September 25th, 2025 | Books for Children, Family, Friends, General, Holidays
I have been giving books to the young ones in my circle since the late 1970s. Around that time my sister adopted a two-year-old girl. A brother fathered his first son. The older child of an English friend appeared on the auspicious date of April 1, 1977. Keeping Track...
May 4th, 2025 | Changes, Family, Genealogy, General, Health, Loss
Until late on May 2, our sibling group was always symmetrical. There were two girls and two boys. The girls were the elder, the boys were the younger. The Change On May 1, 2025—or was it April 30?—the boy who lived sometimes on his boat and relied on the hospitality...
December 27th, 2024 | Architecture and Design, Boston, Changes, Family, Friends, General, Holidays, Massachusetts, Pets
A new home, a new address, a new life. New Roommate Ping. She arrived at the Costco parking lot in Newington CT from Texas, late at night on August 23. The cheek swab says she is 67.3% Shih Tzu, 19.5% Lhasa Apso, and 13.2% small Poodle. A “shapsoodle.” I named her for...
October 18th, 2024 | Family, Genealogy, General, Popular Culture
I’ve been called a witch often enough. Most of the time, I think that meant the word that started with a “b,” although the term chosen makes no difference to me or my sense of self-esteem. It certainly made a difference my 7th great-grand-dad Samuel Wardwell...
August 26th, 2024 | Books for Children, Boston, Family, General, Pets, Shopping
One of my criteria in looking for a condo in Boston was that they building be “pet friendly.” I didn’t have a pet, but I might want one. Now I do have a pet, and her name is “Ping.” The Story About Ping Yes, she is the namesake of Ping in The Story About Ping by...
May 6th, 2024 | Boston, Changes, Family, General, Time Passes
A young cousin Helen paid me a supreme compliment this past January as I laid out my plans for moving from Aberdeen, Maryland, to Boston, Massachusetts. She was thrilled to hear that we’d be, for all intents and purposes, neighbors and she described me as “the fun...