Becoming My Own Best Self

14 Mar at 1:17 am

Drunken French Pears from Elizabeth David

For lunch I just served friends a favorite dessert–a superb dessert, fun and easy and elegant—and I want to tell you about it. It’s from French Provincial Cooking and the incomparable English food writer, Elizabeth David. Initially published in 1960…

10 Mar at 4:45 pm

Choices

Aging Ain’t for Sissies

When we realized we couldn’t have a weekend in San Francisco to celebrate our twelfth wedding anniversary (our dog-sitter was snowed in), Bill said, “I know. Let’s go in June and celebrate your birthday in Copenhagen! Then we can take…

22 Feb at 8:36 pm

Tagliatelle Alla Marinara, Wonderful!

In the Kitchen, at the Table

Every so often if you like to cook and you cook a lot (I admit to both), you discover something memorable. That happened to me a bit ago thanks to Giuliano Bugialli, esteemed Tuscan chef and cooking teacher (the New…

17 Feb at 8:21 pm

Mousy Fellow Mortal

Reflections

Valentine’s night we went to one of the town’s favorite cafés for treats of delicious suppers and the live jazz of a friend’s combo. We were in a covered patio, seated at a small table close to the musicians, more…

2 Feb at 6:31 pm

A Supper for Millennials and Generation Z’s

Reflections

Yesterday morning a grandson who lives at a distance called, said he was in San Francisco, could he come down this afternoon for a visit? The young man is a world traveler, bi-lingual (French), a bec-fin. We were delighted. But…

27 Jan at 8:02 pm

The Best Insurance for Not-Being-Left-Alone

Reflections

Have I mentioned the reason why we two old geezers have a formidable German Shepherd Dog rather than a mellow Lab or transcendent poodle? After Gene died, I had the company of our German Shepherd, Lady, a gift when she…

18 Jan at 12:24 am

William Park’s Take on The 100 Greatest Films of All Time

Reflections

Weeks of preparation and then the crush of the holidays themselves (not to mention the incapacitation of a full-length brace on my leg) kept us from writing our annual Christmas letter. Bill’s part of The Letter is anticipated far and…

30 Dec 2022

I Must Admit…

Taking Stock

[N.B. A briefer earlier version was on my FB page…] I must admit it’s finally dawned on me that I’m getting—am already—old. Curious feeling. Not altogether real. But I had evidence of it on Christmas when I attempted to cook…

11 Dec 2022

Resources for A Happy and A Merry Caritas

Reflections

Musing about gifts to the recalcitrant, I stumbled upon something really super. It just struck me that giving someone a donation to charity as a Chanukkah or Christmas present is giving twice—immediately to the friend or family member and then…

9 Dec 2022

Stuff

Taking Stock

You see in our ‘70s-built house, my study is the room furthest from the source of warmth, a furnace in the garage. The designers of the house forgot about efficiently delivering heat to rooms down the hall. Bill’s study, adjoining…