musings about food, travel, creativity and life
“Good food with friends and family is the cure of souls.” (from a Leigh Standley Curly Girl cocktail napkin) It was a very warm day on the Peninsula and I had a series of in-town appointments. Highlighting the day, though, were three events with […]
How could I not go to a talk entitled, “What Makes Humans Happy?” This talk was presented in Ketchum, Idaho a few weeks ago by Laurie Santos, Yale University Professor of Psychology. Her course called “Psychology and the Good Life” is apparently the most popular […]
After six weeks of being away, we are now back home. Whew! Transition days…breathe in, breathe out. Unpack. Reflect. Regroup. This last week was spent at Zephyr Point Presbyterian Conference Center, a Lake Tahoe compound of rustic cabins and wooden buildings suitable for conferences, retreats, […]
Saying “A woman’s place is in the kitchen” might cause a stir. But I just finished a book called A Woman’s Place (2019) that addresses that concept in a unique, positive, and assertive way. “Yes,” the authors say, a woman’s place is in the kitchen–as […]
Summer can be a lovely mix of this and that–the familiar, the new; rest, excitement. A fullness. Trees and flowers are at their best. Festivals and picnics abound. And wine shelves overflow with pink rosés from around the world. “Rosé” says summer to me. Pretty, […]
It was that kind of week. A sad one, with our American flags again at half-mast, with words and images that made our hearts ache and our minds wonder–what can we do to be a part of a solution to all of the violence, loss […]
I just finished two fun summer reads, both of which are self-help books, of sorts–surprise! One is the book I checked out from The Community Library last week, Outer Order, Inner Calm by Gretchen Rubin. The second is a short on-line free guide called 50 […]
Libraries inspire me. I love reading, doing research in quiet nooks, finding unexpected intriguing books, and am married to a former school librarian! Luckily, we are currently in Ketchum, Idaho, which has a remarkable Community Library. (http://www.comlib.org). So many elements make this a special place. […]
I’ve just started taking a trip around the world. And I’m doing it relatively inexpensively and definitely easily–by reading a book called The Atlas of Happiness: The Global Secrets of How to be Happy, by Helen Russell. The author, a British journalist, now living in […]
Perhaps that is what you will say about this blog entry. And you would be right. This week has been about travelling back to California, getting a honker cold (new medical term!), making tea, taking naps, reading, and being thankful for every breath. In my […]
Madison inspires me. I love the university vibe, even though it is mellower in the summer–and hotter and muggier. Bicyclists are out in full force; music and food festivals abound; sailboats, kayaks and rowing shells sweep by on Lake Mendota. And–one of the best and […]
Here we are in Wisconsin with all of its treasures. First there are the friends–inspirations, all. And the food they share with us around their respective home tables…from white fish and trout at Lake Superior, to ratatouille fixed in a new Instapot, to a new […]
“On the road again,” and we found ourselves “on the shores of Gitche Gumee,” Longfellow’s rendition of the Native American Ojibwe name for Lake Superior. To begin our Midwest adventure, we landed in Minneapolis and then drove to Duluth, Minnesota–a first-time visit for us–along roads […]
This week I was able to “bring joy to the table” in the form of special food items from my growing-up years in San Francisco. One was a lemon from a tree my father planted in the backyard of our San Francisco home over 50 […]
My favorite morning beverage is a caffè latte with homemade almond milk. After I assemble my first cup, I travel out to our porch, take in the valley view, settle on the green love seat that was my mom and dad’s and take that first […]