Hobbies

Let’s talk about the bathroom scale. No, not that bathroom scale; the bathroom rating scale! Over the years, I’ve noticed that some public bathrooms desperately need an upgrade. So, I developed a one-through-ten scale for public bathrooms, rating them for all my friends and family…

Ever notice how the gadgets and gizmos that were supposed to make our lives easier have somehow made them feel more complicated? I don’t know about you, but there are days when I feel like an out-of-place relic, trying to navigate a world…

Book clubs – both online and in person – offer camaraderie, thought-provoking discussions, and introductions to authors and books we might not otherwise discover. My online book group came together during the pandemic…

It began when I was driving home from teaching 3rd graders after a long day. I was about 38 years old. As a child, I must have had deep thoughts, with my nose always in a book, because I had resting “frownie” face. This cultivated deep furrows…

I love having adult children. They’re like the grown-up versions of those little people who used to live in my house, but with jobs and their own mortgages. I count my two adult sons and their wives among my closest friends. We share laughs, beers…

This week we come to the end of our Sixty and Me Piano Lessons, as we play the final page of our Upper Hands Piano, BOOK 1. Congratulations on your determination! Learning how to play the piano is difficult, and if you persevered through our lessons…

So you want to be a writer? Well, after having written for over 20 years, I can say it is the best job in the world. There is nothing more thrilling than not only seeing your words in print, but hearing from people who have read them. It is one of the most humbling…

Browsing a bookshop not long ago, a bookseller raved about a newly released novel. She could not say enough good things about the book. So, I bought it. Well, despite her high praise and the hundreds of stellar reviews online, it was not the book for me…

I always believed that what and when I created was far more important than where. I can write anywhere – or so I told myself. I only needed a flat surface for my computer, something to sit on, and a power outlet. It was this kind of thinking that, many decades ago…

As we near the end of our Sixty and Me lessons, I want you to think about maintaining a repertoire of songs and pieces to have ready to play for friends and family. (You can pronounce it as “RE-PER-TOIRE” or RE-PE-TWA”.) Trust me, people love to hear their loved ones play music….