By Sue Murphy I don’t know how things fare with our national security, but I can tell you one thing: No one’s going to be surreptitiously walking off with one of Mrs. Squirrel’s tea cozies any time soon. When Santa’s elves finish making their toys, the gifts must be packaged for store display. Although the entire assemblage of Mrs. Squirrel’s Tiny Tree House will … [Read more...]

By Sue Murphy Don’t look now, but it’s time to get your holiday house in order. We’ve cleared the Halloween hurdle and are now careening into the full-on holiday rush. It may be hard to believe, but if you haven’t already booked the venue for your holiday party, it may be too late.  If you have, good for you. Now you just have to hope that you will be well enough to … [Read more...]

By Sue Murphy Yesterday was a banner day. For the first time, I used the self-checkout kiosk at Walmart. I slid my purchases across the scanner, put them in the bag and stuck my credit card into the little slot. I wouldn’t have attempted it, but the regular checkout lanes were jammed and my daughter was standing right next to me for backup. I kind of resent the fact … [Read more...]

By Sue Murphy On the day you were born, you emerged into the light, the nurse checked the clock on the wall, and – bing! – you were assigned a birthday, a day that will cyclically fall on different days of the week as time goes by, but whose number is yours forever. Your birthday is important. It’s part of your legal and medical identity, not to mention that it gets you … [Read more...]