This past weekend, Barry and I drove to Vermont to attend the wedding of our nephew Corey and his beautiful bride, Rhiana.  We arrived late Friday evening to the merry sounds of people… people at a charming inn… on the eve of the wedding ceremony and festivities.
Vermont is a lovely place in early Fall and [...]

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Ah.  It was a day just like today.
4 years ago.
I awoke in New York City.  Just like today.  It was warm and windy with a touch of coolness, but gradually got warmer and warmer as the day progressed.  Just like today.
The difference is that 4 years ago we waited for Alexander Dimitri to arrive all [...]

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Five years ago tonight, at this very moment, Barry and Janie and I were traveling Rt.95 South on our way to NYC.
The evening didn’t start out this way.  Before our little detour, Barry and I were headed to Newport for dinner.  It was a spectacularly beautiful Friday evening, and I commented to Barry about the [...]

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Have you ever sat at your computer and have had so much to say that you instead go get your third bowl of vanilla ice cream with Herseys’s Chocolate Syrup?
Or is it just me?

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I love acorns.
I love their little hats with their lovely designs.  I love that they are such a nutritious food supply to so many animals and wildlife.  I even like the sound of their per-clunk as they land on the ground.
Acorns mean Fall to me.  And I mean this, literally.
Audrey and her family live in [...]

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My last name is Couto.
It hasn’t always been Couto.  I was once a nice Polish girl with a v-e-r-y long last name.  Actually, I was a nice Irish/Polish/Yugoslavian/Czechoslavakian girl with a v-e-r-y long last name.
I’ve been Sharon K. Couto for much longer than I was that other girl.  But I’ve never been a Disney character.  [...]

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My Mom is an amazing woman.  She is 4′ 7″ of energy.  84 years of energy.
My Mom used to be taller.  She was once 4″ 11.5″.  Yes, she was that tall.  But I never thought of my Mom as anything short of, well… Energy.  Movement.  Force.  Beauty.  My Mom exercised well before it was the [...]

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Early yesterday morning, I picked up Audrey’s two littlest boys at their home… Benjamin (2) and Henry (1).  I am helping out with the 4 boys while Audrey is at Fashion Week in NYC, and yesterday morning was perfect for a romp at our local playground while the older two boys were at pre-school.
It was [...]

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Barry and I stopped at the busy bar of a local restaurant this afternoon for a beer.  Just a beer.  No appetizers.  No meal.  No nothing.  Just a beer.
We never do this.  Well, we drink beer with other things.  Like food.  But we never stop somewhere to just have a beer.  We had lots of [...]

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There has been a lot of talk lately on Twitter regarding bullies and bullying.  This probably has to do with kids returning to school and after-school activities… places where kids can somehow get caught in the bully-victim scenario.
As a former teacher, 30-years worth teaching English and Reading, I know a bit about The Bully.  But [...]

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