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If the thought of vomit makes you vomit, quit reading right now.  Everybody else:  READ ON! I originally wrote this several months ago.  When I asked my daughter to read it through, she asked, “Who is your target audience?” As if not everyone wants to hear about this.  I assured her that moms, potential moms, and children with a propensity to vomit will relate. Nevertheless, I set it aside to reconsider.  Then it occurred to me last night that Christmas is actually the season

Well, first off, I confess that I do my Christmas presents list in Excel.  I add up how much I spend on each person, particularly the kids, to make sure it’s roughly equal and to keep track of what I’ve bought, what’s shipped and what’s arrived. I've been called uptight. However, I also confess that I’ve never added up the total for all gifts.  I don’t think I could mentally handle that.  Each year I say I’ll do less, and I never do. But I will be immodest and brag:  I've bee

Both my parents were firm Christians and without a doubt we all believe we will see one another again in heaven. Thus, the human body isn’t such a big deal after you die.  Of course you have a decent burial, but my parents being my parents, they chose the cheapest burial sites available, near the entrance of the cemetery and next to the road.  We weren’t upset by that at all, but in death as in life, they didn’t compromise on their priorities and they certainly didn’t waste m

When my parents got older, my mom had mobility issues.  After much discussion, they got her one of those scooters. She would rarely use it, saying she’d walk instead.  But then we’d bring along a wheel chair just in case, and inevitably we’d end up pushing her in that.  So much for the scooter.  But later my dad was diagnosed with PSP Parkinson’s-ism – a derivation of Parkinson’s such he had balance issues.  He started using the scooter when not using a walker.  First you nee

We were a camping family.  It was a cheap way to see the country, and my dad loved the outdoors.  When he was in high school, he took an aptitude test for a career.  First option was Forest Ranger, second was engineer.  He loved the solitude and mountains, so we camped.  In the early years we had a tent trailer towed by a Chrysler station wagon that always overheated, particularly when going uphill.  Yes, the kind with the wood panels. But later we had a ’71 Ford pick-up with

From 1976-1980 we lived on a military base in the Pacific, in the Marshall Islands.  More about that later. But it was a small community and softball is what everybody did -- middle school all the way up to adults near retirement.  My dad was an excellent ball player and had a bag of probably 50 softballs.  We’d go to the soccer field near our house and my dad would would pitch all the balls to us as we practiced batting.  Then we’d practice throwing and fielding.  I loved th

My dad was an only child, with a mother who seemingly never wanted kids. He got ignored a lot and was lonely.  So after my mom gave birth to my older sister (in the cover pic), he immediately started pressing for a second child; no way were his kids going to grow up like he did.  And so I came along, a healthy 2 ½ years later.  I was bottle-fed, and the first night they brought me home from the hospital, my dad took the 2 AM feeding, held me in his arms, and said, “Yeah, you

My dad is (was) a wild man.  Not the sex-drugs-rock-n-roll kind of guy, but the I-can’t-believe-he-did-that kind of guy.  I love him and I am a daddy’s girl.  I don’t get my looks from him, except my hair color; his mom had red hair and, when he was in his twenties, he grew a beard and it grew in coppery red.  But I don’t have many of his other physical characteristics; however, emotionally and mentally we are very similar.  Introverts and logical thinkers.  Not subject to ef

You’ve heard me say that New England and Connecticut have been good to us: a good job for my husband, good schools, good friends, good churches.  And of course fall colors can’t be beat.  Have you ever heard of the Burning Bush shrub?  It’s a roundish type plant, often 4-8’ diameter, and it turns the deepest, richest red; it really pops. What makes me love it so?  In Charlotte’s Web , there is a scene at the very beginning where the author describes autumn and the coming wint

Books are wonderful, and I am an avid reader. I’m certainly not qualified to be a literary critic, but I do have my opinions.  I have lots of opinions.  And I am here to share them. There are many great books, and you know all the classics: Jane Austin, the Brontes, Dickens, Henry James . . . whomever you prefer.  Then the newer classics:  C.S. Lewis, Tolkien, Ayn Rand, to name a few. I’ve read them, plus some Tolstoy and others.  I have loved them and know they are good for

Throughout school I was generally pretty good in math.  I was fine with my multiplication tables, algebra, geometry. For a girl, I was...

Those of you who know me personally know that I have great hair.  I’m not bragging; it just is.  I always knew the color was good; it was...

About a year ago I was happily slicing zucchini with my new mandolin slicer.  I was quite pleased with the nice, even, thin pieces I was...

Recently I was heading home after being out and about for several hours.  I still had two or three more errands to run but needed to use...

My sister Kathy is the best sister I could ever want.  She is smart, loving, kind, enthusiastic.  She will of course give you the shirt...

In our town, the fourth graders do a whole semester on Ellis Island immigration.  They are given a character, write dairies, read...

Our daughter, Johannah (The Artsy One), was always full of adventure.  A happy little kid with no sense at all of her own mortality. When...

When I started this blog, I promised revelations about life’s most awkward moments. I’m sure this is an incomplete list, but here’s what...

I love some spandex in my pants, just like everyone else – 1-2%.  It keeps the bottom from being saggy and you can wear them multiple...

Most of us love July 4 th .  How can we not?  Barbecue, Americana desserts, your choice of beverages, and pyrotechnics.  And if you’re...