When I arrived home from England last week there was a happy surprise waiting for me in the post. It was a simple gesture: A…
So there I was in line at the British Airways counter at SeaTac. With me were three of my five sisters and their kids and…
Many years ago, a friend came to visit me. She exclaimed excitedly that she’d been walking by a vintage clothing shop in Portland, Oregon, and…
At 36 years of age, I’ve finally attended my first girls’ weekend. And you know what? It was pretty fun! (Yay!) I was never invited…
Girls’ Weekend starts tomorrow. It’s bad enough that (despite the fact I’d blocked my schedule off from 3:00 pm onwards) that I have a 4:00…
My aunt received a new(ish) kidney today, courtesy of a very dear friend of the family. (We’ve always said that Jeanne was part of the…
I love food. Expensive food, cheap food, homemade food, and overly-processed food-like substances. The last is a group that I don’t get to enjoy often,…
Weekends haven’t been the same since Paul died, but I’ve been determined to get back to spending them as normal as possible. Now that spring has…
McKean’s Drive-In is the local burger joint in my hometown and is a true institution. When I was in school several of my friends worked…
I’ve been feeling very sad and lonely the last few days so when my neighbour called to see if I wanted to drive into the…
When we bought our house, Paul and I really looked forward to tending to the garden. With a lot of nearly 10,000 square feet, we…
Mum and I travelled to England and Scotland to visit some of my family and friends for two weeks in winter 2010 and this is a small…
Our time in the UK has sadly come to an end and we are now back in America after leaving Edinburgh in the early morning…
We arrived in Scotland yesterday afternoon to bright sunny skies. We had planned to spend the day winding up the English coast and stay somewhere…
It was the inaugural “Freeze Your Fanny, Scrabble Showdown, and Burns’ Supper Extravaganza” at the Ryan house! Read the original story here on RyanCentric or go…
In the hours and days after Paul died, I received countless emails, Facebook messages, and sympathy cards. Everywhere I went I was bombarded with the…
I spent nearly two weeks in the UK with family and friends, and have returned feeling refreshed and relaxed. A break was just what I…
I’ve taken my first solo holiday, spending nearly two weeks in England and Scotland visiting family and friends. Read the original story about my holiday here…
It’s Halloween. I should be excited and giddy; it’s always been a much-loved holiday of mine. In the weeks leading up to it, I would…
I joined a grief support group a couple of weeks ago and have found it oddly comforting, even though I’m the youngest one in the…