As I type this, my husband and I are making big plans for the week ahead. Our dog, Bear, is turning 14. That’s 98 in human years. Bear is chubby and hard of hearing. He has allergies and bad back legs and will wander out of the yard and all the way down the street

Before you answer the title question with a pithy, “I am not a candy,” read on. Based on my internet research, it turns out that we are all defined by Halloween candy. I am not necessarily talking about your candy choice, either. The candy may choose you. I took the “Which Halloween Candy Are You”

Thanks to Facebook, I have reconnected with friends I have known since grade school. I know what is happening in their lives, and they know the latest details about mine. I know where some of them stand on politics and current events, for better or worse. We message. We joke. We comment on each other’s

Just one month ago, I was suffering a bit of anxiety about my pending summer vacation. While deciding what to pack for a trip to Yellowstone National Park, I stumbled across a few suggested packing lists on the internet. Not terribly exciting as far as packing lists go, until I got to “bear spray.” That

I am going on my first summer vacation in years. I don’t mean since the pandemic started – I haven’t slipped sunscreen and flip-flops into my carry-on in nearly a decade. Blame it on being busy or life getting in the way, but for the last several years my summer adventures have happened in my

I have always had a soft spot for lifeguards. It probably traces all the way back to my very first summer when my mother, a lifeguard at the time, taught me how to swim. As I got older, lifeguards were my idols. They were the ones in charge at pools, and I daydreamed about one

As I lay on my couch in a sinus infection stupor, my husband blasted through the back door, shouting, “Call the police! Lucy is missing!” I sat up, stunned and not quite certain I’d heard him correctly. Lost? How can Lucy possibly be lost? My husband was in the yard with her. We have an

I type this as a wave of dread washes over me. This is my April column, and you know what that means? April Fools’ Day is coming. The pranks, the mischief, the jokes … the headaches. I’m a fun gal. I love a good joke and I even appreciate the occasional prank – but April

Each of my neighbors within a five-house radius has a key to my house. I did not give any of them a key. I only know that my neighbors have keys to my house because, shortly after my husband and I moved in three and a half years ago, each of them approached me at

If February 16th rolls around and someone randomly does something nice for you, the news may not be all good. February 16th is “Do a Grouch a Favor Day.” Sure, it could just be a coincidence, but it begs the question: Are you a grouch? Before you answer, I should tell you that grouches are

As much as I wanted to buck tradition and skip making resolutions for 2022, I have officially made one. Yes, I guess that does mean I have already broken my original resolution to not make resolutions, because resolutions are usually broken by February, anyway. For the New Year, my big life goal is to be

When ugly sweaters first became a holiday “thing,” I laughed and laughed. I laughed – until I was browsing an “ugly sweater” rack at the store and found one eerily similar to one I had at home that I did not consider ugly. It was red, with a reindeer on the front that had a