Losing on time
I push-broomed long swaths of melting ice and snow off the deck last Tuesday morning and cleared the driveway. By noon, bright sunshine, warmer temperatures, and steady winds finished the job, and Keith and I were able to run errands before the next incoming storm....
To My Valentine
A wintry mix began mid-afternoon on Thursday: rain followed by sleet then snow within minutes. On Friday, I swept several inches off the north side deck and shoveled the upper half of the driveway before deciding against a walk to the mailbox. Too cold for Cato,...
Critical Thinking
Keith and I cuddled together under throw blankets on the downstairs sofa and watched a recording of the 2020 bio-drama “Critical Thinking.” It was a chilly night, but we were warm and toasty thanks to the fire Keith had burning in the wood stove. The movie was...
A Different Top-Down
Followers of Taoism emphasize a healthy balance between opposites, the yin and the yang, darkness and light. With that in mind, today here at Vanaprastha in the aftermath of mid-winter storm Orlena, I offer two stories from mid-summer “storms” from the past. ...
Re-reading my father’s book
August B. Hollingshead, center; Raymond S. Duff, right My birth family gathered at the dinner table every night, Daddy at the head across from Mother and we three girls between. Sometimes our father spoke about his work—without divulging confidential information,...
What lingers
We woke to a wintery skiff this morning. It was 5:15 when Heathcliff needed to go outside and relieve himself. Better than his 3 am wakeups, but that’s the season he’s in as an old dog with sugared muzzle like the snow-dusted mountains here at Vanaprastha....