Tag: Pet Peeves
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Five Things That are Smarter Than Me
I consider myself a reasonably intelligent person. I can balance my checkbook, hard boil an egg, and navigate using real maps. I’m teachable and love to learn new things. I can re-light the pilot on the water heater and reset the smoke alarm when the ribs sit too long under the broiler. I do logic…
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The Great Zucchini Debate
Some Families Debate Politics, We Argue Over Vegetables “Look at the size of this one!” Many summer memories on my in-laws’ farm featured Dad emerging triumphant from the garden, holding an enormous zucchini aloft. Mom, on the porch, admired and exclaimed over the gigantic harvest, declaring each time that surely this is the biggest zucchini…
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Cats, Mice and Olympic Ambition
Catching Mice Should Be an Olympic Sport I’ve never been a runner. But yell, “Jack’s got a mouse!” and watch me take off like an Olympic sprinter after the starting gun. Unlike my Olympic counterparts, my 50-yard dash doesn’t end when I cross the finish line. It ends when I fling open the back door…
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A Conundrum in My Kitchen
A full fridge means leftovers are at critical mass There’s a conundrum in my kitchen. While most people grocery shop when their refrigerator is empty, I have to shop when mine is full. It took me awhile to identify the reason. In my house, a full fridge does not mean there are food choices in…
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Sweating the Small Stuff
Sometimes it’s the little things that get you I’ve always thought of myself as a flexible person, one who goes with the flow, and doesn’t sweat the small stuff. Apparently, I am delusional. Because some small stuff really does make me sweat. Here’s the list of my top five: #1 – Unmade beds With…
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Selfies Are Not in My Skill Set
I Cannot Take a Decent Selfie if My Life Depended on It I can type 60+ words per minute and use an adding machine without looking at the keys. I do jigsaw puzzles, sew and embroider. Fluting a piecrust or stuffing a cannoli is well within my skill set. But I cannot take a decent…
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Platitudes Top the List of Pet Peeves
Everybody has pet peeves. As a writer, banal platitudes top my list. After chatting about our busy schedules, an acquaintance recently admonished me to “stop and smell the roses.” While I appreciated the sentiment, deep in my wordsmith’s soul I couldn’t help cringing at that unimaginative cliché. The English language holds a wealth of…