Start them the weekend after Thanksgiving, and they’ll be ready in time for Christmas. — Let me begin with a disclaimer. I’m not much for sweet booze. In the liquor department, you’ll typically find me drinking a very dry martini, sipping a brandy neat, or, on occasion, mixing up a Manhattan. I can probably count the frou-frou drinks I’ve consumed in the last two decades…

It has no timeline and defies all logic — “Unable are the loved to die, for love is immortality” — Emily Dickinson Sometimes we have “Shmoo moments”, my husband and Buster and me. A Shmoo moment is a shock through our systems when suddenly, out of the blue we miss our little Bella-kitty, nicknamed Shmoo, with unbelievable agony. A…

I’m not ashamed of the jar of minced garlic in my refrigerator. — I’ve always objected to the term “foodie”, a bit. It feels like it’s intended to elevate those of us who are interested in preparing and eating certain types of meals. It brings to mind (my mind, at least) someone who turns up their nose at people who eat regular food…

#1 — Look at your phone all the time, especially when your partner is talking to you — Most of us have engaged in at least one “staycation” over the past few years. Even as we hoped 2022 would be the return to relative normalcy, many would-be travelers booked vacations only to cancel them and stay home. What with skyrocketing gas prices, overall inflation, and the ongoing risk…

Oh, the memories they evoke — On December 22nd, 2019, my husband and I went to Nighttown, a beloved and now shuttered jazz club, restaurant, and old-school bar within walking distance of our Cleveland Heights, Ohio home. We started with a cheese plate, then dined on Salmon Caesar Salad (me) and Trout Amandine (him). We each…

It’s just a day in a long string of days. Like any other, it’s what we make of it that matters. — “Listen — are you breathing just a little, and calling it a life?” ― Mary Oliver In the months leading up to my 50th birthday, I’ve had a bit of an existential crisis. To be fair, I’m not sure if it’s my age, my mortality, my ever-expanding waistline, or perhaps…

On grieving the unexpected loss of a pet — On June 19th, as most of the country was celebrating either Father’s Day or Juneteenth or both, time stood still for a little family in a somber home in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. We were preparing to say goodbye to our darling, our forever kitten, our Bella. Father’s Day hasn’t been…

It’s getting wild in Northeast Ohio — We first spotted the bird last June while my husband was cleaning debris from the flat roof of our Cleveland Heights home. She was huddled under the eaves, easily visible from the windows of our second-floor landing. A bit of research told us that she was a Common Nighthawk, a…

Our minds and memories work in mysterious ways — “The song is ended but the melody lingers on.” — Irving Berlin A couple of weeks ago, we unexpectedly lost our beloved cat Bella to sudden-onset kidney failure. I’ll write more about that later — the disbelief and denial, the trips to the vet, the agonizing decision, the round-the-clock vigil…