My blog has migrated to a new host and is being painstakingly reconstructed here. Please bear with me as I iron out wrinkles, hammer out the dents, and apply enough spit and duct tape to hold it all together.— Karen
My grandmother Nini was a flapper and silent film star; at 90 she could still charm the socks off anyone. “If she was around when a date of mine showed up,” my sister Melissa recalls of our long-ago teenage years, “my date would be mesmerized. I’d be like, ‘Come on, let’s get going,’ and he’d…
So this pheasant flies into a pub, smacks headfirst into the wall, stuns itself silly, and falls onto the floor. As Good Samaritan r/CasualUK explained on Reddit , “My husband decided we should try and take it to a more ‘pheasant appropriate’ place in the car … The plan was to wrap the pheasant up…
This morning a podcast host sent me a list of questions we’ll be discussing next week, starting with this one about my move to Seville: “What were some of the most surprising challenges you faced — and what helped you adapt successfully?” My mind instantly filled with a montage of memories — early attempts to…
Ya gotta love AI. Its brainpower is (I checked) 6 billion times as large as mine, and yet this morning, when I was searching for a quote about surprising outcomes, this was the best it could come up with: “The unexpected is the only thing that can surprise you.” Well, duh! My modest human brain…
Right after we married, Rich and I moved to Ohio, bought an old stone house, and adopted Buck. He was a fine figure of a dog but (and I say this lovingly) not an intellectual giant. He was perpetually baffled by half-open doors, never realizing he could push one all the way open with his…
One of the great things about being married to Rich is that even after forty years, the man constantly surprises me. A few days ago, he turned to me out of the blue and said, “I just read an interesting article about how to fold feta cheese.” My jaw dropped in astonishment. “How is that…
Pop quiz: What creature do you see below? OK, now what other creature can you see? Originally printed in a German humor magazine in 1892, this sketch has become a litmus test of mental flexibility. By now you’ve probably noticed it can be viewed as either a rabbit or a duck. (If you’ve identified any…
I love this greeting card but have to admit I’m puzzled; who are you supposed to send it to? A friend or relative who identifies as a psychopath? Your barista, with a note thanking her for not shooting your companion when he actually did order a quad shot, non fat, vanilla soy, extra foam light…
If you were marooned on a desert island, what ten books would you bring along? Besides, obviously, Raft-Building for Dummies, Six Easy Ways to Catch Fish with Your Bare Hands, and How to Send Up a Humongous Smoke Signal Without Setting Fire to the Trees. A surprising number of people — asked this question online…
Our pets are, of course, cherished members of the family, and bringing them with us when we move adds a whole extra layer of excitement. I’ll never forget the sensation Rich caused in the security line at Chicago O’Hare Airport when he revealed his tote bag held live goldfish, swimming around in a plastic water…
CELEBRATING GOOD NEIGHBORS These days I’m writing about Good Neighbors, exploring how the people around me are working to help each other get through these challenging times. My weekly posts appear on Tuesday or Wednesday, depending on my travel and research schedule.
THIS BLOG IS A PROMOTION-FREE ZONE. As my regular readers know, I never get free or discounted goods or services for mentioning anything on this blog (or anywhere else). I only write about things I find interesting and/or useful.
