What can explain my 180-degree attitude change toward washing dishes by hand?

Last year I complained about all the rain pouring in the foothills and all the snow being dumped up the hill. This year the story is exactly the opposite. No winter storms at all. In fact, everyone's asking "Where's winter?"

One of the towering moral leaders of the 20th century died Sunday. Playwright, author and president Vaclav Havel proved that virtue and integrity can exist in a world leader. Here is my humble tribute to this great, inspiring man.

Sweetheart and I just saw the biggest Christmas tree ever -- a giant Sierra white fir from nearby Stanislaus National Forest.

Grateful people are happy people. But how does one cultivate gratitude?

As we head toward the most decadent feast day of the year, it's sobering to think of the numbers of families whose stomachs will be growling rather than groaning on Thanksgiving.

Some bad guys are just too good to be true. This Gold Rush bandit flaunted literary flare and this week marks the anniversary of his last holdup.

Sometimes in our busy-ness, our worries and concerns, we forget that our body needs tending. We forget that our connection with the world -- the big, wide, wonderful world -- is a physical connection.  Most of the time when we tend to the body, our spirit is refreshed.

Listening to Mary Oliver read her poems, then reading them aloud to one another, has filled the last 24 hours with delight.

Only October 5, and already winter is blustering around.