We are all set for Santa! Since I like to keep things simple with decorations, not one room is top heavy with stuff. And, my tree has only two ornaments on it. Of course we have more (in boxes in the garage that hasn’t been used in a decade), but that’s not where the spirit of the holiday season is found. Gathering with loved ones is where my greatest joy comes from, whether at our home, or somewhere else. (Our peeps are on their way). Wishing everyone who celebrates Christma

For those who tune into the fading sun a few weeks before the Winter Solstice, those brilliant skies scatter saturated hues across the horizon almost daily, or at least here in the Mid-Atlantic. My usual thinking is that the January skies and sunsets are typically the best in the business, but December 2025 has not disappointed. Depending on where I am in the house when the show starts, I sometimes do a double-take of what I’m seeing due West. And since these brilliant sunset

There is nothing like a cup of hot tea in the morning. I have my favorite, the Wegman’s brand of Black Cinnamon, sitting right next to me as I punch out this blog post on a very cold Maryland December morning (19 degrees - yikes!). But it’s not only on cold mornings I drink this delicious tea, but it’s also every single day, or pretty close to every day - even on those hot summer days! Since I’ve never had a cup of coffee in my life, the tea takes its place. When I travel, I

I know it's been a minute since my last blog about the Holiday Wishes Quilt Raffle, but there was one big priority that's shared below: hint - Baby Boy Bodie! Santa, is That You? Most of our week was spent in Richmond, Virginia, babysitting 20-month-old Bodie. His parents were in Washington, DC, for a couple of days as our son-in-law received an award from his company (Capital One Bank). Bill was there the entire week, holding down the fort, but I had to come home on Thursday

Thank you, Thank you, Thank you to all who participated in the 2025 Holiday Wishes Christmas Quilt! A BIG shout of Congratulations to Mary Jean McCarthy for winning this special quilt for her and her family! Here are the facts: We had 631 names (chances) on the Wheel of Names - Wooohooo! We collectively raised $2200, with Bill and me matching the first $500 - YAY!!! We will donate the money to these organizations: Just Tryan It ,  which provides financial assistance to fami

Hello! I am psyched about this year's raffle quilt and collectively helping a few families like mine during this festive season. However, as I wrote in The Focused Fight: A Childhood Cancer Journey: From Mayhem to Miracles , this time of year was pure mayhem on several occasions. A lot of it had to do with Santa finding Olivia and Ryan while we were hospitalized. I'm hoping that with the funds collected, we will be able to help with outstanding medical bills, a car note or re

Today's birthday with twins Bill and Don Tomoff is that "funny" one in today's vernacular: 67. They are both doing their things in different states, but I'm sure they will be on the horn a few times today, laughing and sharing the usual stuff they talk about daily (they are right now as I type this post). For us here, we celebrated a week ago by going to one of our favorite restaurants in WDC, Founding Farmers, for their delicious brunch. The celebrations included Ryan's Bon

Is it me, or has 2025 rolled by faster then the end of a toilet paper roll? With all the thankfulness this past week, I hope the holiday was spent with loved ones and friends and everyone got to, and home, from their destinations. Hosting 15 people (2 babies) for 48 hours was fast, furious, and super fun 🤩. Not a minute wasted while playing pickleball, being touristy at the Baltimore Aquarium, sipping a beer at the Guinness Brewery, and playing fierce competition in cards an

If you are reading this today, THANK YOU! I’m so grateful to you, my readers, who have stuck around through the good, crazy, and wild musings throughout the year. Here’s wishing you all, a wonderful holiday season staring now. (But wasn’t Halloween the start of it? Or was that the start of the sweets?). To those traveling this weekend and into to December, please be safe on the roads. Give grace and agency to the faster drivers, let them “all” cut in if they want to, you will

My hope for all my readers is to have a fun and safe Thanksgiving holiday weekend! We are hosting 15 loved ones who are traveling to Crofton on Friday. We have an ambitious agenda that involves food, pickleball, sightseeing, and more. Thankfully, I'm thrilled we are hosting, as we've done for almost 29 years. Since we are living away from our families in Ohio, it is always grand to have our gang under our roof, even when Ryan was hospitalized for several years all those years