I'm Thinking…No!

No, no.  This is not another House Hunters recap.  It’s about food.  Well, not just food – about how what we eat has changed through the decades.   Continue reading “Changing Tastes”

I must admit that this writing is inspired by a cartoon I saw recently, and sadly I didn’t save it to give credit to the cartoonist.   Whoever he or she is, there’s true brilliance.  A group of people are standing on yoga mats looking at their cellphones, with the legend, Downward-Facing Humans.  Continue reading “No Impact Yoga”

Since our original chapter highlighting some of the delightful absurdities of House Hunters, like the Tiny House version, our home buyers have been kicking it up a notch.  In the interests once again of keeping our readers fully informed, here’s an update. Continue reading “More House Hunters – An Update”

For those cultures and traditions that don’t decoratively wrap up dozens, nay hundreds of gifts, truly wise.  Here in North America, as in much of the world, we provide a boon to manufacturers of wrapping materials as well as clearcutting many a forest to provide a festive atmosphere for our nearest and dearest every December.  Continue reading “Wrapping Up Christmas”

I’d like to thank the wonderful folks in marketing for throwing my internal seasonal calendar all out of kilter.  Remember when we didn’t hear Christmas music until, well, Christmas?  Now it’s playing in Home Depot right after Columbus Day.  By Veterans Day, we’re ready to take bows and arrows to reindeer and toss the venison in the freezer for Thanksgiving.   Continue reading “Regards of the Season – Whatever Season”

We Americans always seem to be in a hurry.  It’s on the highways with someone who thinks they’re a lower level James Bond coming flying by me, weaving from lane to lane.   Looking for divine retribution, I hope to see them in a ditch, unhurt but ego bruised a few miles down the road.  I even saw this unwelcome impatience in a department store in Florida among older people as they went up and down the aisles like snow-plows, looks of grim annoyance on their faces that said clearly, “I earned this. In thirty years, you can push people out of the way too.”   Continue reading “USA – Get Out of Our Way”

Every so often, a term comes up that I can fully embrace.  “Retro” is one of them.  In fact, I like my retro life.  I like my eleven-year-old car, with the dashboard clock that comes on and goes off with sporadic whimsy and the rear lift-gate that needs to be gently assisted as do I most of the time.  Oh, I know I should have traded it for something more fuel efficient and eco-friendly.  To me, it’s eco-friendly to replace the floor mats every eight to ten years and the registration fees are down to where I can almost pay them with pocket cash. Continue reading “The Best Parts of Life are usually Retro”

Naming people has always been a sacred tradition, meant to define them and particularly with small children to distinguish one from another.  We name our pets so we can call them at night to the delight of our neighbors.  Particularly with dogs, the longer the pedigree, the longer the name.  This year’s winner of the Westminster show is “Vermilion’s Sea Breeze”.   Let’s hope that old Sea Breeze was followed by a scooper or nobody’s going near that beach.  Continue reading “What’s In a Name?”

Have some buzzwords that cause you to roll your eyes when somebody says them?  I’m sure that everyone has words and phrases that they find running the gamut from mildly amusing to the wildly preposterous.  Often it’s just the overuse of some words and phrases that cause our blood pressure to spike. Here are some that have embedded themselves in the verbal culture, and it’s going to take some time and effort to snuff them out going forward.   Continue reading “Buzzwords that raise my hackles”

Some have said that nappers are born, not made.  I don’t know exactly who said it, but it bears saying again loudly.  And while I’m at it, I’ll say that there are associations and societies for almost everything, so now is the time for nappers worldwide to unite.  I propose the formation of the Universal Society By and For Nappers.  Our banner will include a background of “z’s” and twinkling stars with the legend, “Call me in an hour.” Continue reading “Napping – Art form or a Skill?”