The title of Alice Schroeder's biography about Warren Buffett is "Snowball -- Warren Buffett and the Business of Life." Schroeder opens her story with a vignette about a day in Buffett's childhood when he recalls catching a snowflake on his hand and then two more until he gets a handful, enough to roll a snowball unstopping through the world. As a child, Buffett was always engrossed with numbers. He counted things over and over again. As soon as he was old enough, he took an after school job delivering newspapers and then another before school. Very shortly, he had a very respectable bank account that he was always trying to figure out ways to make larger. Schroeder writes a very detailed summary of his life from early childhood until his current status as the world's richest man. Buffett assisted and aided Schroeder in her research. She reports he had a few bumps along the way and lost some money but he used each failure as a learning tool and used it to build his dynasty. He and his wife Susie have a great partnership together and most of all, he says, he did his Dad proud. ...more

March 25, 2009

When Better Homes and Gardens wrote about a "fuss-free" Thanksgiving, clearly they weren't picturing me, my husband, our cousins, two turkeys and a hatchet. ...more

November 27, 2008

food, water and shelter. ...more

July 16, 2008

The SPCA Suncoast is marking its 44th anniversary by giving pet enthusiasts a break on fees for microchips and adoptions. ...more

January 24, 2008