Musings of a Shore Life

  • The Benefits of a Staycation with (or without) Friends

    The Benefits of a Staycation with (or without) Friends

    Staycation – a vacation spent at home or nearby.  I could take a staycation anytime. All I need to do is clear my calendar for a day, a couple of days, or longer. But I don’t. Day by day passes, and my daily routine overshadows ideas to investigate a temporary museum exhibit, explore a park,…

  • I Am a World-class Procrastinator

    I Am a World-class Procrastinator

    I have learned many skills over the years, a lot useful, others not so much, and many forgotten. For instance my ability to solve math equations and speak a foreign language disappeared. Those particular brain cells are dormant, and resurrecting them a chore more difficult than I wish to tackle.  One skill often used and…

  • Detour to a Bygone Era 

    Detour to a Bygone Era 

    Mom lives on Long Island, New York, a place populated with too many people, cars, traffic lights, paved roads, parking lots…I live in New Jersey. Hub and I drive the Garden State Parkway north, cross the Outerbridge Crossing (a bridge) to Staten Island, navigate the Verrazano Bridge into Brooklyn, meander on the Belt Parkway to…

  • Best Of Boomers Labor Day Edition

    Best Of Boomers Labor Day Edition

    It is hard to believe summer is almost over. Not according to the calendar, but in the daily lives of folks I know. Grandkids head back to school, vacations end, summer residents pack up and move on. Hours of daylight contract, and oppressive humidity and 90-degree temperatures vanish.  The holiday weekend ushered in perfect transitional…

  • The Demise of the Passenger Pigeon

    The Demise of the Passenger Pigeon

    I doubt anyone or anything – newspapers, magazines, TV news shows, or tweets – will commemorate the landmark event of September 1, 1914. No drum roll, no banners, just a sad asterisk in history. On September 1, 1914, Martha, believed to be the world’s last passenger pigeon, died. The passenger pigeon numbered in the billions…

  • Summer’s Curtain Falls and I Make My Fall To-do List

    Summer’s Curtain Falls and I Make My Fall To-do List

    Summer’s lease hath all too short a date. – William Shakespeare The curtain closes on summer as fall creeps in. Hot weather still prevails, but evenings grow cooler, humidity drops, and darkness arrives before I am ready to move inside. There are too many things I want to do before it is too late seasonally… I…

  • Musings on Other People Moving

    Musings on Other People Moving

    My neighbor is moving. She knocked on our door one day, came in for a few minutes of small talk and said, “I want you to know before I do anything. I’m selling my house.” We knew this day would come. Her brother moved to a town 50 miles away, and she often drives to…

  • A Proud Cat Lady Confesses

    A Proud Cat Lady Confesses

    I grew up a cat girl.  I don’t remember NOT having a cat roam around my house. Cats birthed kittens and my family often kept one or two of the offspring. Our cats ran free outside, never confined indoors. Black was the most prevalent color, Midnight an example of an appropriate name for one of…

  • Musings on the Transformations Around Me

    Musings on the Transformations Around Me

    Like life, my neighborhood changes over time. Homes transfer ownership. New people spend weeks and sometimes months renovating, redecorating, refurbishing. Or they tear down a fine old home – one that needs updating, but has a warmness and positive vibe not easily duplicated – and build a larger building, a three or four-story house that…

  • Musings on Becoming Irrelevant 

    Musings on Becoming Irrelevant 

    My Florida family rented a home in my resort community for two weeks. Teenagers now, the grandkids’ are immersed in their generational lifestyle. Friends rule. Family time is enjoyed until teen goings-on beckon. Their parents’ lifestyle is not a lot different than their kids. With friends who live in the Northeast, a shore vacation offers…

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