Open Letter to My Son-in-Law

Rob and Cadence, Kayaking. Pearl Harbor. Mother’s Day, 2012. [Note: Tomorrow my daughter, Elaine, and her husband, Rob, celebrate their wedding anniversary. Our acoustic vacation was spent in their home. Unplugged, I had time to think.] Dear Rob, Now that Rich and I are home from our visit, I have a few things to say to […]


Counting the Cost?

T-Ball. Count the Value A few weeks ago we watched our grandson, Cadence, play T-ball. The game was like most T-ball games: small children with vague notions of the rules ran around for an hour under the patient supervision and loving instruction of lots of parents. Cadence Tearing Up the Baseline. One particularly common move for […]


How I Know I Married Well

Trevor. What Trevor Taught Me About My Husband Did you ever watch a scene and realize you were looking right into the essence of someone’s character? I had one of those moments the other day. My husband, Rich, sat on the sofa and scratched Trevor’s ears. As usually happens in our three-dog household, it didn’t take […]


Restoring the Lamps, Part Three

Steady. Steady. New FinishI’m nervous as I sit down to paint my grandparents’ lamps. I’m not crafty. My hand isn’t always steady. I can’t always stay in the lines. But the gold leaf has worn from the lamps and I promised my husband I’d touch them up. I know I can’t make them perfect, but I […]


Restoring the Lamps, Part Three

Steady. Steady. New FinishI’m nervous as I sit down to paint my grandparents’ lamps. I’m not crafty. My hand isn’t always steady. I can’t always stay in the lines. But the gold leaf has worn from the lamps and I promised my husband I’d touch them up. I know I can’t make them perfect, but I […]