My holidays were marked by a sofa I couldn’t get rid of and a Christmas tree I accidentally murdered. How were yours? Let’s start with the sofa. I bought a new sofa. The old sofa had to go. There was just one problem. The new sofa was set to arrive on a Saturday. Trash day…

So I was reading this article about the holidays and stress and thinking I’d like to have some normal holiday stress instead of this berserker holiday stress that is solely responsible for the 15.5 Hershey’s Kisses I ate last Saturday. It was only 15.5 because, well, because I like to eat four at a time…

Holiday traditions can be comforting, something to cherish and anticipate. Or they can be dreadful. Take Martha Stewart. She, like most of us, bakes Christmas cookies every year. Cookies bring such joy. And playing salmonella roulette with stolen bites of raw cookie dough? Is there anything more Christmas-y than that? But Martha also goes caroling.…

Under normal circumstances, I need very little prep to go to our cabin. Long ago, I stocked the cabin with necessities, to minimize how much I need to pack. A tour through the cabin will find the kitchen stocked with cookies, the bedroom hosting a romance novel, the bathroom supplied with concealer. ALl these are…

I took to heart those news articles about global supply chain issues affecting Christmas after I was lectured about the tilapia. My parents eat tilapia all the time, so they purchase it by the bag. I mean, by the bag. These are large bags, crammed with four or five tilapia filets. These bags are ten…

Last year, I gave you a list of Thanksgiving activities. That list was heavy on turkeys, light on Pilgrims. That’s because I was rejected by the Pilgrims. Sort of. I’ll tell you the story of my rejection. But first, I’m going to tell you about Harry Truman. Wait! Don’t go! I promise this isn’t a…