Posts

Could You Live in a Van?

By Hazel Thornton | August 11, 2025 |

Once upon a time I wrote a blog post called Could You Live in a Tiny House? At the time, Tiny Houses were a trend both in real life and in the media. My perspective was based on having lived in a 200 sq. ft. small-t, small-h tiny house many years ago, long before I…

Stocking Up

By Hazel Thornton | July 24, 2025 |

I just stocked up on something that might not interest you in the slightest. But it gave me peace of mind. And I’m curious what items you have stocked up on, and why. In this post “stocking up” on something means to buy a large quantity of it, to have on hand for future use…

The Sound of Music

By Hazel Thornton | July 11, 2025 |

Theme 1: Prologue This is a story about growing up with my mom and music. It’s easier for me to write about distant ancestors than it is to write about people I actually knew. Sometimes I get overwhelmed, partly because I know so much about them. I think: “I can’t include everything, but how can…

Inspiring Prison Programs

By Hazel Thornton | May 26, 2025 |

Now that Erik and Lyle Menendez are eligible for parole — Menendez Miracle #6 — it no longer seems pointless to think about what they might do when they get out of prison. Rehabilitation The brothers have said that they’d like to continue the work they started in prison. From Lyle’s resentencing statement: I have worked…

Mosquitoes: A Chatty G Consultation

By Hazel Thornton | May 12, 2025 |

  In my last post — Think of ChatGPT as a friend — I mentioned having consulted with ChatGPT (aka Chatty G) about mosquitoes: Chances are that mosquitoes are more of an issue for me than they are for you. For one thing, my blood type is O negative, which has been shown to attract…

Think of ChatGPT as a friend

By Hazel Thornton | April 25, 2025 |

As interested as I am in Artificial Intelligence (AI), and as pervasive as it is becoming in our daily lives, I seem to only manage one blog post per year about it. Suffice it to say that a lot can, and does, happen in a year! So, consider this your annual update. 9/1/25 UPDATE: Since…

Menendez Miracle #6

By Hazel Thornton | March 17, 2025 |

    I have written previously about the first five Menendez Miracles. And I have written more recently about the roller coaster of Menendez legal ups and downs in this frequently-updated post: If I Could Hold a Press Conference. And now we have Menendez Miracle #6: Parole Eligibility 5/15 UPDATE: On 5/13 Judge Michael Jesic…

We’re All Related (and why it matters)

By Hazel Thornton | February 22, 2025 |

It’s ti-i-me! Time for RootsTech, that is (March 6-8, 2025). And time for my favorite feature, Relatives at RootsTech. The largest annual genealogy conference in the world is a hybrid event. If you register for the FREE virtual portion of the conference you will get a different experience, of course, than if you go in…

How Christmas turned into a Virtual Winter Retreat

By Hazel Thornton | January 8, 2025 |

I usually spend Christmas with Jane, my best-friend-since-we-were-14. Usually, she flies from Boise (where we grew up) to my house in Albuquerque. (My brother and aunt live here too, and she calls us her Christmas family.) Sometimes when I tell people she is coming they say, “Do you have anything special planned?” And I reply,…

Celebrating 20 Years

By Hazel Thornton | December 16, 2024 |

Please join me in celebrating 20 years of membership in the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals. NAPO has been the foundation of my professional life and business. I’m retired now, but I’m still an emeritus member. For 17 of those years I helped clients to declutter, simplify, organize, and refresh their homes, offices, schedules,…