News

Yesterday at 1:21 am

Truth and Beauty, Part 1

Glenda, you left us too soon! Eighty-seven is nowheresville…you should have lasted another ten years. Reading Glenda Jackson’s obituary, seeing the clips from recent movies, past the sadness and regret I felt for her loss, I must confess to having…

26 Sep at 12:21 am

A Mother and A Daughter

Musings

Yesterday–or the day before, at some point on NPR–I listened to an interview with Julie Andrews and her daughter, Emma Walton Hamilton. The two were pitching their new children’s book, The Enchanted Symphony. Gifted women having a jolly time talking…

22 Sep at 5:00 pm

Redemption!

Reflections

Ok. Ok. I’ll just be blunt. Direct. No beating around the bush. Have you ever been so daft in love with someone you couldn’t bear the thought of him/her/them being kissed–much less made love to–by someone before you? I know…

8 Sep at 5:00 pm

Back to Normal

Taking Stock

Just to say that our house is back to normal. Bill’s been sickabed on two chairs (lovely old-fashioned expression, don’t know where it came from but it’s descriptive…actually he’s been in the plain old bed) for the last week. I…

3 Sep at 8:32 pm

Bricks!

Becoming My Own Best Self, Reflections

Hey, when something terriblewretchedmiserableuglyawfulhorribleunbelievableynasty happens to you–a ton of bricks falls on your head and there’s no unbricking the pain–what do you do? First, of course, I would imagine you try to understand where the bricks fell from and why…

29 Aug at 6:24 pm

Easy Growing the Best Kale Ever!

In the Kitchen, at the Table

By now most everyone who eats regularly knows that kale is a superfood* and obediently includes kale in their suppers…sometimes. For those who’ve heard the word kale but have avoided it due to unfamiliarity–and maybe a little fear, I mean…

24 Aug at 12:38 am

Serendipity and A Living Fossil in Our Garden

From the Past, What I Find Fascinating

Ever since I learned the word–and isn’t it one of those splendid words as intriguing as its meaning?–I’ve loved the concept of serendipity: stumbling upon something brilliant (stumbling’s a great word, too, so visual) while seeking something ordinary. The happy…

19 Aug at 6:49 pm

Fire!

From the Past, News

Yesterday morning across the top of the front page of The New York Times was a color photograph of a burly man wearing a baseball cap backwards squatting, forehead pressed to the top of the head of a dark brown…

3 Aug at 7:26 pm

Further Adventures of Mrs. Royally Scammed

Taking Stock

I thought I was done with it. (How to Manage Being Royally Scammed) Afterward, the week following, when the daily phone calls came, I hung up. Except–did I mention–the funny one? About three days after the initial hit, guy calls…

28 Jul at 8:18 pm

Best-You-Ever-Ate-Made-the-Night-Before-(Yeast-Raised)-Waffles ~ Fannie Farmer’s Gift to Sunday Breakfast

In the Kitchen, at the Table

I write from, cook in temperate Santa Cruz…my apologies for insensitivity to readers suffering in Phoenix, Miami, Las Vegas, Honolulu, Riverside, all hot spots around the country….it is not fair… Apologies given, then, in today’s vernacular, I’ll “unpack” that title……