Entries by Sallie

Free At Last!

We’re vaccinated, double-masked and rarin’ to go. We’re anti-bodied, certified and ready to roll. We’re showered, shod, scented and styled. We’re lip-sticked, eye-lined, powdered and rouged. We’re highlighted, gelled, teased and sprayed. We’re manicured, pedicured, polished and painted. Keys are in hand, there’s gas in the tank. Look out world, here we come! Or maybe […]

Make ‘Em Laugh

I am so grateful for friends who send me things that bring me to tears, and to my knees, with laughter. Those are wonderful momentary lifts. What’s not part of that…and can’t be right now…..is communal laughter.  Groups of people laughing at the same time, at the same thing, for the same reason.  Once upon a […]

“Watch With Winston”

Winston has over 250,000 faithful Tik-Tok followers who hang on every moment of Winston as he watches his favorite movies.  Winston’s not into just any old movies.  He has a strong preference, if not a singular focus, for doggy movies.  Movies like Old Yeller,  Lassie,  Lady and the Tramp.   We all like to identify with […]

Carolyn Quit!

One day she was here, doing a great job.  The next day?  Gone!  No explanation.  She just up and left us high and dry.  It was, to say the very least, a most untimely event. There hadn’t been so much as a peep to prepare us.  Not even a squeak.  She’d been with us for years […]

Is You Is or Is You Ain’t?

Vaccinated, that is. That’s the question on everyone’s lips these days.  Followed, of course, by many other questions. When is/was your appointment?  Where did you go?  Which kind did you get?   How’d you get so lucky to get one in January? Was the line long?  Did you have a reaction?  Did your arm hurt/itch? When’s […]

Well, What Would You Do?

Imagine, for a moment, that a very tall street light, down the way a bit, is positioned exactly so that part of it comes directly into your window at night.  Right straight into your eyes.  The reflection from the water between you and it exacerbates its glare and makes it all shimmery/glimmery.  And that makes […]

In Search of a Mantra in the Time of Covid

As I bump into the ever-shrinking walls of our house, I find myself in need of a mantra.  A few words to play with in my head that tell me that I’m doing the right thing, right now.  This continued isolation thing, the scary stats, the sad stories, all call for soothing words. Comforting words. […]

My Voting Record

I think my voting record has been stellar to date, even if I say so myself. I’ve checked boxes, pulled levers, and tapped screens for 60 years now.  Sure, go ahead and do the math.  I’m that old. And I’ve voted in every presidential election since I could. It was my right, my responsibility and […]

WORDS FAIL. ALMOST.

“Well, now.” That’s what my mother always said at the start of a declaration. Hands on her hips, distaste on her lips.  You knew you’d better listen up. Then she’d elaborate. “Well, now,” she’d say, “I’ve seen it all!” It might have been alarmum over a friend’s new hair-do, perhaps a comment she objected to, […]

Enough Already

Question: “How do I know if I’m an introvert?” Answer: “You know you’re an introvert if you’re ready to go home before you leave the house.” Okay. So, I’m a dyed-in-the-wool, born-and-bred, certified (certifiable?), hard-core, bad-to-the-bone introvert.  There were times in the last year that I used (misused?) the Covid guidelines to avoid parties, large […]

Family Christmas Presents

Or not. Once we realized, way back in early December, that we would still be cocooned, isolated, quarantined, or a combination of the above,  we started looking for a little something special to send to our loved ones, far and wide. Something to remind them of us in our total eclipse. The Mister found a […]

Christmas 2020

In ordinary times, a single box of tissues is merely a commodity. An item on a shopping list. Nothing more. In the middle of a pandemic, a single box of tissues becomes a precious thing. A rarity. Scarce as hen’s teeth. At Christmas time, a single box of tissues can be a thoughtful present. A […]

They’re Back! Again!

They’re our very own ragtag group of Christmas Carolers. We’ve carefully curated and purchased all of them from the impeccable sources of Walgreens and CVS.  They’ve been part of our Christmases for ages.  They’re old.  Way, way old.  So, in this year like no other, we thought perhaps they should remain quarantined in the basement. […]

Taking My Own Advice

Last week’s blog espoused the virtues of doing absolutely nothing.   It extolled the value of simply sitting and thinking about nothing, anything or everything, with no expectation for enlightenment, inspiration or production. Sure, one might hope for a small light bulb to go off somewhere, somehow, in that meditative state. But even that’s not necessary. […]

Time Well Spent or A Waste of Time?

Which is it? There’s a book out there titled” The Art of the Wasted Day” by Patricia Hample.  She would have us believe that, put together, both of those things have value. That wasted time is, indeed, time well spent. Ms. Hample wants us to spend more time doing nothing.   Actually, she really doesn’t want […]