My brother-in-law worked for Smithfield Foods and spent his entire career while there traveling back and forth to Poland – working with the livestock farmers to increase production of pigs. It was his dream to take my husband and I, his wife (my sister) and two close couple friends back to Poland after his retirement. Continue reading

My mind is still trying to process all that I have seen,while my body’s fighting-off a killer sinus infection that is making me miserable and mean As you read this, I am heading home from Poland to decompress, rest and renew and next week I’ll be writing about the experiences I’ve witnessed and been through  Majestic churches and lushly green parks An Continue reading

Well, if you are reading this column at 3pm on Friday, a mere few hours ago I landed in Warsaw, Poland after flying over the ocean all night – and hopefully sleeping while doing so. Travel, obviously, has been on my mind. This week’s column is devoted to travel tidbits both amusing and profound. When Continue reading

Over the 38 years that I have been penning and publishing my weekly column, I have written a plethora of Mother’s Day messages. Many centered on the travails of raising five feisty, highly energetic and divergent-thinking sons – who came up with more ways to hide beer in the back yard bushes than I would Continue reading

In the morning, I found out I needed about $4500 worth of dental work. That knocked out my expansive plans for new shrubs and plantings adjacent to my back yard screened porch. I blinked away my hot tears.  Shortly thereafter, I spent approximately 68 minutes surfing the Internet trying to add my TSA number to Continue reading

I forget my granddaughter’s birthday – not because I didn’t write it down – but because I forgot to look at my list of “Special Days.” I’m at the grocery store and can’t remember if I have an in unopened bottle of French Vanilla Coffee mate at home so I buy more. Word recall? Routinely Continue reading

Throughout my growing up years,when I wanted to feel goodand when I needed reassurance that everything would be okay,I went to my mother.But when I wanted the truth – the unvarnished truth – I turned to my friends. We need our friends.  I guess that’s why over 200 women of all ages and at all Continue reading

Monday, April 8I wake up in a cold sweat. Four days until my very first event in The Art of Female Friendship series. It seems like there are still loose ends to be tied up:     The agony of seating 180. (Whoops: by mid-afternoon there are now 200 who have registered.)     The stumbling I’m still experiencing in Continue reading

“There are only three things women need in life: food, water, and compliments.” Chris Rock Now that is a quote worth remembering. Years ago Sarah Breathnach published a gem of a book called Simple Abundance: A Daybook of Comfort and Joy. In it, she suggested we all look for three things to be grateful for.  “Wow,” I lamented to Continue reading

Mainly – and I don’t say this lightly – most days I feel like I have a pretty awesome life of my own choosing. I fill my days with – for the most part – doing what I want to do when I want to do it. But there are days when I’m beyond frustrated Continue reading