The Whirlwind Pineapple

The Whirlwind Pineapple

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Hello my pineappley friends, It’s been a minute since we’ve had a chatty, catch-up sort of post, hasn’t it? I blinked and November was here, the most wonderful time of the year (sorry Andy Williams, but I’m right.), with the dry leaves skittering across the pavement, the nor’easters popping up out of nowhere and raining straight into my shoes and breaking my wonderful wind-proof umbrella, the trees turning almost garishly bright colors, and the radiators once again rattling away and…

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A Slip of a Slip

A Slip of a Slip

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Dear friend, I was just utterly charmed by a tiny glimpse of a white slip on the train and I thought you might understand. I was traveling home late at night from a work event, a bit damp from the gusty rain outside, when an old lady entered the train car and sat directly across from me- well, not really old, probably only 60 or so, but she looked like life hadn’t given her many roses. You know those people…

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5 Games To Play On the Subway

5 Games To Play On the Subway

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Now that the world has somewhat opened up, I once again find myself with long stretches on the train, casting about for ways to amuse myself. Although I have a trusty little office at home and don’t have daily commutes to work, I do have frequent hours on the train to church and back, as well as to other social events, and since I don’t always manage to have a book at my fingertips (sometimes I run out of mass…

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Thoughts on Thirty

Thoughts on Thirty

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There isn’t much to make you reevaluate all your choices and accomplishments and realize how very little you’ve done yet with your life like hitting another decade. From the wisdom of my upper twenties I scoffed at the thought of minding this birthday, but when it came around the bend, I found myself quailing with the best of them. It’s hard not to, when the next step is middle age and you haven’t yet reached many of the measures of success which culture holds up for you. 

9 Steps to Becoming a Real New Yorker

9 Steps to Becoming a Real New Yorker

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Before I moved here, when I spent many free hours devouring all the NYC information I could find, I often came across articles discussing how long you had to live here to actually count as a real New Yorker, or just what had to happen to you as a sort of christening before you could claim the title. Obviously, all these opinions are subjective, but ever a fan of lists, I have my own theories- my own sort of mental…

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Reasons You Should Not Live in New York City

Reasons You Should Not Live in New York City

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I know NYC is not everyone’s cup of tea. When I moved here a few years ago, plenty of people made that very clear by their incredulous comments or glances, but frankly, I’m glad it’s that way. Obviously the whole world cannot live in one place, so it’s just as well that not everyone wants to, even if I feel ever so lucky I get to be here. But since I am nothing if not helpful, if you are one…

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Together Again

Together Again

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Sometimes, there are no words. That’s how it feels when I consider Sunday, our first service back at church after sixteen months apart. Was it was only a dream, or was it the last sixteen months that were a bad dream from which I suddenly awoke? I find it a little hard to tell. If you’ve ever read “A Wrinkle In Time”, you might recall that in it, Madeleine L’Engle describes time as a fabric that can be wrinkled so…

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Small Town Summer Snapshots

Small Town Summer Snapshots

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I drive home from the church picnic at sunset, my arms slowly growing more strawberry-hued from my earlier game of croquet in the sun. The grass was far too long to play properly, but that didn’t stop us from having a jolly good game, filled with much good-natured ribbing. The burgers and meadow tea were sublime, and I found the potato salad filled with pickles that I like best on the potluck food line. After the meal, I watched the…

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2020 Reading Recap

2020 Reading Recap

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Hello there, how have you been? It’s been such a long time since we’ve chatted about books, so let’s fix that. I enjoy doing a recap of what I’ve been reading every year, rejoicing over my favorites and occasionally warning you of lemons so you can avoid them if you wish. I didn’t get around to doing this for 2020, for several reasons. First- I’ve had a year long case of the worst writer’s block. I heard recently that perhaps…

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Two Years Down, Twenty to Go

Two Years Down, Twenty to Go

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I feel uncertain which day I should celebrate my anniversary since it took me two days to move, but around two years ago, on the 8th and the 9th of March, I swam my way out of my old life and into this crazy adventure. And I really mean swam- it was a very soggy occasion as I said farewell to everyone I knew and set out for New York City. I remember that moment as if it was last…

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Coffee Shops and Train Crazies

Coffee Shops and Train Crazies

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Hello fellow citizens of this planet, and greetings from cold and snowy Queens. How have you been? Are the winter blues hitting you now that it’s February, which is arguably the longest month of the year? I sit amid my piles of slushy snow, looking at pictures of my friends in Florida, and toasting my feet on my radiator as I sift through bankruptcy claims for errors day after day. The toasting is necessary, because I’ve discovered recently that I…

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Five Songs I’ve Been Enjoying

Five Songs I’ve Been Enjoying

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One. The Bullfrog Opera, by The Okee Dokee Brothers. This one is just nonsensical enough to tickle my fancy. I mean, “We’ve got Broadway tickets to see a line of crickets, and the loons are playing Carnegie Hall…” Yes please. Not to mention, the woodwind woven through out is da bomb. Two.  Be Kind to Yourself, by Andrew Peterson. For a long time, I didn’t get the Andrew Peterson fans. My friends kept going on about how much they loved…

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