Lori Borgman: I didn’t see this coming
If life is a pie chart with different size slices for “eating, sleeping, working,” etc., the biggest slice of my pie would be “looking for my reading glasses.”
The Lighter Side: The curse of seeing home construction flaws
Is it perfectly straight? Only the level tool (or someone’s “squinty, judgy” eyes) can tell.
The easy new way to decorate for the fall-winter holidays
I got a catalog in the mail a month ago that was peddling Christmas goods. It was 90 degrees that day. It was hard to fathom future Christmas when my skin felt like it was frying when I went outdoors.
The Lighter Side: Retired couples at home: Tolerating each other’s little annoying habits
The pandemic has expedited retirement plans for many older people. Much is written about the perfect types of homes for older folks, but not much about how couples that are retiring survive this adjustment.
Critiquing homes: One of life’s simple pleasures
Now you may think we are catty – house catty. And you would not be wrong. But I say it is a harmless form of stress relief and general human bonding. And we also note the houses done really well; we balance our sour slings with sweet notes.
The Venmo solution to the high cost of living
Venmo is a popular app you can put on your phone to securely send and receive money from friends and family. It is widely used among younger people and handy for splitting a dinner tab, sharing the cost of a gift, and apparently for asking strangers to help foot the bill for your wedding.
The Lighter Side: Technology – Are you old school or with the times?
Not sure if you are “old school” or “with the times”? Consider which answers to these questions best describe you…
The Lighter Side: External house painting: A big impact (and anxiety-inducing) project
Nothing quite transforms the outside look of a home like fresh new paint colors. External painting is a big project, but if it’s done well it’s something that you will enjoy for years – despite the incredible (sometimes crippling) anxiety it may cause you during the process.
Local gardeners buying plants: Enthusiastic, upbeat and “happy crazy”
After months of tantalizing gardening catalogs being sent to them, Front Range gardeners have been let loose from their winter slumber to lunge toward gardening establishments with gleeful abandon. Mother’s Day weekend seems like the official starting flag of the outdoor plant acquisition race.
Living in the days of less is more
The vocabulary intended to soften the blows of blistering inflation is a testimony to creativity. Economists keep talking about consumers experiencing shrinkflation. They don’t mean consumers are shrinking (although you do look amazingly trim); they mean the products we buy are shrinking, but the prices are not.
The Lighter Side: It’s spring! Creatures and humans are bursting with enthusiasm
Ah, spring in Colorado! The grass is greening, flowers are popping up and trees are blooming. Who can resist this joyous time of year? Apparently not most creatures and humans who are bounding with energy. For example, there are the bouncing squirrels. Those of you...
The Lighter Side: Working from home logistics – Sticking sweetie in the backyard shed
The good side about the pandemic is we got to spend a lot of time with our family. The bad side about the pandemic is we got to spend a lot of time with our family. How can we miss them if they never go away?
The Lighter Side: For the love of corn
How does a semi-sensible woman end up with foot-high corn plant in her bathtub in February? There is only one possible explanation: love and guilt.
It’s a good time of year to get rid of unwanted stuff
Now is the perfect time to cull through our worldly possessions and pass on unwanted things to folks who can use them.
The Lighter Side: Home is where most everything is until it’s not
It is said that home is where the heart is, where family and pets and memories are. But really, home is where most everything is.
Two’s Day is coming, Two’s Day is coming
Wondering what exciting things you can look forward to in the new year? Feb. 22, 2022 (2/22/22) will fall on a Tuesday, thereby making Two’s Day.
The Lighter Side: New year check-in quiz: How are you doing?
Who would have thought a year ago that we would still be enduring this pandemic? How are you faring? Answer these questions to assess your mental wellbeing.
The Lighter Side: Every Christmas tree is the most beautiful one
The lovely thing about Christmas trees: everybody thinks theirs – full of their own memories – is the most beautiful. Obviously, we’re all visual geniuses (or blinded by nostalgia).
The Lighter Side: Pandemic side effect – Supply chain woes
Who knew the phrase “supply chain” before the pandemic? Many of us have been spoiled living in the land of plenty for so long that we had no idea how good we had it. Now we think about these flipping supply chain issues every day.
The Lighter Side: Is gardening together a date? Sure, why not?
Recent apple picking got me thinking: When you have been with someone a long time, what constitutes a date?
The Lighter Side: American products – Everything’s shrinking (except the prices)
I got out a new roll of toilet paper the other day and saw that it was noticeably narrower than what has always been the standard size. What the heck?
All fired up about fall
We all need to muse more, and fall is the perfect time for sitting, pondering and reflecting, particularly in front of a fire.
The Lighter Side: It’s fall! Time to winterize your home and yard!
Ah, fall in Colorado! Sunny days with cool, crisp air, blue skies and colorful foliage. Unfortunately we never know how long this weather will last. Thus now is the time to winterize your home and yard.
Talking to our pets, our selves and our imaginary friends
Recently I received an email from a reader named Randy from Loveland. He noted that since becoming petless he has started talking to imaginary friends from his childhood. He said he wasn’t sure what this says about him. I’m sure his imaginary friends are probably more...