Connecting the Snowflakes

This past Friday evening, my home was filled to overflowing with some of my dearest friends and neighbors. As each guest came in from the cold, I offered warm embraces and heartfelt smiles. Eyes sparkling, hands met, lips kissed, and spirits shone. The presence of each person was a gift, the greatest gift I could […]

Honey and Garlic

Ah, New Year?s Eve is nearly upon us. This evening, well after the winter sun sets, will find me dining and dancing at a club?a very different New Year?s Eve to come my way. I?m the kind of gal who often prefers spending more than a few precious holiday evenings at home with a toasty […]

The Sweetest of Mothers

Dressed in elegant black evening attire (shades of classic Audrey Hepburn in ?Breakfast at Tiffany?s?), I stopped to visit my mother on my way to a holiday event. Although her ability to communicate verbally has been diminished by a series of strokes, her eyes sparkled more brightly than the rhinestone jewels at my neck. A […]

Gratitude for Pleasures Great and Small

The house is still, and those most precious to me are sleeping soundly, nestled in the warmth of their beds. Pup, too, is fast asleep. As I move softly in the early dawn to kiss sweet foreheads, pup?s gentle snore offers reassurance that all is in its rightful place. Rain had poured through the night, […]

The Ever-learning Spirit

On three occasions yesterday, I was reminded of the importance of maintaining a studied relationship with one?s greatest student, the self. A favorite mantra of mine, adopted from Michelangelo, is ?Ancora Imparo.? Translated into English, ?I am still learning,? or ?Yet I am learning? is a phrase that often serves to remind me of the […]

Pieces of Me, Pieces of You

I hurried through my stack of tasks this morning to make a longed-for appointment with a dear friend. I had been given an opportunity to reconnect with a sister-of-the-heart that I had known since my teenage years as a wild, unruly hoyden. Heels tapping, I rushed across the parking lot in the chilly autumn air. […]

Vegetable Soup and Good Souls

My early morning walk found me captivated by the weighty feeling cast by the sulky gray sky. Seeming to herald rain, the mood in the air was both invigorating and ominous; I was undaunted by the looming cascade of slate-hued clouds. Pup trotting by my side, we sauntered through topaz and garnet-toned leaves; his four […]

Step by Step

This past weekend I was blessed to spend a bit of time with a wonderful friend who has been part of my life since we met in eighth grade. Although he now lives in Oklahoma, it?s our good fortune that he returns ?home? now and again to visit his family and friends. We?ve still much […]

Through a Child?s Eyes

Ah, November is upon us, and as the warm, whirling breeze blows amber leaves to the ground, I am reminded of the circle of life. Autumn brings this thought to my mind so often as I ponder the disappearance of summer?s glory and the encroaching fingers of winter?s chill. Today, I recall my father?s oft-repeated […]

Autumn Musing

Autumn, it seems to me, is the perfect season to begin turning ever inward. As the days become shorter and night?s embrace arrives earlier, the abundant distractions of the external world are less available. Not one to turn to the television for diversion, I welcome the natural changes that seem to invite more of a […]