By Nellie Curtiss …. One of the best smiles this week was on Thursday. My dog Schroeder was styled at All Four Paws Grooming which is a stone’s throw away from the Valley Courier. Andie fetched him even before I parked. She clicked his leash on and let me know when to return for him.Continue reading “Smiles are the best for customers to feel at home”
Category Archives: mental health
Good things can come to all of us
By Nellie Curtiss Yes, dads and moms have long said to their children, “Good things come to those who wait.” Before winter, neighbors made short work of weeds and grass in my yard. Like everyone else lately, inflation high cost of utilities, rents, groceries have forced many to take on second and third jobs toContinue reading “Good things can come to all of us”
Is counseling useless?
by Nellie Curtiss . . . The other day someone asked me, “Is counseling useless? Does it help?” Counseling used to be known as psychoanalysis (in those 50s and 60s movies where the uptown girl would see her analyst); and now personal therapy includes appointments, group therapy, and groups addressing specific court requirements like violentContinue reading “Is counseling useless?”
Elvis touched our lives then and now
By Nellie Curtiss …. Elvis Presley has always been part of my life and my family’s life. An early song by Elvis was “Love me Tender” on a 45 RPM record that my mom owned. Wrapped in its paper sleeve, Mom’s precious possession was kept close to the beige colored 1959 Philco turntable within theContinue reading “Elvis touched our lives then and now”
That Sunday drive with Aunt Nono
By Nellie Curtiss … At my cousin Edna’s 80 acres, my aunt, my black cocker spaniel, and I loaded into my red 1989 Dodge Raider—a gift to myself the year I graduated with my master’s—for a Sunday ride in 2001. Just outside of Manassa, passed the waterless bridges of steel, Aunt Leona measured the hillContinue reading “That Sunday drive with Aunt Nono”
Is it slothfulness or fibromyalgia?
By Nellie Curtiss … Sometimes the hair follicles “Eek!” with soreness and running fingers through hair fires pain from scalp to hair tip. Showering is like standing naked while fine sand or BB pellets spray. Pulling socks up from ankles pitches muscle aches into the mix, too. Dressing is grueling as every metal harbinger thatContinue reading “Is it slothfulness or fibromyalgia?”
If feelings are too much, one conversation can change a life.
By Nellie Curtiss … Have you ever wanted to just die? Did you ever want to stop feeling down inside, or know someone who is hurting, too? I spent most of my young adult years in a deep depressive fog. Back before selfies, teens took Kodak moments—the subjects were themselves and backdrops for their personalContinue reading “If feelings are too much, one conversation can change a life.“
Comfort food: Peanut Butter, Bologna, Vienna Sausage, Broccoli, and Popcorn
by Nellie Curtiss … Schroeder wouldn’t leave his long-haired ear alone and his head shaking got worse. I cleaned out some gunk from his cocker spaniel ear and it seemed better for few minutes. When Dr. Deal saw him a few days later, he found swollen tonsils. He sent Schroeder home with an antibiotic andContinue reading “Comfort food: Peanut Butter, Bologna, Vienna Sausage, Broccoli, and Popcorn“
ROOMBA on a mission at 230 in the afternoon
by Nellie Curtiss … It was 2:30 in the afternoon when the gunmetal colored ROOMBA left its station and embarked on its mission. There were no notes left behind; no clues as to it’s trek that day. The twin teens were not yet home from Grant Middle School where they ran for the track team.Continue reading “ROOMBA on a mission at 230 in the afternoon“
It’s an epidemic!
by Nellie Curtiss … Isn’t it time we value our children and families more than we value the gun lobby? Matthew McConaughey’s hometown is Uvalde, Tx. The day of the Robb Elementary massacre in Uvalde, he asked us on Facebook, “The true call to action now is for every American to take a longer andContinue reading “It’s an epidemic!”
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