Home & Family

  • Gardening,  Home & Family

    “Winter gardening” in The Detroit News

    “How many lessons of faith and beauty we would lose if there were no winter in our year.” ~Thomas Wentworth Higginson Today’s edition (Jan. 17) of Homestyle in The Detroit News includes a story about “gardening” in the winter. Design writer Jeanine Matlow interviewed me for the story and included a few of my tips on how to decorate your garden when it’s too cold to plant anything. You’ll recognize a few of my own winter garden photos in the piece. Subscribers can read the feature online or you can purchase a print copy of The Detroit News on the stands today. ~CL

  • Events & news,  Home & Family

    What we have

    “Appreciate what you have, while you have it, or you’ll learn what it meant to you after you lose it.” ~ Frank Sonnenberg My heart is breaking for the people who lost their homes in the Southern California wildfires. I’m in tears whenever I watch a news spot showing devastated families left with nothing but ashes, memories, and the clothes they were wearing when they had to evacuate. I wish I could do more than donate funds to help them.* What would it be like to lose everything — your home, your entire community — in a fire? As today’s quote warns, there’s so much we take for granted until…

  • Animals,  Coco,  Home & Family

    Sedatives, surprises and lots of support

    “Anything is possible when you have the right people there to support you.” ~ Misty Copeland Nursing a dog who is seriously injured can be confining, but the next few weeks are especially critical for Coco’s recovery. I’ll do whatever it takes to help her — even though it means altering my own plans to accomplish that. As we begin Week Two of Coco’s eight-week healing process, I remind myself that major recoveries can’t be hurried. One small step at a time. Our house looks like an infirmary and will stay that way through the holidays. The Christmas decorations are still packed in the attic, where they’ll remain until next…

  • Coco,  Events & news,  Home & Family

    The long road to recovery

    “I’m not telling you that recovery is going to be easy; I’m telling you it’s going to be worth it.” – Art Williams First, thank you for your thoughtful texts, emails, and comments of support for Coco and our family. I’ve never received this much mail for any column or post I’ve written. Along with your support, you’ve shared hope-filled stories about your own pets and how they’ve recovered from illness and trauma. It proves that our pets are family, not accessories. When they hurt, we hurt. As promised, today’s post is an update on what’s next for Coco after the accident. Yesterday morning, several veterinarians at the animal hospital consulted…

  • Coco,  Dog photos,  Home & Family

    The ordinary instant

    “Life changes in the instant. The ordinary instant.” ~Joan Didion It started out to be an ordinary, uneventful Saturday evening. In a few texts, my friend Deb and I had just agreed that we were looking forward to a quiet, cozy evening with our husbands. Nothing special to do. Then, around 6:15, I opened the front door to bring in two packages from the porch. And life changed. As she often does, our dog Coco followed me to the porch while I picked up the packages. Though Coco isn’t allowed to wander unleashed in the front yard, something caught her eye on the park-like boulevard across the street from our home.…

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