• The Joyless Internet

    This week’s great literary drama is author Elizabeth Gilbert pulling a novel from publication because it happened to be about a Russian family, and for this reason it got bombed with one-star reviews on the site Goodreads before anyone had… Continue reading

    The Joyless Internet

  • I'm Always Up For a Challenge

    Greetings from smoky New Jersey. I ventured outdoors this morning to water some plants and it smelled like one big giant campfire. So, I think we’ll be staying inside for the remainder of the day. This week’s post was inspired… Continue reading

    I'm Always Up For a Challenge

  • It's Not TV, It's Whatever It's Called These Days

    Last week, the television streaming channel formerly known as HBO Max, formerly known as HBO Go, formerly known as HBO Now, formerly known as just HBO changed it’s name to Max. It reminds me a bit of my first published… Continue reading

    It's Not TV, It's Whatever It's Called These Days

  • Quality and Quantity

    Recently my boyfriend was looking into buying some loppers for doing some yard work. We were in a couple of local big box stores, but the selection was limited and the products looked to be pretty flimsy. So, he decided… Continue reading

    Quality and Quantity

  • Trash and Treasure

    Last week after making my boyfriend some chicken for dinner, I rinsed off and disposed of the styrofoam tray. This is a totally normal thing to do, but I was reminded of how my grandmother never threw out styrofoam meat… Continue reading

    Trash and Treasure

  • Mother's Day is for the Birds (and Other Animals Too!)

    Yesterday, while sitting at the computer trying to get some work done, I found myself distracted (honestly, it doesn’t take much) by something outside my window. Sitting on the deck rail was this little fledgling robin. (Yes, our deck does… Continue reading

    Mother's Day is for the Birds (and Other Animals Too!)

  • New Jersey: Keeping it Classy

    As many of you know, I live in and am from New Jersey, a state which is often the butt of so many jokes, but which is also (in my opinion) one of the best places to live. Alas, the… Continue reading

    New Jersey: Keeping it Classy

  • Celebrating Family

    This past week was all about family. First up, my mom celebrated a milestone birthday. Last Thursday Mom turned 75. Here’s Mom showing off the new tanzanite jewelry Dad got her: Mom and Dad live down in Florida. (Moving very… Continue reading

    Celebrating Family

  • Make Believe Art Gallery

    Here in New Jersey we are looking forward to a visit from my sister Emily and her family, who will be making the trek down from Maine. Sitting in my office looking at a piece of artwork my sister painted… Continue reading

    Make Believe Art Gallery

  • Don't Adjust Your TV Sets (or computer monitors or phone screens, as the case may be)

    It’s me, your old pal Alissa Grosso here with a very overdue update and a new newsletter service. Previously I used Send in Blue to send these messages to you, but I’m now using Substack. So, things might look a… Continue reading

    Don't Adjust Your TV Sets (or computer monitors or phone screens, as the case may be)