A post for Sundays in My City, an Unknown Mami regular feature. Visit her site to see other lovely spots around the globe. I love it because it encourages me to show you the wonder of Boonie Life. There’s a park not far from our home. It is where Maria crawled around in the grass […]

Do you know that all I want to do these days is sit near a lazy Tennessee creek with this borrowed Boxer-mix puppy? Is she not heaven? The creek is a few miles from us and runs through the front property of a friend’s house — same friend whose house was flooded in May when […]

A lot of people are sad and ticked the national media, and the country as a whole, doesn’t get the magnitude of what has happened here. Do you now know, I am curious? Did you see Anderson Cooper last week? Do you realize that an entire 52-county region flooded, that street after street after street […]

Until this weekend, my spring had been enchanted. The dog and I have been strolling the woods for the necessary breaks, and though dreaded at the night hour, the early morning walks have given me a chance to watch the trees leaf and the wildflowers bloom. I have cursed the ticks, but have drunk in […]

I am truly wondering why some parents would choose not to diapers their babies, and instead “intuit” when their tiny infants need to eliminate. I have been chasing the new puppy, Buddy, around for five days now, making sure he makes it to the wee wee pads. A whole lot of intuiting going on here, […]

In the last days of 1989, when I was 22, I wrote a newspaper story quoting experts predicting the trends for the 1990s. Good-bye greedy and mean 1980s, the experts said. Hello, kindness toward man and old person. Ha! What the hell do experts know? And, certainly, those shoulder-pad, big-hair wearing experts of 1989 did not know […]

We had a dinner party for 10 adults and 8 children. Among us: A vegetarian who eats fish. A vegetarian who does not eat fish. A man who cannot eat dairy. A man allergic to meat. A woman allergic to corn. A child who is allergic to nuts. A child who was once allergic to […]

So, a week or so ago, Maria was hanging in the living room with her father. She asked him for the jar of buttons I keep for her crafts. This is what she came up with while he dozed. Lovely, si? Wishing you joy, creativity, love and prosperity and fun this Season and in the […]

So, I have been playing hookie un poco. It’s why there hasn’t been much action around here. Around mid-day — when I already have put in at least six hours at the computer — I think about all that I still could do, and I say: “Pal’ carajo.” I head to the pool. The water […]

I spent the day yesterday driving around Nashville, pointing out places of historic interest, like the Parthenon. Places of fame and notoriety: Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge. Places of cool and quirky: I Dream of Weenie. With me was an awesome Cubanita from Miami who is planning to move to Nashville with her husband and 3-year-old son. […]