Solstice 2022 with my sister’s family. — With my sister’s ashes. With my sister’s lingering presence. Shell Beach on the Sonoma Coast. Some powerful interactions, moments, insights, like this one: My brother-in-law buried his portion of her ashes. Turns out (we realized later) he’s a Virgo — earth sign. My nephew scattered the ashes he held to…

Expanding physical capacity. At my age. I’m going for it. I want to be more functionally fit than ever. Vibrant AF. I’d given up. I had reasons! Reasons why I can’t walk up hills with ease, or swim, or run, or dance fast for more than a minute. I keep my activity level slow and sedate because I get so tuckered out so fast when I exert. Here’s how I did…

You’ve heard the phrase “Consider it done” countless times, in movies and tv, right? In case you haven’t, you can find a ton of “Consider it done” clips online (all kinds: sit-coms, rom-coms, cartoons, and really creepy crimey movies). The delivery can be supportive or sinister, but the intent is…

I’ve found the perfect place to pick blackberries. If you’ve never had the chance to eat a sun-warmed blackberry (and a few dozen of its friends), you’ve missed out on a truly yummy and remarkably delightful set of sensations. You may be wondering what qualifies me to give my blackberry spot 5 out of 5 stars. I’m a pro, yo. I’ve been picking California blackberries for over 20 years. My sister taught me how. …

I let go of a couple sizable things this week. First, I ditched my long-time internet provider. 🥳 I’m gonna be polite(-ish) and try to avoid naming said internet provider (yup, those guys). They were the only game in town for decent-ish speed — they had zero competition. That internet provider had me over a barrel and acted like it. They tripled my forever rate without notice and…

Life keeps taking me to new territory. New heights, new depths, new activity. Seems like the “facts” I sucked down like tic-tacs in my youth are permeable AF. The longer I live the more I see my beliefs for what they are and sometimes even watch them crumble into dust. I started my meandering, bumpy journey as a spiritual seeker in my 20s. Only I wasn’t seeking peace, happiness, or wisdom. Not then, not even close.

Surviving. And thriving. Part of what this first month walking grief’s spiral has shown me — really clearly — is that my sister Barbara is irreplaceable. I’m never going to find another human being to be the friend, listener, confidant, and story holder that my sister was in my life. It’s just not…

And other words about the loss of my sister Barbara. — The “Bite Me” apron. I asked my sister’s kid Alex to take the photo of me in the Bite Me apron, a treasured item that Barbara had forever, the one I’d wear to carve her turkeys, flip her latkes, and then, in her honor, to make this huge matzo brei a couple days after…

I got lucky yesterday. The first thing on my schedule when I got home from this visit with my sister and my family was garden work. My friend and I worked hard for 3 1/2 hours in my garden. …