Category Archives: Intentionality

Blogging, Grandparenting, Holidays, Intentionality, Life, Lifestyle, Minnesconsin, Self-Reflection

Intentionality, Illness, the Holidays, and Me

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Hey there! I am officially done with my self-imposed blogging sabbatical. I’ve missed doing this. I’ve missed exchanging thoughts with you all, and I’ve missed reading your blogs. I hope you are all doing well and your Thanksgiving tables were filled with the company of those you love the most, good conversations, and delicious eats.

Now that I’m back to blogging, it feels like an update is in order.

Intentionality

In case you don’t recall, my WOTY (Word of the Year for any non-bloggers reading this) for 2025 was “Intentionality”. I doubt I’ll pick a new word for 2026, which is going to be here before we know it. That’s because it’s such a BIG word. I’m very committed to it still, but I see now that it mustn’t be a commitment limited to merely one calendar year. It’s for life. It requires dedication and lots of practice to even sort of feel like I’m getting it right. More than anything, it’s about being present and in tune with my five senses. It’s also very much about being choosier about where I’m expending my energy, especially the mental variety. That’s why I backed off from blogging for as long as I did. I needed to step away and do some personal excavating to re-engage my creative spirit.

Illness

As a person who has been known to exclaim such things as”I never get sick” and “I take my Emergen-C every morning so my immune system rocks”, coming down with this years version of the flu (yes, I had gotten both my flu and pneumonia shots in October) really threw me for a loop. Mr. NOA caught it first and then gifted it to me overnight. I missed three consecutive days of work as a result, which was truly adding insult to injury, as it just so happened to be my beloved boss’s last week of employment at our non-profit. So, big, huge, fat bummer. Together, Mr. NOA nursed ourselves slowly back to health while binge-watching The American Revolution series by Ken Burns on PBS, along with “The Beast in Me” (What. A. Tale.) on Netflix. I highly recommend them both.

Holidays

It’s December 1st, so Christmas plans are getting underway here in Minnesconsin. As always, I’m looking forward this season. As always, I’m aiming to keep things as simple as possible and to focus on the joy in the preparations. Wish me luck in avoiding the holiday “overwhelm”. Having a new baby in our midst surely adds a magical touch. Our newest grandson will be 6 months old at Christmas, and I’m certain that seeing his reaction to the lights, music, smells, and tastes (he will likely be starting to eat little bits of regular food by then) of the season will be the biggest highlight for me.

And now, for a song. I’m going to pick one that I’ve only recently come to realize that I absolutely adore. It’s uplifting and just so lovely. It really aligns with my spirit at this moment. Enjoy-and see you soon, friends!

Art, Arts and Crafts, Blogging, Creative Writing, GenX, Humor, Imagination, Intentionality, Mindset, Time

Do You Need Time?

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This was the question posed by the WordPress wizards in a recent daily prompt that I didn’t respond to.

I resisted the urge, until now, to provide my response to this question.

Which, of course, was “Duh!”

This, folks, could be looked at as a dumb question or it can be looked at as a question which was in dire need of context. Or, it’s a question that stoners ask each other when their high is ratcheting up and they’re lying in the grass next to each other, waxing philosophical about it.

The argument I make here is that it’s a foregone conclusion that I, along with every other human being on Planet Earth, needs time. I think the far more pressing question for us all, is if we had the time we wanted to have, what would we do with it?

True confession from the era in which I was working full-time and raising two young kids with Mr. NOA: I would sometimes fantasize as I was driving to and fro during my workday that I’d get in an accident. Ironically, I struggle with driving anxiety, but when it was just me and the open road, the fantasy would come through, completely unbidden. The car accident I’d have would not be a major one, mind you. Just enough to put me out of commission for say, a week. A week to recover. To physically and mentally rest. To not be a responsible adult for a bit. To read books and flip through magazines. To give myself a manicure. Stuff like that. To re-charge and return back to my normal routine refreshed. As this was a fantasy, I didn’t have to consider that I might be in pain or completely immobile and unable to care for myself physically.

It’s been years and years since this fantasy has made an appearance.

Yet, I have a rather long list of things I want to do rattling around in my head if I had more time. We all do, right? I think the trick is to accept that there literally isn’t enough time in the world to do every last one of these things. To find peace with it. I believe it’s really a matter of making time for doing the things that light us up the most. The things that bring us joy and positive energy. To be intentional about it.

Writing is that thing for me. Well, the biggest one anyway. I’ve been doing a lot more of it via The Artist’s Way workbook, though not for this blog. The blog has fallen by the wayside, but that’s ok. After 8 years doing this, I’m still into it, but I know that taking a sabbatical from it was most certainly not the end of the world.

Back to what I’d do if a magic “Time Fairy” granted me a boatload of time?

A short list:

  • Learn how to play my ukulele
  • Crafting (you would not believe how many Facebook reels I have saved of various creatives showing me how to make the cutest holiday crafts)
  • Treasure hunts at local thrift stores
  • Join a book club

How about you? What would you do if time was more plentiful in your life?

Now for a song by the spectacular Cindy Lauper, who just so happened to be inducted (about time LOL!) into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last weekend. This makes my Gen X heart so happy!

Art, Blogging, Creative Pursuits, Gratitude, Intentionality, Self Improvement

Unplugging and Opening Up

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I unplugged last week, for the entire week. I rejected the chatter outside of myself by not checking the news on my laptop in the mornings and throughout the day on my phone. By not scrolling social media during commercial breaks on the t.v. By not reading my latest book of choice at night before bed. And it was revelatory. I found a sense of peace and calm within myself that led me to be more present in my life.

The reason for this “unplugging”, my friends, is that it was “reading deprivation” week for the Artist’s Way course I started earlier this month.

I apologize to any of you who have not yet done Julia Cameron’s “The Artist’s Way”, as I recognize that I just shared a spoiler. So just get it out of your head if you can while I wax on for a bit more about this experience I am having.

I’d been quasi-familiar with “The Artist’s Way”, thinking to myself that “someday” I’d actually do it. Well, it just so happened that one day last month, I saw an upcoming “Artist’s Way” online course, hosted by a blogger/creative I’ve followed and admired for several years. In one impulsive moment, I signed myself up for it, and promptly ordered the book online.

I’m hesitant to get into the details of my experience thus far with this creative project, because I, for better or worse, am wary of jinxing myself. I prefer the notion, shared with me by a former co-worker, which is “under-promise but over-deliver”. Writing this out loud, in the open, feels scary to me. But it’s the truth, Ruth.

I can say for certain that I will be repeating “The Artists Way” again, and possibly again, and again and again, in the future. It’s given me the permission I didn’t realize I needed to hyperfocus on my creative spirit. As I work through each chapter and the accompanying exercises, I gain more clarity and focus. It’s lit a fire within me and I’m grateful for that.

This is why I’m keeping this blog post short and sweet. I just want you all to know that I’m still here, still in the “game” of blogging, but making way for my creative spirit to more fully blossom via “The Artists Way”. It’s simply a bigger priority for me right now, and for that reason, the frequency of my blog posts will likely continue to be relatively low.

But you never know. My arms are wide open to the creative spirit now, so I may surprise you (and myself) by jumping on here and sharing, lamenting, and/or pontificating more frequently.

Big Important Question for you all:

Have you participated in “The Artists Way”? If so, what were your lasting impressions of the experience? Your takeaways?

Please enjoy this beautiful ballad by Sarah McClachlan, the woman behind “Lillith Fair”, which I attended with my bestie and our two husbands in 1998 (or 1999?). I recently watched the documentary about “Lillith Fair” on Netflix and this song hasn’t escaped my brain since.

But first, a pic of the event that I just found:

Fun, Humor, Intentionality, Joy, Playfulness

8 Bits of Joy

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Early on in 2025, I published a blog post about cultivating joy. I maintain this is a worthy pursuit for me AND for you. This, combined with a blogger I’ve followed for years, who, earlier this summer, published a post sharing pictures of herself in joyful moments, leads me to want to share the things that have been providing me with joy during these last gasps of summertime.

A recent picture of me in a moment of joy at the local Rutabaga Festival!

I didn’t catch his name, but one can assume it was “Rudy”, right?!

Please do me a solid and share in the comments what is bringing joy into your life right now. I think in these times, focusing on and sharing our joys could be quite beneficial, don’t you agree?

Off I go:

  1. The charcuterie board-making class that my SIL and I participated in back in July. This brought together three things I love: creative self-expression, food, and quality time with my slightly younger sister. Here’s what I created that night:

2. Ilena Tovia, who creates video content on Facebook (and no doubt other social media outlets) of herself cooking in her kitchen. I think she can best be described as “that goofy cooking lady on Facebook”, because she has an authentic goofiness to her and she never fails to crack me up.

3. Feeling uninspired by the offerings on any of the streaming apps we have on our t.v. the other night, I clicked on an episode of “The Great British Baking Show”. After hearing about this show for years, I finally watched it. What an absolute delight! The contestants and judges were kind to each other and clearly having a ball using their creative spirits to come up with often beautiful, edible works of art. I’m not big on reality/competition shows in general, so this surprised me. I think I found my new happy show!

4. At work last month, one of our awesome volunteers randomly called to ask if we all wanted some free sweet corn. He had just picked it. We took him up on his offer, and he arrived within a couple of hours with several bags of the most delicious sweet corn I’d had all summer.

5. When I’m futzing around in the kitchen, I often want to listen to music. Lately, I’ve been telling Google to play the music of the band Lake Street Dive. The main singer, Rachel, has a voice that is just something else. She and her band do a phenomenal job of covering other artists songs as well, bringing their own twist to it. Here’s a prime example:

6. French fries. One of my all-time favorite foods. And I am quite talented at making them at home in my air fryer, if I do say so myself. I wash up two or three Russets, slice them thin-nish, plop them in a mixing bowl, drizzle some good olive oil on them, and season liberally with Penzey’s Florida Seasoned Pepper, and a few shakes of corse sea salt. Let the air fryer do its magic for about 20 minutes, and it’s *chefs kiss* perfection for this french-fry enthusiast.

7. This video I saw online last week. In my opinion, Bohemian Rhapsody is high on the list of “Best Rock Songs Ever”. If you agree and want to experience a bit of joy, I hope you watch it.

8. This song. Do yourself a favor today and take a few minutes to enjoy this video!

My hope is that each one of you reading this today will make time to ponder what is bringing you pure, unadulterated joy!

Adult children, Blogging, Clarity, Dogs, Grandparenting, Intentionality, Lifestyle, Love, Simplicity

Perfect Timing

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Daily writing prompt
What brings you peace?
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Hey, blogger friends, regular friends, and creatives behind the scenes at WordPress 🙂

The timing of this writing prompt is weirdly perfect for me on this calm Tuesday morning here in Minnesconsin.

I haven’t published a blog post in a couple of weeks or so for a million good reasons, none of which are that I haven’t wanted to.

But right now, in this moment, I feel at peace. The house is quiet, the doggies are too (which is liable to change any second now).

The only sound I’m hearing this morning is the soft snoring of the little babe right next to me.

Yes, I’m watching our 6-week-old grandbaby Levi today while his Mommy goes to work (her second day back after maternity leave) and his Daddy attends to some important personal business until later this afternoon.

Watching him is absolutely mesmerizing to me. Those little fluttering eyelids and occasional smiles as he enjoys his sweet baby dreams. The little bit of drool escaping his perfect little rosebud lips. Those soft cheeks that are getting chubbier by the day.

Any thoughts I had upon waking this morning about what needs to get done on my ever-evolving “to-do” list have evaporated. This babe with spit bubbles forming on his lips is all that matters right now, and I’m going to soak up this beautiful peace this morning and let things be.

Blogging, Celebrate, gardening, Granparenting, Gratitude, Intentionality, Joy, Lifestyle, Minnesconsin, Motherhood, Simplicity

I Used To Do This Thing

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Specifically, on this blog. When it was younger.

It was a personal life update sorta deal that I would do periodically. I leaned in on words like “current” (which is a state I prefer to live in and write about) and “rocking” or “rolling”.

Anyway, for today, I’m going to just revive that if you please.

Thanks to the support of Mr. NOA, my sister, and my daughter’s “bonus moms”, our daughter and future son-in-law’s baby shower went off without a hitch. We had plenty of room in our shed (which I’m now and forever referring to as the “we shed“) to hold the approximately 30 people that came to celebrate the imminent birth of baby Levi.

The food was a hit and there was plenty of it. It warmed my heart to see our daughter’s friends show up to support her. She and her fiance now have virtually everything they need to welcome baby Levi home this summer.

And the best part?

Just look at those happy faces!

How was everyone’s Memorial Day weekend?

Did you do anything fun?

Did you spend it with people you love? Did you go anywhere new?

Yesterday was our 35th wedding anniversary. Not that we didn’t feel this warranted a big, splashy celebration, but we chose to stay home together and have a simple weekend. As today is my regular day off from work, and yesterday was a paid holiday for us, we’re on day 4 of this little “staycation” here in Minnesconsin.

It’s been sweet.

The kids all came over yesterday afternoon and we had a little picnic lunch and a ride on the pontoon. Mr. NOA wore his “Call Me Captoon” t-shirt for the event, which I loved. Our 11-year-old grandson caught a fish (not quite a keeper, unlike this kid) using a bit from the cherries I had packed in one of the coolers.

Mr. NOA and I, earlier in the weekend, drove over to one of our favorite stores for supplies we needed to start giving our yard and gardens some love. If you’re from the Upper Midwest like we are, you’ll know the name of the place by these words “Save Big Money at….”.

As the two of us are on a mission this summer to intentionally invest in and nurture the land we live on, we bought rose bushes, multiple bags of mulch, landscaping cloth, and blueberry bushes. Thankfully, we’ll get an 11% rebate! #iykyk.

Then we got to work.

Rose bushes were planted on either side of the garage door. Grass seed was sprinkled on some bare patches in the yard. Landscaping cloth was laid down, with mulch placed on top and then evened out. Blueberry bushes were planted in a special spot where I can see them from my kitchen window (a feature my dear father-in-law wisely noted three years ago, when we were house-hunting here in Minnesconsin, that I would personally most appreciate in any house we bought ).

So, as cheesy as it may sound, today I say “Life is Good”.

And because online this morning I read a beautifully written, heartfelt story written by the artist Michael Franti. It was about his two moms, who both recently passed away, just 6 weeks apart from each other. One was his adoptive mom, and the other, his birth mom. I’m going to share a song from him because I love his music.

This song, in particular, feels to me like a great choice for ushering in summer.

American Politics, Community, Humor, Intentionality, Lifestyle, Moods, Protests, Rage, Reading, Self-Reflection

Reading and Misreading

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Let me just say my love of shopping at thrift stores will never wane.

This picture is of the books I picked up on my latest trip to our local Goodwill.

I just finished the one at the top of the pile, “The Bookshop on the Corner”. It was an enjoyable read; a sweet yet meandering story of romance and friendship, riddled with phrasings I was unfamiliar with but nonetheless got the gist of. More than anything, though, it made me want to visit Scotland.

Now the question is, which book shall I tear into next? I’m partial to “Soul Pancake”, written by Rainn Wilson (Dwight Schrute from “The Office”).

If these were your books, which one would you read next?

In other news, I have a short story about one of the other things I picked up at Goodwill that day.

Even if I’m on a mission to find used books or home decor when I walk into a thrift store, I will always end up perusing the racks of clothes when I’m there. I just can’t help myself.

So, after finding the books I’m reading next and a few other random items, I mosey on over to those racks. Knowing that soon I’ll be participating in another anti-tRump administration rally/protest, I’m thrilled to see the *perfect* t-shirt for this (and future such) events.

Dear friends: the t-shirt was light blue and my size. Emblazoned with stars, it read “In My Enraged Era”. As a fan of Taylor Swift (who feels a bit too old to refer to themselves as a “Swiftie”, especially given the fact that I can’t tell you which of her albums resonates with me the most), who is, indeed, quite enraged about the state of America under tRump 2.0, it felt like serendipity.

So, Mr. NOA and I attended the rally/protest that Saturday. I, proudly wearing my cool new t-shirt and holding up the sign I made earlier that morning, was feeling pretty sassy. Having just gotten my hair chopped off and highlighted earlier in the week also boosted my sense of righteous indignation.

It was all (in my head) “I’m enraged and I’m not going to take it anymore” vibes that day.

If you look closely at the t-shirt, you’ll know where the rest of this story is going.

Later that evening, just as I was about to get ready for bed, I happened to glance down at my cool new t-shirt.

Ope! I read the shirt wrong!!!

It actually says “In my engaged era”

In hindsight, I realize this likely was a t-shirt made to be purchased by a newly engaged-to-be-married person to wear to their engagement party.

The irony is that I opened my big mouth on this blog back in January and claimed this was my year of “intentionality”. Yet, being intentional is akin to being “engaged”, right?

And I am engaged: in day-to-day life, engaged with blogging, engaged in my workplace, engaged in the relationships I share with the people I love, engaged with my creative spirit, and engaged in good trouble as an American voter. And I endeavor to maintain this engagement.

So, that’s the story of how I went from enraged to engaged.

Or maybe it’s a story of how we all see what we want to see sometimes and not what is actually there.

Or maybe it’s a lesson for me to continue to engage with my enragement as our administration continues their reckless and evil doings to the people of this country I love.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, I’m sharing a Taylor Swift song that best captures the feeling of enragement for me.

Aging, Humor, Intentionality, Lifestyle, Self Improvement

I Feel Bad about my Arms

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Years ago, I started reading a book (possibly a memoir?) by Nora Ephron. When she wrote something to the effect of “I feel bad about my neck”, in that she felt it needed covering because as she’d gotten older the skin started looking crepey. I stopped reading after that line, because I just couldn’t relate. It felt like she was speaking to women “of a certain age” (aka much older than me at that time). And my neck was perfectly fine, thankyouverymuch.

Now I kinda get it. Only for me, it’s about my arms.

I was looking in the mirror a month or so ago and decided I didn’t like the appearance of my upper arms. They are flabby and jiggly and just overall unattractive. As I enjoy wearing sleeveless tops in the summertime, I decided to address this situation with intention.

Now, I’ve always had little upper-arm strength. I remember being one of maybe two or three other kids in middle school who were unable to do that thing where you hang by your arms on a metal bar. I also have hereditary peripheral neuropathy, which causes my limbs to frequently give me that oh-so-fun feeling of pins and needles, in particular when I stay in one position for too long.

I figured the simplest route to reducing my upper arm flab would be to incorporate doing push-ups on my bedroom floor during my regular morning yoga stretching/praying session.

Guess what? I can do up to 27 sit-ups now! Granted they are not the traditional, full-on push-ups; they are the kind of push-ups where I’m on my knees so that it’s only the upper half of my body weight in play. Then, I will do up to 4 actual, real push-ups. Well, real enough. I estimate that I’ve gone from moving 1/2 inch toward the floor to 1 whole inch since I began this routine.

This might seem quite pathetic to you all, especially if you’re the sporty type. But I see it as a baby step toward my goal of having less flabby arms and a stronger core. If I just remain consistent with it, I ought to get results.

That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

For your auditory enjoyment, may I present an uplifting, groovy little tune sung by a one-of-a-kind artist, Ray LaMontagne.

Friendships, GenX, Gratitude, Intentionality, Joy, Lifestyle, Music

Sometimes I Just Want to Yap about Music

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I’m currently obsessed with using my basement rec room more. That is where my turntable is situated and where my rocking chair lives. I have this vision that I will procure more albums along with a vessel to house them in. When I consider which albums I want, I think about the ones I had as a teenager in Northern Minnesota in the 80’s. The ones I played over and over again. The ones I donated long ago with the original turntable I got as a present for my birthday (12th or 13th?) from my parents.

Like these:

Mr. NOA’s best friend from college, Kevin (aka my soul brother) visited us last weekend and brought a large collection of albums. Some, he said, are “for keeps” (Hotel California by the Eagles is one of them) and others, he said, are “on loan”. Because he gave up his turntable years ago and isn’t sure when he’ll get another one. Kevin and his wife will be visiting us again soon and I look forward to spinning some vinyl with him then.

He and I joked the other night that if someday we happen to be in the same nursing home together, we would keep the place hopping with our excellent musical taste and deejaying skills. I reminded him of the fantasy I’ve long had of the two of us collaborating on a podcast about all things music. I think that must be put on my list of retirement goals.

Kevin “gifted” me an eclectic variety of albums. For instance, there’s two copies of the soundtrack for the musical “Hair” and two copies of Neil Young’s “Decade” album. There’s one from Kim Carnes and a couple of Glen Campbell and Kris Kristofferson albums in the mix.

I spent some time this afternoon, given it’s Tuesday and my day off from work, sitting on the floor in the rec room looking through all of these records. I’m mostly looking forward to listening to Tom Petty’s “Southern Accents”, all of the multiple Paul Simon and Simon & Garfunkel albums, the Neil Young albums, and the one from the “Traveling Willburys”. And “Hotel California” by the Eagles without a doubt!

The most remarkable thing to me, beyond my brother sharing his treasure trove of music with me, is the loving care he took with them. There are several albums in this collection where Kevin slipped into the clear sleeves newspaper clippings related to the artist. If there ever was someone who could make a living from being a rock and roll music historian, it’d be Kevin.

Photographic Evidence 🙂

Of course I couldn’t possibly end this post with no music clips, so here’s a favorite of mine from “The Firm” (did you know this band only had two albums and was fronted by none other than Jimmy Page from Led Zeppelin and Paul Rogers from Bad Company?). I love the swampiness of this tune…how about you?

Keep on rocking in the free world, folks (while it’s still free)!

Blogging, Blogging Community, Gratitude, Intentionality, Joy, Positivity, Self-Reflection, SNL fans, Valentine's Day

Blogaversary Number 8

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Saturday, February 8th, 2025 was a snow day for us here in Minnesconsin. We adjusted our plans and hunkered down inside.

As I was sitting at my dining room table, peering out at the snow falling down outside my window, I saw a WordPress notification congratulating me on 8 years of blogging.

With 8 being my guiding number, I can’t pass up the opportunity to share my thoughts about this blog-aversary.

First off, I’m in a different place than I was 8 years ago, physically and mentally. At that time, I was living a more free-wheeling life in Colorado with Mr. NOA. My responsibilities at the time were minimal and I had oodles of free time. Just for fun I decided to start this blog. My aim was to put myself out there and see if I could find like-minded souls who appreciated my ramblings.

Fortunately, I did. And I appreciate every one of you. And I miss the ones who wrote some of the funniest, righteous, and heartfelt writing I’ve ever read. The ones who, in some cases, for no known reason, stopped blogging (on WordPress anyway).

I wrote a lot of sub-par posts. I didn’t have any grand plan when I first started out. I still don’t.

I wrote about wins and losses. I wrote about what I think about the state of the world and the state of my life. I wrote about vacations I took and books I read. I wrote about interactions I had and my dreams for the future.

I shared in this space stories of my personal failures and misadventures and my passion for music and comedy. I wrote about work and I wrote about my friends and family.

I feel good about the fact that I’ve stuck with it.

But I don’t want to keep waxing nostalgic about this milestone today. That’s because I’m grounded in the present and, frankly, I’m boring myself. It only stands to reason that I’m probably boring you right now as well.

So here I go, switching gears.

*Cue the sound of a record being scratched*

8 Good Things To Share

Disclaimer before I proceed: I am in no way forgetting the fact that America is essentially on fire and the American people are suffering and by God I will do whatever it is I can to minimize the damage. But, on this day, I’m leaning into my Pollyanna-ish inclinations.

  1. My work hours have increased. Meaning instead of working M-W-F at my lovely local non-profit, I’m working M-W-Th-F. Tuesdays are all mine! She says greedily. The reality of working more hours, however, is that I’ve inadvertently challenged myself to ramp up the focus on that one little word I declared allegiance to when I was feeling slightly shinier about 2025. That would be “intentionality”. As in, how am I choosing to spend my downtime? Which gets to the heart of the word itself. Note to self: say a prayer of gratitude for the luxury of having downtime to begin with. You’re a lucky broad.

2. SNL 50 Homecoming Concert: the music, the laughs. What a surprising and terrific Valentine’s gift to me and all the other lifelong fans of the show. Kate McKinnon introducing Brandi Carlisle and THEN watching Brandi and her phenomenal band (even the sisters playing their strings!) perform perhaps her best song ever: “The Joke”, made my heart soar.

3. Speaking of Valentine’s gifts, Mr. NOA (for those new to this blog, it’s my nickname for my husband, Mr. None of the Above) surprised me with a dozen red roses and a box of chocolates on Valentine’s Day. Yes, they smell as good as they look. I think this guy is a keeper.

4. Circling back to music: The Fire Aid concert, which was to benefit those who lost their homes in the recent California wildfires. Wow. Blew me away. Do yourself a favor, unless you hate music: find this online and watch it. Highlights? Let me test my memory here. Alanis Morissette traipsing her cool self all over the stage like a boss while reminding us all what a gift her voice is. Sheila E banging her drums. And, well, so much more. I’ll share a video of the best performance at the end of this post.

5. Our grandson turned 11 recently. He celebrated on Saturday with family and three of his friends snow-tubing and eating pizza. His Grandpa and I gave him an itinerary of the overnight we’re taking him on this Spring for his birthday. That is something for us all to look forward to.

I hope you all have something to look forward to these days. Or the motivation and ability to find something to look forward to, however small. It’s important.

6. The sight of Uncle Sam (as in L. Jackson) at Kendrick Lamar’s SuperBowl halftime show last Sunday. I loved the subversiveness of it. Good trouble.

7. The movie “A Real Pain”, on Hulu. It was the right combo, in my view, of sweet and sour. It did not have a convoluted or complicated storyline. It was very well-acted (Kieran Culkin, Jesse Eisenberg…and Jennifer Grey, my fellow Gen Xr’s). It was sweet and sad and funny at the right times. If you like sweet but not saccharine, relatable relationship stories with humor in your movies, you’ll agree this one is a winner.

8. The queen on her throne singing a most meaningful and bittersweet song at the FireAid concert. I’m not a big crier, but this performance brought tears to my eyes.