You may already know that I have an eclectic taste in music, as I have mentioned being a fan of Nat King Cole, Aaron Copland, and Beethoven.  I bet you had no idea that I was a Joni Mitchell fan.  I didn’t grow up as a fan, I never owned one of her albums, and I never...

I’m exhausted.  Are you?  We seem to wait forever for summer weather so we can really enjoy what it means to live here in Northern Michigan (this year, we seemed to wait a bit too long).  Once summer is upon us, we tend to pack everything into our days that we dreamed...

What would you do with an extra hour?  I know that’s a silly question, because there is no such thing as an extra hour (except for that glorious extra hour when we turn our clocks back in the fall).  What I am asking is; if you had a portion of your day that was...

In no way do I consider myself an expert or even qualified to be an authority on dementia, but I am offering these suggestions from the experience that I have attained and the books that I have read.  I am not hung up on the technical diagnosis, and I would suggest...

My first experience with dementia was with my Romanian grandfather 30 years ago.  I was especially close to him because we shared the same birth date (different years).  He was 84, living in a nursing home.  Joan and I would sneak garlic bologna to him because his...

I am not a very handy person when it comes to most mechanical problems I face around the house; much to Joan’s chagrin.  Of course, I make up for this deficiency with my charm and rapier style wit.  I can fix a broken toilet, replace gaskets on a faucet, handle simple...

I have often joked about looking forward to the day when I can yell at the kids to get off my lawn and grumble in low, unintelligible tones.  To me it seems… so liberating. On a recent trip to have coffee with a business associate at a fancy pants coffee shop, I felt...

The Markets Tariff trouble. Just two weeks ago, the U.S. government lifted tariffs on Mexico and Canada. So, it was a surprise last week when President Trump tweeted the United States would impose an escalating tariff on all goods imported from Mexico until the flow...

Most people have a level in mind of how much money should be on hand in savings or checking so they feel comfortable.  This cushion can vary widely from person to person based on their own life experience and what feels right.  As a practical matter, I believe that 3...

I grew up in a home with music, but I have come to learn that not all homes had music.  Some homes had TV noise in the background, others had animal noises, and others had children yelling and laughing.  It is natural for me to hear music in our home now and I love...