How Birthdays bring back memories… It’s interesting how our memories ebb and flow. And it’s very intriguing how on specific calendar dates,  people from the past show up and places come back and scents and sounds come alive… like a river after the rain. Birthdays are especially good for memories.  And for a parent, birthdays are all the more, I [...]

34 years ago yesterday, I woke up, got dressed, headed to my English teaching job, got a bit into 1st period of the day, felt something strange, looked down, couldn’t see my feet or the floor beneath me because I was almost 8-months pregnant (back then, we measured in months, not weeks!), asked a student if he saw blood… He [...]

A journey to JC Penney for a lovely Junior Bridesmaid dress… There’s a story to every special occasion dress, I suppose. The Plan. The Hunt.  The Journey.  The Catch. And the story of the Junior Bridesmaid dresses for Taylor and Maddie, Jane’s two nieces and my two granddaughters, for Jane & Brian’s July wedding is no exception. Jane & Brian’s [...]

A 3-inch stiletto heel for my 87-year old Mom… ? I know I’ve officially labeled my Mom, Rita, as the first Fashionista I ever knew.  Because she is. This is a photo of my Mom & Dad in 1965.  I still remember this lovely dress and how lovely my Mom looked in it.  She was the epitome of grace, beauty [...]

A little whimsy added to my Pink & Gray bathroom… In my new home, there’s a tight-fitting upstairs bathroom tucked into the eaves of the roof-line… This bathroom is a statement from the 40′s or 50′s, and being a child of the 50′s and all, you’d think that I’d love its Pink & Gray theme.  You know, in the spirit [...]

How VIVA TOWELS saved my morning… an unsolicited story. No matter how one tries to make it organized, efficient or smooth… MOVING is none of these. When Barry and I recently moved into our “Retirement Cottage” from a mightily packed 10-room home, I thought I could beat the MOVING nightmare with my incredible organization, efficiency and s-m-o-o-t-h attitude. Nah. Didn’t [...]

A Laundry memory trigger that waited 50 years… It’s amazing to think that we all have memory triggers in our minds that may be sparked at any moment by some sense or other. I had a fireworks trigger yesterday morning about someone I hadn’t thought about in 50 years with something as seemingly simple as a washer/dryer delivery. This is [...]

When wishes come true… There’s this Bike Path that abuts our property… It begins about a half mile to our left toward our little downtown and goes right about 15miles all the way to downtown Providence. Barry and I have been riding this Bike Path for decades.  When our kids were  young, we lived two towns over, toward Providence, and [...]

Flowers are the music of the ground… There’s something magical, and musical even, about discovering flowers in a new place. Today, the flowers in my yard were singing their melodies, and I was listening. (OK. I have been preoccupied with indoor plumbing and drenching rain.  But that, I think, makes the flowers sing that much louder for attention. Yes?) Anyway, [...]

We listened to this advice from a plumber:  “Call Roto-Rooter first thing in the morning.” Picture this. Day 3 in your new “old” home, as in 1880′s old. There’s already been a plumbing problem with the pipe servicing the upstairs toilet, sink and shower.  A friend, a plumber, has already made a late night visit to assess the damage and [...]