Out walking this morning, Rascal and I found ourselves for a while behind a dad with two young daughters, one daughter on each side. Suddenly, Dad started to run. Not very fast. The girls hustled to catch up. Then they started to giggle. Daddy had turned around and started skipping. They skipped, too. “What… Continue reading Little Tender Moments
Skating Ice
Ice
Skating
Niceness Awards
Our friend Don coaches the Ann Arbor Masters swim team. He has since 1984. The team practices five days a week at oh-dark-thirty. And although I never witnessed this myself, when I was at the pool for my group of swimmers–who met after the Masters at the relatively civilized hour of seven a.m.–it’s possible that… Continue reading Niceness Awards
Putting Puzzles Together
Our friend Don is hard at work on our remodeling project. Thank goodness he knows how to put houses together. Now that he’s taken our family room down to the studs and started putting it back together again, I had no real concept of all the pieces a house has. And how many new pieces… Continue reading Putting Puzzles Together
Guarding the Citadel
Guarding the citadel against all comers is a responsibility our animal companions take very much to heart. My friend, Marcia, can attest to this. She had a Rottweiler as head of security some years ago, when she found a kitten in the street during a downpour. The kitten ended up with Marcia and family, and… Continue reading Guarding the Citadel
Such a Feast
Such a feast we had! I’m still so full that my socks felt tight when I pulled them on this morning. My, oh my, such a lot of great food. Deciding what to do about Thanksgiving wasn’t straightforward this year. First and foremost: CoVid is still among us. Fiercely so. Maybe just the… Continue reading Such a Feast
Flat Tires
Almost immediately after leaving Sue’s house last Friday, I realized I had a flat tire. So I rolled back to Sue’s, contacted AAA, had another cup of tea, and petted Tesla some more. I know how to change a tire myself, of course—Dad made sure of that—but I question my current ability to loosen… Continue reading Flat Tires
A Trick of the Light
On a fabulous autumn day this week, I took the dog for a walk in Gallup Park. The paths follow the river so, counting reflections, there was twice as much color there as there is here. There were other people at the park with the same good idea, but it’s unlikely any of them were… Continue reading A Trick of the Light
Changed from Glory
During the late afternoon of Halloween, as neighbors were arranging treat tables in their driveways, there was some fuss among the grownups on the grass island in the middle of the court. It was covered in mushroom fairy rings. They were much smaller than the one Sue and I found in Saginaw Forest, which was… Continue reading Changed from Glory
After the Feast
We’re leaning into the time of year for feasting, and we all have our own feast traditions. But what of traditions for after the feast? When our friend Len was growing up and celebrating with his grandparents in northern New Jersey, what happened after dinner was that everyone, from oldest to youngest, would… Continue reading After the Feast