Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about my friends—my tribe, or as we say these days, “my people.” You know the ones. The people you can count on, no matter what.The ones who stay by your side during the hard times.The ones you can be completely yourself with—flaws and all—and somehow still feel completely accepted. […]

I’m of that “certain age” where the music I listened to as a teenager is still being performed live—but mostly by tribute bands. And honestly? I’m perfectly fine with that.  Tribute bands are great. You get the music you love… and you can still afford dinner afterward. This past month I was lucky enough to […]

There are many things in life I try to avoid. Pain is very high on that list… somewhere between doing taxes and cleaning out the refrigerator. I do not like pain. But really… who does? Even though I’m not usually a “take a pill to fix it” type of person (diet and exercise is my […]

Last week I went to the Flower and Garden Show. Every February it comes around, and my goodness, is it ever needed! By the end of February, we are all desperate for springtime… or at least the idea of springtime. The minute I walk into that big convention center, I love the smell of dirt […]

Last month, my husband and I escaped the Northeast in the middle of a snowstorm—one of those “why do we live here again?” kind of storms—and boarded a cruise to the Bahamas.  Some sun. A bit more warmth. No shovels. We already felt victorious. Now here’s the twist: on a whim, I placed a little […]

Sometimes I feel like an extremist.Not in the political sense—just in the Peni tries to do everything at maximum intensity sense. Like exercise. I go all out… until I can’t move, can’t think, and have to sit in one spot for hours, questioning every life choice I’ve ever made. Or books. If I love a […]

Every new year, I take my calendar (still a paper one I buy for a few dollars at the local dollar store) and carefully mark down all the important dates for the year ahead. The usual suspects—birthdays, anniversaries, visitors, trips, appointments, and all sorts of things I absolutely do not trust my memory to remember […]

As we say goodbye to 2025 and hello to 2026, we also say hello to something else—our hopes for the new year.Otherwise known as New Year’s resolutions… those well-intentioned promises we make while holding a cup of coffee (or something stronger) and thinking, This year will be different. I usually start the new year full […]

I’ve been thinking a lot about the human touch lately—especially hand-holding.There are so many reasons we reach for someone’s hand. When I was little, my big sister and I held hands constantly—part safety, part comfort, and part, “I’ve got you and you’ve got me.” Even without words, that was our promise to each other. Two […]

We all get “set in our ways,” don’t we? It happens so gradually we barely notice it… until someone else can’t adapt, and suddenly we’re experts on flexibility! Take this past Thanksgiving, for instance. My hubby and I drove to our daughter’s house to celebrate with her and her husband. We booked a nearby hotel […]