Columns

This has been a surreal Christmas season for me, because we still aren’t back in our house.

In just a few days a brand-new decade will dawn, full of promise and wonder. I was reviewing the last decade and because I still think 2003 was ten years ago, I sort of ended up reviewing two decades, instead. (Clearly math was not one of the skills I mastered in the last 20 years…).

By the quirk of this season’s holiday calendar, we recently made a visit to Washington, D.C., our nation’s capital, while visiting family and friends in nearby Maryland. The visit offered us a chance to affirm that our Republic, in all its manifestations of power, laws and democratic institutions was still standing in upright position and not collapsing under the weight of the current impeachment turmoil. After listening for a week as our highest elected officials ranted, raved and foamed at their mouths during the Congressional hearings, we half expected to see the U.S. Capitol’s dome smoldering in black smoke.

While we are all doing our holiday gift shopping around town and other places, there’s a reminder we should add to the bottom of our lists. Once upon a time, when we were little children, only Santa Claus knew if we’d been good or...

A favorite winter soup in our house is a carrot dill soup. Brian and I had it one Thanksgiving when we were in London.

When you think about middle school drama, it usually deals with social media. But, in this case, Windsor Middle School’s big drama this year was on stage, not Instagram, as it brought a production of “High School Musical” to life.

I have been responding to spills in the city of Santa Rosa for the last 17 years.

Each year, I help my father-in-law with his Christmas card and letter. He has me take a picture of him (and of his cat) and we create a card online. He’s straightforward about what he likes, so the experience is quick and painless. He then gives me a summary of the year — projects he’s undertaken, trips he’s taken, milestones met — and I write a short letter to friends and family on his behalf.

This week, by coincidence, happens to be very animal centric, so it seems to be as good a time as any to point out the many, many wonderful animal charities here in Sonoma County, all of whom could use a little extra help this...

“The Time Has Come Today”. A song from the 60’s with the words meaning even more today. Time is no longer on our side, so I ask for three actions: 1) Commit, 2) Protect 3) Preserve.