Reflections
Yesterday, I read an old article in Glamour magazine titled “Could You Live Without A Mirror for One Week?” Glamour regularly runs challenges such as wearing a pillow as a fashion statement. I kept the 2001 article fully intending to accept the challenge. ...
Grounded
Six weeks ago, while visiting Seattle, I watched as the news reported the spread of a novel virus named COVID-19. The hotel was full. People congregated in the lobby, ate from the complimentary buffet, and swam in the pool. I saw a little girl lick spilled CocaCola...
Curious Paper Clips
Back in the Stone Age. When I first started writing, sending manuscript submissions via snail mail was the norm. Very few agents or publishers accepted communications through email. Preparing the documents required manila envelopes, the lives of several trees, and...
Happy Heart Day!
Valentine’s Day can be fraught with expectations—hoping for a Valentine from everyone in the class or from just one special person. Proposals and engagement rings are not always received or accepted. When I met the Valentine of my dreams ❤️ I didn’t wait for a...
The Body Beautiful
January is a popular month for joining a gym and focusing on our health. The human body is complex. Often, no matter what we do, life doesn’t go as planned. Here are some books on the subject. A Different Beautiful by Courtney Westlake—daughter born with a...
Thankful for Turkey
In our house, no matter how it was cooked—basted for hours, wrapped in bacon, deep-fried, or slightly overdone—the turkey went fast. Turkey is generally easy to find weeks before the big day. Even if you don’t cook, you can still indulge turkey cravings at a Cracker...
It’s Not Easy Bein’ Green
When Kermit the Frog laments of being green like the leaves, I think of Central Florida—green year round. It’s difficult to tell when summer ends and autumn begins. Our Christmas photos were typically taken in November, in the yard or by the pool. And because of...
A Charmed Life
Charm bracelets have a long history. In the 1970s they were still a popular fashion statement. On my twelfth birthday, my mother gave me a sterling silver chain with one charm that said Grown Up 12 in cursive. Is cursive a dying art form? The next charm was a...