Next to my desk is a small basket stuffed with bookmarks, eyeglasses, stamps, a few papers and my business license. While digging for a stamp, my sixth-grade autograph book surfaced. I’d placed it in that basket temporarily one afternoon during one of my regular ‘cleaning out’ rituals to consider its permanent placement. I smiled, took…

Picking up the top of our leaded crystal butter dish while unloading the dishwasher this morning, it slipped out of my hand. I watched helplessly as it fell to the floor in slow motion and shattered. The breaking glass had a tinkling sound, like wind chimes. It startled me. I stood frozen and began to…

A beacon of illumination that guides me in uncharted times. My drawing is partly accurate and partly imagined. Aren’t most things? We are storytellers, creating narratives from our own experience, perception and values. On June 20 and 21, the summer solstice and a partial solar eclipse open us to a shift in perception. We are asked to…

In the course of this month’s self-isolation due to the pandemic, I’ve sorted, organized and weeded out closets and drawers. Yesterday’s focus included smaller, obscure places like my horizontal file cabinet. In it were three folders huddled in the back, not seen since they were placed there when we moved to Auburn 4 ½ years…

In the months leading up to self-isolation, my daily existence began to speed up and veer out of control. Life whizzed by and exiting the speeding train seemed impossible. But as we moved into week four of deeper breathing, I noticed small, imperceptible changes in myself and in nature. As a child, I walked with my…

While you are at home for the next 30-days self-isolating, scrolling through Facebook, Instagram and old emails, think of what December 2020 will look like. Similar to the photo above, we’ll have a whole new crop of babies who are already labeled the Coroniels. In addition, plumbers will have had a boon installing bidets. The…

I’ve been talking to dead people since 1974, consciously. I may have done it before thinking it was just an internal conversation. Now though, it’s pretty commonplace. Sometimes it’s my mother acting as my cheerleader, offering admiration and encouragement when I become frustrated with a project. Sometimes it’s someone I’ve never met in this lifetime.…

My dad suffered from Alzheimer’s the last several years of his life. When it became too much for my mom to handle, we moved my parents to a home across the street from us to help with his care. My dad, Bob, was a kind man. He loved his family, golf, photography, travel, and had…

I remember observing the popular kids saying that high school would be the best time of their lives. My view differed; I saw life as a ladder, with each rung offering me a broader perspective. That was 58 years ago. The layers of time and experience, like aged wine, have produced a delicate, rich and delicious…