My nephew, Jim Agutter, is celebrating his birthday today. He’s 57 and I remember changing his diapers when he was a baby. He is my sister Leslie’s son, and he lives in Salt Lake City with his wife, Karri, and two kids, Eli and Sophie. Jim is an architecture professor at the University of Utah…

Recently, Luna read me the story below, which she wrote in 40 minutes during California testing. I was very pleased and proud that my sweet little 10-year-old granddaughter (not so little since we’re now the same height) had composed this well-written, true story. In fact, I continue to be so happy about it that I…

As deadlines loom, I have been working long hours with my high school and college seniors who have been writing their college essays and graduate school personal statements to include in their applications. Early Decision and Early Action applications were due for many by November 1st and The University of California schools have a deadline…

Today, my brother Sam and his wife Jaime had a long layover in LA after a fourteen-hour flight from Australia. Sam texted last night and asked if there was any way to arrange a visit for this afternoon before they headed home to Nashville this evening. Ray and I quickly rearranged our schedule to make…

A few days ago, I read a short piece of flash fiction to a writing group I was participating in. Among the comments about the piece, one of the members said to me, “You have a great ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes.” She was speaking about putting myself into the shoes of…

Today, our family gathered at Sarah and Gregorio’s house for our Thanksgiving. We celebrate on Friday so our daughters can be with their partners’ families on Thanksgiving Day. (Ray and I often join in, which is especially nice.) Today, we had lots of food, fun, and laughter. We left with smiles, though we’d all admit…

I have just returned from a lovely day at my son-in-law Ron’s mother’s home, where we celebrated Thanksgiving with Cindy, family, and friends. We had lots of delicious food and a relaxed afternoon of conversation and laughter. Thank you, Cindy Betty, for hosting us today! Tomorrow, we head to our daughter Sarah’s house, where we’ll…

I have made Ina Garten’s gravy for Thanksgiving dinner for several years now and it is not only delicious but also foolproof. My daughter Rachael insists that I make this gravy for every major holiday meal and has also sent the recipe to several of her friends who tasted it at our house. How’s that…

One of my great pleasures as the days cool off is drinking a cup of hot tea. I have just returned to this ritual recently and my current tea of choice is Celestial Seasonings Bengal Spice Herbal Tea. My daughter Sarah introduced me to this particular flavor and the unique blend of spices makes this…