Last week, I thought about rolling my bicycle out of my shed. I thought about registering for some kind of race… to give me something to train for.  Self-motivation aside, I need something like that to keep on keeping on. By the next day, my husband Barry had taken matters into his own hands (and bicycle rack) and delivered my [...]

My husband Barry and I live in a big City and a small Town. How can this be? Well, we live just about right on the division line… literally, on Division Street, between the two worlds. We follow our big City politics.  We vote on our big City issues.  But we enjoy our across-the-street small Town neighbor’s lovely harbor, coffee [...]

Barry and I love to read to and with our 9 grandchildren. We love to make up stories and listen to them as they weave their own masterpieces right before our eyes and ears. We love to draw them into our kitchen to whip up little and sometimes even big masterpieces… from our Couto family Pink Pig Cookies on New [...]

My grandmother turns 86 years old today! 86 years old… that’s a lotta’ life! To celebrate my Grandma… I wanted to share 86 things I love about her… because she’s one of my #1 girl’s in my life! 1. Her love of fashion. 2. How she always signs her cards to me… xoxo Grandma (I think that’s where I get [...]

You’re part of the Sandwich Generation if you are actively involved in the lives/interests/activities/care of your children and elderly parents. Like… sandwiched in the middle. In a good way. You’re part of the Club Sandwich Generation if you’re involved in the lives/interests/activities/care of aging parents, adult children and grandchildren. Kind of like adding delectable bacon to the luncheon meat. Well, [...]

While Audrey (aka Mommy) is attending the BlissDom ’10 Conference, I’ve been helping out with the kids. And you know what happens while the cat’s away and the kiddies come to Grandma’s to play… Let’s just say the kittens and I have been having a little bliss of our own. We’ll call it WhipDom ’10 and leave it at that!

Yesterday morning, I stopped in at Audrey’s house before heading to visit my Mom at her rehab center.  (She is supposed to come home today… fingers crossed!) What I didn’t expect, though, was… if all bets are on grandparents, the Comment Trifecta of Grandmotherhood. First, while I helped 2-year old Benjamin spread cream cheese on his bagel, he poked his [...]

My little grandson Benjamin, who is turning 3 in April, is the sweetest little guy imaginable.  He can be described as pure joy.  Through genetics, birth order (he’s the 3rd of 4 brothers) or sheer necessity, Benjamin sees the wonder in everything.  Benjamin often asks his Mommy to call me just so he can say, “I love you, Grandma.”  He [...]

I was up early this morning, just early enough to see the first rays of sunshine shimmering over the tops of the trees down the hill, across the railroad tracks and on the far side of our little harbor.  It was very still… this new morning.  I had decided to get up early to attempt to get my house in [...]

My mother-in-law’s greatest gifts were gifts from her kitchen.  She cooked with joy.  She baked with joy.  She gave with joy.  These were pure gifts, from both her hands and her heart… and now from heaven. Last Saturday evening, I was skyping with my granddaughter Taylor and she asked if Grandpa and I could help her with a school project [...]