As I drove down the Colonial Parkway recently, I noticed the fringy green of new spring leaves accented by the almost iridescent light purple of occasional red bud. The inner sanctum of the wooded land that flanks the road is almost hidden now. I reminded myself to look one last time to see the fallen [...]

There’s not a better venue for people watching than an airport. Atlanta, Denver, Seattle—even smaller regional hubs like Charlotte or Norfolk are perfect perches for observers of fashion, random acts of kindness (or otherwise), emotional reunions and departures, and people on the move—always people on the move. Observing the way travelers make their way through [...]

This is the time of year I begin experiencing an undeniable urge for self expression. Most of the time I have no idea in what form (or forms) this urge will eventually manifest itself—it is an impulse sparked by days beginning to lengthen and a sense of things opening and greening again. Writing, making a [...]

Perhaps it is no coincidence that “solace” and “solstice” are nearly twins in both appearance and pronunciation. We are just a few weeks beyond the winter solstice–literally “sun still”—in which I envision the sun at a perfect standstill, balanced, at rest, gathering strength before beginning its ascent to summer solstice and longer days. Early winter [...]

“Out with the old, in with the new,” we like to say as we celebrate the New Year. Easy enough, simple enough. But wait…there ARE some old things I’d like to keep–friends I’ve had most of my life, my husband, my family, my home, and these are just a few. A more thoughtful and [...]

Forget the snarled traffic and chaos of local roads, cancelations, inconveniences and covered sidewalks, icy windshields and frantic runs on grocery stores. The serendipity of snow during Christmas time is a gift unmatched by anything on a store shelf, online, or in a catalog. As it fell, my spirits rose and remembered the anticipation and [...]

One of the lower-key but ongoing battles of everyday housekeeping, at least for me, is keeping fingerprints at bay. The TV screen, windows, mirrors…have you ever looked at your computer screen in a certain light, or while it is turned off, to find that it has become a maze of smudgy splotches where you’ve touched, [...]

Like many people, I find it hard to let Daylight Savings Time go. Shorter days and the inevitable entrée to THE HOLIDAYS are a double whammy that typically call forth my protest of “I’m not ready!!” But this year, I am determined to welcome these things in a spirit of acceptance, embrace the blessings and [...]

Every day begins with a sunrise—an indisputable fact on which we can rely when other things in life might not be so predictable.  It can’t be hurried when we are impossibly impatient for its arrival, and it refuses to be delayed when we long for more sleep. Even when obscured by clouds, snow, rain or [...]

I stood back from the wall and surveyed the changes I had wrought in the last hour.  My right hand was speckled like a sparrow’s egg and I was still holding the paint roller as I cast a critical eye across the flat plane in front of me, free of blemishes, smooth and perfect, even [...]