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Before he died when I was a year old, my father was the proprietor of Gioia’s Pizzeria in the town of Batavia, New York. His partners were his younger brother Dick and nephew Ronnie. Gioia's Pizzeria, Eastown Plaza, Batavia, NY circa 1958 Of course, because of my age...

It irks me when my two very accomplished and astute daughters tell me I have too much stuff. Granted, I live in a small house and space is an issue but a large percentage of the things I have are mementos. It’s a new year and like many others, I feel an urgency to...

I’ve owned hundreds of pets throughout my life, most of them being dogs and cats. From the first dog I can remember in early childhood, a Border Collie named Princess to my most recent two, a Great Pyrenees and Chihuahua, I have loved each one of them. Yet, there are...

F was one of the elderly people I came to know as a caregiver, a job I took on a few years ago to supplement my income. She was my third client and up until her passing at midnight this morning, the one I worked with the longest. When we caregivers first began with F,...

Sunday, June 18, 2023 Maastricht, Netherlands When the Flixbus turned onto the highway toward Maastricht, the little town I’d visited a few days before, I felt a weight drop off me. I inwardly sighed feeling like I was in a good place. I remember having this same...

Saturday, June 17, 2023 Let’s just say I can’t get out of this town, this country fast enough. It’s 2 ½ hours before my bus leaves. I’ve been at the station since 11 am, four hours before I needed to be there. I booked a 3:45 pm bus because of the price $19.95, the...

Saturday, June 17, 2023 Brussels, Belgium 8:00 AM Holed up in a hotel in the city center of Brussels I have the television on to a station that has music in the background while showing panoramic views of various landscapes. It is quite soothing while I write about...

Thursday, June 15, 2023 Amsterdam 7:07 pm Yesterday I checked into my city center hotel. The hotel and room are wonderful, life outside not so much. I find Amsterdam to be too overwhelming with people, shops, smell, and filth (much more apparent at 7:00 in the morning...

Wednesday, June 14, 2023 Haarlem, Netherlands 8:40 am My body still felt the effects of jet lag yesterday, although I had a fairly good night’s sleep. After packing I left the lovely hotel in headed to the Amsterdam train station via tram around 9:00 am. I found that...

Tuesday, June 13, 2023 6:20 am Amsterdam, Netherlands This is the beginning of day two of my solo journey. To say that it has been challenging is an understatement. At first, I didn’t feel like writing, nor sharing with anyone via phone, text, or social media because...

I awake to the sounds of my family readying for the day: five-year-old Pearl sharing last night’s dream with her mom, twelve-going-on-sixteen-year-old Rain cajoled into rolling out of bed, their mom carrying on a stream of “come on, let’s go,” refrain in order to...

I’ve always been drawn to the idea of time travel. Perhaps it’s because I have lived a life of longing. I never knew my mom and dad because they died before I ever had a chance to know them. I was an infant when they left this earth and have always wondered, what were...

I had a dream the other night, taking me back to a street in a town that I grew up on. In the dream I encountered several people from my much younger days and they were all anxious to greet me, a reunion of sorts. One of the first to embrace me was a family member who...

I am set to visit our house in Las Vegas, where my husband John resides while I hold down the fort, so to speak, in our southern Oregon home. It’s been a while since I’ve had the chance to get to Vegas, the Pandemic, my work here, grandchildren watching...

Originally published July 2008 “Peanut, can you come out and play?” I asked my poodle-mix as I knocked on the door of the mailbox.  The hinged door burst open and Peanut jumped into my arms, tail wagging and tongue licking.  I giggled and hugged my pet, then stuffed...

Originally published September 2009 "You will never be happy." That’s what my father-in-law told me recently.  I was sharing how in the near future I hope to find myself and my husband out of Las Vegas and living in a place that: * Is green with real, live...

Originally published January 2010 Back in 1985 I was a newly single mother of two small daughters. I had to find a way to support myself so I went back to the restaurant that I worked at when I first moved to Simi Valley. I am not one to feel regret but I know that...

Originally published July 2009 There are three more kittens outside on our property, a half-acre of land in a shared cul-de-sac.  I caught a glimpse of the kittens the other day as the homeowner next door pointed them out to me, “Got 3 more for you,” he said,...

Originally published March 2010 I have started out my Monday mad as Hell.  The first day of a very busy week and now I have a crappy attitude that I hope I can change so I'm not a real drag to be around all day.  It all started with a frick'n 2:00 AM text...

Originally published January 2010 I am one of those people that have loved every single step of my life, even the times that were not so pleasant. While I contend that the tragic, difficult, challenging, and sad moments have been more than some people experience in a...

Originally published July 2009 Well, I didn’t make it to New York.  I missed the reunion I was a key part in organizing and missed the music festival I was so looking forward to attending.  What happened?  First I got tired.  Then I got...

Originally published October 2009 My very first boyfriend was “Bucky” Buchanan.  I can say his name publically because I’m pretty sure that the nickname he carried when he was a 6th grader doesn’t apply to him anymore, so his identity is safe.  I hope so or...

Originally published June 2009 I’m going through a phase right now where I want to hear music from my younger years.  Maybe it has something to do with my upcoming trip home to visit lots of high school friends.  Whatever it is I am forgoing my usual audio...

Originally published October 2009 When I was in my very early twenties I considered having a procedure so I didn’t become pregnant; I honestly thought I didn’t want to have children.  A consultation with a doctor, however, resulted in his dismissal; he said I was...

Originally published March 2010 It’s early and my morning routine is nearly over. I wake up with the rising sun; my internal clock seems to know when that is no matter how dark the room is. Two of my dogs, Maya and Grubb awaken with me and when I’m ready to get out of...

Originally published December 2009 Menopause and patriotism are an interesting mix. I discovered this today when I attended the memorial service for a man I hardly knew other than to pay my respects to him and his family. I am at that stage in my life where my...

Originally published January 2010 the last twenty years.  It’s nearly midnight and I suspect that sleep will elude me for some hours to come.  My mind is awash in memories and rather than try and fight them for the sake of sleep, I would rather give in and...

Originally published August 2009 The greatest thing I ever did in my life, and I’ve done some great things for a small town girl, is to give birth and raise two children.  The hardest thing I’ve ever done or will ever survive is being the mother to...

Originally published December 2009 Although I grew up near and often on a Native American Indian reservation, it wasn’t until I read a historical novel back in the 1980s that I became immersed in the culture and set myself on a path of following the Native American...

Originally published August 2009 I have worn many different career hats in my life: waitress, animal trainer, business owner, program coordinator, volunteer manager, grant writer, museum technician, archaeologist, teacher, and now historian.  This past week I was...

Originally published November 2009 I am not a believer in reincarnation, but if I was I would swear I had lived at least two other previous lives.  One of those lives would be that of a Native American medicine woman and the other, a survivor of oppression from...

Originally published December 2009 "Nana, how old will you be when I'm 52? My seven-year-old grandson is starting to ask the big questions. After a litany of similar questions, right up until he asked how old his Nana would be when he turned 99, there was silence in...

Originally published February 2010 I love to see things grow. Be it children or plants I love to witness the process: children as they move through their many stages of development, flowers when they bloom, or plants when they produce their delicious vegetables....

Originally published June 2009 The best thing I ever did was to leave western New York.  The hardest thing I’m doing in my life is to stay away from there.  I often think about where I would be right now if my parents hadn’t died.  For sure, I’d...

Originally published November 2009 I’m letting my hair down today. I ignored the curling iron so my bangs are not straight, but are curly cues with some strands sticking straight up in the air. So in addition to the curling iron, I avoid mirrors today. I have great...

Originally published July 2009 Women who love women are so lucky.  I don’t mean “love” in the sexual sense, not that there’s anything wrong with that (anyone watch Seinfeld?); it’s just what I mean is women that love and appreciate other woman for their...

Originally published June 2009 As I am on my own for the coming week, I started my Sunday afternoon by watching movies I’ve taped for just this kind of alone time.  One of them is a favorite of mine from long ago that I haven’t seen in over 30 years.  What...

Originally published July 2009 Frank McCourt just died.  When one of my idols passes on it’s as though I have lost an opportunity, lost that improbable chance to meet them and share with them just how important they are to a Nobody like me.  It happened when...

Originally published June 2009 I love reading Maeve Binchy novels; she is such a great character writer.  I owe her thanks for all of the hours of pleasure she has given me with her writing, as well as for the fulfillment of a dream that came about because of one...

Originally published May 2009 As I get older and find myself in the phase of my life that experts like Christiane Northrup (The Wisdom of Menopause) claim is the time when women find their “voice”, I thought my outspokenness had just emerged.  I realize now that...

Originally published June 2009 I guess I’m going through a bit of the “empty-nest syndrome.”  Family members that are in close proximity of me all have things going on that leaves me very much on my own.   Oldest daughter, Erin who lives in California...

Originally published May 2009 They swooped in, burlap clad people flying overhead like flying squirrels surveying the landscape below. Before they could surround our group on the ground, I ran to hide, finding shelter under a boat and praying I wasn’t seen by the evil...

Originally published August 2009 A forty-something friend of mine is going to remarry soon and she asked my opinion on changing her last name.  Her soon-to-be husband wants her to take his name.  As she was married once before she has been there, done that,...

Originally published October 2009 When I was living through the first few years of divorce from my children’s father, I couldn’t wait to have the girls grown up so I would never have to deal with him again.  My first husband and I were married six years; it was a...

Originally published December 2009 For the last week I’ve been preparing for the arrival of one of my daughters and her husband who came for a five-day visit before Christmas.  During that time I have been planning for their stay by getting the house ready (got...

Originally published October 2009 Frankly, I can’t believe I’m still alive. I am the clumsiest person I know. Today’s mishap was just one in a long line of near-death experiences that had me grateful to still be walking the earth, or walking at all for that matter....

Originally published May, 2009 When I’m stressed or angry I get moving.  In the past when I couldn’t cope with a situation I would use my car as an escape.  I have changed locations more times than I can count and family members complained that I took up too...

Originally published November, 2009 Yesterday I went to Costco and bought two down pillows.  I had a coupon for $10.00 off, which helped me justify the purchase.  I have been sleeping so poorly lately so I hoped if I had better quality pillows I could solve...

Originally published June, 2009 My husband and I had a date this morning and you know you've reached a point in the marriage when the date is to have your blood drawn together. We had orders from our respective doctors for the lab tests. John’s was ordered about six...

Originally published June, 2009 As Angelina Jolie once quipped, “I’m so in love with my brother.”  While I could never understand the kiss in which she chose to express this sibling love, I do know exactly how she feels because I also am in love with my brother.  I...

Originally published March, 2010 I left my home in New York State in 1976 to pursue my lifelong dream of working in the animal industry. I was fortunate enough to be accepted into a junior college in California that would award me an Associate’s Degree in Exotic...

Anyone who knows me knows I suffer from a pretty acute case of ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). I’ve been this way all of my life; of course when I was a child they didn’t have a name for it other than to refer to me as “hyper.”   For the most...

Around 2009 at the behest of a writer friend, I began a blog I called, This Gioia's Chronicles. A few times a week I created and shared posts that ranged from observational essays of life, shared the impact of how the loss of my parents when I was just a year old...