I don’t know about you, but I have what I call “irrational” fears. Well… maybe the fears themselves aren’t irrational—it’s my reaction to them that probably deserves the side-eye. Take bugs, for example. They are icky, ooookey, and just plain yucky. In my humble opinion. And if some unlucky insect happens to land on me? […]

I am not a gadget type of gal. It’s not that I dislike gizmos… I just can’t figure them out. How they work feels like some kind of unsolved mystery. The kind best left to people who enjoy reading instruction manuals for fun (do those people really exist?). My husband, on the other hand, loves […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

So what do you do when you’re stressed, or when there’s just too much to do and not nearly enough time to do it? Do you procrastinate with a spontaneous road trip? Eat an embarrassing amount of chocolate? Wander into a package store (for you non–New Englanders, that’s a beer & wine shop)? Binge-watch TV? […]

Did you have an invisible friend growing up? Whenever I ask that question, about 90% of the time the answer is—YES! The reasons vary—companionship, loneliness (like me), or maybe the joy of bossing someone around without fear of consequences. Whatever the reason, those imaginary buddies were part of our lives. And according to some studies, […]

I don’t know about you, but I’m constantly wondering things. Kids do it all the time—and we expect their wondering questions.They ask things like: I get it. I wondered those exact things myself! Then came the teenage years. And the questions kept coming—just deeper, and a little more angsty: As an adult, my wonderings didn’t […]