1 day agoMember-onlyA place for coffee and communityFriday mornings are my favorite mornings of the week. Instead of heading straight to the office, I get to hang out at a coffee shop, Blueberry Café, in the historic downtown section of my hometown. It’s a small place that feels like it belongs just right where it is. For…Coffee3 min readCoffee3 min read
Jan 15Member-onlyLet’s build memorials celebrating reconciliationThere are a lot of war memorials in our great country. Statues and plaques with names of soldiers, everyday, ordinary people who picked up arms for a cause and who left everything on battlefields that are now grassy hills just a few blocks from your neighborhood grocery store. When I…Happiness3 min readHappiness3 min read
Jan 8Member-onlyIt’s a new year, but everything feels the sameSitting in a café just south of the US-Mexico line, listening to what sounds like Spanish jazz, it’s 7:45 a.m., the morning is cold, the clouds are low, and familiar faces stand in line for their morning brews. A new year is here. Everything feels the same. I can hear…New Year3 min readNew Year3 min read
Dec 31, 2022Member-onlyVacations bring time for reflection, happy thoughtsThe first day of vacation always feels like you just woke up from a seven-day nap. You get the feeling on that first work-less Monday that you won the lottery, and you don’t know what to do with your millions. …Memories3 min readMemories3 min read
Dec 24, 2022Member-onlyBright lights and nativity scenes tell the story of ChristmasWhen I put up Christmas lights this year, I made sure to use the kind of lights that reminded me of what I saw as a kid, driving down neighborhoods oohing and aahing through the back windows of the family car. You know the kind. Big, multi-colored, egg shaped lights. …Christmas3 min readChristmas3 min read
Dec 17, 2022Member-onlyA list of new things to do in the new yearThere are many things I want to do that I have never done before, and at this time of year, it seems like making lists of things to do is something a lot of people are into doing. I want to do big, exaggerated things like get on a hot…New Year3 min readNew Year3 min read
Dec 12, 2022Member-onlyAll the things I want to know in 2023There are many things I want to know in the new year. Things I haven’t learned yet, and a new year is always a good reason to try something new. Or to learn something new. I want to know why we still work more than we do anything else in…New Year3 min readNew Year3 min read
Nov 28, 2022Member-onlyOld Man Winter and my favorite things of the seasonWe’re not exactly there yet, but I always wondered why winter is described as an Old Man. Somewhere in a faraway place, long, long ago, this idiom must have been born. I never thought of winter as an old man, but it makes sense if you think of the season…Winter3 min readWinter3 min read
Nov 20, 2022Member-onlyHomemade crafts and doodads you didn’t know you neededI went to a craft fair last weekend at an art gallery that used to be the town’s public library. It’s one of my favorite buildings because it still looks and feels like a place that’s been around for a while. …Craft3 min readCraft3 min read
Nov 13, 2022Member-onlyI’m thankful for more than I realize during this season of thanksMaking gratitude lists are popular during this time of year. Not just because we have a national holiday with the word thanks in it, but because the days are shorter, the nights colder, and bundling up with a cup of hot chocolate on a comfy couch watching your favorite movie…Gratefulness3 min readGratefulness3 min read
