I started looking online for solutions more than a month ago. Nothing seemed like it would work. The holidays are magical to me. I love putting the tree up right after Thanksgiving and coming home to it each evening. With all the lights on a timer, it would greet me through the plantation shutters when […]
There’s a commercial for DirecTV that keeps me cracking up long after its 30-second duration. The squirrels just aren’t listening to Dave. In a park setting, a man is unsuccessfully trying to shoo a gang of rodents away. They’re not interested in his pleas and shrieks. In fact, they leap onto his legs, torso — […]
It’s a crazy time of year. One day we’re enjoying family, loved ones and giving thanks for all that we have, and the next (or maybe even same-day) we’re off and shopping, grabbing and buying, getting and gifting — seemingly as if to say that what we or others have isn’t enough to be thankful […]
He’s getting up there in age. He usually doesn’t sleep with me, as he tends to prefer staying out most of the night despite his years. He’s lazy and naps during the day while I slave away. He is soft-spoken but demanding and persistent when he wants something — which is rare, except when it […]
My mom used to sew when I was little. I remember her sewing machine, its color, the smell, the sound. I tried a couple of times and can’t say my efforts were a complete failure, but I much preferred sewing small things by hand: scrunchies (it was, after all, the ’80s), maybe a doll dress […]
It was somewhat of a surprise that the baby rhino had been orphaned. But it was an even bigger shock when it befriended a warthog. In Ireland, Doogie the lone dolphin befriends Ben the Lab. Both swim for hours, though one will never tire. The other will draw from the dolphin’s energy, occasionally getting a […]
You know the smell right after you’ve blown out a candle? I love that smell. For the most part, it reminds me of two main memories: 1) December birthdays, cold nights, white cake and white buttercream frosting, as well as 2) candles blown out after the last of the holiday guests have gone on their […]
The San Gabriel Mountains as well as others here in SoCal have been dusted with their first snow of the season, and our skies have been delightfully gray the past few days. Yesterday one section of the range was in the setting sun’s vibrant amber spotlight; the air was so clear and crisp that you’d […]
You know that time during late autumn/pre-winter when it’s cold outside, but not so cold that you turn on your heater or furnace? Yep — it’s one of those nights. No thoughts of loved ones, friends, or others can warm me — it’s legitimately chilly outside. And I love it. My house flag is flapping […]
I just wanted to leave work. Today was my Friday. I’m taking a vacation day tomorrow to be with my mom for an early Thanksgiving celebration at the senior complex where her parents/my grandparents live. And my Friday wasn’t ending soon enough. I left work later than usual — about an hour past my usual time. When […]
Thanky 