I’ve never claimed to be technologically or equipment savvy. Ask anyone in my family how I struggle to turn on a television or get ice from the ice-maker. But yesterday, my little adventure with a Hoover just about took the cake AND crumbs. You see, I need to clean my new home. Nooks and crannies type of clean.  The vacuum [...]

Last September, Barry and I had zero intention to move weren’t quite ready to move, to say the least. We had in mind, sort of, a “retirement” move back to our favorite little Rhode Island town in, well… maybe 5+ years or so. That all changed when I talked Barry into looking at a home that had been for sale [...]

My Mom and Dad… and The American Dream inside the pages of the Encyclopedia Britannica – Back in 1965, my Dad had just retired from a 20-year career in the Navy and accepted a position as a salesman at a company that sold X-ray machinery.  He was still very young, having literally quit school at 16 and run away from [...]

Plastic surgery and fish tales… Cast me a little line here and just let me say that I am not opposed to elective plastic surgery procedures for anyone who wants them. I don’t judge those who are hooked on it. It’s their pond, lake or ocean to swim in. But me?  I’ve got some work I could have done on [...]

Reflections on Prom… It was in the local and national news this week. A bit of controversy about prom attire, that is. Then I saw this piece on prom portraits… specifically about a book, Prom, a collection of 127 portraits from 13 schools across the country, shot between 2006 and 2009 by photographer Mary Ellen Mark. Mark loves how the [...]

Spa Week is April 16th – 22nd and booking has already begun! I must admit that in all my 59 years, I’ve never done Spa Week… any time, anywhere. If you’re anything like me, you may be asking, “What IS Spa Week?” Well, right from the source of the heavenly spring itself, SpaWeek.com., it’s a week when YOU too can [...]

My Grandson Benjamin turns 5 today… ! It seems like yesterday that I held my beautiful Benjamin the very first time… And 5 years later, my world has been blessed to beyond forever with the great love Benjamin has brought… Audrey calls Benjamin “Baby Angel”… She always has, since the day he was born. And you know what? Benjamin calls [...]

Tiny Homes for Boomers… is it for us? I can picture the conversation among Keith, Adam, Audrey, Jane with Barry and me going something like this: ME: (with blueprints in hand)  So. Dad and I are thinking of building a Tiny Home in one of your back yards. Stunned silence on 4 faces. BARRY: (unrolling blueprints)  We saw a segment [...]

An old dog teaches me a darn good new trick… I have a granddog named Ryder who is one of the great joys of my life. She came to our family… well, to my daughter Jane, really… 10 years ago.  We had recently said painful good-byes our 2 family dogs, two brothers whom we had rescued and raised for 13 [...]

It began as a lovely, lovely day… this past Friday. The sun was unseasonably warming the New England earth, air and people. Everyone was happy.  Everyone was smiling.  Everyone seemed to cherish this unexpected gift. But one; one man, maybe in his 40′s, in a white sedan on a busy, commercial stretch of road. I have his face, his voice, [...]