by Marlene Bumgarner | Aug 8, 2025 | Community, Family, Gardening, Health, Nature
The Slough of Despond Following certain actions of the U.S. government around the beginning of July that I will not detail here, having a policy of no politics in my newsletter, I found myself wallowing in negative thoughts and being unable, or unwilling, to...
by Marlene Bumgarner | Jul 2, 2025 | Aging, Family, Grandparenting
How Time Flies It seems only yesterday I was on Amtrak riding home from Santa Fe, New Mexico, but suddenly it was Memorial Day, and then June. For their anniversary this year, my son and his wife wanted to spend some grownup time together in Ojai, so their 8 year old...
by Marlene Bumgarner | Apr 29, 2025 | Aging, Child development, Cooking and Eating, Family, Grandparenting
Spring Break in New Mexico Some time during the winter I confided to my youngest daughter, who lives in Virginia, that I would like to see New Mexico again in the springtime. In the 70s, the husband of my youth and I had traveled to Las Cruces, in southern New...
by Marlene Bumgarner | Mar 19, 2025 | Cooking and Eating, Family, Travel, Writing
Celebrate The Last Day of Winter This has been my least favorite winter of all time. I’ve struggled with inconsistent weather, persistent and long power cuts, evacuating to escape the southern California fires, repeated admonitions by public figures that our...
by Marlene Bumgarner | Feb 17, 2025 | Aging, Family
Good News I received some amazing news last week. After a year of targeted treatment for melanoma, my PET scan came back with the report “No Evidence of Disease.” When I told my friends and family, they wanted to know “What does that mean?” “Are you cancer-free now?”...