My husband hates dirt and I hate clutter so we usually function pretty efficiently in the housekeeping arena. But I have noticed that the longer we live in our house, the more I am accumulating and the less I am giving away. Thus, I am producing the clutter I abhor. I am not alone. In Continue reading

On April 14, 1975, I made a fateful decision. I decided to forego telling my very, very, very best friend that I was having a boob lift as an outpatient the very next day. Why? Because she had quite a yappy mouth. My boobs, after two pregnancis and a decade of wearing strechy, non-supportive bras, Continue reading

Pick up a newspaper and you can be assured that it will it be filled with things to be avoided and things to brush-up on so that – G-d forbid – your quality of life will not suffer. Take the subject or Retirement: There seems to be a pervasive fear that those of us who Continue reading

Traditions are special to me.Traditions that involve my family are even more special to me.Not surprisingly, I loosely assume that is the case for most of us. Traditions are established or customary patterns of practices, customs, values and/or actions passed from generation to generation and usually not written down. The one I am focused on Continue reading

Her name was Kara and she totally intimidated me. She was my roommate when I transferred to University of Florida as a broken-hearted sophomore. (That’s a whole other column!)  She was from Atlanta, an only child, seemingly spoiled rotten. I gauged this assumption based on the frequency and size of the care packages that arrived Continue reading

Just like Alexander in the book Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible No Good, Very Bad Day, I am not having a good day. And I hate everything. I hate that this country is so divided.I hate that anti-Semitism is rising exponentially. I hate that all media outlets are biased.  I hate that my printer malfunctions and can only be replaced Continue reading

My mom and dad kept the family together by hosting weekly dinners at their house on Sunday evenings during the years my husband and I were raising our kids. The menu didn’t vary much – the mainstay was grilled filet mignon steaks. A huge favorite for my kids was the “free samples” they got from my Continue reading

Okay.I’m 77 years old. I’m finally coming to terms with things I will never be good at:AccountingGiving bloodBallet On the other hand, I’m cultivating and enhancing things I’m already partially skilled at – taking them to a new level. Like having FUN! Yes, I’m taking time for frivolity.  We in Tampa have a Mardi Gras type celebration in the Continue reading

I’m ashamed of myself. This month my book club elected to read a book on the NYT Best Seller List: James – a reimagining of Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I ordered it from Amazon and when it arrived – without reading much about it – I casually glanced at the opening pages and was startled to see a very unfamiliar Continue reading

A few years ago, I passed out a survey to a cluster of couples of varying ages whom I considered to have a “solid, well-functioning” relationship. (Is there even such a thing?  Hee hee!) Primarily I asked them what irritated and/or annoyed them most about their mates or partners.  Here’s a sample of their responses: HUSBANDS Continue reading