I always miss the obvious – a fact that my sister gleefully and frequently points out. And she is 100 % right. This week I worked on a lovely column about the power of cultivating and caring for plants and how this nurturing of nature raises our spirits, instills resiliency and helps maintain our sound mental health. Intermittently, I Continue reading

For those of you who read my column regularly, you will know I just got back from spending seven days in Italy. My bank of miles allowed me to travel free to Europe in Premium Economy. (You get “special amenities” and your seat is right behind First Class or Business). I paid for my trip back Continue reading

“What???” most people said when I told them I was going to Italy in three weeks with seven women I didn’t know. “Is this another one of your impulsive actions that could end in disaster?” “Yeah, kinda,” I answered uncertainly. “But it could also be amazing, you know.” AND IT WAS! Strange at times, but invigorating Disorienting at Continue reading

Busy in Tuscany “smelling the Iris’s”. Drinking lots of red wine and eating gelato every single day. That’s it for now. Keep Preserving Your Bloom, Iris Ruth Pastor 

Literally, as you read this, I will be in the process of boarding a plane – a big plane in New York City at JFK – for a six-hour flight to Paris, then a two-hour layover at CharlesDE Gaulle airport and then on to Florence, Italy. Never having been before, I asked a lot of Continue reading

I hated my mother, especially when I was 13 and she adamantly refused to allow me to shave my hairy legs.  I hated my mother even more when she restricted the numbers of sleepovers I could attend per month – fearing I would get “dissipated.” My friends thought that was hysterical. In 5th grade, I Continue reading

I love newspapers, especially the physical ones – I get excited each time a new edition arrives on my driveway or in my mail box. I get busy reading it. First, I peruse the paper highlighting what’s relevant to ME  and then I proceed to enthusiastically rip out article after article I deem enlightening, informative or Continue reading

I take back everything I said last week – I would rather be hauling water up three flights of stairs than dealing with the following: I tore my hair out.It didn’t help. I cried hot, thick tears.They only scorched my cheeks. I screamed as loud as I could,scaring my dog half-to-death. Nothing helped. First-world problem, Continue reading

One morning both my E mails on my phone and my E mails on my computer wouldn’t update. I couldn’t find our theatre tickets – lost in my phone or did I actually misplace the physical tickets in one of my three desks in my house? My nails were a mess and in need of Continue reading

Dear Andrea,                                  On April 15, 2023, it will be forty-eight years since I’ve seen you. That last fateful morning, you went bowling with our weekly league; I went into surgery. Ironically, I survived the surgery – you didn’t survive the day. No one knows exactly what happened. Was your radio too loud? Were your reflexes Continue reading