Anyone who knows me knows that I love to read. My husband will tell you that I can easily go through, at least, one book per week. I also used to love going to the library and bookstores. There were certain bookstores, especially small used bookstores, where I used to be able to spend hours.

One of my favorite movies as a child is on TV every year around this time, Babes in Toyland, or as it is also titled The March of the Wooden Soldiers.  It was just on again the other day.  In this Laurel and Hardy film from the 1930's the hapless Stan figures out that they can use the 6 foot tall wooden soldiers to fight the evil Silas Barnabas and his Bogeymen who had come to attack the village.   As Stan and Ollie push the black buttons on each of the wooden soldiers, they all c

Hovercraft have been around for decades but they've always looked like they were bathtubs or those small kiddie pools with a big fan.   Well, here comes Mercier-Jones from Chicago with a really cool looking vehicle. This will give new meaning to "blowing into town." Imagine jumping in, whirring it up and floating down the highway. Now I won't have to replace my tires every 45,000 miles although parking could be a bit trying. Unless...you could float down into a spot.  

When I was a young lawyer I suffered badly from holiday blues. As I've matured such year end blues have ebbed. I cannot explain why I had them or how and why they have eroded. What I do know is that 2013 was a challenging, successful and happy year and that 2014 portends as well.I want to wish all of my readers (and my numerous loyal commenters) an early "Happy New Year" and look forward to more of the same in the coming year!

  Rocking chairs belong in baby nurseries. I hadn't given this much thought until last weekend when we were baby-sitting for our grandson Jackson and he needed to take a nap. It wouldn't have happened without the rocking chair in his room. As I sat holding Jackson and rocked, I was soothed with memories of rocking my children in the rocking chairs in their bedrooms so many years ago.

It is something I've never experienced before.  I am a problem solver.  When something bothers me, I obsess on it.  I devour it like a starved lion until it is resolved.  But I have never experienced grieving before.

Every year, at the end of the year, most magazines and newspapers start publishing lists. These lists have included the top earners for the year, the most googled people for the year, top news stories of the year, best movies of the year, etc.