Every spring, I landscape for two months to prepare our home for the summer. From pruning, edging, mulching, seeding, planting flowers, weeding…well, the list goes on and on. This year, my normal to-do-list doubled as I needed to prep for two weddings to be held in our backyard. The rains came relentlessly this summer, and…… Continue reading Whisper me back
Who could have guessed months ago that our daily routines would be flipped upside down? With our collective health at the forefront, we are unfortunately no longer presented with endless choices for spending our time. Confined to our homes, we are searching for ways to entertain ourselves and to stay optimistic and hopeful. So, these…… Continue reading Simple Things
Minimize – isn’t that the mantra of our day. We need to minimize the amount of “stuff” we have in our lives. We accumulate material things, filling our homes with things that are completely unnecessary…right? We are shamed for collecting, shamed for connecting to things. I am in complete agreement that buying things you really don’t…… Continue reading Clutter comfort
It was just another summer day. As I walked through the Walmart parking lot, my mind wandering over the store layout and my most efficient plan for hitting the aisles, a petite woman, probably in her sixties, wearing a floppy hat and large lens sunglasses, walked toward me. She was pushing her shopping cart with…… Continue reading Soul food
Children are king when it comes to being imaginative. Their minds are designed for creativity; effortlessly conjuring up stories and scenarios. Remember when you were young, sixth grade and younger – do you remember the purity of play? I recently watched a great movie on Netflix called, “The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society”,…… Continue reading The purity of play
When I was in grade school, sleepovers were king; a gathering of best friends for an evening of eating, giggling, and staying up all night – it was a sure-fire memory maker. I can faintly recall the excitement; packing my clothes, possibly a swimsuit and towel, sleeping bag and pillow, and probably a birthday gift…… Continue reading When I was…
It was strangely cathartic. We all gathered one Saturday in the month of March to clean my mother-in-law’s house; my husband, his two brothers, my sister-in-law and myself. We laced up our sneakers, donned our work clothes, and banished ourselves to the basement, garage, and attic until the job was done. Since his passing, one…… Continue reading Cleaning Catharsis
We couldn’t get out of the car fast enough; flying effortlessly up the steep cement steps and into the house where hugs and Christmas greetings welcomed us. A shot of brown liquor was ceremoniously thrust into my father’s hand. We added our coats to the mounding pile and breathed in deeply; the smells of my…… Continue reading Simply the best
Two small salmon swivel rockers sat in front of the family room window. For the last ten years of her life, I took up residence in one of those chairs, listening intently as she reminisced about the past and asking questions about her youth. That swivel seat afforded me time to know her not only as my grandmother, but as a…… Continue reading Front row seat
Intermittent rain drops fell, and where winter’s thick white blanket once covered the ground, wilted dull blades of grass withstood the poking and prodding of spastic squirrels searching for buried treasure. The garden beds were littered with discarded and decaying branches. Scattered rusted relics, once supple and green, gathered in and around stubborn skeletal stalks of perennial plants, providing complimentary insulation through the cold winter months. The only…… Continue reading The Messenger
