Being responsible is no fun at all. No wonder people drink. I’m sorry I’ve been away so long, but I’ve had taxes to prepare for, outside writing projects, exercising, cleaning and ironing to keep up on, and more. Sometimes I wish I wasn’t so friggin’ ambitious. But the ambition comes partly because: a. I have no spouse to handle my domestic chores. b. I’m fairly certain I won’t…
“Good King Wenceslas looked out On the Feast of Stephen When the snow lay ’round about Deep and crisp and even” This is my favorite Christmas song, but I could never listen to it without getting teary eyed. “Brightly shone the moon that night Though the frost was cruel When a poor man came in sight Gath’ring winter fuel” The story always touches me no matter how many…
Each winter my mother and I sported a light coat of flour from December first to the 25th. My mom flew into a baking frenzy and I was recruited to grease pans, sprinkle sugar on hot fried twists of lemony dough, and run up and down between our upstairs and downstairs kitchens like lightning for whatever mom needed because she always said, “Honey, you gatta da fresh a…
I always worry that I’m not experimental enough in the kitchen. I find a good recipe and then stick with it for the rest of my life. This worry was spurred by a friend once comparing me to another friend who cooks. She said, “You’re a great home cook, but ______, well he’s a chef.” My pride was wounded, but I understood. The friend who she was talking…
On my morning walk with Topper I was thinking how thankful I am for you, my faithful blog readers. Maybe I overshare sometimes, but when I write, I think of each of you, whether you’re family, friends, co-workers, audiobook and voiceover friends, former PTA partners, or readers I’ve never met. I just have a feeling you can all identify. Sometimes it’s nice to know you’re not alone in…
Remember how sad I was when I thought I was going to be an empty nester? Then how I instantly adjusted due to the cleanliness factor? Well, things change pretty quickly around here. Now it’s my son, who is here temporarily while he finds the right place to live. Since this is southern California, where homes are totally out of reach for anyone making less than 200,000 a…
Right out of college, I got a job as a Retail Sales Representative for the Warner Lambert Company. I sold Listerine, Listermint, Efferdent, Effergrip, Schick Razor Blades and Sinutabs. The products weren’t glamorous, but it was considered a very good job. There was about a 10,000 dollar difference between the package I would have gotten as a teacher, and this job, so I went with the better salary,…
My brother Bernie called me last night. He said he was making Limoncello. I love that he and my brother Bob still do that kind of thing. It’s proof they haven’t lost their Italian-ness. The label with my dad’s photo on it is one of Bob’s wine labels. Bernie was peeling lemons as we talked, and I wanted to watch, so we Face-timed, and it was almost…
Well, I seem to be surviving the departure of my daughter. At first, I wondered if I’d ever be alone because right after my daughter left, my son came and visited for a couple nights, but I was alone last weekend, which left time for an old friend to come and stay over and for me to finally clean my daughter’s room the way I’ve been dying to…
I just calculated the last time I lived alone and it was somewhere around 30 years ago. So, once I finish the dishes that my daughter lovingly left me as a parting gift (so I wouldn’t miss her too much) and get the house cleaned, then get rid of all the furniture she left in my living room, (anybody need a nice dark brown desk?) I am going…