• Paris Memories

    I got a note from my friend Donna today. We met when I rented her Paris apartment two years ago and I knew immediately she was a kindred spirit. We’ve kept in touch, a note here, an email there. We’ve talked on the phone, and I visited her last time I was in Washington, DC. Whenever I hear from her, I think about my time in Paris. What an incredible experience Paris was for me–a dream come true. I’d wanted to go to Paris since I was about ten years old and found a little packet of old photos of the City of Lights in an antiques store in Michigan.…

  • My Birthday and My Heart

    Today is my birthday. I’m turning 58. My mother died of a massive and unexpected heart attack at the age of 60. My greatest fear is dying the same way, but covered in spiders. I’m kidding about the spiders, although I do have terrible arachnophobia. I’m not joking about the heart attack fear. My sensible self smacks me regularly when this fear manifests. My mother was a good woman, but she was overweight, smoked (and not just tobacco), played around with hallucinogens, never exercised, ate whatever she wanted to eat, and was a non-compliant diabetic who hated going to the doctor. I am overweight, but I’ve never smoked anything, I’ve…

  • Guest Blogging…

    …today at the Bettyverse. It’s been a giant charge doing these guest articles for Alastair and Lani–I’m having the time of my life as well as honing my writing skills.  Stop by today and talk to me about profanity. Love it? Hate it? Like me, are you using it more as you get older? Why? Let’s talk!

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  • The Mystery Photo

    In 1982, when my Great-Aunt Alice died, the few personal belongings she had in the nursing home came to me. Among them were a couple of pieces of jewelry, a photo album and some larger loose photos, her art portfolio from when she was drawing in the 1940s and 50s, and her father’s collection of writings. Her father was a writer and a sports reporter in Chicago during the post-Civil War days through the late 1800s. The story of her father and mother I’ll save for another blog, but I’ll tease you with this: His writings included several semi-pornographic poems circa 1877.  Yup, there’s really nothing new under the sun,…

  • Guest Blogging in New Venue!

    Guest blogging today at Chick Lit Writers, an online chapter of Romance Writers of America. Come on by and let’s talk about writing. How do we show, not tell, our story? Love to hear from you!

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  • The Warehouse Store

    Tonight, we made our bimonthly trip to Costco–the giant warehouse store where everything comes in bulk. You can buy tuna in what looks like a 2-pound coffee can and a gallon of mayo to go along with it. Peanut butter comes in jar you can practically take a dive into and you can buy 90 egg rolls in one box! And seriously,  who doesn’t need 500 paper plates or 30 rolls of toilet paper at one time? I need to interject here that I’m not a shopper. As a matter of fact, I would almost rather have my gums scraped than go shopping and that includes any kind of shopping.…

  • Sometimes, We Do What We Gotta Do…

    …even when we don’t want to do it. This week is one of those times. I’m tired of working. I’m out of the mood, I’m burned out, I’m over it. I want to stop. I’ve had to work the last two weekends at the lake–something I really hoped to avoid doing. But, I have a deadline and a lovely client who’s paying me to get their project done. So, I’ll keep at it. It’s odd to feel this way when I love my job as much as I do. I know exactly how fortunate I am to be able to earn what mostly constitutes a living while sitting at home…

  • Does Life Get Any Better?

    We just got home from a 3-day weekend at the lake and we’ve discovered that it’s getting harder and harder to leave on Sunday evening. Tonight, we didn’t leave until almost 8 pm…we just hate for it to end. This weekend was special because I had a some other freelancers up on Friday for a day on the lake. It rained all through lunch, but we still had a ball eating at a great restaurant right on the water. The rain stopped by the time we got back to the cottage, so we decided to chance a boat ride. After we got the boat uncovered and started on our ride,…

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  • Guest Blogging…

    at the Bettyverse again, folks. Come on by and share your “kid’s are a trip!” stories with us! All-new Bettyverse–hot red and very user-friendly. Hope to see you there!

  • Update…

    …on The Golf Cart Effect. Last weekend, the community had a fish fry, which was delicious and a bunch of fun, but it got cold up on the hill where we were picnicking. So after we’d stuffed ourselves, we all adjourned down to the Common area and had a bonfire. It was great, even the Marshmallow War was a hoot. Believe it or not, when a marshmallow hits a golf cart, it sounds a lot like a tennis ball thwacking against a house. Who knew? But, what made me smile the most was the circle of about fifteen golf carts around the bonfire. It was priceless! Particularly because there, dead…