Sleep WHERE?

In 2017, 278 W. 113th Street in Harlem, NY went on the market. Built in 1890, the house had been converted into a three-family dwelling with an owner’s duplex on the first two levels and an apartment on each of the two floors above. Although it needed some updates, it still included charming original details….


Face Value

I spent my childhood and teen years in an era where I clearly was not the flavor of the month. Tall, thin blondes with straight hair were in, and I couldn’t claim even one of those attributes. Advertising, TV, and movie imagery hammered home the message that I didn’t measure up to the way girls…


I just celebrated a milestone birthday. I can sum it up in four words: “How did this happen?” I respect birthdays, and I always give myself permission to spend them doing whatever I want. This year, however, pinpointing that was hard. Nothing felt worth the effort. It took a while to realize that what I…


Happy New Year

Happy New Year … although nearly a week-and-a-half after making an entrance, 2023 is already starting to feel a little worn. That shiny newness attached to incoming years has a short shelf life. There are still a few holiday clearance shelves left in stores. They’re fairly plucked over by now, mostly littered with ornaments packed…


Books

October is the month when I finally emerge from the hot, humid stupor of summer. Yes, I’ve heard about September; these days it comes littered with too many family death anniversaries to feel like the fresh start it once was. October is when I can breathe again. To me, “renewal” = “project.” This year I…


William McKinley and Dinosaurs

Here’s what I can tell you about my recent visit to the William McKinley Presidential Library and Museum in Canton, Ohio: I didn’t visit the dinosaur exhibit, but I did see the planetarium. I know. I didn’t connect that stuff with the twenty-fifth president of the United States, either. Every president since Herbert Hoover has…


Extra!

We are so far behind on movies that we should be embarrassed (we aren’t). You’d think we’d have caught up during nearly two years of semi-isolation, but we were too busy watching Friends for the first time. At least this means that there are always “new” titles out there for us to enjoy. This explains…


Hope Springs Eternal

On a scale of one to ten, I rate about a four when it comes to gardening. I garden like someone who was raised by New-York-City parents, which is probably because I was raised by New-York-City parents. While not every gardener is hampered by having parents who hardly ever saw dirt, apparently it had a…


Finding Dimes

I was finding dimes again. This had happened once before, so I knew the drill. At first, it was nothing more than noticing loose change as I went about my day. It took a while to realize that by “change,” I meant dimes (never pennies, nickels, or quarters) and that there was always one single…


Illuminate

I learned a long time ago that I’m not much different from other people. Usually, if I have an idea or reaction, someone else out there has it, too. If I’m experiencing certain emotions, there are likely many others who feel the same way. So, given my mood these days, I suspect that most of…


Subscribe to Jill's Blog!
Enter your email to receive a notification when Jill posts a new article.
icon