Ode to Programmable Timers Like the first rise of the conductor’s baton in the hushed concert hall, there is a moment when my home is filled not with music—with light. Thank you, programmable timers. The light began when, as a recent widow, I moved into 215, my new home just as the time changed, my days falling into autumn darkness—the deepest darkest cover of loneliness late afternoon through the never-ending space until bedtime. Soon, I ventured to Ace Hardware and returned

Sorry, not really a statue, my friend. You're a bust. Head and shoulders only. But what a delightful companion you are! Ready to party at the drop of a hat. To celebrate. How glamourous you looked for New Year’s Eve. Those white and silver plumes in your hair and those rhinestones dripping. Show-stopper! It’s adorable how each time I go to Texas, you don your Dallas necklace announcing my destination. Like you’re ready to burst into “The Stars at Night are big and bright. Dee

New Year’s resolution, 2006, number seven? Learn something new. I It has taken me a few weeks to get my mojo going, and amazingly I am learning not one, but two new things. The first, a surprise even to myself, I am studying meteorology. Starting simple with a Great Courses program taught by a UCLA professor. I say simple, but it’s turning out to be as difficult as learning a new language. But fascinating! According to the bespectacled professor, Nature Abhors Extremes . Som