading →

Day 241 My general mood today can be described in one word … pissy. A nicer word would be irritable or perhaps irritated because I wasn’t irritable until I was irritated. And I know my dietary habits of the day … Continue reading →

Day 240 This weekend we observed the full Harvest Moon … 3 nights of a full moon and I missed seeing it all together. How did that happen? The harvest moon … back in the day (I always wanted to … Continue reading →

Day 239 Certainly I have never been a squirrel in a former life. After today’s doings I am fairly sure of that. This afternoon I collected acorns for a friend. Since I have 3 huge oak trees on my property … Continue reading →

Day 238 Every once in a while the dog will smell like a mouse. I don’t mean that the dog has the same sniffing capacities as a mouse, but that she actually smells like a mouse. Tonight, when I got … Continue reading →

Day 237 How many of us, as kids, would lie on our backs in the grass, faces toward the sky, searching for animal shapes in the clouds? My guess would be a lot. Though I don’t have even one single … Continue reading →

Day 236 Before I made this move to Chicago … I had searched the country for THE PERFECT new home town. Over 3 years I traveled to 9 states, drove thousands of miles, scoured the areas for just the RIGHT … Continue reading →

Day 235 It gets to be this time of year … the sun sets a bit earlier, the temperature drops, the nights loom long. And the fall season of television programs begins. I like to think of myself as not … Continue reading →

Day 234 Well, the day has finally come … the day when, alas, I have picked the last tomato from the vine. I could have given it another week … but our nights have been quite chilly and, knowing me … Continue reading →

Day 233 Well, I thought their leaving would have been more ceremonious … like the scene of the flying monkeys in the Wizard of Oz. Flocks of cicada flying off into the sunset … flocks or herds or whatever of … Continue reading →

Day 232 Back in the 70’s Saturday Night Live had the recurring character Roseanne Roseannadanna (played by Gilda Radner) as a guest bit on their “Weekend Update” portion of the program. She was a brash, opinionated, loud-mouth who always got things mixed up … Continue reading →

Day 231 It’s a good thing Halloween is coming up. No one will think too much of the lovely witch-black my hair has become thanks due to contents of the box of Garnier Dark Chocolate. I would have been better off if I had … Continue reading →

Day 230 I am sickened and saddened, once again. A week full of tears and anguish. Not good. This morning, as the buzz saws worked their way into my dreams, I awoke knowing what was going on … My neighbor’s … Continue reading →

Day 229 Some days are good. Some days are sucky. Some days are suckier than others. Yesterday was such a day. And for those of you who know me … I really hate that term. But sometimes it is the … Continue reading →

Day 228 Ever need a little lift of the spirit? Well, I certainly do. Life hasn’t been anything how I expected it to be these past 6+ years … and being one who is hesitant to change, who does not … Continue reading →

Day 227 Integrity … a concept of consistency of actions, values, and expectations. Honesty. Decency. Adherence to moral and ethical principles. Soundness of character. A zillion light years ago I found myself in a position where I let myself down … I … Continue reading →

Day 226 If I were a southern girl I’d say something like, “Well, shut my mouth.” or “Land sakes and mercy me.” … but I’m not. I hale from the midwest and have come full circle and for the life … Continue reading →

Day 225 Yesterday my mom came by after having her hair done. It looked really nice … and I was waiting for her urging to have something done with my hair … as it is certainly in need of SOMETHING. … Continue reading →

Day 224 I was lying on my patio chaise tonight inaugurating my fire pit. It was the perfect night to do so … a tad chilly, no breeze, acorns dropping around me … and as I was lying there the fragrance … Continue reading →

Day 223 It is a beautiful morning here … to be hot later (88 or so) but for now it is scrumptuous; if a day can be called that, it is. I laugh at my animals … they are the … Continue reading →

Day 222 It was a cold and rainy night … the stars were well hidden behind the scuttling clouds and the moon was black … The howl of the lone wolf rode on the wind through the branches of the old … Continue reading →

Day 221 Funerals. I am not a funeral gal. Never have been and as far as I can guess … never will be. I do like the “closure” they afford people. But that aside, I’m not a huge fan. And … Continue reading →

Day 220 A few years back, sometime after Tim died, I decided that I was going to live in Paris for a few months. I prepared by taking a French class … where, sadly, the only thing I truly remember is … Continue reading →

Day 219 The seasons are changing. It is no longer summer … and yet it is not yet autumn. We are in that time between seasons … when the temperatures vary and we are not sure what to wear so … Continue reading →

Day 218 It only took me nearly 4 months and a dedicated 20 hours in the basement over this weekend to come to the holy grail of my existence … THE LAST BOX. Yes, you heard me correctly. I have … Continue reading →

Day 217 I was never a Star Trek fan … but I’m sure I am in the minority with that take on the ever popular TV show/series. Yesterday was the show’s 46th anniversary. And though I can even say I … Continue reading →

Day 216 After spending the majority of the last two days with my butt glued to my office chair, early this evening I decided I needed to get out of here. And so I did. I had every intention of … Continue reading →

Day 215 Today is September 6th, 2012 and this day in history … The first tank prototype, Little Willie, rolled off the assembly line in England in 1915. Not exactly a smashing success … it weighed in at 14 tons, got … Continue reading →

Day 214 As is the case, with most of us anyway, when we hit a milestone or achieve something we like to share in our joy with our nearest and dearest. So, loyal readers … all 7 of you … I … Continue reading →

Day 213 Last night I was awakened, from a sound sleep, by a noise I couldn’t quite figure out. I laid in bed, knowing it was coming from upstairs (near me) but couldn’t get my head around what it was … Continue reading →

Day 212 Today started out like any other Sunday, except that it’s Monday and Labor Day. And since it’s Monday (and not the Sunday I thought it was) I’ve already lost a day. Not a good start to my week. … Continue reading →

Day 211 I am a slow learner. It’s not that I’m stupid (or at least I hope that that is not the case) … but just that I have a lot of things on my mind and it takes a … Continue reading →