My mother was adventurous. Me, not so much. It bothered her deeply that I developed a distaste for camping, non made-up faces and informality at a dinner parties. A good portion of my childhood was spent in the woods amidst my mother's attempts to make me stronger. This included camping. In a tent. Away from… Continue reading Lessons From My Mother…
The Diaries…
Havisham Days…
The renaming of the 4th of July has begun. No longer Independence Day, but renamed Havisham Days in honor of the wedding-attired dollface to which all the widows feel a kinship. Why the change? This Independence Day holiday marks ten years since The Norwegian's fateful hike with death in the mountains of Colorado. Those who… Continue reading Havisham Days…
A Regular at the Country Dive Bar?…
"I can walk around Kierland free as a bird." Middle Chicken and I are playing a game called, Guess what I can do now that the mask mandate has been lifted. The Kierland part is important as it's home to Anthropologie. Anthropologie is that wonderland for women of a certain age-all our favorite stuff is… Continue reading A Regular at the Country Dive Bar?…
Happy Mother’s Day Y’all…
Oldest Chicken and Baby Pea are having a baby. When they told us at Christmas, Oldest Chicken got a little choked up. His tears were hastily swept aside. Middle, Baby Chicken and myself had no problem openly blubbering, dancing and squeeing. I was given rules. No telling the best girls until I had the go… Continue reading Happy Mother’s Day Y’all…
Croaking In A Bloody Basin…
Writers live mostly in their heads. It's both blessing and curse. It means we can entertain ourselves anywhere and any time but there's also a dark side. Like that little girl Longfellow wrote about, "When she was good, she was very good indeed. But when she was bad, she was horrid." That's the mind of… Continue reading Croaking In A Bloody Basin…
Married Furniture…
"I finally got rid of my married furniture," says a friend. She's been divorced for about ten years. It takes that long. I know exactly what she means. Living with the remnants. No matter how beautiful, expensive or tasteful, furnishings contain memories. In her case of a bad boy husband. In my case, a dead… Continue reading Married Furniture…
Becoming Diane…
I'm wearing a lot of turtlenecks. Partly because it's been unusually cold on the surface of the sun and since I'm such a delicate flower, I'm freezing. There's another reason. I'm entering my Diane Keaton in Something's Gotta Give phase. All I need now is an age-appropriate lover to take a scissors to my sweater… Continue reading Becoming Diane…
Living In The Zoom Zeitgeist…
"I said, shut the F--- up." Loud and clear. At work. Zoom room filled with about thirty participants. No telling how many are wearing pants. The expletive, as always, is louder and clearer than the rest of the sentence. The exact source of emittance is unclear. No matter. It's nothing we've not heard. Just not… Continue reading Living In The Zoom Zeitgeist…
Sunday Scaries…
A week spent amongst Chickens is always good for the soul. A holiday week spent with Chickens in a brand new home and a first Thanksgiving dinner is a treasure. It's Middle Chicken and Lawyer Boy's new home and their first holiday in it. Le Sigh. Alas, Oldest Chicken and Baby Pea are on their… Continue reading Sunday Scaries…
Manners, Manners Everywhere…
Hiatus took me by surprise. Just kind of stopped writing and a day turned to another and another. And then I was a little lost. COVID has taken its toll in the house of Duchess. Skittish Tabby and I eat a lot of bad food, absorb way to many murder mysteries and see far too… Continue reading Manners, Manners Everywhere…
The Duchess Diaries 