Sitting up proudly under our glittering tree, he looked right at me with his poppy seed eyes. He had a little gray pot belly, round ears atop his head, and a slinky tail wrapped around his tiny pink feet. An adorable mouse in the house just like in a children’s book! I wasn’t the only […]
I bought a clay pot planted with a few dainty spring flowers. Some petite daffodils and a miniature hyacinth. My grandfather bought a single potted hyacinth every year for my grandmother at Easter time. It could’ve been pink, blue, or purple. They come in many eye-catching shades. She loved the scent. One year when we […]
When my stepfather married my mother, the youngest of us was eleven. They went by themselves to another state to tie the knot. None of us were there. To say he wasn’t much of a parent is a gross understatement. But I remember two things he did that I suppose he thought were man of […]
It’s the beginning of December and it seems everyone has their Christmas tree already. Pictures of family outings getting trees share my Instagram feed with families lighting Hanukkah candles. My son put his tree up over the weekend. He mentioned that it’s a little crooked. I said, “Ours is always a little crooked.” And he […]
Once when my mother-in-law visited, I told her about a great cranberry scone recipe I found and had been baking. I was thinking she’d like them, and I should bake a batch while she was here. But before I told her of my idea, she responded by telling me that when she was in Ireland […]
My father’s mother was an orphan, a hypochondriac, and an alcoholic. My mother’s mother was a rebel, a creative, and a lover of life. Except for being an orphan, I don’t know if those descriptions are true. Those are my thoughts based on the little I know about them. I wish I’d known them both. […]
My sister in law’s youngest brother came to visit her in New Jersey once. He spent most of his time watching tv. There were seven channels to watch into the wee hours of the morning. I think a couple of them aired 24 hours at that time. Where he lived, there were only a few channels and […]
My first visit to Martha’s Vineyard was with Rob and his parents. His brother, Chris, was not long out of culinary school when he landed a job at The Black Dog Tavern in Vineyard Haven. Funny name because at the time Vineyard Haven was a dry county. But it was, and still is, a wonderful restaurant […]
The t-shirt read “Just Visiting This Planet.” David was three or four years old when someone bought him that shirt. It was a perfect fit, the sentiment I mean. David had his own language. Some words sounded like English. Many didn’t. But if you didn’t understand him, he didn’t get discouraged. He worked with the […]
Less than a week after my brother got back from Viet Nam my stepfather threw him out of the house. A year before he had thrown out my oldest brother. He was recovering from an almost fatal accident that left him crippled and in need of therapy. My other brother, my sister and I left […]