Monday, April 20, 2026

Confessions (#25)

Tonys Chocolately Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Almond Bar

What can I say? I have a thing for dark chocolate, especially when it has been chilled. Yesterday, I celebrated my birthday, doing the things that I love. But, my actually birthday is today. So, I felt like doing a little something extra for myself, maybe a motivation for my blogging--like a reward, for when I finish doing it. Unfortunately, I mixed up the motivation. It was supposed to be blog post first, chocolate treat second. In the end, it got done. And, now, I am grateful for one of the results, this essay; the other result, not so much.   

Monday, April 13, 2026

A Deep Breath (#31)

A Series of Unfortunate Events: The Netflix Show

Forgive me, dear reader, but this is a long post. It is also only slightly edited. However, it is an opportunity to tell a story. I won't improve unless I practice. 

By the way, I watched the Netflix adaptation of A Series of Unfortunate Events. It all began when my daughter, back when she was in elementary school, shared this video with me. Without having read the book series, or even knowing a single thing about it, I fell in love with the story. That's the power the video had over me. Funny how that works. She had already seen the series, but was willing to watch it again, this time with me. And, I am grateful we did. 

Sunday, April 5, 2026

Meandering Thoughts (#27)

The Secret History by Donna Tartt


Yes, I am back. Six years and two-hundred-and-fifty-five posts later, to this day, this blog began as a way to maintain connections during a pandemic shutdown. I had worked hard and took risks to build those relationships, and I was not going to see them wither away as we navigated those uncertain times. Well, more accurately, my blogging was fueled by a fear that without the near daily face-to-face encounters that preceded the quarantine, those friendships would crumble.

(And something about writing regularly in order to build better habits that would lead toward a published book...)

If those three-times-a-week posts played a part in reinforcing those connections, then  the effort was worth it. I would ask them now, for the sake of this reflection, if my blogging had any effect (it sure has not helped with writing a novel), however, two years ago, things changed again, and uncertainty reigned, though more on a local, personal level, rather than a global scale. I was willing to adapt. Apparently, others were not. And my blogging suffered.

Yet, change is constant, the years are passing, and my time left on this planet is shortening. In a few years, I will be fifty. Since I have no reason to believe that there is anything beyond this “short, brutish” experience, there is no time like the present to start, or restart, as in the case of this blog, my life goals.

Yes, dear reader, I have returned. You can expect at least a weekly post (it will either go up Sunday, or Monday, night—to be decided at a later date). And, if you are lucky, and I become ambitious, there will be one or two in-between, most likely covering my reactions to current events and my forays into various hobbies.

For now, here are some of my recent reflections.