Holidays
Exhilarating Galentine’s
Finally discovered a wonderful way to celebrate Valentine’s/Galentine’s Day. The best part, I convinced two friends to join me. Actually, didn’t take much convincing on my part. They seemed ready to cross “indoor skydiving” off their bucket list. Just needed someone, such as myself, to make the arrangements. We were lucky in two ways that … Continue reading
2025 MLK DAY: Embracing Joy
For the past few decades, I’d signed off on every email with “Cheers.” This year, I set the intention for the year. Embrace Joy. There are those who believe that EVERYTHING that happens in one’s life is a choice. That position is as unrealistic as NOTHING is a choice. Between being omnipotent and a perpetual … Continue reading
Austinite Reunion at a Winery
After months of planning, one of my Austinite friends and I met up at a halfway point in Elizabethtown, NC. Although he and his partner had recently purchased a plot of land in VA, they transformed a bus into a mobile tiny home and drove to a quiet beach in NC for the winter. My … Continue reading
Christmas Dinner Party in the Suburbs
On Monday before Christmas Day, I gifted my family the nonmaterialistic event I’d written, directed and produced. I even hired a performer to help bring the event to life. https://vimeo.com/user122780576/download/1042690204/0a7e7c8674
Working the Eves*
The biggest gift I gave myself was end-of-the-year PTO. Last year was the first time since resigning as a classroom teacher that I had a paid Christmas/Kwanzaa/New Year’s vacation. I wanted to recreate that luxury of vacation time this year. Last year, Christmas was on a Monday, so there was no issue about working either … Continue reading
Reluctant Christmas Event Producer
Continuing my newfound tradition of non materialistic Christmas gifts for my family, I brainstormed what to do before Thanksgiving. The coordination of anything I plan always has several parameters, which greatly narrow down my choice of activities. So, I’m not overwhelmed by many possibilities, but threading the needle proves to be very challenging. The first … Continue reading
Baking It Easy
As usual, too many leftovers, including leftover ingredients after Thanksgiving. For the second year in a row, I had too much cream cheese frosting after dressing my red velvet cupcakes. Last year I made cream cheese frosting cookies, which were OK, but I wanted to go a different route this year. First thing that came … Continue reading
Friendsgiving Wood Memorial Style
Over the years, I’ve attended many Friendsgivings since I’d lived apart from my family for many years where I didn’t travel back home for Thanksgiving. Sometimes, those events were also called “Orphans’ Thanksgiving,” in which case, the adults who attended weren’t traveling to be with their relatives for the holiday. In all those years, I’d … Continue reading
Harley’s Halloween
For this year’s Halloween season, I graced several scenes with my best Harley Quinn impression, complete with glitter lips. My sister convinced me to buy the bat. First of all, I usually wouldn’t have spent that much on a prop. But she was threatening to buy it for me if I didn’t. Normally, I would’ve … Continue reading
2024 LABOR DAY WEEKEND
These days, I don’t need elaborate plans to enjoy my vacation. As a matter of fact, thanks to a surplus of paid time off, I can pick and choose when I want to accommodate some elaborate plan to have fun. So, when coworkers asked how I planned to send our latest three-day weekend, I proudly … Continue reading