Happy Anniversary
When I cleaned out my parent’s house, tucked inside their desk was a hidden treasure. A small stack of faded letters tied with a blue ribbon. I recognized my father’s handwriting immediately. My father, the least romantic person I knew, had been so in love with my mother that he wrote her love letters. Growing up I rarely saw them kiss or show any physical display of affection. And yet, my mother kept these letters as a testament to their love. Sometimes love can be silent.
Spring Has Sprung!
We love our backyard. When we moved into our house, it had
an awkward layout and a large dog run. Over the years, little by little, we
have transformed it into our oasis. One of my goals for 2025 was to document the
backyard as the seasons change. Today, being the first day of Spring, welcome
to our house.
When Cassandra and I went on our European vacation, we traveled
to Dingle, Ireland. Several memories stand out. Driving on the left
side of the road for the first time was treacherous and unfortunately, I clipped
the right side of a parked vehicle. I was so upset, but the woman whose car I
hit apologized. That would NEVER happen in America. Kudos. Next, we found an entire field of bunnies hopping merrily along their way. Enchanting.
But there was a downside to our Ireland visit. The horrible eggs we had at the B&B we
stayed at. Disgusting.
My so-called Irish Celebration Meal will be much tastier.
Pretzels and Beer Cheese Dip
Reuben Sandwiches with Vegan Corned beef
Potato Chips and Cabbage Coleslaw
Irish Whiskey Bundt Cake
Beer and Irish Coffee
YUMMY!
Happy Birthday Andy
My younger sister and I have little in common. The one thing
that has always united us is our shared love of music. In our teens we
journeyed to NY to attend the very first Beatles Concert at Shea Stadium. Lots
of screaming and lots of fun. Our most notable music adventure has to be the
Sonny & Cher concert in Philly. The post-concert plan was to meet up with
our older sister and her husband at a random pizza joint. Change of plans. We
heard that Sonny & Cher were going back to their hotel after the concert, so
we decided to see if we
could get their autographs. No luck, so we switched back to the original plan.
Little did we know that a private party was being held at the pizzeria and the
honored guests were…hold on, YES, Sonny & Cher! Score ONE for the Rachman
Sisters. We managed to dine on delicious pizza and best of all, get their autograph’s.
I literally hate Daylight Savings Time. Twice a year my life is turned upside down and it takes me a week to get back into my normal rhythm of life.
I was in 7th grade and my girlfriend Deborah, who lived across the street, was celebrating her birthday. The invitation she sent was a handwritten poem created by her mother and it included both the day and TIME. I rang the doorbell, and her mother opened the door. She looked rather surprised to see me, present in hand, and then she started laughing. Finally, she stopped and said something like, "Guess your mother didn't turn back the clocks." I was an hour early.
Many years ago, I fulfilled my dream of writing a novel. It
wasn’t great by any means, but I was incredible proud that I managed to finish such
a humungous project. I sent it out to just a few agents, not expecting any reply.
But then, lo and behold, miracle of miracles, I got a response. The agent liked
my novel but before she would submit it, she wanted me to have it edited. She
gave me a list of editors she worked with, and with big dreams of my future, I
contacted them. The cost would be a minimum of $1,000. Unfortunately, I was out of work at the
time and didn’t have an extra $1,000 play money floating around. But it wasn’t just the money. My fear was that
if I spent the money and the agent couldn’t sell my novel, I would be a double
failure.
So, after much soul searching, I passed on hiring an editor.
I never sent the manuscript out to another agent and over the years lost my one
last copy. I guess you know what my biggest regret in life is, right? That I
didn’t have faith in me. Don’t ever make
the same mistake!!
