You know it’s summer when you open your door and someone has left a beautiful zucchini on your doorstep. You feel so special, until you look at your neighbor’s doorstep and see zucchini there too. Your neighborhood is probably filthy with them because everyone always underestimates the number of zucchini that comes from one plant. My father did his entire life. Estimates are, one plant gives three to…
You probably said, “Hey, Friday came and went, Fran should have posted her blog, only to find nothing. If you’re like my old boss at Warner Lambert, Jim Bair, you’re probably saying, “Fran, you either have it done, or you have an excuse, and if you have an excuse, I don’t want to hear it.” The good news is, Jim (mostly) broke me of that bad habit with…
I’ve never been more concerned about our country. There’s such anger and division, it’s as if we’ve forgotten the U.S. is supposed to be the ideal. We’re supposed to be the example the world looks to, where everyone lives together and gets along — The Starship Enterprise of countries. The place where justice prevails. My nephew, Patrick and I were talking this week about how we want inspirational…
The world was very ugly this week. I don’t have a solution, and it was too awful to face, so I turned to baking because it always makes me feel good. I know it’s a cop-out, but it’s better than drinking, smoking or gambling, and everyone loves you for it, so it’s my coping mechanism. This year has been pretty full of tragedy, so, I’ve been baking a…
Today, my mother would have been 103. She’s been gone since 1992 and we still get “Mary” stories. Just today my sister forwarded me a note from our cousin’s daughter, Nannette. The note said, “One of my favorite memories of your mom is when my mom took us to the old Beaver Falls movie theater to see, “Ammityville Horror,” and she busted out the rosary and started praying…
Lois is in the hospital again. She was my mother-in-law for 22 years and just turned 98-years-old. I feel bad because I should have gone to see her a few weeks ago when I had a free weekend day, but stayed home to get things done instead. My guilt is overwhelming because she is not only sick, but in desperate need of a haircut and won’t get one…