From the inception of the idea that I could possibly try to train for a Half Marathon… until the moment I finished… was a journey I will always remember.
It began on November 28, 2009, after I completed a 5-mile race that Janie had encouraged me to run. OK. 5 miles. I did [...]

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Some twelve or thirteen years ago, my girls bought me a pair of Ugg boots for my birthday. In velvety sumptuous black. Soft fur. Thick fleecy lining that, yes, keeps me warm even without socks in the middle of a New England winter. Audrey and Jane were both in college at [...]

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While Audrey (aka Mommy) is attending the BlissDom ‘10 Conference, I’ve been helping out with the kids.
And you know what happens while the cat’s away and the kiddies come to Grandma’s to play…

Let’s just say the kittens and I have been having a little bliss of our own. We’ll call it WhipDom ‘10 and [...]

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I was up early this morning, just early enough to see the first rays of sunshine shimmering over the tops of the trees down the hill, across the railroad tracks and on the far side of our little harbor.  It was very still… this new morning.  I had decided to get up early to attempt [...]

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My mother-in-law’s greatest gifts were gifts from her kitchen.  She cooked with joy.  She baked with joy.  She gave with joy.  These were pure gifts, from both her hands and her heart… and now from heaven.
Last Saturday evening, I was skyping with my granddaughter Taylor and she asked if Grandpa and I could help her [...]

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What question comes after this statement, “The snow is gone from the driveway, Grandma…” when it comes to visiting grandchildren?
Why, of course, it’s… “So can you get out the pogo stick?”
Ah. The snow has all melted. The January day is fairly warm, as warm January days go. I have promised to get [...]

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Whenever I go to Audrey’s home, whether for a quick drop-off of something-or-other or for an afternoon, 2-year old Benjamin comes running from wherever he is, gives me a great big hug and says in the most welcoming of ways, “Take your coat off.”
This means I’m staying.
As I unzip my coat or vest or sweatshirt, [...]

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OK.  What does this mean…
It means I registered last night for the IRONMAN 70.3 in Providence on July 11, 2010.  It means a 1.2 mile ocean swim.  A 56-mile bike ride.  Then a 13.1 half marathon.
It means that I will definitely be using this as 4… count ‘em… 4 things in my 57 in 52!  [...]

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9 years ago this morning our world forever changed when our first grandchild, Taylor Jane, was born… everything was magnified a zillion times.  The joy.  The beauty.  The power of life.  The first moment I saw Taylor, with her raven hair and perfect face… I fell in love.  What we would see come from that [...]

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I borrow and slightly paraphrase (I changed man to woman) the title of this post from the words of 18th century French naturalist and author Georges-Louis de Buffon. Although Buffon’s theories were scientific and evolutionist, I think Buffon’s words can be threaded right to fashion.  Yes, I do.
This brings me to my Mom, Rita.  As [...]

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