Lifestyle
La Vida Llena (The Full Life)
I wrote this in preparation for a talk I gave at an AAUW meeting in Goshen, Indiana in November 2015. Given that, while I was speaking, I hardly ever looked at what I wrote , the talk was likely nothing like what was on the papers I was holding. At the time, I was looking forward to … Continue reading
Some things gained and some things lost: the dilemma of the second vehicle
Last year I learned that I should never say “never”. A year ago, I bought a second vehicle. For all my adult life I was fiercely determined to either have no vehicle or to only own one vehicle. I didn’t even get a drivers license until I was 26 or 27. I lived in cities … Continue reading
Sticky Experiments in Extracting Honey
My bees didn’t make it through the winter. With the warmer weather in the last couple of weeks, I should have seen some activity outside my hive, but it remained eerily quiet. So finally, on a warm day, I opened up the hive. All I saw were dead bees. With sad thoughts, I cleaned out … Continue reading
The Aesthetics of Seed Catalogs
This post originally was published on Goshen Commons on February 9, 2013. Seed catalogs are arriving in my mailbox almost daily now. Some go directly into the recycling. Some go into the basket of magazines and catalogs near the door for perusal at a later time. Some come into the house with me for … Continue reading
Lessons Learned: A Tribute to My Mum
On Feb. 17, my mum died. It was both unexpected and not. She was 90 years old and had lived a good long life. Although she had been gradually slowing down, doing less and losing mobility for a couple of years, she was still relatively healthy, had a smile whenever I went to visit, enjoyed … Continue reading
My Favorite Sweater
First published on November 20, 2013 on goshencommons.org With the cold weather that moved in a couple of weeks ago, I needed to pull out my warm winter sweaters. As usual, the first sweater that came out of the cedar chest was my old Aran sweater. I don’t know about anyone else, but, when I … Continue reading
2013 Garden Layout
This year’s garden layout is a jumble of different shapes and sizes. I designed my large vegetable garden in 2009 in a well mannered grid, with all rows going east–west. Then in 2010 and 2011 things got a little more disorganized. The kale jumped its boundaries and began expanding in all directions. I created a zig-zag … Continue reading
The Joys of a Vivid Imagination
This post first appeared on March 9, 2013 on goshencommons.org . I won’t grow up, I don’t want to wear a tie. And a serious expression In the middle of July. And if it means I must prepare To shoulder burdens with a worried air, I’ll never grow up, never grow up, never grow up Not me, … Continue reading