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All marriages have their struggles, but women whose husbands are running toward flaming danger while everyone else is running away face special struggles.

By Colleen Grzan

I recently came across a envelope full of old photos of my mom when she was a child. A relative had sent them to me after she passed away, and I guess I was not ready to look at them at the time. Now I see in the photos a beautiful child posing in front of a quaint south Boston brownstone, alongside relatives or friends whose faces I do not recognize. I remember my Irish family members as so much older than the folks pictured there. They were all characters who loved to sip whiskey and sing songs of the old country, but you would never know that looking at their stern, stiff expressions in the photos. I wonder what they were doing and saying just before the photos were taken, and I wish their names were listed on the backs. It would help me distinguish between my endless relatives named Mary.

Two months ago I shared a summary on a new down payment program designed to help buyers manage the high cost of living in the Bay Area through a shared appreciation investment. Since that brief introduction, the program has improved and is worthy of a quick refresher.

Don’t wear fragrance. Colognes can interfere with your (or other’s) ability to sense some wine’s delicate notes.

A number of years ago I was on a tour of Highgrove Royal Gardens in England. At this, the private residence of Their Royal Highness, we marveled at the beautiful hostas and ooohed and aaahed over the meadows of wildflowers. It was all quite stunning, my dears. And at the end of the tour guide slowed her pace. She lowered her voice nearly to a whisper as she announced “And here … we have … the California Wild Lilac!” Sounds of delight and awe rippled through our tour group. My colleague and I exchanged quick glances—so much build up for a native California plant that we routinely fly by on the highway without a second thought (no booing here, I truly love our hardworking ceanothus). And I couldn’t help but think about how much coddling and care must go into keeping that Mediterranean climate-loving shrub happy so far from its native soil.

It took 160 hours of training for a 7 ½ minute improvement. To set a personal-record (PR) at the California International Marathon (CIM) in Sacramento on Dec. 4, I had to train harder than ever. That meant running 60 miles a week, six days a week (Sunday was my lone day off). My "recovery" runs were anywhere from 7 to 8 miles.

With mortgage rates rising quickly post election, there has been much more attention paid to Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) loans. Many people have stayed away from these types of loans in the past 10 years as the fallout from the mortgage meltdown drove the market to fixed rates. Also, when long term 30-year fixed rates are in the mid to low-threes, it doesn't make much sense to look at an ARM loan.

The mood went from dawn to dusk, a collection of contemporary paintings spanning the brilliance of an entire day in Monterey.

On a crisp, sun-laden day, I paid a visit to Sycamore Creek Vineyards, newly owned by Frank Leal of Leal Vineyards. The driveway was lined with Manzanillo olive trees whose ancient, gnarled trunks belied their recent plantings. The olive trees, strung with twinkling lights for evening magic, along with the lovely working women in the tasting room and the very solid wines—all trademarks of Frank Leal’s success in the business.