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Growing pains. Growing up. Outgrown. Overgrown. Growth pattern. There’s a growth pattern in humans that applies to businesses as well. People hook up and conceive a business plan. The plan is under wraps as planning, financing and sourcing slowly develop over the course of several months. It’s then birthed in a grand opening celebration and […]

You would expect a magazine called “Green” to be printed on recycled paper, but it’s not. It’s not even printed. It’s a “digital digest” available only online. Now that’s green! Green is cropping up in the produce section on organically grown products. It’s all over the hardware store, with “Eco Options” labeling for products that […]

Family man. Runs in the family. In the family way. Family tree. Family matters. Americana is all about family. We’ve even stretched it to include our “work family” and our “school family” or our “church family.” Despite efforts to redefine it, we all have our own personal definition. What does “family” mean to Ms. Jones? […]

Ahhh, romance. Your heart twitters, your stomach flitters. You primp and preen for hours before each encounter. You write pithy poems and gaze google-eyed into space. You’re in love with love. Slip a ring on your finger and a diaper bag over your shoulder and watch what happens. Heart-stopping fantasy passion becomes toilet-stopping reality. Ms. […]

Thelma Ritter’s first movie role was a brief, uncredited part as a frustrated mother unable to find the toy that Kris Kringle promised to her son. Santa saves the day, however, by telling her that Schoenfeld’s has the fire engine little Peter wants. Kris later tells another mother that Macy’s rival, Gimbels, has better skates […]

A few years ago, “home office” simply meant a scaled-down replica of the “real” office, an impressive rectangular desk flanked by bookcases with a ficus in the corner. Today, a growing number of people don’t even leave home to go to work. They stay in their sweatpants until noon and send emails at all hours. […]

The master bathroom was demolished. A black garbage bag was taped over missing tiles on the shower walls. The window treatments were 25 years old. The carpet… well, enough said – carpet in a bathroom is gross. Each morning, the homeowners went to another bathroom on a different level of the house to shower. This […]

Are you good at guessing games? You get three guesses at the answer to the following question, and the first two don’t count. Here’s the question: “What brings you in today?” If you guessed, “I’ve come to fork over my hard-earned money on some of your fine furniture, here’s my wallet – please, just take […]

You’re wearing your lucky shirt. The weather is warm and the beer is cold. You’ve got a new club you’re dying to try. You line up with the ball, draw back and whack it good. But as soon as the club makes contact, you stiffen, stopping in mid-swing. You stare in surprise as the ball […]

Toilet paper made from yesterday’s news. Computers made from old car parts. New tin cans made from old tin cans. Recycling is a good thing, most of the time. Furniture recycling, however, is not a good thing for you. We’re not talking about making microfibers from plastic pop bottles, or advocating filling landfills with still-good […]