Should I or shouldn't I? That is always the question. In her pursuit of decluttering, a friend offered a stack of books to anyone who would take them. Among them was “Living With Less: How to Downsize to 100 Personal Possessions” by Mary Lambert. It brought to mind a book I read several years ago, “The 100 Thing Challenge: How I Got Rid Of Almost Everything, Remade My Life, And Regained My Soul” by Dave Bruno . It’s an interesting read. If you know me, you know I do not hoar

Shrove Tuesday: breakfast for dinner A death marked my week. With the words no thanks, Pancake Tuesday died. This British celebration has been unique to our American family for the past 16 years. On Shrove Tuesday, I cook up a large batch of pancakes to lead the boys and their friends in games such as pancake toss, pancake run, and pancake eating. The dog enjoys a feast of hotcakes lost to the ground. The winner receives a certificate, photos are taken and shared over a plat

Not exactly my typical audience. It greets me whenever I pick up my phone or open by iPad to read or check messages. Bad news. Often, usually? supplemented by the picture of the orange menace. There are days that I have difficulty getting out of my robe and slippers to do more than read or watch Netflix. The healing power of commitment. I have a gig booked. Yes, a gig. At the assisted living facility where Misha works. I am on the assisted living circuit. With playlist establ

Bane or blessing? I was in awe as I read my aunt’s journal in which she recounts growing up on a farm in Iowa in the early 1900s. These people worked hard but had time for education, music lessons, and social events. As I battled the internet, unable to connect to research and online tools, anxiety and frustration grew until I gave in and transported my equipment indoors. I continued working hard, falling into Google rabbit holes, my keystrokes serving as a machete as I hacke

There is absolutely no reason for this photo in this post except that I like it. Aging is a beautiful natural process, the wisdom gained, the growing sense of gratitude, the amusement of seeing young people make your same dumb mistakes, but one thing that bothers me is the difficulty of putting on underpants while standing and not leaning against a doorpost. - Garrison Keillor The Christmas decorations are in the attic, Blue Boy back at school. The return to routine should be

The warm feeling of a child holding my hand is a cherished memory. Mike and I haven’t ventured far since returning from our months-long journey in October. I resisted the siren call to run to my nephew’s casita between Christmas and New Year, imagining quality time with Blue Boy, home on Christmas break. And how did that work out? y ou ask. Unbeknownst to me, Blue Boy had come home from college with an ear infection, hiding away in his room to heal. He cocooned himself in a f

If only we could turn life around with the flip of a page. There was a time, in innocent youth, when flipping the calendar to a new year promised new life. Babysitting on New Year’s Eve, talking on the phone with friends, I envisioned a new me in the coming year. Over time that hope dissipated, slowly, like smoke disappearing into clean air. To my chagrin, Self ignored the paper on the wall and followed me into January with no discernible change. Thus, like most adults, I gav

Home, ready to recover from a summer of travel, I realized there was little time to prepare for our annual blues concert with JW-Jones . Misha outdid herself, as usual, producing a feast worthy of the Canadian King of Blues (my moniker). The balmy evening was comfortable for the smaller than usual audience who were energetic and supportive; i.e. they applauded enthusiastically and tipped generously. Preparations for Thanksgiving followed immediately. Unusually, all my sibling

Can't go wrong with a bounce house. Where is Misha going?  asked 3-year-old C-boy as I buckled him into his car seat, silently delighting in the unblemished skin, the fragrance of a recent bath. She is going away to college. As kids grow up, they leave home, go away to school, get married. Someday you will grow up and move away. [silence before the storm] But I don’t want to go away and get married! Hugs and assurances that he will never have to leave, my knowing that he will

Following a class at the gym recently, my dear friend Gentle Noreen shared that during the cool down, as she raised her arms, the sight of crepe skin alarmed her. I recalled a post of 2022, dug it out, and decided it was worth another look. Enjoy! Happy Thanksgiving! The crepe paper streamers mirroring the colors of Midwest autumn were draped and twisted throughout the church’s overflow room, delineating booths for the annual Church Bazaar and Turkey dinner. This was the 50s

She surveyed the buffet, the selection abundant and varied in color, texture, and fragrance. Craving food, those choices offered not only nutrition but also gastronomic delights that she would experience as physical relief from hunger. Satiated, she would be empowered as savior of the species, savior of the natural world, savior of universal creation. She would eat her fill producing offspring to continue the cycle. She was not conscious of this preeminent role; she was worki

I planned, God laughed. We learned etiquette, problem-solving, how to win/lose friends and influence people; how to grow up. We learned that sometimes it is best to pick up your toys and go home.  -Unpublished work by Mary Pfeiff Cornelius ‘Where have you been?’ I imagine people wondering, although I suspect they haven’t noticed my absence. Mike and I left home June 12, enjoyed American kitsch as we drove cross-country to Chicago, marveling equally at natural wonders such as

Nova Scotia was serious!! Even in US dollars, that is a hefty fine. Closing Remarks Time is running out, my self-set deadline looming,...

Everyone is So Nice & Gotta love such a simple but meaningful design. Back to Canada. Keep in mind that this is my perspective of my...

Squeaky Clean Yep, that is all your personal information. Canada is clean. At least on the surface. Neighborhood houses on the roads...

A short diversion from observations of Canada. I will momentarily digress from my observations of Canada to bring you, dear readers, up...

It’s a Spontaneous Adventure Trees and water. That's almost everything in the Maritimes. The Canadian border guard greeted us amiably as...

The Arch of Lands End, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico I promised my old-fart friend Sue a blog from Cabo , where I am staying with my friend Debi...

Loneliness and Being Alone are not the same, but often overlap. “Agnes is being moved into a nursing home,” my mother said. Agnes is...

Armloads of flowers smeared trails of color through the gray of the elegant hallways of the Minnesota state capitol building  in...