February 14, 2016
by jenniferpuryear
When Pepper and I stepped outside one recent morning, we were greeted by a strong, unmistakable odor. l considered a hasty retreat, but Pep likes company when she is accomplishing morning tasks. She tried to track the intriguing scent for some time. Her nose led her here and there as she zigged and zagged across the yard. She shivered with excitement; I shivered in the …
February 11, 2016
by jenniferpuryear
Book Title: Sum
Valentine’s Day was serious business when I was a kid. First there was the box decorated at school with construction paper hearts and white paper doilies: it needed to be flawless in both design and execution. Then each classmate needed to get the right Valentine, or at least not a stupid or embarrassing one (there were stupid and embarrassing ones even at a tender age). …
February 10, 2016
by jenniferpuryear
Book Title: Sum
I once told my husband not to worry about Valentine’s Day, back in the early years of our marriage. He had been sick, I think, and maybe in a demanding period at work. Ladies, do you think I meant for him to skip it altogether? I didn’t mean for him to skip it altogether. I meant he didn’t have to worry about it too much …
February 9, 2016
by jenniferpuryear
Book Title: Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives
You can’t ignore it. Valentine’s Day is the 1000-pound gorilla in the drug store, the grocery store, the mall. It’s coming – and fast! I’ve personally gotten a headstart on the chocolates, seeing as I was at Godiva anyhow. I’m also enjoying the most engaging little book of bon bons, Sum: Forty Tales from the Afterlives, by David Eagleman. This is candy for the mind and …
February 12, 2015
by jenniferpuryear
Book Title: The Children Act
My dear friend Caroline Shockley and I were talking about Valentine’s Day. Caroline, you may know, is the mother of two very active boys who have kept her at the playground (initially), and later, pool, track, baseball field and basketball court. Caroline was an only child herself and by all reports a “girly girl” growing up; I’ve been wowed over the years by her extreme …