You don’t knit? That’s not the point. Many people are reserving bombed out Airbnb’s in Ukraine, not because they have a yen for vacationing amidst rubble with a side of air raid sirens. …

Dragging change in Missle America one show at a time. — My entertainment counselor mentioned her new fave cable show during our visit to the Ramses exhibit at the DeYoung Museum this week. Parts of the exhibit were a bit of a snooze, frankly, so talk drifted to TV. She described We’re Here on HBO as the best show nobody’s watching…

When you need help but the doctor is out, consider calling a life coach. — When I tell people I’m a life coach, I get the occasional raised eyebrow. Some people have an antiquated view of life coaches. Back in the day, life coaches were often viewed as lifestyle accessories for the rich and famous. They helped celebrities gain gajillions of followers on social media. …

Not everybody’s dancing on TikTok. — I don’t live in a cave, so, of course, I knew about TikTok. But I never considered it as a marketing option until I decided to knuckle down with an expensive marketing course that’s been languishing, largely ignored, in the bowels of my computer. When I pulled the course out…

Her inspiration in the face of illness is more powerful than her performances. — I don’t know how Christina Applegate really feels about her recent run of really bad, awful, terrible career-ending hideous luck, but for her public, she puts on a really brave face. A lockdown gift Somehow, I found her Netflix series, Dead To Me, several years ago during the lockdown, and blessed it for…

When all else fails, try your first language. — A tray of sand, a collection of miniature objects representing all aspects of life, and the freedom to play with the abandon of childhood is all we need to create scenes that release our creative energies and provide insight and inspiration as we go about the challenging business of life. What am I talking about? Sandtray …

Freud should have asked me. — When Freud asked, what does a woman want, he should have come to me. The answer is obvious, isn’ t it? What woman doesn’t want live-in help? You can take your jewels and designer threads. Your fancy houses and big bank accounts. But what does any of it mean if you have to clean the toilets and sweep the ashes from the hearth? For a life-size account of what household chores were like back in the day,

The gift that keeps on giving: memories — If you were to walk into my apartment, you would first notice my little gallery. Every inch of wall space in my foyer, which I use as a dining room, is covered with art. Some of it is original, though not valuable, and some is photography, prints, or crafts. However…

You have to see the block before you can get around it. — I’m known for stuffing the adage “Write every day” so often I think writers run the other way when they see me coming. Yet it’s a practice that has allowed me, after years of stop and start writing and collecting drawers full of unfinished stories, to produce more books and…