Several years ago, I got caught up in a trend and threw a "Paint Your Own Pottery" party for one of my children. As the group dove into their creations, I decided to join in. I grabbed a clay plate, layered on some paint with brushes and sponges, and in...

At a recent luncheon, an interior designer sitting next to me mentioned that she likes working late at night.

"Clients think I'm crazy if I send a proposal or contract at two o'clock in the morning," she said.

I had met a kindred spirit. I, too, have been admonished...

Who better to spend the weekend with than my 82-year-old mother and hip sister? We had initial plans to sleep at my mom's, go out for lunch, go out for dinner and after breakfast in the morning, leave for New York City and go to an art museum.

This is...

As we get closer to the Academy Awards, I, like millions, am cramming to see every movie so that I can vote astutely and impress my husband on Oscar night.

"Les Misérables" was first flick on my must-see list.

I took my seat in the theater, looking forward...

Just when you thought we had some down time between New Year's Eve and Valentine's Day, here's something worth putting on your Google calendar: on Monday, January 21, it's Squirrel Appreciation Day. I'm thankful for many things and my list runneth over, but I've never thought squirrels could be counted...

It was 12:30 on Friday night when the telephone rang. Panic jolted my heart as I picked up the phone. Who calls this late?

"Hi, Mom," my college-age daughter said.

"Are you okay?" I asked.

Laughter ensued. (On her end of the line. Not mine.)

"Everything is...

I was recently at a party speaking with a friend who went on and on (and on and on) for a 20-minute monologue about a recent trip to Europe. She then winged into how brilliant her son is, how athletic her daughter is and how great, perfect and amazing her...

I'll never cook turkey again. It's too stressful having one food that is the focal point of one meal. At the Thanksgiving dinner table, all eyes are on the bird and my once-per-annum self-induced culinary panic circles around whether my turkey will be judged as succulent or dry, well-glazed or...

My college-age daughter is home and mentioned that she was thinking about going hombre. Panicked, I thought this meant she was considering something morphological... not exactly the news a mother wants to hear, especially when it would take a lot longer than a weekend to discuss.

I cleared my throat...

So there I was. My hands were weighed down with books... and not the light, fluffy stuff I like to read at the beach. Rather, these were books about algebra, science, quantum mechanics and world history. I was trying to run down the hall to put my books away so...

We have a family tradition of leaving notes for one another on the kitchen table in the morning. Reminders and reprimands range from butter yellow to neon lime Post-its (color dependant on the immediacy of the message), to quick epistles on notepads anchored by a small vase of freshly picked...

Summertime. The hummingbirds are crashing into one another at the feeder. The mosquitoes are ambushing you after sunset and it's hard to tell whether other bites are from nits or gnats. Sun lotion burns your eyes. Your hair is at crackling point when the humidity is high. The cicadas sound...

The other day I got into my car and threw my pocketbook onto the empty passenger seat. The "Fasten Your Seatbelt" alarm sounded and I was momentarily scared out of my wits. Was I living one of those YouTube clips that warn you to always look in the...

The other day I got into my car and threw my pocketbook onto the empty passenger seat. The "Fasten Your Seatbelt" alarm sounded and I was momentarily scared out of my wits. Was I living one of those YouTube clips that warn you to always look in the backseat before...

It was a Friday afternoon and I was closing up for the week. I finished writing the final paragraph of a story, crammed my notes into a spiral notebook, opened my desk drawer, chucked everything in and quickly closed the drawer. There. My desk was spotless.

In a final gesture,...

Blabber mouthing and lip-flapping. It's fodder for scuttlebutty emails, flippant text messages and pernicious phone calls. Gossip makes small towns small-minded, and can strike all ages -- from children's whispering to grownups' idle prattle. Not to mention how gossip can wreak havoc in the office and destroy a sense of...

They look like Bambi. Those adorable, innocent eyes. The quickened quiver of their noses. The pointed poise of their ears. Their perky alertness as if they hear a high-level pitch that just doesn't make its way to human ears. Dear deers ... they are DESTROYING MY GARDEN!

The seasonal cycle...

Whenever one of my mother's sentences begins with "I swear," I take cover and get ready for the diatribe. If I'm in the kitchen, I stop chopping. If I'm in the car, I put my iPhone on speaker. It's just too good to miss.

"I swear kids these days purposefully...

It's May and I'm still wearing black. I'm jealous when I see people in pastels. They've already boxed their corduroys and cashmeres and put cottons front-rack in their closets. Boots are in the attic, and mittens, scarves and gloves are basking in mothballs. Does it matter that I'm late changing...

A wise octogenarian once said, "Don't be possessed by your possessions." Actually she said it last weekend, when she invited me to her new "stuff shop," a spot she had rented for a month to try to make a dent in the dispersal of her long-collected ephemera. She had lived...