I’m not a collector. Seriously. I don’t collect anything at all. That doesn’t mean I don’t have a lot of stuff, I do. Way more stuff that I need, definitely way more stuff than I use. But I don’t have any collections. I’m rather an anomaly because of it–most people collect something. My dad collected coins. My sister, PJ collects purple glassware and some kind of pink pottery and angels and milk glass. Sister Kate used to collect baskets, but I’m not sure she still does. Husband collects tools, but not because he’s a collector, rather because he uses a lot of different tools. A pal at the lake collects…

…and we are so thrilled with how quickly things are moving along! The painting is done in the living room, hallways, foyer and stairwell. Breakfast nook has the base and paint for the Venetian glaze. The dining room walls are painted and the painters are working on the trim. The kitchen cabinets are all in and primed for paint and the new countertops are set. The hardwood floor is being laid as I type…all in all, we’re looking great! Well, actually, we’re a dusty mess, but the timing looks great. We should be close to done by the end of the week and completely finished by early next week. I’m…

We’ve started the reno work on our downstairs and wowza! This is the first time anyone else has ever done work on our house (outside of people laying floors or carpet), so a whole new experience for Husband and me. Honestly, I’ve never even had to call a repairman for anything—Husband is a genius and if anything breaks, he fixes it. So, other workman in our house pulling up carpet, tearing out cabinets, and doing demo work is disconcerting. However, we’re maintaining our zen, something we agreed to do before we ever started. It also helps to have a great contractor and we do! Tim Edens is a wonder! He’s…

It was a very busy month with an overload of work and a trip to see Grandboy and coming home to revisions and writing. Thus, I do have a couple of things I need to get off my chest. Dear Spring, Where are you? I’ve waited patiently, watched the gardens for green tips of new growth, anticipated going up to open up the cottage and yet, I come home from Son’s house to find snow on the ground! Seriously? Shiveringly, Nan *** Darling Grandboy, Ah, you are the light of Nanny’s life. I loved the week we spent together and how you’ve grown and matured. I love your curiosity and…

About two weeks ago, my dear friend and favorite obsessive/compulsive, Connie, came over and helped me purge and organize (P&O) my clothing. I have to tell you, she was ruthless with my belongings and at first I was hesitant. But I needed some ruthlessness because even though I purge twice a year, I still had way, way too many clothes. Now me having an overload of clothing is a weird phenomenon because basically, I wear yoga pants, tank tops, and hoodies. Seriously. I work at home. So why do I need 6 pairs of dressy slacks, 10 white blouses, and 20 different sweaters? Sometimes, I do wear jeans in the…

I’m baffled. My website guru has done all he can to prevent me from being spammed—you know when some robot trashes your blog with about a hundred comments, selling everything from luggage to t-shirts? It seems when I post more frequently than once a week, I end up coming in to clean out a ton of spam. The good news is all comments have to be approved here, so none of this crap is ever seen by my readers. But geesh, it’s demoralizing to get a note saying “you’ve got 36 new comments,” only to find out I have 5 new comments and 31 spam attempts. So how is it getting…

Dear Orthopedic Surgeon, Okay, I admit, it’s not your fault (even though you are the one who cut my foot open!). You never said this would be a piece o’ cake. I was the one who stupidly assumed I’d be healed and back on my treadmill in two weeks. You’ll be proud of me, though. I’m tolerating more weight on the foot, and my cane and I look quite jaunty when we go out together. Healingly yours, Nan *** Dear Muse, Welcome back! We’ve almost gotten Like Fine Wine finished, and The Music Is You is steaming ahead with revisions. We might just have a new book out by summer!…

This might be a lazy way to blog, but I’ve been thinking lately about places I love and I thought I’d share a few of them with you. These are all places I’ve been, so the pictures are mine. I’d love to hear about places you love, so share, okay? This one is too easy, but honestly, Paris is right at the top of my favorite places list—it was at the top before I ever got to go. Paris didn’t disappoint, it was wondrous! I’d go back in a heartbeat! This is a castle that we stopped at along the way to Killarney in Ireland. So amazing! There are abandoned…