Jill Norgren

Rose Madeline Mula: If You Can’t Stand the Heat

Rose Madeline Mula Writes: “It was with considerable trepidation, therefore, that I entered the kitchen of my hostess, the legendary actress, Joan Fontaine, one long-ago Thanksgiving morning, to offer my assistance. Acting was not Miss Fontaine’s only talent. Not by a long shot. She was also a hole-in-one golfer, a prize-winning fisherwoman, a hot air…
An Undocumented Childhood by Rose Madeline Mula

Rose Mula Writes: Some people never leave home without their American Express card; I never leave home without a camera. Digitized pictures of the twenty-five countries and forty-plus states of America that I’ve visited since my first tour of exotic New Hampshire constantly flash on my computer monitors and digital frames throughout my home, helping…
Julia Sneden Wrote: Love Your Library

Julia Sneden Wrote: My mind’s eye can still see the face of the Children’s Librarian, although I have long since forgotten her name. We will be wise to continue to back up our knowledge of history and literature and art and science with hard copy. She kept up with my reading level, suggesting writers and…
Julia Sneden Wrote: If The Shoe Fits … You Can Bet It’s Not Fashionable

Julia Sneden Wrote: My mother was a mini Imelda Marcos. She kept upwards of 40 pairs of shoes well into her 80’s, and was crushed when she had to give up high heels following a heart attack at the age of 89. Her sole criterion in buying shoes was style, not comfort, and she was…
Joan L.Cannon Wrote: A Family Inheritance: More Than ‘Things’ … Emblems of Our Lives

Joan Cannon wrote: As one advances in years, one accumulates possessions the way a caddis fly larva accumulates grit. The glue that makes us carry it all along with us is in a way self-secreted as well. However, it’s psychic rather than physical — emotional rather than material. Perhaps the most obvious example is a…
Julia Sneden Wrote: Old Dogs, New Tricks

Julia Sneden wrote: At the age of 37, I started a new career as a kindergarten teacher. My first day on the job, the lead teacher, who was in her 70’s and scared me every bit as much as she scared the children, watched me writing a note. “You’ll have to change the way you…
Joan Cannon Writes: Finding the Right Excuse; Committing Words to Paper Because …

Joan Cannon Writes: Think of the poets and novelists and playwrights whose words sink into the consciousness of thousands and even millions and remain there, as emblems, guides, beacons of hope or warnings of disasters, and the excuse (as if one is needed) presents itself. Maybe there’s information or a revelation for some unknown viewer…
Joan Cannon Asked: What is a Book Club? An Old-Fashioned Book Report? A Program Given By an Author? What Is the Accepted Practice?

Joan L. Cannnon wrote: A year or so ago, I was invited to attend a tea given by the combined membership of all the book clubs in the town where I now live. A presentation was scheduled for the proprietor of the much-loved local independent book store cum gift shop. She is a legend in…
Poll: Many Sick Americans Experience Significant Financial Problems And Report Their Care Is Not Well-Managed

Nearly three-quarters of sick Americans say they want their doctor to spend time with them discussing other, broader health issues that might affect their long-term health (72%), as opposed to just talking about their specific medical problem (21%).
Tulips Way Above the Ground

Ferida Wolff writes: “We have a Tulip Tree in our backyard. I remember being excited when we got it as a young seedling because we were told it would grow fast. We were delighted with the rapid growth idea. Several years later and forty feet higher, the Tulip Tree is a mainstay of the yard.”
Julia Sneden

Julia Sneden Julia Sneden is a writer, friend, wife, mother, Grandmother, care-giver and Senior Women Web’s Resident Observer. Her career has included editorial work for Sunset Magazine, 20th Century Fox and Universal Studios as well as teaching. J…
The English Prize at the Ashmolean; Other Oxford Museums to Visit

“British tourists in Italy in the 1770s were time-travellers, imagining themselves in the classical past amidst the landscapes and ruins they encountered on their journeys. The maps, books and antiquities that they purchased and works of art they commissioned were imbued with meaning and memories.” Tourists today can experience scientific discoveries in Oxford museums and…
Elaine Soloway’s Caregiving Series: Easy Rider

I’m vigilant this morning because yesterday, when I was unaware, he rode off, leaving the helmet on a hook in the garage, and the phone, pad, and pencil on the counter. And, instead of protective covering, he was wearing a baseball cap topped with AM/FM radio headphones.
Hepatitis C: Proposed Expansion of Testing Recommendations

Baby boomers are five times more likely than other American adults to be infected with the disease. In fact, more than 75 percent of American adults with hepatitis C are baby boomers.
The Day I Bought an Easy Bake Oven

Sarah A. Leavitt writes: The most fun shopping trip of the year occurred when the NBM’s exhibitions staff went to Frederick, Maryland’s antique stores. We agreed on the beautiful wicker chair but were less sure when deciding among various sets of kitchen containers and vessels. Did the other set have a more unusual pattern? We…
Harvard School of Public Health Research: Some HDL, or “Good” Cholesterol, May Not Protect Against Heart Disease

A new study has found that a subclass of high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, the so-called “good” cholesterol, may not protect against coronary heart disease (CHD) and in fact may be harmful.
Burriana: The Third Vice President Returns to New York:

A more authentic image of the real Burr has begun to emerge to replace that of the arch-villain, based upon popular prejudice fostered by political animosity that has darkened the pages of history books for many years.
As Facebook Raises a $Billion IPO, A Profile of Its ‘Friends’

A Facebook user who uses the site multiple times per day is 43% more likely than other internet users and more than three times as likely as non-internet users to feel that most people can be trusted.