I bet most of you out there have googled pancreatic cancer more than I have. When I first got the diagnosis I avoided googling it because I felt I already had a pretty good idea of how bad it was. Most people don’t survive very long and it’s very painful. Those are the two facts...
I’ve had a complicated relationship with food my whole life. I’ve mentioned it in passing, but I’ve been thinking about it a lot lately so I thought I might as well write a whole post about it. I don’t know why I internalized the idea that slim is better – and definitely prettier –...
This year I’m enjoying the garden in a way I never have before, because I have carte blanche to just sit and enjoy it. This is a new experience for me, because in the past I’ve always been there to work to make it more beautiful, but I rarely just relaxed under a tree with...
After three lousy nights in a row, I had three good sleeps in a row, which is almost unheard of. Of course, I’m looking back thinking, what made the difference? The first night is easily explained, first by having had three lousy nights, as I said, culminating in a 3 hr 30 minute night, then...
Retirement is a big milestone for most people, whether you’re a musician, an engineer, or a bricklayer. It signals the start of the last leg and I can see why a lot of people put it off. Who wants to think about that last leg too much? And when you’re retired, you have a lot...
If you need a boost to your ego or to your general happiness, I recommend announcing your retirement, preferably out of the blue! I recently did that on a FB post and was floored by the kind words many people took the time to write. I’ve been thinking about retirement for a long time and...
Dave and I always celebrate Valentine’s Day in some way. Maybe one year it’s just cards and chocolates or flowers, another it’s an overnight at a hotel and an expensive meal. It all depends on what we’re feeling and how much time (and money) we have. Suffice it to say that we don’t ascribe to...
The Happier Podcast, with hosts Gretchen Rubin and Elizabeth Craft, suggests that to live in an atmosphere of growth, one trick is to pick a “word of the year”. It has always sounded too Pollyanna-cutesy to me, so I’ve always resisted this exercise. This year I thought I’d try it, because, heck, at this point,...
Ants in the house in January?? I didn’t think it was possible for ants to infest your house during the winter. The summer, of course; the autumn, sure, since they try to escape the cold, but inevitably they peter out and that’s it until spring. Not this year. As the weather grew colder, the ants...
I thought if I put an exclamation point at the end of the title it would attract more readers?! I have spent today working on my site!! All I did was create categories for my posts, which are available on the righthand side of each page. I thought it would be fun if people could...