Oct 18, 2022
Quite awhile actually. Honestly, I didn't have a thing to say during the long days of the pandemic. Except for a couple of poems that were published, I made a choice not to write about the pandemic. No words felt appropriate and no thoughts about…
Mar 25, 2022
I've been cutting out some blades for a future Dresden Plate. This kind of scrap work is quite risk free. There's just no way to get it wrong--pick any scrap and have some fun. Clck on the post title to see the photo.
Sep 5, 2021
It shouldn’t be a luxury—having insurance—but, because I know a lot of people don’t have it, it sorta feels like a luxury. It shouldn’t be a luxury item, but many people simply can’t afford insurance. It can be so doggone expensive, especially car insurance. That’s…
Aug 28, 2021
I have a backache. That’s because some of my favorite tools are a pitchfork, a rake, a shovel and clippers, and I used all of them out in the garden yesterday. Isn’t it curious that I didn’t have a backache while I was in the…
Aug 22, 2021
I was being watched. I sensed it, but it wasn’t a creepy feeling, more like an imaginary tap on the shoulder that caused me to look up and notice the butterfly sitting on the outside of the window, looking in at me. It seems to…
Aug 14, 2021
There is no tin in tin foil, not any more, yet we persist in calling it tin foil. It’s aluminum foil—it says so right on the box. I wonder why we don’t call it that. Are we too lazy to use the effort to speak…
Aug 9, 2021
Our attic is very well insulated. That’s good for energy conservation, but it’s not an inviting place to go play on a rainy afternoon. There are no trunks with leather straps, no stacks of boxes or piles of books, no dolls with original clothes or…
Aug 1, 2021
My mother had a little red zippered bag, about the size of a matchbox, where she kept her small sewing supplies—thimbles, packets of needles, safety pins, that sort of thing. I hadn’t seen it in a long time, but, 20 years after she died, someone…
Jul 24, 2021
If you’re a fan of craft shows, then you know how enjoyable all that hubbub and bustle is. It’s a wonderful way to spend an afternoon, strolling through aisles and aisles of booths and vendors, meeting the artisans and seeing the merchandise they’ve created. On…
Jul 18, 2021
You won’t believe what I just did. I spent 15 minutes of my life organizing the rag bag. Why organize it, you might wonder. Well, just because it’s a rag bag doesn’t mean it should be an untidy pile. My rag bag actually isn’t a…
Jul 10, 2021
Every time I think about what year it is, I’m baffled. It’s MMXXI and I’m totally baffled and a little bit cross. Why did I have to learn about Roman numerals? From the very first day I was instructed about them, I thought it was…
Jul 2, 2021
It’s a shame that teeth aren’t more like hair. If you cut your hair it grows back. It’ll grow for your entire life. A squirrel’s front teeth are like that. They just keep growing and never get worn down to useless nubs. Hmmmm . .…
Jun 26, 2021
There is no other color like it, the way the sky is today. There are no adequate words to describe it except to call it sky blue, pure sky blue with cotton ball clouds so close you think you can touch them as they drift…
Jun 18, 2021
My neighbor is very excited about the apple tree he planted last year. It’s still an infant, but it survived the winter and now it’s thriving. He said it’s the exact same variety of apple tree that Isaac Newton was sitting under when he got…
Jun 13, 2021
I’ve never actually seen it done, but I’ve read about it in passages like this: “She drew herself up to her full height and turned to face the challenger.” “Drawing himself up to his full height, he let his indignation show on his face.” That…
Jun 4, 2021
Sometimes I'm not a very good friend to myself. I have caught myself in the act: engaging in negative self-talk, being timid about goal-setting, feeling anxious about the future, talking out loud to myself in unflattering terms in front of the mirror, wondering if I'm…
May 29, 2021
WAH and a big BOO HOO! I had to get rid of my favorite pair of flannel pajamas. They were so cute, covered with pink elephants wearing ice skates and stocking hats. I wore them and washed them, winter after winter, and the fabric got…
May 22, 2021
Isn’t a sock wrinkle just about the most irritating thing in the world? Sure, there are a lot of little irritating things in the world: running out of milk, co-workers wearing too much cologne, even the family member who chews with their mouth open, but,…
May 14, 2021
Sometimes, you get what you deserve. I had such a great laugh when I heard the woodpecker drumming on the neighbor’s metal chimney cap. I was absolutely gleeful about their bad fortune, thrilled that the bird had picked their house and not ours. Now, I’ve…
May 10, 2021
Every day I vow to drink more water and every day I don’t. This is disturbing. I’m not proud of my inability to accomplish even this smallest of small goals, but I have to face it squarely. Goal setting helps put stability and purpose into…
May 1, 2021
My daughter had Lasik eye surgery. She’s very pleased with the outcome, but I'm having a bit of trouble adjusting. It’s not because I can’t get used to seeing her without glasses. It’s because she decided to do it, scheduled the procedure, went and had…
Apr 24, 2021
Was my life less complex then, or have I driven over a cliff of nostalgia and imagined it? I’m asking this question because I can’t believe how complicated it is to sort trash for recycling. (Speaking of trash, the seven houses in our cul de…
Apr 16, 2021
It’s very early, barely past sunrise. I have been standing outside on the patio with a cup of coffee, laughing my head off. I know what it looks like, someone all by themselves, laughing out loud at seemingly nothing. It wasn’t a cute muffled little…
Apr 11, 2021
Can you picture a five pound sack of flour? It’s not really very big. That’s exactly what my daughter weighed when she was born—five pounds. She was perfect, but gosh, she was tiny. She terrified me. Thankfully, my parents arrived the day after she was…
Apr 3, 2021
I hope it’s true that you can find everything imaginable on the Internet. I need a hat to sleep in, and I want one of those cone-shaped ones like Ebenezer Scrooge wore. I think Donald Duck wore one of them, too. If the hat has…
Mar 29, 2021
It’s just no use to listen to the weather report. I don’t need it. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become an excellent weather forecaster myself. I’ve got joints and they alert me well in advance if a storm is coming. Sometimes they wake me up…
Mar 22, 2021
My mother was constantly plagued by buzzards, all her life. Maybe something was amiss at the sewing machine—perhaps a seam with an unwanted pucker sewn in by mistake—and she’d huff a little and say, “well, you buzzard.” If she encountered a jar lid that she…
Mar 15, 2021
I was feeling rather ungathered this morning, not ill or anything like that, just not quite my usual go-getter self. Fortunately, a letter arrived that alerted me to the cause. I’m overdue. It’s a letter (not an email—an actual letter, with a stamp) from my…
Mar 6, 2021
I read an article in the newspaper this morning that really lifted my spirits. Numerous women were interviewed, all of them detailing harrowing tales of widening parts, hair missing at their temples, bald spots all over the backs of their heads. I’m so happy about…
Mar 1, 2021
Nothing has changed around here. Every piece of furniture has been in exactly the same place for years. There’s something comforting about this—stability, predictability, feelings like that. However, there’s a side of my temperament that doesn’t think this is a good thing. I don’t know…
Feb 19, 2021
Mid-winter is a fine time to daydream about the tropics, so I’ve been thinking about dresses made from fabric printed with huge tropical leaves and flowers. In one of my favorite photos of my mother, she is wearing such a dress, a white sheath style…
Feb 14, 2021
I’m not a practitioner of Yoga, but I do include a few postures in my morning stretching routine. I think they’re called the Warrior, Upward & Downward Dog, sometimes the Pigeon. I hope I’m doing them correctly. I must have seen pictures of them in…
Feb 6, 2021
I declare myself the winner of the Owner of the Rattiest Bathrobe Contest. I’m not exactly sure how old it is, but I know I didn’t have it before we moved into this house, so that makes it somewhere less than 21 years old. It’s…
Jan 29, 2021
I never brought home a perfect report card. There was always one U (for Unsatisfactory), always on the same line, the one that read, “Keeps hands and materials away from mouth.” I wasn’t a pencil chewer or a crayon eater. I was an obsessive nail…
Jan 22, 2021
I have a good sense of direction. It’s nothing I can exactly explain, but I have no trouble with the compass points. I can feel north, even on cloudy days when landmarks are somewhat obscured. It’s always true, always there with me except for one…
Dec 6, 2020
I’m not a fan of imprecision, especially if language is involved. I believe in saying what you mean and being careful not to say something you didn’t intend to mean. Even though I’m not always so good at it, I do the best I can. …
Nov 28, 2020
I liked the movie and I thought Haley Mills was just adorable, but that’s as far as it goes. I'm no Pollyanna. Even so, it’s interesting to speculate whether anything positive will come out of our experience of a pandemic. The other day I was…
Nov 14, 2020
Some of life’s little pleasures are so little that they barely get noticed or adequately appreciated. I admit that I take a lot of those small delights for granted, but there is one little thing that I always feel excited about. I absolutely love getting…
Nov 7, 2020
They’re so shapely, even when they’re small, and such a pretty shade of green, with that forest aroma . . . I’m talking about pine trees here. I love trees of all kinds, but pine trees are in their own special category. Have you ever…
Oct 30, 2020
It’s been a long time since I’ve paid for anything with a fifty-cent piece. There aren’t any lying around the house or stashed in the safe for posterity. I guess if I really wanted one, I could order it from the mint. I probably won’t. …
Oct 23, 2020
When I paid the phone bill last month I wondered why, since the line was always so busy I could hardly get a word in edgewise. All manner of sneaks and scoundrels were calling and I was paying for them to be able to pester…
Oct 16, 2020
The yogurt carton that’s sitting in my fridge right now promises “No Gelatin or Funny Stuff.” How reassuring. Even if it’s funny enough to make me laugh out loud, I don’t really want it in my yogurt. I’m also impressed by the hospital motto I…
Oct 9, 2020
I dropped Trig class. I was wearing a yellow and brown plaid wool skirt and a yellow sweater the day I made that decision. I liked the class well enough, but I dropped it barely two weeks into the semester because I got discouraged. I…
Sep 25, 2020
It was a sitcom character who had the idea first. He would ball up his fist and threaten to punch his wife in the face and send her to the moon. Now, it’s finally going to happen. NASA is planning a mission to send the…
Sep 18, 2020
I knew what the sign meant. I couldn’t read yet, and I wasn’t exactly sure what a penguin was, having never met one in person. Even though I was years away from any Geography class that would inform me about the North and South Poles,…
Sep 11, 2020
Everybody got the same message—a big snowstorm and a hard freeze are forecasted to arrive tonight. The blue jays are stuffing themselves on any seeds and berries they can find. Squirrels are running hither and thither, trying to remember where they buried all those peanuts…
Sep 5, 2020
I walked past my closet this morning and my heart lurched. The door was open because my mother said it should be. “Once a week, leave your closet door open to let things air out.” That was her advice, so the closet door was open.…
Aug 28, 2020
Have you ever had one of those days where no routine tasks present themselves, a moment in time where nothing pressing is in the works, nothing needs to be accomplished, or even thought about? That sounds like a vacation to me, and nothing says vacation…
Aug 23, 2020
Grandma did it. Three of my aunts did it, too. Even my mother did it on occasion. They shopped for greeting cards in bulk and kept a stash to cover any contingencies. Most of them kept their stash in a drawer in the kitchen, but…
Aug 10, 2020
What a surprise! Someone has invented a lemon with no seeds. I was making lemonade the old-fashioned way, with freshly squeezed lemons, sugar syrup and water. It’s such a simple classic recipe, perfect for an afternoon break or a supper accompaniment, and I was in…
Jul 31, 2020
I feel like throwing something away. It’s odd, this sensation that I want to get rid of something, and it’s been hovering around in my head for the past two days. I’ve taken mental inventories trying to figure out what it is. Is it something…
Jul 24, 2020
I'm having an odd feeling, a most peculiar sensation, and I'm trying to figure out what it is. It started yesterday and it comes and goes in waves. It’s an ache, painful like a broken heart, a mysterious dreamy longing that I’ve never had before. …
Jul 17, 2020
Early morning on the patio with the first cup of coffee is usually so peaceful and calming, but this morning what I saw out there was devastating. Yesterday, the lavender rose bush, named in honor of Violet on Downton Abbey, was lovely, showing off a…
Jul 10, 2020
Isms are things we strongly believe in, like a religion—Catholicism, or an economic theory—capitalism. Isms can be negative—racism, sexism, ethnocentrism and such. It’s a good idea to examine my isms, since holding one without realizing it isn’t a good thing. There is one ism that I…
Apr 17, 2020
It’s something I look forward to every Spring, something so uplifting and wonderful that it’s a shame it only happens once a year—the first magnolia bloom opening. There isn’t a single word I can think of to describe that heady fragrance. The first bloom will…
Apr 9, 2020
There’s so much folklore and mythology about things that are associated with the moon, especially the full moon, everything from wombs to couples on romantic strolls down Lover’s Lane to statistics about births and deaths and increased visits to the Emergency room. There are creepy…
Mar 20, 2020
I know the sounds of Spring Embedded in my tissues from last year and the years before Over my left shoulder the smallest of rustling Marks the largest of miracles The first and tiny and tender green shoot of tulip Forcing aside a piece of…
Mar 6, 2020
Have you ever considered how convenient it would be, how much easier life would be, if only you could predict the future? Well, I have information for you, omens I was taught about when I was a child that might be helpful to you. Watch…
Feb 28, 2020
A crowd of angry neighbors showed up on our doorstep. They came to complain about the noise level of the kazoo orchestra rehearsing at our house. From the back of the mob, one of them hollered, “This neighborhood’s not zoned for that!” I explained to…
Feb 23, 2020
There’s a magnificent electric range in my kitchen. It’s a typical appliance for this day and time, with oven options: baking, convection, roasting or cleaning; a timer; a clock that blinks to tell me that it needs to be reset because there’s been a power…
Feb 15, 2020
I wish I still owned a pair of Go-Go boots, those saucy little white boots that reached several inches above the ankle. They resembled white majorette boots, but slightly shorter and without the tassels, and they sent a different message. Majorette boots set the pace. …
Feb 7, 2020
Something is growing on the middle of my shin. It’s not a keratosis. I have plenty of those to compare it to, and it’s definitely not a keratosis. I believe it to be a wart. I showed it to my husband and he said, “Yep,…
Jan 31, 2020
Doggone it! I’m losing my perky. It’s been seeping away a tiny bit at a time—must be a slow leak somewhere. As if that’s not bad enough, just last month my get-up-and-go went missing for a few days, and now this: I’ve misplaced my mojo. …
Jan 24, 2020
It’s a good idea to snoop around in the back of your closet now and then to see what lurks in the dark corners. I did, and I discovered a blast from the past—a rack of belts. They were cute and stylish in their day,…
Jan 17, 2020
I have lived my life so far without an Equal Rights Amendment, so I have no way of making any comparative judgement, no way of knowing if or how things might have been different with one in place. Nevertheless, I have seen change happen, even…
Jan 10, 2020
It’s a ritual. Whenever my daughter stops by to spend the day, we have to have grilled cheese sandwiches for lunch. She cooked for us last Saturday, and they were delicious, perfectly golden on one side and charred on the other side. The child has…
Dec 27, 2019
Imagine a large trash bag with the bottom cut off and sleeves attached. Add a bit of lace or ribbon, tie the drawstring top around the neck of a pregnant woman and you have an accurate picture of the maternity tops women wore when I…
Dec 21, 2019
I’m sure you’ve heard all the advice from health experts about sleep, how much we should get and the importance of developing good sleep habits to ensure quality sleep. I'm not discounting that advice, but sometimes I think those people don’t live in the real…
Dec 15, 2019
Age is just a number. I’ve heard a lot of people say that, but I'm not sure I buy it. It feels like there’s more—more to this collection of tens of thousands of days, hundreds of thousands of hours, more than just a number. I…
Nov 26, 2019
I’m going to feel sleep deprived later today. I woke up at midnight. I heard the wind, got up to watch the storm wrap around us and see what had happened while I was sleeping. Actually, I’ve experienced a number of snow storms that topped…
Nov 25, 2019
My husband said my skin was glowing—once—and that was about twenty-five years ago. This could mean one of two things: maybe my skin is still glowing and it doesn’t need to be said again, or maybe it’s not glowing anymore and he doesn’t want to…
Nov 19, 2019
It started out as an ordinary day. Moments after waking, my brain shook itself out of fuzziness, and the script of today’s agenda began to roll. I was looking forward to all the things I want to do: rake some leaves and yank a few unwelcome…
Nov 8, 2019
It’s my favorite bench, the one I always choose for relaxing during work breaks. It’s nothing special, just an ordinary old concrete bench, but it’s mine. When I arrived this morning it was already occupied. A roly-poly was making its way across the bench. I…
Nov 1, 2019
The pharmacist called to tell me my prescription is ready. No, that’s not exactly true. An electronic voice left a message on the answering machine alerting me that my order is ready for pick-up, and furthermore, will call me back once a day to remind…
Oct 25, 2019
Many people feel a sense of dread and fear about having to go to the dentist. It’s helpful if the staff make an effort to get to know the patient, help them feel relaxed and comfortable. I was recently in that scenario of chipper small…
Oct 19, 2019
How can I say anything nice about bindweed? Okay, it’s part of the grand ecosystem and maybe it serves a purpose that I'm not aware of, but I consider it one of the lowlifes of the plant kingdom. It’s spineless, doesn’t bother to grow its…
Oct 12, 2019
A young woman is standing at the bathroom sink in her underwear, perched on the tiptoes of her left leg with her entire right leg hoisted into the sink, clear up to the top of her thigh. She is shaving her right leg with the…
Oct 4, 2019
My nest egg is not even something a hummingbird would be proud of. That’s because I’ve failed the marshmallow test—repeatedly—all my life. The test goes something like this: Here, you can have this marshmallow now, or, if you wait, you can have two marshmallows later. …
Sep 27, 2019
The statistics about the ratio of marriages and divorces are well publicized and carry the implication of inevitability. Every marriage stands a 50/50 chance of ending in divorce. What if that awareness got added to the marriage vows? If we heard the happy couple say…
Sep 23, 2019
It’s a done deal. I’ve been telling myself for quite a while to stop plucking around and I finally did it. l’ve let my eyebrows grow out. There are some positives: it’s a relief, one less little detail to worry about, and now I get…
Sep 10, 2019
I’m getting a new tooth next week. Well, not really new. I’m getting a crown, so technically, I’m getting a repaired tooth next week. It’s still exciting. What’s even more exciting is the way the art and science of dentistry has progressed, just in my…
Aug 23, 2019
I’m just itching to pick up my garden shears and go outside. It’s August and I always trim the iris back in August. After they finish blooming in the spring, their spikey foliage holds down spots in the garden and adds a little interest to…
Aug 17, 2019
Last night I was sitting on the edge of the bed, putting on my pajamas when . . . WAIT . . . did I just say sitting? On the edge of the bed? Oh dear, I’m on the verge of disregarding the tenets of…
Aug 9, 2019
I had a friend in seventh grade who had the most beautiful handwriting. When she signed her name, her capital H’s and B’s were so graceful and perfectly formed. I especially admired the way she made the loops on the letters that dropped below the…
Aug 3, 2019
I am not a fan of all the third and fourth class mail that clutters up my life, but a catalogue arrived that I was compelled to look at, even though I didn’t request it. It’s from K. van Bourgondien, a company that sells bulbs. …
Jul 22, 2019
I’ve been worrying about the rolling pin industry. The thought crossed my mind that rolling pins could be one of those products that go out of production due to lack of demand. For one thing, they don’t need to be replaced every year or two. …
Jul 12, 2019
I don’t remember when I got the first wrinkle on my face and, honestly, I don’t remember how I felt about it. I probably wasn’t thrilled, but I probably wasn’t shocked or surprised either. I knew it was coming. I’d already heard plenty about wrinkles—from…
Jul 2, 2019
Reviews of "Dear Navel Diary, Are You Listening?". Check back for current comments and reviews as they become available. (more…)
Jun 30, 2019
I’ve had a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We use that phrase to mean that something extraordinary has happened, maybe something awe inspiring or even something so peculiar that the experience stands out in the mind, creates a lasting impression, imbeds itself in the memory. Well, one of…
Jun 22, 2019
Fallen arches . . . doesn’t that just have an ominous ring to it? What if it happens to an architectural structure, like a cathedral or a coliseum? Wouldn’t the whole thing collapse into a pile of bricks? Well, I had no idea that fallen…
Jun 16, 2019
Stay young at heart. Perhaps you’ve heard of this. It must come from an ancient handbook called How To Get Old Properly. That’s all there is to it—just stay young at heart and you can do anything. Does that mean that determination and action are…
Jun 7, 2019
Sometimes a craving drops in on my brain for no good reason. That’s what happened this morning. I had a sudden and intense craving for a coconut bonbon, the kind with the crunchy outer shell, the kind that comes in different colors and flavors, the…
Jun 1, 2019
Before they were skateboards they were sidewalk surfboards. Who wouldn’t want to be a California girl or a surfer girl, drive a woodie to Surf City, catch a wave and ride the wild surf? It sounded like the most fun one would ever have in…
May 24, 2019
I really appreciate people like Webster and Roget, Oxford too, for all the energy they exert in making those meticulous lists of words and definitions. New words get added every year, things that have come into common usage and thus qualify for inclusion, but I…
May 18, 2019
Just exactly what is an algorithm? Maybe I heard the word a long time ago? If it was in trigonometry class I'm out of luck because I dropped the class. I wasn’t even sure how to spell it, but apparently algorithms are in control of…
May 10, 2019
There’s an area of the garden that supposed to be flowers and mulch and a lovely display of decorative rock, but a bunch of sneaky weeds have tried to take over, mingling in with flowers as if they think I won’t notice them: thistles, dandelions,…
May 3, 2019
If you remember life before the Internet, you might also remember the first significant event that signaled something was radically changed once the Information Highway was paved and opened to the public. For me that event happened at work. Everybody was adjusting to our new…
Apr 26, 2019
AHA—I knew it! For years, I have suspected that sneaky things go on in the laundry room, but now I have proof. I just caught the washing machine in the act of eating a sock. I almost didn’t see it, in the dark depths of…
Apr 19, 2019
All my old loves were on the radio yesterday. I was driving home from work and there they were, on the playlist in the order that I loved them. The boy with the guitar started things off at the top of the hour. He was…
Apr 12, 2019
The estimates are pretty broad but the best expert medical opinion says that the average healthy human loses between 50 and 200 head hairs per day. That is a lot of scalp activity and we don’t even feel them leaving. I think I’m average so…
Apr 5, 2019
It's 7:00 a.m. and here we all are, in this virtual hospital waiting room, standing around in the lobby, crowds spilling into the street. We don’t mean to be intrusive. We love him, admire him, need him. Who better to show the youngsters how it’s…
Mar 29, 2019
There are really five seasons. There’s a very brief one that squeezes in between winter and spring. Some years it’s only a day or two long. It’s the season of green lace and motorcycles. Trees are thinking about putting out leaves and show us just…
Mar 23, 2019
Nobody likes potholes. I learned a little about logic and fallacies in school so I recognize that statement as an example of a big generalization. Nevertheless, I stand by it. Absolutely nobody likes potholes. No one heads out the door for a pleasant drive to…
Mar 15, 2019
My mother was a seamstress. There are no adjectives that adequately describe her. Skilled and talented are too tame. Even incredible and inspired don’t do her justice. She was just plain good at it—everything from fussy ruffled baby dresses to tailored wool suits to lavish…
Mar 8, 2019
Sometimes I catch myself doing something that I shouldn’t be doing. Lately, I’ve noticed that I’m standing with my knees slightly bent, like I'm getting ready to pounce on something. A structural engineer would look at me and say, “Now there’s a woman in a…
Mar 1, 2019
I used to think I was the only one but I’ve since met others who feel the same way. No doubt, we are a decidedly small percentage of the population, all sharing the same attitude and firm in our stance. We can’t stand the sound…
Feb 22, 2019
Just to look at me you wouldn’t think that Goldilocks and I have a thing in common. I’m not prone to wandering about in the woods by myself and I wouldn’t dream of barging into a stranger’s house and raiding the refrigerator without an invitation.…
Feb 17, 2019
I went to lunch with my daughter yesterday. It’s such a delightful ritual—the mother-daughter lunch—something I never got to do with my own mother because we always lived too far apart. My daughter and I live in the same city so we have the opportunity…
Feb 9, 2019
I keep hearing such an ominous noise, a crackling snapping sound, rather like a log burning in the fireplace, a rattling like a blown stereo speaker with a gritty undertone, as if I’m walking over sand on the floor that I dragged in on my…
Feb 1, 2019
My daughter has broken a tooth. This is no child who fell off her bicycle and broke a tooth. This is a middle-aged woman who didn’t have a single cavity until her twenties and has always had access to superb dental care. Even so, the…
Jan 25, 2019
They ask those questions at the doctor’s office: “Have you fallen in the past six months?” “Do you have a fear of falling?” I don’t know if they ask every patient or just those of us of a certain age. I understand the risks and…
Jan 18, 2019
I didn’t want to do it. I have a good morning exercise routine—stretching, aerobics and free weights—but there are some days that I just don’t want to do it and today was one of those days. I felt soggy and draggy. Morose muscles, tired tendons…
Jan 11, 2019
It’s the anniversary of our first date, twenty-four years ago. A formal first date might seem a bit antiquated by today’s norms where hanging out and internet dating are standard get-acquainted rites for a lot of people. We didn’t do it that way. We had…
Jan 4, 2019
It was a dark and rainy night. That’s a hackneyed old phrase that no self-respecting storyteller should use, not even to start a spooky tale. For one thing dark and night are redundant. You don’t need both. Nevertheless, it was true. It was night and…
Dec 28, 2018
I have no way to verify this statement, but I’m going to say it anyway. The cheese slicers of my childhood were better than today’s versions. They were reliable, didn’t break every five days and served their purpose well. I’m sure that’s true because if…
Dec 21, 2018
There are two kinds of people in the world—those who save bows and those who don’t. I confess I am a bow saver and, honestly, I have more bows accumulated than I will ever use. It’s not that I don’t give presents to other people. …
Dec 14, 2018
My mother taught me to waltz while I was in grade school, patiently counting it out—one, two, three, one, two, three, one, two, three, until I got the hang of it. The Arthur Murray Party was one of her favorite television shows but there were…
Dec 8, 2018
I issued myself a personal challenge in the spirit of self-improvement. I thought it might be good idea for me to set a goal of changing something about myself. I’m curious to see if I’ve gotten closer to set in my ways than I want…
Nov 30, 2018
It will happen again. There will be news reports and viral videos about a person who does something. It will be something that many people do, something like volunteer for a charitable cause or run a race, maybe pose for a fashion shoot or parachute…
Nov 16, 2018
Daddy wasn’t a white collar worker or a blue collar worker. He was a khaki collar worker. There were always two fresh sets of khakis hanging in his closet and every day he left for his job in the oilfield as a sharp dressed man,…
Nov 9, 2018
One little spice jar—that’s all it took to rattle me. I was up early having a moment of solitude with husband and dog still sleeping. As I waited for the coffee to perk I was looking around at my fabulous kitchen, remembering the grand commotion…
Nov 3, 2018
“Take business classes before you graduate.” That’s what the guidance counselor said. The message was clear: you can be someone’s secretary. Having stellar secretarial skills = being a dynamite secretary and plenty of people are, but some of us just don’t have that gift. I…
Oct 26, 2018
I had to get dressed in the dark this morning. There are complex and ridiculous reasons for why this happened, but the reasons are less important than the outcome. By 9:00 a.m. I had already been out and about in public in multiple interactions. I…
Oct 19, 2018
I did not sleep well. I was jolted out of a peaceful slumber by a sharp searing pain. It’s not the first time I’ve experienced this kind of pain and I'm not the only one either. I bet every single person on the planet has…
Oct 12, 2018
My mother did not like milk at all. She picked her cereal out of it and poured the leftover milk down the drain. She did that even though she ran a household where wasting food was forbidden. Now and then she might have a small…
Oct 5, 2018
Like/hate relationships are quite common and don’t usually entail much emotional reaction. I like popcorn but I hate having a husk stuck in my teeth somewhere. I like summer but I hate having a sweaty neck. Love/hate relationships are more emotionally taxing and that’s what…
Sep 29, 2018
People who love each other do so many nice things for each other and sometimes we take it for granted. I think I forgot to tell my husband “thank you” for washing my car last weekend. My morning commute is straight into the rising sun…
Sep 21, 2018
I haven’t inherited any property or title from a dead husband so, by definition, I’m not a dowager, never will be even though my husband is a prince. That’s not the same as marrying a Duke—with a capital letter—and becoming the Dowager Duchess of Something…
Sep 7, 2018
That could be one of the first rules I learned about personal hygiene. Children’s hands come into contact with a lot of germs so washing up before meals and after playtime and before bed and before touching the piano keys—all solidly ingrained childhood routines—sometimes just…
Aug 24, 2018
Running bath water that comes out exactly the right temperature isn’t an exact science. Sometimes adjustments have to be made after an exploratory toe tests the waters. That happens to me all the time—too hot, not quite hot enough, faucets have to be recalibrated before…
Aug 17, 2018
One of the goals I set for myself at the beginning of summer is a long way from being accomplished. I wanted to read a book, just one book from first page to last. I love to read and it’s not a good situation when…
Aug 10, 2018
What exactly is a life that’s a bed of roses? It could mean a number of things: no worries, not having to work for a living, no problems, never any concern for having enough to eat or enough money or enough love. I don’t think…
Aug 3, 2018
When I was ten, I might have thought about what it would be like to be twice my age. If I did think about it, I probably imagined that it would be pretty cool—be all grown up, be in college, have a car and a…
Jul 27, 2018
Sometimes it feels so good to spiff something up. I took a look at some of my old bath towels and decided it was time to do just that, so I bought some gorgeous new towels. They’re soft and fluffy and everything about them is…
Jul 20, 2018
Stay Cool It’s 100 degrees outside—but not in the shade. Do the trees mind that they don’t have anything to shade them? Do they resent having to absorb the brunt of the sun while we loll about under them? Or, do they feel important being…
Jul 13, 2018
My dermatologist is a very talented sleuth and we have the routine of our relationship down pat. We meet once a year. I get undressed and take center stage under the blazing overhead spotlight, lying quietly while she inspects every inch of me with a…
Jun 29, 2018
I just planted some half dead flowers. I feel terrible about it. It’s all my fault that they’re droopy and look like they’ve lost all hope of ever thriving. I brought them home from the greenhouse days ago and stashed them under some larger plants…
Jun 22, 2018
When we moved into this house in late fall there was a large sickly pine tree loafing at the top of the hill. There’s so much to do to get a new home fixed up the way you want it so we put off having…
Jun 15, 2018
At some point during my childhood my mother shared an old cheerleading chant from her youth with me. Shared isn’t exactly the right word. She actively taught it to me. I'm not sure why she thought I needed to know it but it was shared…
Jun 8, 2018
There’s a terrible noise going on outside, a clacking and banging, rapping and hammering commotion that’s echoing through the entire house. It woke the dog up from his nap and he’s now running amok, barking his head off. I don’t need to investigate because I…
Jun 1, 2018
I’m staring at the ceiling. That may sound like a state of vague inertia, but it’s not. I’m considering what’s to be done about these popcorn ceilings that are all over this house. Lumpy, bumpy popcorn ceilings were so popular in the 1970’s. Maybe the…
May 8, 2018
A very slick, smooth recorded voice named Todd has been calling me—repeatedly—with an ominous message. I had no idea my medic alert kit was ready to ship. Todd has done a little research and he’s calling me multiple times every day. It doesn’t matter that…
Jul 17, 2017
Usually the idea of ticking makes me think of clocks, but the other day it made me think of something else: ticking fabric--that blue and white striped fabric that was used to make pillows. It was stiff and scratchy but that wasn't the worst of it. …
Jun 27, 2017
I don't need a calendar to answer that question. Today is the day the miller moths arrive--all of them at once, fully grown, overnight. Well before dawn I knew they were here, tapping against window panes and tussling with window shades, in search of a light bulb…
Jun 7, 2017
It is such a wonderful sound, that thunderous, cracking, splitting that releases the aroma and reveals the sweet red flesh of a watermelon--at least we hope it's sweet. Even with all the thumping, the folk lore, the stem inspection, the advice and consultation with other shoppers--even with…
Apr 26, 2017
The other day as I was leaving for work my husband said, "Darling, you look so retro. I love you." It was a compliment but it left me puzzled. Is this wardrobe commentary? The pink silk shirt I had on has been in my closet for a…
Mar 25, 2017
My sewing machine is sounding unhappy. I've had it for nearly forty years. I don't know how old that is in sewing machine years but fortunately the unhappy noises aren't due to elderly status. It just wants to be cleaned and oiled and will then carry on…
Mar 5, 2017
Reviews of "The Navel Diaries". Check back for current comments and reviews as they become available. (more…)
Jan 22, 2017
I had to do it. I didn't want to. It hurt, but I had to do it. I just took a gorgeous pair of boots to the thrift shop. Oh, they were stunning: delicious caramel-colored leather, soft, soft leather, real leather, and they fit like a…
Dec 13, 2016
Today is a very exciting day. I have brand new sheets--fuzzy, fleecy sheets with cavorting polar bears on them. How fitting for the season! They're not on the bed yet. They're in the washing machine. That had to be done as soon as they came out…
Nov 21, 2016
Shoes that last fifty years are quite impressive. Marriages that endure for fifty years are also impressive and worthy of celebrations. My family had both shoes and celebrations . . . for the rest of the story go to this link for Boomer Café.…
Nov 2, 2016
There should be a pay-off for all the life experience I've had, something like wisdom or at least skill. After all this time, you'd think I'd know a foolproof way to peel a hard-boiled egg. I don't. It's always an experiment that could go either way. I've heard a lot…
Oct 5, 2016
An old mind picture just flashed across my brain. It's my mother, sitting at the kitchen table, polishing her fingernails. Probably she was following some fashion trend of the day, using dark red polish, carefully leaving the moons at the base of each nail unpainted and…
Sep 20, 2016
Some parts of me are ready for summer to be over and some parts of me aren't. My heart belongs to summer and flower beds and I hate to see that part of the year go. Every fall I lament a little. My intellect knows…
Aug 13, 2016
I'm combing through my memory banks, taxing myself to try and remember how long I've owned my razor. I'm sure it hasn't been decades, has it? Long enough that the blade refills are no longer available at the store. Like every determined shopper, I went…
May 12, 2016
hyacinths would be taller so they'd be easier to sniff. That's right, a giant cluster of sweetness on a stem about, oh let's say, four and a half feet tall. Then I wouldn't have to bend down so far and maybe I wouldn't have such…
Apr 4, 2016
I've just realized that not all role models have to be human. I have a magnolia bush that has set the bar quite high and given me something to aspire to. Sandwiched between spring/howling 2-feet- of-snow-blizzard/spring/more snow/and now spring again, the bush has overcome a…
Mar 14, 2016
In the years after I left for college my parents began to accumulate a lot of clocks. I didn't see the process as it was happening, but the result was apparent every time I went home for a visit. There was at least one clock…
Feb 15, 2016
Yes, I wonder if a scarf would help me today. The wind is ferocious. I've never been comfortable in the wind. I don't like the noise of it and I certainly don't like the feel of it on my skin--or blowing my hair around. That's…
Jan 24, 2016
When I wake up my brain is immediately in overdrive, ready to hit the race course like a high end sports car's engine. Unfortunately my body is grinding between two gears: neutral and reverse. I have some hope that the mattress is part of the…
Jan 14, 2016
It's really windy today, astonishingly windy. I don't particularly like it but I'm not nearly as distraught as Francis, the spaniel, is. He doesn't like all the changes in his environment. His world is altered and he's commenting on it in the best voice he has. …
Jan 5, 2016
I didn't eat a single black-eyed pea on New Year's Day. I don't even know the logic or origin of that tradition. I'm unable to verify if it really works anyway so I didn't eat one. I don't like them, never have, though they were…
Dec 21, 2015
Some words are just preposterously overused. Take awesome, for example, used as a response and/or as a modifier: "Yes, I'd like to meet you for lunch." "Awesome." "You're going to get a raise." "Awesome." "That car is awesome." "This tie would look awesome with that…
Oct 19, 2015
I was raking mulch up, getting a section of the garden ready for fall the other day and I saw something that made me feel bad. Tulip bulbs, a lot of tulip bulbs, sitting on the surface of the earth. They had heaved themselves out of the…
Oct 16, 2015
I'm not sure what to call myself and I don't always like what other people call me. I am sure that the language we use about ourselves sets the tone for how we feel about ourselves though. I like something Ashton Applewhite said in a…
Sep 30, 2015
Every day, on my drive to work, I pass some preposterous traffic signs. One of them has the traffic sign picture of a pedestrian. Translating the symbol and the words reveals this message: "Pedestrians next 2,640 feet." How far is that? My brain cannot process…
Sep 18, 2015
How important is packaging? Sometime in my past toothpaste came in a metal tube, sealed under the lid, secured against dirt and germs from anyone else who handled it at the store. No box. At least I don't recall toothpaste boxes from my childhood but I…
Sep 9, 2015
Apparently rabbits don't understand English. One was right outside the back door, acting like it lived here, waiting to come in. I said, "Shoo! Go on! Get outta here!" No response from the rabbit so I continued my tirade. "You don't belong here! Beat it!!!" …
Aug 28, 2015
Sometimes a car near me in traffic or a car next to me at a stop light is making a bad noise. At first I think it's my car. Of course I worry: "What is that horrible noise? Oh no, I hope it's not me making that noise. That's…
Aug 21, 2015
Have you sashayed anywhere lately? Down the street, maybe. . .? Sashayed into a room. . .? I haven't in a long time. Sashaying is a mood, a light-steppin', light-hearted, happy-to-be-here state of mind. If I'm gonna sashay I need to feel good about myself. …
Aug 11, 2015
Our house has two perfectly good garage doors, with years of service left. However, finding replacement weather stripping that fits these doors has become a tooth-gnashing challenge. The doors are only ten years old, but industry specs have moved on without a care for the…
Jul 20, 2015
The young aren't the only ones who can set the world on fire. They might need a bit of sage advice about the proper way to play with matches, too. We should continue to set a good example, be role models worthy of emulation and…
Jun 29, 2015
Usually I find an ear worm insufferable but the one I've been having for the last two days is actually bringing me comfort. Crosby, Stills and Nash and Young were right on about that Carry On thing. Rejoice! What other choice is there? Just Carry…
May 29, 2015
and I'm shrinking. This can cause a lot of problems, not the least of which is a wardrobe full of things that aren't my size anymore. I'm feeling rather proud of myself because I was able to solve a little part of this problem. Last summer's wheat colored…
Apr 18, 2015
My mother told me EVERYTHING about the birds and the bees. I was able to tell everybody else in my grade school and then their mommas got mad at my momma for telling me so much. She didn't tell me a thing about all that's happening…