See this yellow-backed vehicle? The owner of this car was seizing an opportunity. Written on the back is a message that says, in essence: okay, while you’re sitting in traffic behind me, why not write this phone number down so you’ll have it when you need it. The number is for a towing company. I […] Read More

The bad kind of bold: a website called Free Essays that offers 32,000 “Free Essays for All Students.” The student who is eager for knowledge can find a paper on any of a huge and sometimes hilarious selection of subjects. For example: “Plagerism” (sic). And a search for papers that deal with personal courage turned […] Read More

I’m a huge fan of psychotherapy. One stretch of 11 sessions over a few months when I was 32 years old led me to start writing fiction and to get (happily) married. We celebrated our 25th anniversary in December. And, BTW, I married a therapist. At the same time, I think it’s important not to […] Read More

Came home from work last night to find that my rambling roses had exploded into bloom. They’re very pale pink and they looked spectacular (by the standards of my garden) even in the dark as I drove up. Last year (first season) they bloomed a little, and then grew like crazy everywhere, up to the […] Read More

Since Monday I’ve been on the alert for a phone call. Monday is when the itching started. First my head, then an arm…and so on. It took me four days of scratching to think what is usually my first thought about any physical complaint: could this all be IN my head rather than on it? […] Read More

Four times a day forever, a friend of mine has to drink a tall glass of water with a vile pink powder stirred into it. It’s medication. Yesterday she called the manufacturer, their Customer Service Department, and asked if they would please develop a new flavor. The customer rep fumbled about and then sent her […] Read More

Since posting about star designer Philippe Starck, I learned that he gave one of those famous TED speeches, where you give the talk of your lifetime in 18 minutes: a great concept and a great series. So I went to listen to Starck’s TED talk. A little frustrating, a lot inspiring. This man looks at […] Read More

This year’s crop of irises at my house turned out to be a total of one. I’m not sure what I’m doing wrong, whether it’s the increasing shade, the fact that the rhizomes are buried in periwinkles or the wrong fertilizer, but my once lush iris patch has pretty much given up. (And I have […] Read More

The astonishing designer Philippe Starck told Fast Company magazine his formula for creativity: “Every morning, take royal jelly and omega-3 oil, eat oysters, and have a good sexual life. Don’t care about anything, and never listen to anybody. Be free.” Do you have a formula for creativity? Mine is show up and write. But I’ve […] Read More

The puppy-in-the-garden-with-Bob portrait is a tradition at my house. I’ve taken a picture of Bob holding each subsequent pup, but we waited too late to shoot this one. Aura at 5-ish months weighs about 75 pounds. She may look uncomfortable, but she was fine. Bob, on the other hand, says he’s not hoisting any more […] Read More