Outside Me reading a self improvement article is similar to when I’m rooting through my sparse pantry at dinnertime. I start with great optimism, study each possibility carefully, then hit speed dial for DoorDash after mentally rejecting the amount of effort it takes to combine item A with items C, D and Z to…
Painting a Wall As much as I look forward to April’s arrival, it is a month of many moods. Warm one day, chance of frost the next, clear and beautiful, quickly followed by days of rain. If the weather puts your outside plans on hold, you can tackle a decorating project that will…
Crawl into Cozy I’ve always had an adversarial relationship with February. Nothing personal, it’s just in the way. I’m one of those optimists that thinks March is a Spring month, and if February would just kindly step out of line, the rest of us could get right to the budding flowers and warm…
Coif to the Races May means different things to different people. For some, especially those located in RVA, it’s the one month that actually feels like spring until humidity and hellfire rain down upon us once again. For others, it’s the time to hit the garden, have a wedding, walk to a brewery or simply…
Closet Curation Life is like underwear. Change is good. But why does it always creep up on you? In March I was completely focused on getting ready to sell my house so every free minute was devoted to organizing, cleaning, painting, and primping the old girl for her market debut. Outside of a massive rainstorm…
Get a Move On Ever get some advice, and while helpful, your internal dialog is snarking; “Easy for you to say Buddy, you should try it yourself sometime.” Or when someone, let’s hypothetically say a real estate agent, suggests your closets should be thinned down to about 25% of what’s currently jammed in there, you’re…
Hearts Inquire As we coast into my least favorite month, I’m a little hard pressed to point out any creative bright spots in February. Oh look! There’s a holiday in the middle of the month where couples can stress over their miserable attempts at communicating their love accurately and succinctly on one day, and singles…
Savin’ Some Simoleons I have mixed emotions about January this year. Normally it feels like a big period at the end of the sentence of the last chapter of Holidays Gone Haywire, a novel you pick up in November and can’t put it down until the day after New Years. When it’s over you can’t…
Feeling List-less? I’m working on a new Christmas carol called It’s a Covid Christmas. There’s a long way to go to capture the real spirit of the holiday, but I think I nailed the first line. “When in danger, or in doubt, Run in circles, scream and shout.” Yes, it’s that time of year again…
Non-Traditional Traditions Our family Thanksgiving is pretty easy to summarize: two days of cooking followed by 20 minutes of eating, then as the food coma subsides, we have a spirited game of Turkey Ball. It’s played with leftover drumsticks and it’s kind of a cross between lacrosse, keep-away and interpretive dance. No one knows the…
