The simple practice of noticing what delights you. It was early morning. My mother and I were still in our pajamas on the porch, both of us with something hot in our hands, neither of us talking very much yet. A hummingbird came to the feeder. And then a second one. They hovered and darted…
She sat in the pine straw for over an hour, then walked over to my container, helped herself and left without an apology. This week has Tuscany, London, Connecticut and a man in London full of wisdom As I passed from the bedroom to the kitchen yesterday to make my drinking chocolate, I glanced out…
Summer corn recipes from bloggers I love, three books for the season, and a weekend with two birthdays to celebrate Friday again, and it’s the start of a busy weekend. Today is my sister’s birthday, and Saturday is my niece’s. Two parties, what is not to love about a weekend celebrating two amazing ladies? It’s…
A Seasonal Table post with Cindy Hattersley Peppery arugula, salty feta, quick-pickled red onions, and a honey lime vinaigrette. Even if you are not a watermelon person. I have eaten watermelon exactly once in my life. I was young enough that I cannot tell you exactly when, old enough to remember that I did not…
A letter to every woman holding someone else’s world together I have been watching the women in my life lately. Not in a casual way. In the way you watch someone when you realize they have stopped sitting down. My mother is caring for my stepfather. My sister is caring for her husband, who has…
Grandkids, waves, hang gliding, a surprise bear, the discovery that North Carolina has alligators, and a historical novel I could not put down It is so nice to be home in my own bed with my pups. Vacation is wonderful, but there is nothing quite like your own pillow. We spent the past week in…
On Midlife, Contentment, and the Permission to Love the Life You Actually Have Last week a friend and I were sitting on the front porch taking in the flowers blooming in the circle, watching the bees and birds flit from one to the other. And she said, “I keep waiting to feel like I’ve arrived,…
One minute it was Memorial Day and the next it is almost back to school, two films worth watching, Victorian London done right and a woman who builds Scotland from cardboard. Summer seems to be flying by. One minute it was Memorial Day and the unofficial start to summer, and the next it is almost…
Three summer savory recipes, a few good books, and everything else on my mind this week. It’s Friday, friends, and it has been another busy week. We went from celebrating America’s 250th birthday to a week with the grandkids, another birthday, another reason to be completely happy and exhausted at the same time. It is…
Twelve books worth clearing your calendar for — new favorites, old friends, and everything in between Every June I make myself a small promise: this summer I will read slowly. I will savor. I will not stay up until midnight turning pages under the covers the way I did as a child during summer break….
Tender, citrus-bright, and still perfect on day three. The secret is sour cream. My mother has been looking for her mother’s poppyseed cake for years. Not a poppyseed cake. Her mother’s poppyseed cake, the specific one, the right one, the one that was made for decades and has not been exactly replicated since. She knows…
Making friends has never come easily to me. But somewhere in my fifties I stopped apologizing for a small circle and started celebrating what I actually have. Making friends has never come easily to me. Maybe it is because I am shy. Maybe it is because we moved every two years until I was thirteen…
