I had just been thinking that morning about how I had a lot of life lessons learned from being in a long-term marriage that I could share to help others better navigate their romantic relationships.  And then later that day an older* woman tossed her husband at me while we were at the gym.  “Don’t…

I was complaining.  It was a lovely night, in almost every way. My good friend Sandy and I were taking in the Winter Lights display at the Arboretum on an early December evening. It was a little chilly (as was to be expected) but nothing extreme–even my wimpy Winter averse self could handle the temperature.…

“The trees are about to show us how lovely it is to let things go.” –Facebook I’m not above finding wisdom in an inspirational quote I see on Facebook. So when I saw the above quote, accompanied by a beautiful photo of colorful autumn leaves, I got inspired to think (and of course, blog) about…

My mom’s hair was always styled–curled, set, permed, etc. It never just was. My mom’s hair was always doing something, always actively in or reaching toward a state of refinement or display. My mom always had a plan for her hair.  I’m describing my mom’s hair as if it had a life of its own…

Can Barbie subvert the patriarchy? Perhaps, especially as imagined in the new Barbie movie.  But based on my childhood experience, I know one force that Barbie can’t overcome: a bossy older cousin, at least when that cousin is me.  I was way into Barbie as a kid. I inherited several from my older sister, Jenn,…

I recently pulled one of my mother’s favorite tricks: The Exploding Can of Soda in the Freezer.  Yes, I put a can of Coke Zero in the freezer to quickly cool it, forgot about it, and hours later found its frozen contents all over the freezer. (Okay, the frozen Coke Zero wasn’t really ALL OVER…

I have successfully grown a Chia pet! (Not sure “grow” is the right verb…Raised? Sprouted? Conjured?) I didn’t plan to be a Chia pet parent, but we received a Groot Chia pet years ago–pre-pandemic–from our Loot Crate subscription service for geekly merchandise.  I kept waiting for a special time to start Chia Groot, and finally…

“Mother isn’t here now…” (from the “Into the Woods” song “No One is Alone”) The first time we saw the Sondheim musical “Into the Woods,” it was relatively recently after my mom died, and the song “No One Is Alone” slayed me. I had what I’ve come to think of as a “Killing Me Softly”…

I found Hidden Falls in St. Paul today! I think.  I’m not sure because a) there was no signage at the Falls or pointing to the Falls and b) the Falls I saw were quite modest. Not criticizing them, but I’m not sure I would name a park after them.  Now points a and b…

This week I finished reading a book–a book that I started reading in September 2021.  Why did it take me so long to read this book?  One contributing factor is that I didn’t find the book, “The Big Door Prize,”* a novel by M.O. Walsh, super compelling. I enjoyed it, and was even frequently inspired…