Vacation Takeaways 09/08/2022 by juliabbb My husband and I recently returned from two weeks in London and the Veneto region of Italy, which was wonderful. Let’s just say I’m not that happy to be home. I’m struggling a bit, actually, and counting down the days until we can return. In the meantime…

What happens next? I’ve always been fascinated by death and what happens next. Not in a gruesome slasher movie kind of way or anything like that. I actually hate slasher flicks. I’m not terribly interested in the physical process so much at all. Actually, the physical process frightens me somewhat…

Ehhh… There’s a Bruce Springsteen song that I love called, “Glory Days”. It’s about a guy who meets up with people from his past and they talk about their glory days, back when life was exciting, before it got too real with responsibilities. It’s a great song, and I don’t…

Say something. *Warning: Offensive language* Let me preface this by saying that I love men. I have an amazing husband of 25 years and three adult sons. I have many wonderful male/male-identifying relatives and friends who are dear to me. I know that any one of them wouldn’t hesitate for…

Get out of your comfort zone. Five weeks ago, I was in beautiful Salem and Boston, Massachusetts. I was there on my own for three days with a lot on my personal agenda. I roamed several old cemeteries, held almost-400-year-old books (squee!), visited ancestral sites, and wandered the Freedom Trail…

A journey to an authentic life. — I clearly remember the first time I felt ‘wrong’. I was small, five or six years old, and was leafing through a volume of our encyclopedia set. It must have been Volume B because I suddenly happened upon a page of beautiful birthstones. Oh, how I wanted the beautiful deep…

Old stigmas never seem to die… Let’s talk tattoos. In this day and age, one wouldn’t think that tattoos are a big deal. It’s pretty common to see people of all ages sporting some kind of body art. Still, just in the past week, I’ve seen negative things on social…

A time to recharge. Introverts are well-known for wanting their alone time and for me, travel is no exception. I do enjoy the trips I take with my family and friends. …

A letter to our invisible roommates Dear House Ghosts, You’ve been here a long time, at least two of you have been here longer than we have, if you’re the ones who are still around. You’ve been a pretty decent lot for the last twenty years, not scary, except for…