Skipping Town

New Year's Eve--my least favorite day of the year. I dislike the energy of transition and ending, and the weight of the year ahead. It feels oppressive, heavy, and dark.  Twenty years ago, just a couple of months before I moved to Barcelona, I wrote a poem called "New Year's Day, Planning to Leave New York," which I'll share here because it's NYE and melancholy is my default mood:  New Year’s Day, Planning to Leave New York At the curbs, trees cry needles, stray tinsel glints winterly. The vast expanse of year ahead makes the air feel thin, jittery. Nothing weighs it down, no months yet mistake-scarred, no days lived or endured.  Too many what-ifs and might-bes, too few should-haves, regrets, give this city a false skin of optimism.  We are better at rehashing than living. My year stretches forward like good ceramic tiles:  pieces of change nudged together, each beautiful alone, more beautiful together. Without you I’d skirt past these trees, untangle tinsel f...

I read 50 books this year, some good, some bad, many spectacular. Here's a roundup of my top 10 for 2025, along with my Goodreads review if I wrote one, in no particular order: An absolutely stunning memoir, a balm for these chaotic times. It's hard to overstate the beauty, empathy, reverence, and wonder in these pages; Dalton conveys all of these while steadfastly respecting and maintaining the hare's essential wildness. I'll be rereading this forever. One of my favorite reads of the year so far. Immersive, wrenching, frustrating. Every member of this family made me want to scream. I couldn't put it down. An absolutely stunning book. It shattered me. Likely my favorite read of the year. The companion novel, Writers & Lovers, is also a top favorite of the year, but since it was a re-read for me I'm not including it in this list. Gripping and horrifying. I'll be recommending this one. Amazing. Horrifying. This book was just an incredible deep dive into th...

After a chaotic morning of the cleaners being here (trying to prepare the house for cleaning when arriving home the night before at 11:30pm was not fun), Andrew worked and the girls and I prepared for tonight's Welcome In with Mom, Dad, Molly, Jeremy, and Luca. I really just like calling this event a Welcome In, even though everyone has already arrived and we've all seen each other. But we did get to Welcome In Jeremy's mom, who we were happy was able to join us. We had appetizers and Andrew's delicious shrub mocktails in the Long Room, in front of the fire, and then had soup around the dining room table. The kids gave us a viewing of a short movie they'd made at Mom and Dad's house yesterday. I gave a reading of some of the Situation Stories (moralistic tales meant to illustrate the lessons in religion textbooks) that I wrote when I was fifteen, and made the kids answer the "discussion questions" I'd written to go along with them ("What would...

Post-Christmas! We have all been so excited for this--our Post-Christmas celebration with Molly, Luca, and Jeremy. We drove to Connellsville this morning, dropped the kids and Farrah off at Mom and Dad's, and went grocery shopping at Martin's, hoping groceries would be a little cheaper there (they were, but not by very much). Mom, Dad, and the girls played gin while we were gone. Molly, Luca, and Jeremy arrived around lunchtime, and the Post-Christmas festivities began. After lunch, we had our family gift exchange. I don't know how other families do it, but our exchange takes a very long time as we instruct each person on which gift to open, and then provide context into the gift, and then admire it together. Then the next gift. We all received wonderful things, as always.  Then we had a break to play a few rounds of No Thanks, and then had a big Christmas dinner with wedding soup, pesto, rosemary chicken, and all the sides.  After dinner was the long-awaited exchange of ou...

We spent the day at home doing a lot of preparation for the renovation: carrying stuff down to the basement from the kitchen, family room, and mudroom; organizing the things in the basement; cleaning up the chaos in the basement since we're having people over for New Year's Eve and someone always wants to play ping pong.  We have a mountain of empty boxes in the basement right now, waiting to be filled with kitchen things to store, and I spent some time today pulling out the packing material to throw into recycling. Lo, at the bottom of a large box, underneath miles of packing paper, was a t-shirt Andrew had ordered me back in October for my birthday, from Calamityware! It was completely hidden. An exciting find. It says "GO UNSPECIFIED SPORTS TEAM" and features a ridiculous sports-logo-like image of an octopus. The rest of the day: Andrew and Lucia finished their homemade gifts, Andrew made a ham for dinner, and we watched the second Lord of the Rings. A nice day of ...

Friday, December 26 The day after Christmas is always such a relaxing, fun, family day. We all went out to do some post-Christmas shopping in the morning at Target and Gabe's. Target Christmas things were 50% off--not enough to wildly buy more Christmas decor we definitely don't need--but we of course picked up a couple of things. The girls both found some jeans at Gabe's.  We spent the rest of the day at home, playing games. We played No Thanks a few times--very fun--and more Centry Spice Road. Andrew, Mom, and the kids played Sorry (which they'd also played on Christmas Eve). The girls continued to focus on their sticker therapy and acrylic cubes. Andrew and I took Farrah for a walk. We relaxed and read. Dinner was leftovers from Christmas.  Molly and Jeremy stopped over on their way back to Bethesda, so we got a little visit with them. The girls continued to play the old, three-string guitar. It was a lovely day at home. Saturday, December 27 After the kids and Andre...

Christmas in Connellsville. What a great day. The kids slept in--no more middle-of-the-night sneak peeks at the gifts; I was downstairs drinking coffee with Mom and Dad when they finally came down. (Andrew slept the latest.) They opened their stockings first, loved everything of course, then opened their gifts. Some of their gifts this year: Funko Pops of Powerless characters Games: No Thanks and Century Spice Road running leggings puzzles sticker therapy packs hamster Warmies books OPI polishes & NYX lip glosses weighted bagels acrylic blocks purple hair dye (Lucia) maroon Uggs mini boots (Lucia) botanical Lego set (Greta) Theragun (Greta) jeans from Pacsun (Lucia) Taylor Swift Midnights cardigan (Greta) inchworms with Santa hats (plushies) and more! Andrew and I exchanged gifts as well, and the kids gave us the gifts they'd chosen for us. A wonderful selection. (We'll do our exchange with Mom, Dad, and Molly next week during Post-Christmas.) Mom made pancakes for breakfas...

Tuesday, December 23 A final day of Christmas preparations, and work (from home) until 2pm. Then--free. Lucia went to Kards Unlimited so she could pick out a gift for Greta (and I bought final stocking stuffers). We made and decorated gingerbread cookies. We went to the club for dinner--it takes some convincing for Andrew to get any of us to leave the house, but we did, and had a nice time. Then we watched Rudolph. We are ready for Christmas proper to begin. Wednesday, December 24 Christmas Eve! We loaded up all the gifts and bags and both pets and headed to Cville around 1pm. Molly and Jeremy, who are spending Christmas with Jeremy's family, are staying at our house and we crossed paths when them briefly. Lucia and Andrew went for a run before we left, so Greta and I loaded all the bags into the car.  We were halfway to Cville when Andrew realized he forgot his Christmas Eve outfit on the coat rack by the front door. "If you hadn't loaded the car, I wouldn't have forg...

The weekend continued with full-on Christmas. I got up early Sunday and continued to wrap gifts. We made a bunch of Christmas cookies: cut-outs, peanut butter blossoms, Czech apricot bar cookies, apricot envelopes. The kids made snaps a few days ago. L&G continued to work on their homemade gifts. Sunday evening we had a happy hour at the Clarks', then came home to watch Elf and Frozen 2, two of our annual viewings. Lucia came across an Instagram post or reel or something about making paper origami stars, and taught herself how to do them; Greta had been very into making these a couple of years ago and picked it back up. They are now obsessed and folded stars throughout the movies. Monday, I had to WORK, a travesty this close to Christmas, but at least I was working from home. I stepped away from my "work" in the afternoon to play Unstable Unicorns with the kids. After work the girls and I went to the Dollar Tree for some craft supplies. Andrew made chili for dinner, a...

Kicking Christmas into high gear. Friday was the girls' last day of school. Greta went out after school with two friends to get a manicure. And then--once home, we're home to stay. Lucia wanted to HANG OUT WITH A FRIEND this weekend and I said no. This is Christmas family time. Everyone stays home. The kids are mine until after Christmas.  Friday night I made broccoli cheddar soup and we watched Unaccompanied Minors, a Christmas movie the kids really like and that we watch every year. Saturday was my shopping day--I finished it all by heading out very very early in the morning so I could beat the crowds at Target, Ulta, Trader Joe's, TJ Maxx, and more. I finished putting our Christmas cards together--they won't arrive until after Christmas, but they'll arrive this week at some point. We all spent a lot of time working on our homemade gifts. In the evening, we had TikTok pasta (pasta with tomatoes and feta) and watched a Hallmark movie called The Snow Must Go On, whe...

Trying to shift to holiday status even though the kids still have school and I still have work. The girls and I watched a Hallmark movie Wednesday evening and Frozen on Thursday evening. We always watch both Frozen movies during the Christmas season--they just seem like part of the holiday for us. I was flooded with memories of watching Frozen with the kids when they were so so so little, in Maplewood, how magical the songs were, how obsessed they were with Anna and Elsa, their little Anna and Elsa nightgowns that they wore constantly. Take me back. But also, keep me right here. The kids are so funny and so much fun. I can't wait for Andrew to get home from CA and for our holiday break to begin so we can be together 24/7 without pesky school and work. Christmas family time! 

I'm having a hard time remembering these days I've skipped. Thursday was mostly us just getting through work and school, biding time until winter break. On Friday we went to Phipps with Mom and Dad to see the winter lights--always a highlight of the season. We went out to dinner afterward at the Murray Avenue Grill.  We tried to go to Connellsville on Saturday for a visit and some Gabe's shopping with Mom and Dad, but the forecast was ominously snowy, and some alarming signs on the highway (ROAD WILL BE CLOSED / ONLY TIRES WITH CHAINS WILL PASS or something like that) made us turn around after about twenty minutes. Instead, Andrew and I went out to do some shopping and then started cleaning out the basement in preparation for cleaning out the kitchen. Saturday night we watched Christmas Chronicles 2.  On Sunday, Lucia went to a birthday party while Andrew, Greta, and I went to a Penguins game, with "Club Casamigos" tickets courtesy of our retaining wall guy. We we...

Sunday, December 7 Today, in the middle of the afternoon, we all got dressed in holiday-tastic outfits and headed to the Carnegie Museum of Art for a family photo shoot. The museum offers these photo shoots every years, but this was the first year I've had the wherewithal to snag a slot. The photographer took us all over the museum and posed us in a variety of spots--the Christmas trees, the Sol DeWitt wall, the Grand Staircase, the Hall of Sculptures--and in a variety of single, pair, and family arrangements. I can't wait to see the photos.  Sunday evening we all gathered in front of the fire to watch The Christmas Chronicles, always a favorite.  Monday, December 8 Monday I worked from home. Lucia stayed home from school with a cold/cough. She was feeling well enough by the end of the day to go to Target with me after work to pick up a few groceries and gifts she needed for a friend's birthday. Monday evening, Lucia shocked me by asking me to read her "place essay...

Each day is full to the brim. Thursday I took Farrah to the vet for her annual checkup, a well-timed appointment since she's been having some diarrhea this week. The vet confirmed that it is likely due to the anxiety brought about by our being gone for a week. Poor baby. One college tuition payment later, we left with some probiotics, some prescription dogfood, a year's worth of Heartgard and Next guard, and a fresh round of vaccines. Friday, after work and school, we went to the Market Square market again for some additional browsing. The kids each bought themselves something (they can't resist, even though Christmas is coming), and I picked up a few gifts. Back at home, we ordered Pizza Hut (the kids' choice) and watched a Hallmark movie in front of the fire. Saturday Andrew and I took part in celebrating the life of Jeremy's dad at a funeral service and luncheon. We were glad we could be there and see everyone. Saturday night was the Anniversary Dinner Dance at t...

It snowed so much Monday night that the kids had a snow day on Tuesday. Andrew and I both worked from home. The kids slept in and Lucia went for a run with some of her teammates in Schenley. Greta worked on some travel journaling. Piano lessons were cancelled, so in the evening I made chili, and then we put on a fire and watched a Hallmark movie with the inane title "It's Time for Us to Come Home for Christmas." The characters all had interchangeable one-syllable names--Bess, Cass, Ted. It was wholly enjoyable.  The house is getting Christmassy. I've put up most of our decorations, concentrating everything in the rooms that are not the family room. We put the lights on the tree. I'll decorate it tomorrow. 

Officially speeding toward Christmas. After school and work and XC today we went out and got our Christmas tree and weaths for the windows. Usually we get two trees--one for the family room and one for the library--but this morning I got confirmation from our kitchen contractor that we should get only one tree for the library, which means our renovation looks likely to begin this month (a renovation that encompasses the kitchen as well as the entire family room space). So, we got the biggest Christmas tree we could find. It's over 9 feet tall (Andrew had to trim a few inches since the ceiling in the library is 9 feet) and gorgeously wide. I still may decide to squeeze a second tree somewhere in the house--maybe at the top of the stairs?--but for now, we have one beautiful tree. We'll decorate tomorrow. Snow is imminent. My favorite holiday and season are finally here. I wish we could have no school or work for this entire month.

Saturday, November 29 We didn't have to leave the resort until noon on Saturday, so we squeezed in a few last bits of vacation life. Andrew went for a run; I walked to the coffee shop for a latte; we both took a last swim in the pool; we all had breakfast with Molly and Luca before they left for their flight; the girls and I took a last walk on the beach. Then it was really time to go. We piled into the rental car one last time, and Andrew drove us to the airport. The travel day was long but fine. Everything was on time. Back to winter in Pittsburgh. We were very happy to see Farrah and Nutmeg. Sunday, November 30 Mom and Dad spent the night at our house last night not only because we didn't get in until after midnight but also because today we had matinee tickets for Les Mis (booked well before we decided to go to Tulum). We got to the theater early and spent a little time walking around the Market Square Christmas market. Then we saw the show. It was absolutely wonderful--one...

Our final day in Tulum began early with the breakfast buffet. Then Andrew called for our rental car, and we all piled in, squeezing all eight of us into a van meant for seven. Lucia and Luca shared a seatbelt in the middle of the backseat.  Our destination was the Tulum Ruins, not far from the resort. We were talked into having a guide, which turned out to be not much more money than just the entrance fees, and we were very glad we had one. We all learned a lot about the various uses of the buildings that were now ruins, and lots of things about Mayan culture, traditions, and innovations. It was a great visit. The view from the top of the hill where the castillo rests was amazing. Next we drove into downtown Tulum for some souvenir shopping. We bought some lovely dreamcatchers, and Lucia and Greta both bought bracelets. On our way back to the resort we stopped at a big supemarket/superstore called Soriana so Mom and Dad could get a new suitcase, since theirs was damaged beyond repa...

Another spectacular day in Tulum. Nay, not just a day--Thanksgiving in Tulum! We slept in a bit this morning (well, not me; I got up and read on the balcony) and went to the breakfast buffet around 9am. We tried a different one this morning, Vela Sur, with very pretty outdoor seating.  With the whole day ahead, we set up by the pool right outside Casa 3 (where our room is) and spent the morning swimming and reading. The girls ordered hamburgers for lunch but then also came with us to the lunch buffet for desserts. Greta and I took a walk on the beach and collected some pieces of coral. We had several iguana sightings and many hermit crab sightings. Greta rescued on in danger of being stepped on by scooping it onto her book and depositing it in some landscaping. Rain arrived in the mid-afternoon, so we gathered in our room for a game of Code Names. Then Mom and Dad went to their room to relax; I set out with a book to read in the main building; and everyone else went to the gym. I c...

An epic day in Tulum.  This was the day we'd pegged for cenotes. Mom and Dad decided to sit out this excursion and have a relaxing day at the resort. So, early this morning, Andrew, Lucia, Greta, Molly, Luca, and I got up early and went for breakfast at the Vela Norte buffet. I practiced my Spanish while ordering an omelette, a very straightforward interaction I managed to butcher by asking that my omelette be made "very very good kitchen" (instead of "very very well cooked") and that it be made not with egg whites only but with "all the eyes." Obviously I was trying to say "all the eggs." That doesn't make much sense either but it definitely makes more sense that "all the eyes." Then Andrew got our rental car from the valet, and we headed off to the first cenote: Gran Cenote. Though our GPS told us we'd arrived, there was no signage anywhere--just a few parking spaces along a cement wall, and a small building with two turns...

A full day of rest and relaxation in Tulum. This resort is pretty amazing. We started the day with a buffet breakfast at the Vela Norte restaurant, and it was excellent. I tried to sample a little of everything (didn't come close) so I could focus on my favorite things next time.  Then we changed into swimsuits, slathered up with sunscreen, and spent the rest of the morning and afternoon by the pool. We swam mostly in the ocean. It's a beautiful beach, and the girls dove around with their goggles on. The water is so clear. There is a rocky barrier that keeps the waves from getting too wild. We went in and out of the ocean throughout the day, read in our pool chairs, dipped into the pool, ordered food from Seasalt the pool bar. Lucia and Greta are both obsessed with the hamburgers. They both had one for lunch. Lucia also polished off two plates of chips and guacamole.  Mom had a brief spell of illness today, caused by something she ate or drank or maybe just from the heat. But ...

 We made it to Tulum! Our travel plans went smoothly--Pittsburgh to Newark to Tulum--with no issues. Andrew brought us all into the United Club in Newark so we could relax and enjoy too many lattes (me) from the fancy coffee machine. At the Tulum airport, we picked up our rental car. Andrew is always game to drive us around in unfamiliar vehicles in new countries, and we wanted the flexibility to explore Tulum on our own schedule.  On our way into Tulum, we saw yellow crossing signs along the highway showing not the usual deer or even moose but sinister silhouettes of jaguars and monkeys. I seriously hope we have a jaguar sighting--there were a lot of these signs so it seems they might make frequent appearances. A quick google search tells me that the animal crossing signs along this particular road are meant to protect spider monkeys, coatis, and more. Looking forward to sightings of all kinds as we explore this week. Our resort--the Hilton All-Inclusive Riviera Maya Tulum--i...

Saturday, Lucia went for a run with her team and Andrew went with her. Greta slept in, still recovering from the musical. I focused on packing and cleaning up the house in preparation for our trip. In the afternoon, we all went to the Waterfront to do a little shopping at Target, return a few things, and then see Wicked: For Good. A nice evening before the rush of day-before-vacation craziness. Sunday was very very busy. Andrew and I had a big task: install temporary fencing in the backyard. The retaining wall project involved demolishing the fence at the back of the yard that blocks anyone (Farrah) from hurling themselves off the ledge of our yard into the street below. It will be some time before we can arrange a new fence to be installed. Additionally, the now-destroyed grassy part of our yard is covered with grass seed, covered by mesh netting, covered with hay. Farrah can't walk on this because her paws will get tangled in the mesh. So we bought a large roll of wire fencing an...

Thursday was one of those days where we just keep packing things in. Work, school, and then both kids went with a friend to see a musical at the JCC, which two of their friends (siblings) were in. Lucia has a friend who can drive, so she got picked up; I was on carpool duty for Greta and her friend. While they were out of the house, Andrew and I planned some cenote visits for Tulum and I watched All Her Fault. Friday was the final day of work and school for all of us for an entire week. Yay. In the evening, Andrew went to a hockey game and the girls and I made a fire and watched two Netflix Christmas movies, "A Merry Little Ex-Mas" and "Champagne Problems." "Ex-Mas" was a lot of fun, and made the three of us laugh hysterically. I also fully identified with the crafty, tradition-committed, middle-aged mom calling "But when will we do origami??" as her teenagers head out the door. "Champagne Problems" had a couple of funny supporting char...

A normal day, though I was unable to pick up the kids as I'd thought I could so they had to walk home. I watched an episode of All Her Fault tonight while they were in their rooms doing homework.  And now: the before-and-after retaining wall photos you've all been waiting for! All of these photos were taken from the neighbor's driveway. Our yard and house are above the wall; you can't see them from this angle. The wall collapsing into the down-street neighbor's driveway (there were more pieces actually in the driveway; some had been cleaned up before this photo was taken) Collapsed pieces gone, but still a very decrepit wall  Voila, a pleasing new wall! (Walls, plural, since we had to fix the lower wall too.) You can see the very top of our house in this one. The ivy-covered wall is part of our garage.