What possesses a mostly sane woman to wade into a flesh-tearing patch of blackberry brambles? The promise of hot, crisp blackberry pie with peanut butter crust and crumble. Add vanilla ice cream and you have a holy experience. And I must say thank you to Brian and Pam Ellis, my former next door neighbors, who always let me know when the berries in their yard are ripe for…
Memorial Day usually makes me think of cook outs and barbecue, but this year, I’ve been thinking about the reason for the day, our fallen soldiers. Maybe it’s because I’ve been watching another Ken Burns documentary, this one about World War II. Or maybe it’s because I know how much being a soldier in that war meant to my dad. He came back from World War II with…
I celebrated Earth Day by picking up all the crap stupid people have thrown in the street in front of my house and cursing them under my breath. Then, I came upon an empty cardboard box in the street with a name and address on it. I wanted to drive to this person’s house and drop it in the street in front of where he lived with a…
Last week I was at work getting coffee, talking about wanting to lose weight with a co-worker. I was saying how frustrating it was that I haven’t been successful. She’s one of my favorite co-workers. She leaned over to me smiling and said, “Sometimes Miss Fran, you just have to buck the f__k up,” which made me laugh so hard I almost spit. She would know, she’s been…
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…
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…
Back in 2010 when I moved back to Pennsylvania, post divorce, I spent a lot of time with family. My brother Bob, who was semi-retired at that time and I would occasionally go for walks, and he’d start reflecting back on his life. He’d ask me things like what I wanted to be remembered for. I kept thinking, What the hell! I’m only 55, do I have to…
I know, most of you are saying, “Wait, when have you ever shut up?” But I do sometimes edit what I say here for fear of offending some readers, but I just can’t worry about it anymore! I just watched “Chasing Coral,” a multi-award winning documentary on Netflix and was so affected witnessing the devastation of our coral reefs, I whipped into action. I am not a diver and…
I am clearly still getting used to being a full-time writer, but in an effort to not look as lazy and shifless as I clearly am, I am re-posting an old favorite of mine, “The Real Truth About Sex and Love, A Groundhog Day Story.” I wish you all a Happy Groundhog Day full of fun and surprises, like one of mine was many years ago! Click on…