I am one of those annoying people who would photograph almost anything, given the chance and a patient companion. “Stuff” wears out. Dishes break, linens grow threadbare, furniture sags. The extraordinary memories of  your travels, near and far, will stay. And with photos, you can call them up any time you need to—to share a story, evoke a […]

See that photo? It’s a confused mess. If you try to do everything at once after you retire, your life will feel like one, too. Read on… When you first find yourself #HashTagRetired, it’s easy to romanticize about all of the time you finally have to do all of the things you’ve been waiting all […]

Irrespective of scientific concerns, and the fact that this warm spell could turn out to be a cruel tease, there aren’t enough happy adjectives to describe the joy of opening all the windows, walking Miss Pup without being wrapped up like Nanook of the North*, or sitting in our den without my Vermont Flannel blankie. In […]

It’s Carnavale time in Venice, but today I thought you might enjoy an uncommon glimpse of La Serenissima. Three ways to enjoy magical Venice if you can’t actually be there: Donna Leon’s Commissario Brunetti novels. The wonderful German TV series based on Leon’s books, available with accurate, readable subtitles on the subscription series MHZ Choice.  MHZ Choice offers amazing Euro-TV […]

Valentine’s Day—and I wish you a happy one—over the years has been “stretched” conceptually to celebrate not just lovers, but relationships of all sorts as well. For little ones, Valentines are all about friendship. And that is the connection with today’s post. Fair warning—it may give you a bit of a knot in your gut at first. Life, […]

The book without words is complete and packaged as a Valentine’s Day gift to our grands. I thought you might like to see the cover and a finished page. I cheated just a bit by using photos from a few past trips. On the left, that’s Jasper hanging out at the Vermont Country Store and […]

Not on the moon, but Monterosso al Mare in the Cinque Terre. One of the best reasons for travel is that it stays with you, a priceless trove of lovely memories from which you can draw any time you want to, even on a snowy winter day. Enjoy.

Preface One of my favorite people these days is a retired teacher and school administrator who was the faculty advisor to our high school class. As with a number of my classmates, we reconnected through Facebook. He and his wife are beyond travelers—they are out-and-out (and apparently tireless) globetrotters. Their recent trip to California, en […]

I know you’re hiding a graveyard somewhere in your bathroom. Probably in the vanity, under the sink. It’s full of all the hair care “product” you bought at the salon, the drug store, wherever. Stuff you paid a mint for and maybe even used a few times. And are likely never to use again. We are all […]

February 6, 2017 update to original post: I’m happy to report that, thanks to Martin Walker’s wonderful Bruno, Chief of Police series, specifically The Crowded Grave, I am no longer suffering reader’s block. If you love a good book set around a police officer, in which the setting is as appealing as the story, you […]