My dear reader, I must start with a confession. I sat at my desk for quite some time before finally starting to write this post. I tend to be a neat and organized person in my home; however, my desk often has little pieces of paper with quotes or random ideas scribbled on them. They are all potential topics, but what might have piqued my interest one day doesn't always inspire me on another. I pulled out a few of those pitches for a hopefully interesting essay and came up emp

Hello, hello, dear Reader! I'm back from my third trip this year and while I'm happy to stay in Boston through the summer, I'm also looking forward to my annual stay with my daughter in southern Oregon in the fall. At the same time, I'm exploring possible winter jaunts to different parts of Europe. I used to write a lot about the joys of travel years ago, pre Covid, when I often went on journeys outside of the U.S. Often I'd go for a retreat or seminar and then meander. I lo

Greetings, dear Reader. As this post goes out I will be embarking on another trip. There was a time when I traveled out of the country at least twice a year. I loved my trips and I must admit, I took my travels for granted. Of course I would return to Paris or spend a month in Portugal or have a decadent retreat in Tuscany -- that's what I "did". When my foreign travels stopped abruptly, there was a good reason -- COVID. As a nurse, I was deeply involved in the pandemic and m

Late spring greetings, dear Reader. I'm still gushing about all the lush signs of spring here in New England. What a reminder of resilience! I'll be honest with you -- I had no idea what to write about this week. Sometimes I have so many ideas, I have a hard time picking just one. Not this week. I almost decided to just re-post something I wrote a few years ago, although even that wasn't really coming together for me. Then, I heard something on a podcast and I knew, this was

A big, Spring hello, dear Reader! I have been enjoying my neighborhood walks more than ever with all the blooms popping every day. It's my favorite season in New England. Check out my recent Instagram posts. The title of today's post is a quote from Aristotle and it relates to my love of travel. Before the world shut down in 2020, I would often take two or three trips a year. Flights between Boston and Europe were especially convenient. One year I convinced myself that since

Welcome to April, dear Reader! It's still quite chilly here in New England, however, a few hearty little flowers are bravely starting to bloom. It's such a lovely time of year here, even if the weather still keeps us guessing. At least once, quite a while ago, and maybe more, I've written about the danger in always comparing oneself to others. Social media has turned it into a blood sport with seemingly no good outcomes. According to research, 60% or more young people struggl

Greetings, dear Reader! I'm going to start this week by saying that I've been remiss. Occasionally, I will encourage you to respond to whatever I've written in a particular week. Whenever anyone replies, I am over the moon. I love connecting with you. From now on, I want you to know that even if I don't send out a formal invitation, please feel free to respond in whatever way moves you. I would truly love to hear from you. A couple of posts ago, I wrote a little bit about bec

Oh, Happy, Warm, Day, dear Reader! Our New England weather has had a typical change over the last week. From snow showers and freezing temps to almost 80 degrees and lots of melting of the five foot snowbanks. Spring really must be around the corner. In celebration of the sunshine and blue skies, I spent the day in New York City this past Tuesday. I was staying with dear, long-time friends just 30 minutes outside the city. We were on our way and about halfway to our destinat

A snowy Hello, dear Reader! You've probably noticed that I've adopted the warm greeting from the Bridgerton romance drama series on Netflix produced by Shonda Rhimes. I love hearing the narrator say, "Dear Reader ..." and I imagine talking with you in a British accent, but only in the salutation, lol. Just a little insight into the machinations of my sometimes quirky brain! So, back to the snow ... we were hit again here in the Boston, Massachusetts area. Monday morning I wok

What's up, dear Reader? The last two weeks have been full! If you read my last post, you might remember that we had a big snow storm in Boston and more has fallen since. Our "home team", the New England Patriots, made it to the Super Bowl, against the odds, with a young, rookie QB. Sadly, they were overwhelmed by a more experienced team, but there's always next year! Most recently, the Olympics started, and I've been swept up in the excitement from Milan. All of these event