July 01 2014
Molly’s at the age (almost 2) where she likes to take things in and out. She’ll put blocks one by one in a bucket and then one by one take them out. She also has a fascination with zippers, mostly the unzipping part. She can’t quite zip them up. So I decided that she needs a […]
June 10 2014
When I first retired from teaching, I stopped wearing my watch and setting my alarm clock. I wanted to be free of schedules and time restrictions. That was great – for awhile. But it seems that we’re all creatures of habit and routine, and I found myself setting up some new activities to replace the […]
May 03 2014
Gary and I met with our financial planner this week. We told him we were looking for an investment that paid a lot of interest and was guaranteed not to lose money. You should be laughing now because we all know that there’s no such thing. That’s why we’ve decided that the best thing to […]
April 27 2014
Have you noticed that all of a sudden everything in Rochester is green? It seems that we went from winter to spring overnight. Of course, nothing happens that suddenly. While we couldn’t even see over the piles of snow, the grass, the flowers, the trees have all been gaining strength and preparing for their annual […]
March 13 2014
In my last post about the cinquain, I neglected to say that the cinquain was invented right here in Rochester, NY by Adelaide Crapsey, the daughter of an Episcopal priest who was defrocked because of heresy. Crapsey was born in Brooklyn in 1878 but was raised in Rochester. She attended Vassar and was the class poet, […]
March 09 2014
I received a belated Valentine this week from the kids at Wellwood Middle School, where I had done some poetry workshops this past fall. The teacher explained that it was late because of snow days and February vacation days. I say it’s never too late for a Valentine, or any kind of remembrance for that […]
March 05 2014
Spring arrived at my house last Sunday. No, I didn’t see a robin, or a crocus, or even a flock of geese heading north. But on a very cold day, when the world outside was nothing but stark empty expanses of white, Spring knocked on my door in the form of a 6 lb. 10 […]
February 27 2014
Last week I lost a friend and former colleague, Leo Krzanowicz. At age 89, Leo’s death was not a tragedy. He lived a long and fruitful life, but he is still to be mourned. Leo taught at #22 School on Zimbrich St., Rochester for forty years and was probably the most loved teacher by everyone […]
February 19 2014
I have a new pet peeve. I hate it that every magazine that I subscribe to comes in the mail wrapped in cellophane. I hate having to rip that wrapper off (they’re made like steel) while trying not to drop all the inserts that are enclosed. Which brings me to the second part of the […]
February 14 2014
What does a writer give the people she loves for Valentine’s Day? I suppose the ideal gift would be a love letter. I chose the second best thing, a book. This year I made books for Evan and Molly. Confession time. I was planning to give the kids these books for Christmas, but never got around […]