I want to make sweeping statements like, “the first time you lose someone you love, it teaches you how to lose everyone else” or “the first time you lose someone you love, you learn what to do and not do the next time.” But I don’t necessarily mean “everyone” – …
Warning: this is a sad story about a sad animal and spoilers, it didn’t live. If that sort of thing shatters your heart into a million pieces like it does mine, you’re not going to want to read this post. Come back in a few days. You’re welcome! Also, this …
Today would have been my dad’s 77th birthday. He died two weeks after his 60th. It used to be, growing up, Bill’s birthday, then a week later my dad’s birthday, then a week later, Christmas, then a week later, New Year’s. Constant celebration. Now it’s always just me trying to …
Do you have siblings? I don’t. I’m an only child (not for lack of my parents trying, mom, I’m sorry about your loss). I don’t know what it’s like to have someone connected to you like that. Someone who grew up in the same house and knows the same people …
The last few months, I’ve been helping my aunt and uncle decide what to do with their manuscripts, correspondence, papers, and library. They’re not planning on leaving the party any time soon, mind you! But it’s good to have a plan, so we’re planning. They do not have any children, …
He went to Paris Looking for answers To questions that bothered him so The nurses on this floor aren’t as attentive as on the previous floor (but of course changing floors means you are one step closer to going home, so, it’s a trade-off). If you’re napping, someone knocks or …
“Oh, laws,” you’re thinking. “She doesn’t write forever and then she gives us one with song lyrics… it’s always a hard thoughtful one when there are song!lyrics!” Hey. At least I just pepper the lyrics in there as words, and don’t do some horrific 90s music pop-up that plays the …
Dear Goddamn Diary; I don’t know why this year in particular – what makes this year any different than the last sixteen – but I’m having a hard time with Father’s Day this year. I always get it from both ends; as the consumer who is bombarded with emails of …
Originally posted on June 16, 2005; I thought I’d repost this, since moving one more time is hopefully on the horizon. No moss on this rolling stone Lately, I’ve been thinking about a family friend who has helped me move on numerous occasions. That got me thinking… exactly how many …
I love a good ghost story, especially haunted houses. But do I believe in ghosts? Hmm. Well, I’d have to believe in an afterlife in order to believe in ghosts, and since nobody has ever sent me a postcard from the afterlife, well… Well. So, what then? What are hauntings? …
Need to catch up? This is the last part, Part Eight. Part One; Part Two; Part Three; Part Four; Part Five; Part Six, and Part Seven. So on Tuesday, February 11th, I got my ass up at the crack o’ dawn to shower and get ready to go have sharp …
Need to catch up? This is Part Seven. Part One; Part Two; Part Three; Part Four; Part Five; Part Six. I did a lot of this in January. It was relaxing, and fun, and made me feel like I was getting something done even when I was sick. And I …
So, what else was going on while all this was going on? A couple of days before the mammogram, I cleaned out my little library, intending to craft a little – for personal reasons, not work – in the mornings. That worked until it started to get cold – I …
Well, I didn’t intend to drag my heels on this one, but a combination of a few crafty things I was consumed with, coupled with this being my least favorite part of the story, added up together for a delay. The physical aspects of the ultrasound were not so bad …
Early in the morning, the day after Christmas, I got a phone call from the mammogram place. They had seen something they’d like to get a better look at, could I come in the following week? Again, it would be pretty early in the morning, although not as early as …
This is Part Three of this story. Here’s Part One. Here’s Part Two. There is nothing quite so lonely as going to get your very first mammogram on a cold and rainy Christmas Eve morning, at a time when you’d normally just be finishing up your first cup of coffee, …
Yeah, maybe, if you subscribe to most of today’s conventional wisdom (have your first mammogram at 40, ladies!)… even though some studies now are saying that if you don’t have a history of breast cancer in your family, and if you don’t have reason to worry, you can wait until …
First off, I’m fine. I have benign heterogeneously dense breasts, which are also asymmetrical, which basically means that instead of mostly fat in my breasts I have dense tissue, which is hard to see through, and they’re not matchy-matchy with each other. Go figure, I am not a Supermodel with factory …
Did I mention my “Fuck Cancer” mugs? You can read more about them here. What it boils down to is that as these sell, I put 25% of the purchase price away in a kitty (not an actual live kitty, don’t be silly). Once a year, I will donate the …
AKA “The One About How I Lived In Hell’s Apartment” AKA “Shut Up, Universe, Quit Telling Me to Write About This.” Does the Universe ever do that to you? You start thinking about a friend you haven’t heard from or even thought of in years, and they call? Or you …
A lot of my evenings since the birthday party have looked like this. Pajamas, knitting, a little drinkie, and (until I ate them all) a cupcake. Mmmmmm. I should have cupcakes in the house all the time — they’re like tasty little love bombs. Mmmmm. Deliciousness. One thing that’s been …
Dusty, and could use some touching up, but still just as loved (by me) as when my dad opened it for Christmas some time in the early 1940s. I also still have the track for it, and most of the buildings. Last time I hooked it up, it even still …
I got nuthin’ — here’s one from the archives! October of 2007. Sharon, Ginger, Kelly, and myself flew to upstate New York; Jacquie, Paul, and Sophia came down from Toronto. We all converged on Beth and Joe and their lovely big house, and we all had far too much fun …
