This photo was taken on a walk my husband and I took last week. That is all pretty normal; we take a lot of walks. However, this walk was a little different. This walk was in Ohio and we live in Connecticut. Or, we have lived in Connecticut. In a couple of short months we are moving to northeast Ohio. This is a good thing. We are all very pleased about the move. My husband and I spent a slightly frantic ten days in the midwest trying to find a house to buy and then settling for an apartment for the time being. We visited a lot of cities, wandered…

I finally finished painting my bedroom. It is a lovely bluey-green color (much prettier than in the photo. It is snowing today and very dark so it is hard to take a decent photo.) and it looks fresh and clean. I am very happy with it. It only took me eleven-and-a-half years to get around to it. In my defense, the room was freshly painted white when we moved in and there were plenty of other rooms that desperately needed a paint job. But still, eleven-and-a-half years? And for several of those years, there have been various paint patches on the walls from trial colors. Did I mention we are…

In the last few days I have managed to forget: The first name of a friend I have known for 20 years. (In my defense, I haven’t seen her in years. But still…) The eggs that were boiling on the stove. Are they hard-boiled, soft-boiled, turned into rocks? We will find out shortly. To make several phone calls. What I was thinking about. Literally. I was having a conversation with myself in my head (totally normal, right?) paused, and then couldn’t remember what the (imaginary) conversation was about. To fill out a form that has to be submitted by the end of the month. I know it isn’t the end…

The other day my daughter asked me what I wear when I want to feel “cool” and confident. I had to stop and think for a moment. First of all, I wanted to appreciate the fact that my daughter actually believed there are moments in my life where I feel cool. Second of all, the answer didn’t spring immediately to mind. After all, the current world lends itself more to days spent in pajama pants and ratty sweatshirts rather than confident, go-get-em outfits. My daughter relies a lot on favorite outfits to give her confidence. She is a shy teenager and the current world does not do much to help…

In a triumph of hope over experience, I have purchased a planner for 2021. I spent a long time searching for the perfect one. It had to have the layout I liked, note pages in the back, and, most importantly, it had to be pretty. Then I bought a new fountain pen and new ink to go with it. It took me an equally long time to choose those two things. Yes, the ink is green to match the pen. I am now very ready to write down all the things that won’t happen in the next year. I am a person who likes to have plans. I want things…