Our Christmas staycation 2020

Allow us to paraphrase the great philosopher, Clark W. Griswold in the movie Christmas Vacation. “Where do you think you’re going? Nobody’s leaving. Nobody’s walking out on this fun, old-fashioned family Christmas. We’re all in this together. This is a full-blown, four-alarm holiday emergency here.

Ask an Angel: January 14, 2021

I’m writing because I am very concerned about my mother-in-law. She lives alone in an apartment and frequently forgets to drink water. She recently celebrated her ninetieth birthday and is somewhat frail.

I’m all hat and no cows, in case you wondered

I have a lot of hats, but only one that I ever wrote a song about.

I have racks and racks of baseball caps honoring the Cubs and the Bears and just about every exotic place I’ve ever visited, but I never wrote a song about any of them.

The best of the rest of the year

Well we find ourselves at the end of another year. One that has been rather eventful if not in the best of ways. With nowhere to go, we make the most of it with little distractions.

Oh, plenty of readers will say, “So what else is new?” But this time it’s different, because as I write this, it is 8 a.m. on November 3, Election Day in America, and although you know what happened next, right now I don’t.

Back out to the ‘Outback’

Being a restaurant critic has not been easy lately. We plan on going to review a restaurant, and when we get there, the entire county is closed for inside dining. We then drive to another county just as it is being shut down. We are stuck scratching our heads and jokingly we said, “We should go to the outback in Australia, the restaurants there are probably open.”

More than just the mouse

Well that was a grueling couple weeks, wasn’t it? With that 2020 has given us, the escape button has never been more important. Netflix and other streaming services have been that relief in the form of original content for everyone. But what of that other new service from the most American entertainment company in the business: Disney?

Ask an Angel: November 19, 2020

I have a routine doctor appointment scheduled for this month and am considering canceling the appointment. I’m an 84-year-old male and have diabetes. I typically see my doctor every four months, but my last appointment was pushed back due to COVID. I know I’m due for blood work but am worried about being exposed to COVID while in the doctor’s office. Do you have any advice?

Breaking news: Louis L’Amour is still dead

The bad news is: Louis L’Amour is still dead.

The good news: I’ve made my peace with it — a necessary healing because, after all, I’m the guy who killed him.

A rose by any other name would smell as sweet

Roses often get a bad rap. Although it really isn’t in my nature to convince people to like certain plants, please hear me out. It is early November and as I drive around your community during the day and walk around my own during the evening, I see hundreds of beautiful blooms of roses still standing proud. Roses have been flowering since June and are continue to sprinkle our landscape with gorgeous fuchsia, yellow and peach flowers.

It’s “Za Za” dahling

Due to this whole crazy Covid-19 situation, Nancy has resorted to virtual shopping. She is becoming quite adept at ordering things she see’s on Amazon, Groupon, and Facebook ads. Who would have thought that some items are not exactly as they appear on the internet? Such was the case with a Local Flavor coupon we purchased for a restaurant. We drove up to what we thought would be a fine dining restaurant, and to our surprise, it looked nothing like it did on the internet.

Prestige is here

And this is where we find ourselves…the theaters in 2020 seem to be cancelled. My hopes were raised that the rest of the studio slate was coming out. Then “Black Widow was pushed to next May. But no matter, there is Bond … then no Bond until April.

Ask an Angel: November 5, 2020

My husband and I are in our 70s. We’ve made some wonderful memories with our grandkids this summer with social distancing visits outdoors. Now that the weather is turning cooler, we’re concerned that our visits won’t be as frequent.

A burning image of bucket-list American blues

One of the special pleasures in life is checking off item by item on your bucket list.

I’ve been lucky to live long enough and to travel extensively enough to wear my bucket-list pencil nub down quite a bit. Notre Dame Cathedral, The Louvre, Sydney Opera House, Brandenburg Gate—the list has narrowed quite a bit since I was a young, wonder-eyed boy.

Ask an Angel: October 22, 2020

Green screen: How YouTube videos can help with your garden

Recently, I needed to record my voice using my computer. Since I had absolutely no idea how to accomplish this, I called my son, Christopher. I explained that this was for an important project and asked if he could please send me an email with step by step instructions. The email I received was exactly 4 words long. ‘Download this. Watch this.”

Thrills, chills, and pills

In a year that we have had, how does Halloween stand up to 2020? Trick-or-treating is still on, with precautions, for the kiddies. With no parties, how can we adults get into the spirit so to speak? No fear (pun intended), there is a lot of media to get us in the mood as well. Sadly some of them are duds, which happens. But luckily that is my job to see the eye-rollers so you don’t have to.

Let’s get through those first.

Cravin’ Asian

Jim and I have been “cravin’ Asian” food lately. As a matter of fact, we are total Asian food junkies. There are not many dine in Asian restaurants that we haven’t been to. After checking Facebook for the 4,322 time one day, a light bulb went off in our pea brains.

A tale of Daddy Warbucks and other dogs

Last week, as our nation teetered on the brink of 200,000 citizens dead from a criminally mishandled pandemic, and with my mind reeling from the never-ending stream of disastrous news, I hit the road to escape self-imposed lockdown and hopefully find someplace to unwind in relative safety.

It was Starved Rock State Park, where one could wander peaceful outdoor trails through winding canyons, as gold and orange leaves drifted down through the still air. And although I knew I might meet others seeking a bit of sanity, I felt confident that I would find enough safe social distance outdoors.