It's 1955. I'm eight years old and stand, waist deep, in the cool waters of Birch Lake. My swim instructor, Miss Evans, stands next to...

As a child, I learned that watching clouds was a form of entertainment. I acquired this knowledge while riding in a car during my 'young...

So much is written about the importance of letting go and yes, letting go is one way to move forward in life. But holding on has value...

“Love is a fruit in season at all times….” -Mother Teresa- Like plants in a garden, we grow, we blossom and bear fruit. Eventually, we...

My grandmother was a young woman during a time when people were still dying from the 1918 influenza pandemic and smallpox. In her later...

“Anything is possible." "You really believe that?" "It's what the great love stories are about, right? Beating the odds.” ― Richard...

When I was a little girl I assumed, that on my birthday, I would be princess for a day, receive a perfect gift and have my wishes...

May 1990 Work is unusually quiet. I’m out of sorts and don’t know why. I startle when the phone rings. “Barb, you need to call this...

When I wrote about my sister and how important she was in my earlier post, My Sister Marcia, Part I, I couldn’t help but think of...

Most of us have been fortunate enough to be blessed with companions who support us as we walk along our paths. These companions may be...

Winter lasts much longer here in the Northwoods of Wisconsin than it does further south. This gives me a generous amount of time to...

Since retirement, my husband Bill and I have lived in northern Wisconsin for the last nineteen years. Our house, situated next to a small...

Mirrors remind me that I’m aging. Some are kind. Others, not so much. Kind mirrors, bathed with warm light, soften my face and bring out...

“Do not disregard the accumulation of goodness, saying, 'This will come to nothing.' By the gradual falling of raindrops, a jar is...

Cleopatra wore black braided wigs and green eye shadow. Queen Elizabeth I painted her skin white. Marilyn Monroe wore false eyelashes. In...

The “Paint and Sip” class would have been more accurate if it had been labeled, “Copy Someone’s Else’s Painting While You Drink Some...