Lassitude

At 5 this morning, when I awoke in horribly untimely fashion, and me with nowhere in particular to go today, I was busily composing today’s post in my head. It was getting away from me, too many directions with not enough discipline, as often happens (sometimes even in the actual posts), and so, instead of […]

Pilgrim Spuds

My job today is to mash the potatoes. We are having a very quiet Thanksgiving, the first in our new house, but there’s no point in having any Thanksgiving at all if there aren’t mashed potatoes. I’m pretty sure that’s what brought the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag together that first year, potatoes smushed down and […]

Sock It To Me

I have a lot of socks. Not only do I have a lot of socks, I have a lot of different kinds of socks, most of which I’m not crazy about. My quest for the Perfect Sock is an on-going process, the trail marked by failure. Time was, I went into Target — any Target, […]

Amazon’ Weather

How on Earth, you are wondering, is he going to get from the weather to Amazon taking over the world? Well, stick with me and I’ll show you. It was snowing last night as Oz and I went out for his nighttime constitutional, which consisted of sniffing along a trail of footprints, perhaps hoof prints, […]

Moving, Possibly Shaking (Out)

Probably about the time Lynn and I purchased our lot here at Riverwalk, one of the then seven houses already built underwent a change of ownership. The new purchasers were a family of four, three of them unknown to me, the fourth someone I’ve been acquainted with most of her life. When we were young […]

Smarter Than Your Average Cat

If you’ll recall, Yogi Bear was “smarter than your average bear” as he went about his day in Jellystone Park, swiping “pic-a-nic” baskets and generally getting the best of the park ranger who tried to stop his shenanigans. Well, today — at least for the moment — this ranger is feeling smarter than your average […]

Going to the Chapel

Matt texted me: “When did you get married?” Now, let’s not tell Lynn, but this was the exact question I had been asking myself just a couple of days before Matt wanted to know, and without putting a great deal of effort into it, I never came up with an answer. I mean, I know […]

The Hand We’re Dealt

You know what’s sad? It’s been so long since I’ve played Alien Hotshots that I can’t remember a thing about the card game. I can only tell you that 20 years ago it was part of my daily routine, and now I can’t remember a thing. I don’t, for instance, recall how the game arrived […]

Two-Car Garage

Ta-da! A two-car garage with — count ’em — two cars inside! Now, it’s not pretty and we’re still overstuffed, and I’m not altogether sure how Lynn reached her car door this morning, but as winter weather might be encroaching, two of three cars have a place to be safe from the elements. (The third […]

This Mortal Coil

To sleep: perchance to dream: ay, there’s the rub; For in that sleep of death what dreams may come When we have shuffled off this mortal coil . . . –Shakespeare, Hamlet Mel Torpey, now retired, used to be a P.E. teacher and a gymnastics coach. Gymnastics was not a sport I understood, particularly — […]