"We must try to contribute joy to the world. That is true no matter what our problems, our health, our circumstances. We must try ...

I begged my parents for dance lessons. Sometimes when I walked with my mother the five blocks to the neighborhood grocery, I'd catch glimpses of ...

"People find life entirely too time-consuming." This aphorism from 20th century poet, Stanislaw J. Lec, captures how many of us feel at times. ...

I laughed when I read about a Dutch entrepreneur attempting to legally change his age in order to enhance his career and dating opportunities. He ...

It was annoying. First, a system upgrade on the platform which houses my two vintage shops was not completed in the announced timeframe. That meant I ...

I felt the malice immediately, arriving without warning via my website, with no return email. Her poisoned-laced words were intended to sting, and ...

I'm not sure when it started, but for me it was the early 1990s. I was living and working on the east coast and remember the day I saw it invade ... 

New Year new you articles, ads, and promotions are ubiquitous, pushing everything from gym memberships and healthy meal-kit delivery, to ...

"Nan-a!" her voice held displeasure. "You wore that last week; why do you wear that t-shirt so much?" "It's my favorite," I told my 7-year-old ...

The first time it was loud scratching that pulled me from a deep sleep. Before I could nudge my husband awake and turn on the lamp, the terrified ...

It was one of those unwanted travel days. Stuck overnight in an interim city after a canceled flight from arctic weather, we were in second-day ...

As I write from an upstairs home office, I can see the weeds, each day appearing more robust than the day before. A variety of them abound -- thick ...

With an unusual ability to change the color of its skin, the chameleon is a lizard-family celebrity. Brown. Green. Blue. Yellow. Red. Black. White. ...

With dark clouds promising afternoon rain, I sat on the edge of a remote dirt road, miles from the historic Holmenkollen ski jump visited that ...

I like January. As wonderful as the holiday season is, there's something about returning to "normal" that January invites. I like its flocked trees ...

3:08 a.m. A tree branch scraping against the roof startled me awake. A half hour later, I was repeating mentally "Be ... Still" with ...

I like cozy. I like cozy mysteries, cozy places, cozy food, cozy days or nights, and cozy people. It struck me the other day how much I like cozy ...

For days or weeks at a time, the microwave works perfectly. Then, for no apparent reason - poof - its buttons don't push, its timer stalls, and the ...

There are all kinds of birthdays. Some fade into memory-fog like any other day; others stand out. Some bring milestones with age related changes, ...

Goblins. Ghosts. Witches. Vampires. Superheroes. Princesses. Pirates ... and more. Purchased costumes or handmade in self-chosen or parental-guided ...

"Really?!" Those near me in the grocery aisle could hardly miss the irritation in my voice. All Iwanted on that Saturday of errands, on my last stop ...

When we built our house it was intended as an investment property. But our crystal ball didn't foresee unexpected family bumps, and we needed to move ...

"None of us get a perfect life," she said at the end of describing years of despair after being widowed as a young military wife with two children ...

"That's my dream," I overheard her telling a friend in the dressing room next to mine. "But it will never happen," she added quietly, "I might as ...

Ours wasn't a big house, but at night my bedroom at the end of the hall seemed a great distance. Plus the windowed door at the foot of my bed ...

Some of us started 2019 with a fresh-start mindset. We made New Year's resolutions with well-intentioned, often passionate, decisions to change or ...

Before Halloween I listed a holiday pin in my online vintage jewelry shop. It's a whimsical moose on rollerblades, clearly hurrying while balancing a ...

Her name is Mallory. At least it is for now. She's the amateur sleuth in my new cozy mystery -- or technically I should say my first cozy ...

It was the first day of spring break for our elementary school-aged granddaughters, occurring on the Friday before their week off. We'd invited them ...

In my local paper there's a column of reader comments. People leave input, "no more than 30 seconds" on a call-in line. Each day a few of these short ...

That year, Christmas was just another task on my to-do list. No magical feelings of the season took hold; no yuletide cheer; no gleeful joy; no ...

A misty rain persisted while I wandered, nearly alone, on the grounds surrounding Blarney Castle, in County Cork, Ireland. Not far away was a tower ...

The "wisdom" on my refrigerator has changed through the years. As a young mother, Dorothy Law Nolte's poem "Children Learn What They Live" was there. Later ...

While living in Montana's Flathead Valley, there were years when significant construction happened in our development. Some days the hammering echoed ...

"We'll help you through it," my 9-year-old granddaughter offered, followed by her 7-year-old sister's "Don't worry, Nana, I'll hold your hand." And ...

I was born in Whitefish, Montana, leaving without choice at age three when my father couldn't find work after the Hungry Horse Dam Project finished. ...

As a teenager, I made most of my money babysitting. At least I did until I started refusing after dark jobs, limiting myself to daylight offers. Why? My ...

With Christmas still two months away, my youngest granddaughter, a first-grader, was helping me decide which products to promote on my online vintage ...

It wasn't my husband's minimized space allocation that elicited my attention; nor the overfilled shelves, stuffed hanging rods, or disappearing floor ...

As the school year ends, I'm reminded of the teachers, in various roles, who positively impacted my life far beyond our encounters. These thoughts ...

A hundred years ago, most physicians in this country didn't have college degrees, most houses didn't have bathtubs, and no woman could vote. Fifty ...

"All I want for Christmas is my two front teeth; my two tooth front teeth; my two front teeth." Remember that song? Those words keep popping into my ...

I was standing in the lobby watching for my husband out the doorway, when I noticed her. She might have been 12 or 13; her sister slightly younger, ...

A few months ago, several "Rosies" were honored at the White House for their home front efforts during World War II. One of them was 91 year old ...

This is my 133rd "In the Scheme of Things" article for Montana Woman magazine, and it got me thinking about why I continue to write these ...

Its pages are tattered, its cover held together by masking tape, and its corner missing where our dog took a bite. Despite these shortcomings, it's a ...

When we lived on the East Coast a few decades back, we saw the musical, Wicked, on Broadway. So recently, when the traveling show came west, ...

I was haunted by the regret I'd feel if I didn't at least try to see my mother. And so, with trepidation and fear of what that deepening pain might ...

In this month of hearts and proclamations of love, something that happened a decade ago, captured like a digital photo with its image held in my ...

While basement cleaning isn't on my fun-to-do-during-time-off list, growing necessity prevailed during a recent staycation. Space was needed to ...

Last week, I ordered an item from the world's largest retailer. While it arrived quickly, its contents were not as expected. The plastic that held ...

My husband gave me a card at the beginning of 2018 that's been standing on my dresser ever since. I see its message when I wake up or wander into the ...

When we arrived, I found three familiar bent heads focused on the remaining pieces spread around the not-yet-finished jigsaw puzzle on the coffee ...

My goal when traveling is to travel light. But less than half the time I achieve that goal. Despite or maybe because of a strong planning tendency ...

Recently I bought a Samsung 8, replacing my Samsung 4 that I purchased new in 2013. I'm not, as one would say, an early adopter. My husband claims me ...

I was born in Montana, left as a toddler, returning in my fifth decade for a second act career as a writer. It was then I first met and worked with ...

Behind glass and in a weathered frame, an embroidered sampler hangs on my office wall. It's dated 1883. On the left side is a simple Christmas tree ...

They said she was the "winning-est coach" ever with 38 winning seasons, and more NCAA college basketball games won than any coach, man or woman. Pat ...

"You'd be so much prettier without those freckles," my high school boyfriend commented as we walked hand-in-hand along a California beach. "Why don't ...

Tired and a bit jet lagged, I headed for the nearest ladies room after getting off the plane. As I was leaving the restroom a little girl held my ...

After a two hour drive from the hotel, my husband and I arrived early morning in a small Wisconsin town on Lake Superior. That's where our excursion ...

On the day before our 40th-wedding anniversary at the beginning of August, on a hill overlooking the Pacific Ocean with a hundred guests there to ...

"Why are you always working?" My mother's voice echoes now in my head. It was a question she frequently raised over the years about my career, ...

Off road in a four-wheel drive, maneuvering a 26 mile, one way, deep and narrow canyon "road" in Death Valley National Park while on vacation, my ...

Tired and emotionally drained after a morning visiting my mother at the skilled nursing facility where she resides, my husband and I stopped back at ...

On a mission to expedite Saturday errands, my husband and I were at a big box store as the doors opened. Ten minutes later we headed toward checkout ...

For several snowy Montana months we looked forward to a winter vacation in Hawaii. A particular thrill for me going there is seeing humpback whales ...

An early morning business trip put me and my husband on a 4:00 a.m. shuttle ride from a Portland, Oregon area hotel to the airport. I'm not a morning ...

Well before 6:30 a.m., our local paper in one hand, and a plate of scrambled eggs fresh from the skillet in the other, I sat down to my morning ...