When I graduated from college, the only cool places to live were New York City or Los Angeles. NYC or LA. The place defined you. You became the person that lived in that place. I chose NYC. Had a tiny midtown apartment on the third floor of a hypnotist’s office. Worked in the Pan Am building where you were assigned morning start times so that there weren’t too many people on…

My shoes are in the garden. Facing the white hyacinths. But I am not there. I might be under the tousled covers in the bedroom at the end of the hall on the left. Waking to see the girl I was at seventeen. Sitting at the end of the bed. Or I might be in the portico having my morning coffee with my dog. Who…

It’s basically a commitment to celebrating time outdoors. No matter what the forecast. In Norway it is said that there is no bad weather. Just bad clothes. It’s sort of a mantra. But in their language it rhymes and sounds better. And it’s not just Norway. …

Handmade for him by a teacher along the campaign trail. I’m glad he did that. It was cold. There were snow flurries. Plus he’s a Vermont boy. He became a social media sensation in his big, handmade mittens. More than Lady Gaga’s red Schiaparelli. J.Lo’s all-white Chanel. …

My friend got a vaccine. “Don’t tell anybody”, she said. No one wants to hear that you’ve gotten your vaccine. It’s cutthroat out there. We’re all competing against each other. Everyone wants to be first to score an appointment. Or first to the registration line. Or first to find out where the registration line is forming. Dog eat dog. And…

The vaccine is coming. The pandemic will end. But I’m still not done with my quarantine to-do list. And time is getting shorter. I started this list last march. It contains all that one can imagine doing when the world is shut down and you are left to your own devices. With no expectations. …

I hope you will put on your red coat and red mittens and red muffler and walk to town to your favorite store. — The store you love to go to because it has unexpected things. Things you have yet to discover. Things that inspire you. A store you wander through like a personal museum. Mittens from Finland. Local pottery with leather handles. Fuzzy mauve scarves with big stitches. Cards with berries stuck on…

My daughter phones me. It is the first of December. “I couldn’t sleep last night”, she tells me. “I think my body knows what time of year it is.” She is right. I feel it too. You see it in the trees. They are grey now. Wooden totems. Fading into…

Normal. I think we could be friends. She has regular friends…right? She must. She’s a teacher. Was seen grading papers on the campaign bus. Is talking about continuing to work while in the White House. I hope she does that. She might be the first. But really… I was thinking…