Entries by Sallie

Trust.

Trust is big issue. And not always an easy one to manage. In whom do we put our trust?  The media?  Our family?  Our friends?  Our country? And do we trust any of those entities unconditionally and with our whole hearts? Or is it a matter of trust but verify?  The phrase not originated but […]

The Christmas Spirit.

(This is either a same/old same/old or a tradition, depending on your point of view. Either way, our family wishes the best for you and yours this Christmas and in the New Year.) The year was 1961.  I was working in Boston at the New England Conservatory of Music as a receptionist. It was, in […]

What To Do?

That’s the question and I know the answer.  But I can’t just toss it out.  He’d notice.  Just like he noticed the disappearance of the double boiler many, many years ago.  I don’t want to revisit that.  No one does.  The mere thought brings shivers.   Here’s the problem:  A thoughtful person recently gave The […]

The Tale of the Lost and Found Tissue.

That would be the tissue that was lost because it got tucked in a pocket or stuck in a  sleeve. That would also be the tissue that was found.  In the washing machine.  In a billion little white bits.  Yep.  We’ve all been there and done that. Most say: “Oh no, not again!” I say […]

IT’S BACK!

And not a moment too soon.   At least in my humble opinion. Cursive writing, by law, is set to return to many states’ schools. The reasons for re-introducing cursive are various.  Whatever they are, I am delighted that cursive writing will, once again, be taught to our children.  Cursive allows each of us to develop […]

Soap Operas.

They’ve been around a long time.  And I’ve been right there with them.   I fondly remember watching The Edge of Night with my mother.  It was early days of television.  Very early.  The television set wasn’t deemed pretty enough to be in the living-room so it lived in a corner of the dining room.  We’d […]

It May Be the Littlest Room in the House……

But it’s frequently the most expressive. I speak of the Powder Room, the Lav, the Ladies’ Room.  It’s a space which can, and often does, express the owners’ decorative styles and interests.  Obviously in small and condensed ways. For example, an old house’s powder room might be wall-papered with beautifully trellised roses, reminiscent of its […]

Winter’s Comin’.

Yes, it is.  Just as surely as day turns into night and summer follows spring, we know in our hearts that it’s gonna get cold.  But we’re prepared.  Maybe overly so.  Read on. Now, remember.  We live in the south.  Cold is a relative thing.  Sure, we say things like “Cold enough for ya?” but […]

The State of Maine.

Maine may be geographically large, but it has the feel of a small town whose residents collectively admire, appreciate and respect it.  Sure, winter can get cold, but that’s part and parcel of the deal.  You pull on gloves, don a parka and take to the slopes.  Or go on a brisk walk.  Come back […]

A Slight Change of Pace.

There’s a lot…..maybe too much…… going on in the world right now.  It all deserves our attention and our thoughts . But we recently decided to take a break from all that  and we’re very glad that we did. During that hiatus, we streamed two perfectly wonderful shows.  Both took us into wildly different worlds […]

TMI.

In my humble opinion, you frequently get just that,Too Much Information, when you dine at restaurants referring to themselves as Farm to Table, locally sourced, inventive or rustic chic. When we go out to dinner, which is “lesser and lesser” these days, I go for one reason: The Joy of NOT Cooking.  I’m okay hearing […]

Dress Codes

   They’re a hot topic these days.   Just tune in to the current debate in Congress. When I was in high school, we wore uniforms.  It was an all-girls’ school so we all looked alike.  All the time.  The uniforms weren’t pretty but we wore them without complaint.   Getting dressed was easy.  There was no […]

There It Sits.

Just like its predecessor.  And all those before it.  And there have been many.  They have come.  And they have gone.  Some have stayed longer than others.  But eventually, they all leave.  It’s predictable, predestined and inevitable. It’s not that they’re bad.  Their purpose in life is good. Constructive.  Well intentioned. Their final resting places […]

What Are We?

A friend’s daughter is married to my daughter-in-law’s brother.  We think of ourselves as sort-of-related. But how? We certainly aren’t cousins, even several times removed. We don’t share history, blood types or genes. We have no lineage crossings. On the other hand, we share a unique sense of connection. We’re clearly part of an extended family. […]