With the publication of “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying-up, the Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing,” the process of decluttering is a topic that there has recently been a lot of interest in the media. One of the author’s basic premises is only keep an object if, when holding it, it brings you “joy.” In reading the reviews and …
After a long labor that started yesterday morning, our third little grandchild was born at 5 am this morning. Little baby Murray Bernstein (yes, Murray) entered the world. Congratulations Josh and Lisa, well done! We are anxiously awaiting the word to come to the hospital and meet this little boy. Nothing much else to write about today. Life is …
A 40-year-old woman, from Sonnino, Italy is being taken to court by her husband. But that's not the unusual part. What really raised my eyebrows is that her trip to the justice system is a result of her not doing enough housewok. Her husband claims that her management of household chores is of a low standard and it has led to the “mistreatment of …
My name is Charcoal and I am a 3 year old female 13 pound cross between a poodle and a Schnauzer aka Schnoodle. One of my many assets is that I'm hyperallegenic and that's why I landed with Joanne and Fred Klein. We coexist and get along well and that's why I agreed to submit to the following interview with Fred. Q. What is your favorite activi …
Do you take a camera on vacation? We are packing for a trip to Hawaii. Beautiful scenery. At the last moment, we considered whether to pack a camera. We have a digital SLR with three different lenses and a compact digital point and shoot -- both remnants from a time gone by when the camera in our cell phone was less sophisticated. I dust …
A national survey by the Washington Post and Kaiser Family Foundation finds 6 in 10 women and one-third of men call themselves a feminist or strong feminist, with roughly 7 in 10 of each saying the movement is empowering. Yet over 4 in 10 Americans see the movement as angry, and a similar portion say it unfairly blames men for women's challenges. Y …
I heard the following story. As the sun came up last Sunday, nearly three feet of snow blanketed the development. Cars up and down the block needed to be found and uncovered. An elderly couple’s neighbors decided to take on the job of uncovering the couple’s cars. This good deed had become somewhat of a tradition in the development over the l …
I thought the following would be a good follow-up to Cayce’s blog from last week. The word “feminist” has been tossed around my house a lot lately. My family knows that I consider myself a feminist. Recently, at dinner my older daughter told us that she also considers herself a feminist. My younger daughter contributed to the conversation …
We had a formal affair last night, the 100th anniversary of our synogogue. I had my tuxedo dry cleaned, shoes polished, and bow tie pressed. I like tying my own bow tie. It is more authentic than buying one of the already tied ties -- more Bond-ish, though I have no idea if James Bond tied his own ties or not. Anyway, I have been tying my own bow …
From the "I can't believe there's a class in that" is the following true story as reported by Munchies. The University of Kentucky is offering an undergraduate class called "Taco Literacy: Public Advocacy and Mexican Food in the US South," and the professor behind it wants to use tacos as an avenue for students to learn more about how people can …
My father taught that "There's nothing new under the sun"and Dylan recently said that after listening to folk songs repeatedly as a young man that "They gave me the code for everything that's fair game and that everything belongs to everyone". So, based upon the above oracles I conclude that creativity is inspired by what we experience, take in, di …
We were at the local diner. Seated in a booth by the window overlooking the stairs leading up to the front door. A perfect perch to view those coming and going. I noticed the couple as they walked carefully from their car to the stairs. They were elderly. As he reached to hold her hand and help her toward the stairs, it was with the tenderness of t …
I am by no means a hard core political junkie. In fact, I pay little attention to the presidential candidates until maybe 3 months out. I don't watch the news. I don't read the paper. I do get something called "The Skimm" which is a great news summary with a sense of humor, about a page long Monday thru Friday. Highly recommend it. (http://www.thes …
Everyone in my family is a fan, perhaps too big a fan, of the snooze button. Perhaps it is inherited. The problem makes me very aware of potential technological solutions. I saw an alarm clock advertised that was kind of like that toy you bought for your kids when they were first becoming tactile – the one where they had to fit the pieces into …
As I wrote about last week, I am a horrible patient. While I am very conscientious about going for my annual check-ups with my internist and gynecologist as well as my annual mammography, I rarely follow up with anything else. I am sharing my recent experience in the hope that, perhaps, I help someone else. Three years ago, during my annual …
