25 years ago today I held a morphine suppository in my mother’s body for 5 minutes, waiting for it to dissolve. My mother, Mary, died later that day, wheezing and incoherent, after her long bout with cancer. 21 years ago today I gave birth to a beautiful baby girl. We named her Marjorie Mae. 21 [...]

Yesterday the world lost Michele. I weep. Not because she and I were close friends. I barely knew her. I weep because I understand. I’ve been there, more or less, on both sides of cancer. We met, a dozen or so years ago, when our sons started soccer. Nothing memorable, just parents showing up at [...]

Happy 2010 to Everyone! I’ve just returned from a week of vacation with my family and dear friends in Tahoe. The quartet of masked figures below is me (on right) with my children atop Heavenly. My husband, poor Jim, had severe sciatica and was unable to ski/board with us. :( Nonetheless, we had a wonderful [...]

It’s holiday time again and many of us are in entertainment conundrum. What to do for holiday party entertainment? If you’re local to the Portland Metro area, may I make a suggestion? Book the Tualatin High School Crimsonnaires! They’re awesome—especially in less formal settings, as banquet halls and private homes. Over the years, I’ve been [...]

Just got home from the annual smash fest. Ouch! Good news–1 year further from cancer and 1 year closer to old age. Bring on the wrinkles! Turns out that today my hospital was hosting a Town Hall discussion over Obama’s health care reform initiative. If you’ve been paying attention to the news, you’ll know that [...]

It’s time to introduce my favorite vegetable…fennel, or finocchio (in Italian). This little gem is wonderful raw or cooked. It’s a great compliment to fish or chicken. My quick and easy salad prep of solo fennel is to slice thinly and toss with a simple vinaigrette of white balsamic vinegar, extra-virgin olive oil, salt & [...]

Back in the day of diapers and playdates, I had a vision of the future that included more “me” time, more “me & husband” time, and considerably less “me, me, me” time. (The “me, me, mes” being our son and 2 daughters.) I was naive. Sure, they dress themselves, feed themselves, and even do their [...]

Members of the Tualatin High School Choir(s)! Yes, yes, I know—all three of mine are or have been members. So, yeah—they’re my favorites! But I really enjoy their friends, too! (Many of them are regular guests at our dinner table.) They’re amusing amazing, talented & hard-working. And they’ve been invited to perform at Carnegie Hall—yes, [...]