“Where are my keys?” “Honey, have you seen my keys and glasses.”  As a new bride I anticipated hearing “I Love You” on a fairly frequent basis but Alas! It was not to be. In our house the watch words coming forth from my new hubby were concerned with the location of his keys: house keys, office … More Keys!

Isn’t that how it goes?  The Big Bad Wolf is pounding on the door of the three little pigs, demanding that they open the door, and they declare that “NO,” they won’t open it, not by the hair on their “chinny chin chin.”  What a funny line!  As a child it was just something I said without … More Not By The Hair On My Chinny Chin Chin

We thought we had “handled” the raccoon situation.  Feed our family of 7 or so feral cats around 4  p.m. and take in the food dishes by 7 or 8 p.m.  It seemed to be working.  No Rocky Raccoon and no dirt in the cats’ water bowl, which is the telltale sign of raccoon presence … More He’s Back, And This Time He Brought Friends

I love bagels although I have no idea when I had my first bagel. They certainly weren’t a part of my everyday Sicilian/American Southern upbringing. Waffles with chopped pecans, crusty bread rolls, garlic bread, long loaves of Italian bread, pizza, cornbread or biscuits, yes; bagels, no. Perhaps it was at a deli, or on a trip, I just don’t … More Bagels – A story inspired by a new bagel store in town.

Chirp! . . . . . . . . . . 10 or so seconds later Chirp! or was that a Squeak?  Wait. There it is again. Definitely more of a loud Chirp than the squeak of shoes on a polished floor. Chirp!  I’m finally distracted enough to look around. Two computers are on, two … More CHIRP!

December.  The season of gifts.  Big gifts, little gifts, e-gifts, gift cards, stocking stuffers, family gifts, individual gifts, and gifts for charities – cash, checks, and various items.  The items are sometimes individual such as dropping off toys for pediatric cancer patients served by From Maddi’s Closet; adopt-a-family at church; new socks, underwear, and jeans … More Double Check That Box Before You Use It For Mailing

In no particular order A recipe that serves 15, when multiplied ten times to serve 150, will actually serve about 225. A pasta recipe designed for 1 lb. of pasta might work as a 2 lb. dish, but cooking and dressing/seasoning it in 3 or 4 lb. batches just doesn’t work well. When you plan … More Lessons from the 2014 Holiday Open House

New TV Set-up Alas, even reading the directions would not have helped in this case because we DID read the directions – ALL of them – as annoying as it is to me to need to read directions. There is a new TV at our house.  A smaller screen for a guest room that is … More It’s EASY When You Know How

Vol. 1 because, I suspect, there will other “DAYS!!!” and there will be future volumes. Some days you know you will be busy. Today was such a day but I was prepared. Two days before the official Thanksgiving holiday and one day before our small Thanksgiving with Mom.  Mom doesn’t like to have me fuss … More It Has Been One Of THOSE Days – Vol. 1

I won’t even go into detail about why I miss them.  If you shopped there you know how special were Bullock’s, Robinson’s, Buffum’s, and, for a young working gal setting up her first apartment, the Bargain Basement at May Co. I miss them dearly and yet they have been gone long enough that I’m sure … More Macy’s – A Rant – (Rants Occur Here And There As The Mood Strikes Me)