Four years ago today we loaded up the truck and moved to Bev-er-ly! Oh okay; we let some very good movers load up a truck and we moved to Pennsylvania! "So - after four years there, how's it going?" I hear you cry. Well, it's going just fine. Here are ten things about that finery. We still love our apartment; in fact, we just renewed out lease! We now have a different sofa (Ikea, EKTORP),... Read more →
On and On (1977) by Stephen Bishop Unfamiliar with this week's song? Hear it here. 1) This song describes the plight of "poor ol' Jimmy," who caught his girlfriend kissing someone else. Have you ever spied on a romantic partner? Nope - I never had a reason to, thankfully. 2) In this song, Stephen Bishop sings that he "smiles when he feels like dying." When did you recently put on a happy face, even though... Read more →
So here's the reason we lost power last Friday. Joe took this picture this afternoon, as he took a walk in the snow. Can you see that the power pole snapped? We got the power back just about 24 hours after we lost it, but the tree remains suspended on the lines. I don't know what the power company did, but I'm glad they did it! Anyway, this new storm waffled between rain, sleet, and... Read more →
Well, the power just went out. Dang, I thought we'd escape that particular eventuality, but no. Anyway, I'm connected to the interwebz courtesy of my iPhone personal hotspot - thank God for unlimited data! - but that's not going to last long given my iPhone was only at 70% when the lights crashed. So, to recap. This is one bad nasty storm. It wasn't supposed to snow this far south, but the storm had other... Read more →
Today was Day 1 of Treatment 2 for my SLL. Now it's almost 9:00 PM and I am drinking espresso. There may also be a shortbread cookie lurking around the demitasse cup. It went just fine. Day 1 is the long day, but today the long day was a shorter day compared to the first long day - only 4½ hours. I got all of the same poisons life-saving drugs as last time, but smaller... Read more →
I love the music of George and Ira Gershwin. I love big bands. So when we signed up for our Lively Arts series this year, we jumped on this concert: Michael Andrew is the leader and singer for the Gershwin Big Band, and he is fabulous! He's the epitome of the big band singer, so suave in his tux and groomed to the nines, his baritone rich and full. He even has some great steps!... Read more →
Years ago, Joe gave me a lovely ring for our anniversary. It very quickly became one of my favorites! It's a wide sterling silver band with four thin gold bands that spin around the middle. Shortly after we moved, I cleaned out and reorganized my jewelry box, and I realized that the ring was missing. Damn. Had I sold it at some point when we were strapped for cash? I didn't think so - I... Read more →
Every once in awhile I wonder where a book I own might be hiding in our many bookcases. I wonder if I even still have it! When I mentioned Morning Pages in my notebook post, I got to wondering where my copy of The Artist's Way was. So I did my usual "scan the bookcases" thing, where I... um... scan the bookcases. Voila! I pulled it out and flipped it open. And boom, there was... Read more →
As far as inspirational sayings go, I may have seemed a little snarky in my previous post. I didn't mean to, honest. I have nothing against inspirational sayings. I even have a few favorites, like this one from Nolan Bushnell: Just when you think the sun shines out of your ass, all you have is an illuminated landing strip. The Signals catalog (and others, I expect) have nice cuff bracelets engraved with inspirational words and... Read more →
Hello, my name is Mary, and I'm a notebook junkie. It all started many years ago when I was introduced to the Franklin Day Planner, a classic case of "first one's free." In 2016, I used a very nice planner from Ink and Volt, but it made me write down too many things. I wrote down goals - yearly, monthly, weekly. I reflected on my progress and celebrated my accomplishments. I kept track of appointments... Read more →
