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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
After many visits to Bangkok, it was time to ride in a long-tailed boat. We often watched these slim boats speed across the Chao Phraya River. My name is Lucky! Our expert guide helped us clumsily clamber onto the bobbing boat. She told us that long-tailed boats...
When I was a kid, a summer birthday was a bummer. My brother’s birthday is the day before mine. On July 23rd (his B-day) or the 24th (mine) we often shared a cake that was frosted and candled in gender-neutral colors. The guest list was mostly neighbors and cousins...
The plaster in my backyard pool is peeling in great chunks. The deck is cracked. But until we refurbish the outdated pool, my husband keeps it clean and clear. My personal pool guy! Read Swimming With Strangers in Shanghai. Swimming is my favorite form of...
Floridians boast they live in paradise. You can’t beat the almost year-round summer weather. But bugs also love the heat. We share our spaces, indoors and out, with thousands of insects: book-loving silverfish, blood-thirsty mosquitoes, helicopter-sized...
