Great Expectations

How busy are you? Shopping. Cooking. Wrapping. Christmas cards. Parties. Secret Santas. Ornaments. Crafts. Cleaning. House guests. Travel. Concerts and plays. Any of this sound familiar? I do love the heart of Christmas. The music of Christmas. The glory of Christmas....

Gadgets: Simple or Complicated?

This is the time of year when gadgets seem to crawl out of the woodwork. Catalogs, Internet coupon offers, store racks, mall kiosks. Organize this. Open that. Charge this. Store that. Cook this. Hang that. Press, clip, mark, etc., etc. They come in all sizes. What are...

Why I Returned to the Wild

Over the last few weeks I’ve heard various comments from friends, in person or in social media, about how they are put their yards to bed for the winter. They say that like everybody does it. Well, I’m here to say today that my yard has not had a bedtime...

Where It All Started

I guess I’m feeling sentimental today. No deep thoughts. No efforts at advice. Just warm fuzzies. Maybe it’s because this is Thanksgiving week, and I’m thinking about things I’m thankful for. The building in this photo is one of those things....

How to Shock Your Son

My son generously loaned me his new camera for a recent trip I took to Monterey, California, for a gathering of writers. Basically I didn’t know what I was doing, but I managed to change the lens a couple of times and figured out the rapid-fire shutter button. ...