“Remember the love”: An unexpected mantra kicks off my new year

I was all set to write about how 2014 had been a transformative year for me. The lessons I’ve learned. The newfound practices I’ve cultivated. How I was going to make these things my lifestyle. But then my cat died. It was on the evening of New Year’s Day. My dear friend from high school was visiting me for a week, and we enjoyed a half-day outing of a five-mile […]

A shopping trip tests nerves, then something beautiful happens

Last Saturday I finally acted on a long-held plan to get modular bookcases and other home organization items to transform my living space toward the streamlined, light, airy place I envisioned. This step was earned by sorting through clothes, linens, housewares, and memories to figure out what I could live without and then donating or tossing it. So I drove to the home goods superstore to fulfill my […]