2012 is a clean slate
I woke to a beautiful, windy and cool morning in 2012. This new year feels so promising, so rich with possibilities and opportunities. I'm ready to try new things, visit new places and get in the best shape I've been ...

A trip to Portland
Japanese Maple in Portland, Oregon My husband Robert and I just got back from visiting our son Bob and his wife in Portland, Oregon last week. I didn't really know what to expect from that city but I was excited ...

I've looked at clouds...
Cloud hand I have a thing for clouds. It started at an early age, this fascination. I remember one evening my parents called me outside to show me a spectacular sunset with clouds of bright pink, purple and gold. "Which ...

A rainy day, wasted
This morning the thunder was rolling in, pretty soon the rain came down; it sounded so beautiful. I wanted to snuggle down deeper in the covers and sleep some more, but I knew I had to return the 'Rug Doctor' ...

Appreciate yourself
A potted mum for my desk. Today I cleaned and organized my desk at work. It was a long overdue task that I had been putting off. Too busy to straighten things up, I had accumulated piles of paper covering ...

Restless spirit
My first thought when I woke up at 8 a.m. the other morning was about how badly I wanted coffee. My second thought was to go for a bicycle ride - something I hadn't done in a while. I made ...

Rich with love
Daddy's treasure One day I found my Dad, who had Alzheimer's, sitting in the recliner in his bedroom with a bunch of change spread out on his dinner tray. He liked to pour all the coins from a little four-drawer ...

Tracking the storm
Hurricane Ike formed on my birthday, September 13. My Mom used to get the biggest kick out of tracking tropical depressions and hurricanes. Each hurricane season she would get a new tracking map and mount it on the side of ...

A change of view and 3D Thor
I'm a big fan of moving furniture around, painting walls, hanging pictures in different spots -- all for the sake of a fresh start. I don't understand how a lot of people are able to leave everything in the same ...

I choose happiness
An old friend of mine from high school was ranting about the government the other day on Facebook. I wrote to him and asked him if he was alright. He sent me a long email further explaining his unhappiness with ...