Keep only those things that speak to the heart, and discard items that no longer spark joy. Thank them for their service — then let them go. ~Marie Kondo We’re doing some painting and drywall repairs in our upstairs bedrooms, including a couple of closets. Of course, that required the shuffling of furniture and […]
Category Archives: family
Hibernation is a state of minimal activity and metabolic depression. Hibernation is a seasonal heterothermy characterized by low body-temperature, slow breathing and heart-rate, and low metabolic rate. It most commonly occurs during winter months. ~ Wikipedia Lately, I’ve become envious of those animals that can just go into hibernation and ignore the outside world. Between the pandemic totally disrupting our lives both […]
Betty, our older cat, likes to lie in her cat hammock in the kitchen window and watch the squirrels scamper on the back lawn; and the various birds that visit the feeders. She complains — with her scratchy meow — about some of them for unknown reasons. The doves, flickers and magpies are a particular […]
And so, remember this, life is no abyssSomewhere there’s a bluebird of happiness ~ Sandor Harmati Twenty-five years ago, we made a major addition to our house that expanded the kitchen and featured a string of large windows overlooking the back yard with a view to the mountains on the north. Originally, I put up […]
As long as you love me soLet it snow, let it snow, let it snow I was twenty-nine and ill-prepared for snow during my first winter in this Colorado house. It’s kind of like mowing the lawn — you feel some unexpressed social disapproval if you don’t take care of your yard and house. […]
It doesn’t really feel like summer, but then it’s not like December either. People are foreswearing their parkas and stocking hats, and we had a rain storm this morning. It’s mid-December in Colorado for Christ’s sake! It’s been mild, if not warm — making it not very seasonal at all. When I was growing up […]
My older brother, Kenno, died last April, and tomorrow, December 10, would have been his 75th birthday. It’s hard to think of a world without him in it. He was such a huge figure in my life. Being two-and-a-half years older meant that, as kids, he was always bigger, stronger and smarter than me. He […]
It’s still dark outside, but the older cat yowls in the darkness, expressing some real or imaginary complaint. The dog stirs and “boops” me under the side of the covers to see if it’s time to get up. I rub her nose and eyes then “scritch” her back to see if she’ll settle back down. […]
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and […]
The incessant roar of waves permeated everything, except for the occasional blast of October wind through the row of houses. Tendrils of sand blew unceasingly down the beach, past the imperturbable groups of seagulls who searched the sand for anything edible — or at least interesting. So too, the scattered human beachgoers braved the wind […]
Writes of Nature 