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As my mother’s memory gets shorter, the East Coast winters that seep into her bones tend to get longer — especially when she forgets to turn up the thermostat. Mom and Dad are fierce, independent …
I’m not too many years shy of 40, and the anchor tattoo on my ankle has been with me since I was 21. The guy and that ship sailed many years ago, and I’ve reached …
My husband Patrick comes down with the home-improvement bug a few times a year. And he’s had it bad lately. He’s tired of the tiny bits of gravel being tracked into the house from the …
‘I give it ten years before water costs as much as gas costs now,” said Patrick as he looked up from his morning Internet browse. “Maybe we should think about ripping out the grass in …
The after-Christmas glut of stuff landed hard on the Kelly home — every surface was laden with goodies waiting to find a place on our crowded shelves. Hubby Patrick and I decided it was time …
“One nesting pair of California barn owls could consume as many as 2000 gophers, rats, and mice.”
Uncle Max's lady friends come and go, along with their unsolicited shopping advice and their dubious aid in the lifestyle department. But he always comes to me for counsel on the stuff that really matters …
2008 is almost upon us, and the Kelly household is going to party. And party for many reasons: new babies, new engagements, newlyweds, and new friends. We haven't thrown a New Year's Eve bash in …
My earliest Christmas-tree memories are not of candy canes or twinkling lights, but of cold knuckles and snow boots. Always, in the first week of December, our family would tromp out through the early-winter cold …
A couple of years ago I took up lettering. Once a week I would spend a few hours copying letters, mainly the italic form. I became fairly proficient, but life interfered with learning any other …
My great aunt Edna is the just-so lady -- "A place for everything and everything in its place." Her home in Pasadena might be a historical museum; everything is so perfectly arranged and spotless. Not …
The Kelly household could use some fresh holiday traditions. I want my kids thinking globally during this holiday season. Happily, I have many friends from other countries and faiths from whom to draw ideas. "In …
For years, all I had to do was wince in the presence of my mother-in-law and out came the Advil. Mom was caring for her parents and her in-laws in their declining years; fighting pain …
The fires hit close to home; a few friends were evacuated. "We took nothing with us," said Andra, "which wasn't the smartest. If the fire took our home we would have had nothing left." Helene …