Memory loss and brain fog aren’t just annoying; they are dangerous. — I'm far too young to be this old. I started the aging process a bit younger than most. Not only did I have a full hysterectomy in my 30s, jump-starting menopause, but I have done a lot of damage to my body. I started smoking cigarettes when I was ten…

With a pen in her mouth and ink in her hair? — What is she doing over there? Eyes glassy. Blank stare? Is that ink in her hair? Words pressing in her brain. Images went in, they want out again. They are trapped in a prison of fear and shame. The words want out. Now! They are beginning to cause pain. The…

My life is very full — I usually feel pretty bad about neglecting my readers. Y’all have been following me for quite a while and I’ve been so sporadic in visiting you. If I’m not completely freaked out and stressed in a bad way, I’m completely freaked out and stressed in a good way. You last…

Thrifty words roundup — My turkey day family gathering was great. No strange arguments, no weird political discussions. Just family and good food. I fixed the turkey. I did forget to take out the little plastic bag full of giblets (raise your hand if you’ve done it, too) but it didn’t take away from…

December nostalgia takes me way back — On December 7, 2007, I got a call from my dad’s oldest and best friend. He wanted to know when I had last spoken with my dad (just before Thanksgiving). Uncle Bill couldn’t get ahold of my dad via the phone. I thought maybe something was interfering with Dad’s reception…

It doesn’t matter how skilled I am when I can’t get a second interview — Out of work and stressed out about it, I decided to write a blog/diary/journal/personal essay entry. I’m tired of learning PowerPoint fundamentals from the free AARP Office Fundamentals lesson. I’ve already refreshed myself on Word, next comes Excel. What I really need is a free class on writing a winning…

Thrifty Words 100 #86 & Fifty Word Theme Challenge #107: Gratitude — Here in the U.S., whether you think of it as Thanksgiving or Thankstaking, it is the season for giving thanks. I had a t-shirt once depicting a table laden with all the seasonal foods. Indigenous people on one side and Pilgrim-type people on the other. The caption read, “America’s first…

Free, from nature — After our first, very brief, visit to this house in August, I began to get excited about the gardening opportunities such a wet region presented to me. I began planning flower and vegetable gardens. Some in containers and some right in the ground. The night we arrived was a dark…