Entries by Sallie

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. […]

ALERT!!

If you are under the age of sixty, or thereabouts, stop reading!  Right now!  There could be words in this little message that will have no meaning for you.  They may even appear threatening or concerning.  You will be puzzled and alarmed that there was a life such as this before you.  So, if you […]

EVERYTHING OLD IS….

…. all too frequently, still old. To wit, the title of the op-ed cited above caught my eye.  Not because it’s a new concept but because it isn’t.  It’s old.  Very old, in fact.  It’s a concept that a group of working mothers working on behalf of other working mothers, tried to push forward in […]

Are You Listening? 

Great!  Because we have a couple of things to say on the subject.  The subject of listening, that is. As I think about listening, the following saying comes to mind: “A friend is someone who asks the second question.”  The Mister’s somewhat irritating but favorite quote is: “The Good Lord gave us two ears and […]

Oh, My!   Seriously??

The young women above were, respectively, on the covers of The New York Times Style Magazine last week and Vanity Fair this month. I’m so relieved my mother wasn’t around to see them.  She always taught me to cross my legs when I sat.  Or at least my ankles.  It was only proper and ladylike, […]

Fourteen Years.

It’s been fourteen years since we started our dystonia journey.  Fourteen years since the toes began to curl, clutch and claw.  Fourteen years since we began to seek answers.  Fourteen years without any. The Mister has been the soul of serious and considered research.  We’ve met and talked with doctors and lay persons from this […]