Dear readers, this Thanksgiving I was grateful to pull my hiking boots out of the closet and put them on. Sounds a bit strange, you say? Well, in the immortal words of Paul Harvey, here’s “the rest of the story.” Read more

Most of the leaves have fallen, the sun angle is low and with recent fronts coming through mostly dry and often overnight, passive solar heating season has fully arrived at my house. My south-facing wall, mostly glass, allows the sun to shine deep into the house, quickly removing any early morning chill. Being retired makes it easier to sleep in, and wait for the house to warm. Read more

For some months now we’ve been told to Christmas-shop even earlier than usual, as all those container ships are wandering about the near Pacific waiting to magically unload our gifts into those driverless big rigs parked in some unknown distant lot, for without those gifts Big Business says our holidays will be bleak and joyless. Children hear and weep, grownups grow restless and look at each other in uneasy guilt. A tradition is broken, a crucial rite unobserved. A great sense of self-reproach lies deep in the heart of the land. We must buy Stuff for Christmas. Read more

A few months ago I began learning how to play mahjong. My goodness, what a game! Both challenging and fun, and I want to tell you all about it. Read more

 Due to Covid, my mother, sisters and I hadn’t seen each other in over two years. That is a looooooong time! So recently we all converged at Mom’s house for several days. We had a lot of time to make up! Fun question: How do you celebrate four holidays in less than a week? Well dear readers, I’m here to tell you all about it. Buckle your seatbelts for a wild and fun ride! Read more