Author Archives: Mrs. Fitz

House hunting is more avaricious than it was during the times my husband and I bought and sold our homes, the last experience about a decade ago. Now uncluttered, neutral, staged houses define “move-in ready.” We bought places that had … Continue reading →

There are many reasons folks don’t write. Lack of talent isn’t one of them. UN-writing is. Writers share lessons about PRE-writing, RE-writing, FREE-writing and those are interesting; but UN-writing is tedious, a bit like unraveling a sweater. It is boring … Continue reading →

The 1950s ranch home that witnessed the growing up of my two brothers and I was an open concept design decades before the term defined what a house should be. The living room was for playing the piano or listening … Continue reading →

It would be good if we made three distinctions so we don’t get mixed up when we create, receive, critique, share and respond to information. Media is a collective word to describe tools that deliver information to people. Format is … Continue reading →

Mark Twain  was onto something when he distinguished in an essay between travelers who observe and travelers who absorb. He didn’t have much patience with observers because their minds stayed where they were before their trip and their subsequent opinions … Continue reading →

My uncle was a snug fit at the soda fountain of Howard Johnson’s restaurant in Elmhurst, IL because it was built in 1966 to maximize the number of customers who sat there to order ice cream. His manly frame was … Continue reading →

Writer, actor, producer and director Garry Marshall passed away and took with him one precious example of entertainment’s best quality: sentimentality. He was sheepish about the sentimentality of Happy Days, The Odd Couple, Pretty Woman, Princess Diaries, Laverne & Shirley, … Continue reading →

Recently somebody knocked on my condo door and I opened it to a woman carrying a plate of cupcakes. Bakery momentarily distracted me from noticing that the rest of her did not convey generosity of spirit. If frowns were clothing, … Continue reading →

I understand that Hillary Clinton doesn’t appeal to some folks but I wonder about the reasons. If it’s because she has become familiar to a citizenry that assumes change means new and different, that’s dumb. Change accrues over time. If … Continue reading →

Sofas are the most transient among furnishings. Some sturdy stuff has followed me since leaving home, mostly items of solid wood that refuse to die. Not sofas. I’ve had ’em and replaced them like takeout containers that endure only as … Continue reading →