musings about food, travel, creativity and life
Yes—Summer, Sun and Soccer— I’m in❣️ Watching World Cup soccer has provided many treats and insights into world cultures. So much emotion, so much color, so many Norwegian Viking Row celebrations! For me, seeing the world through the World Cup lens is a counter=balancing […]
Sun and longer days—ah, yes—summer. At this time of year, here’s what’s bringing a smile to my face…I wonder what is “doing it” for you: ❤️ seeing a red fox saunter across our grass area, stopping under our plum tree to scratch […]
What is your favorite color? Right now, mine is yellow. Not necessarily to wear, but to look at. Just like the sun, it lifts my spirits. Our courtyard is filled with yellow—a yellow table and chairs, yellow flower pots, yellow Gerbera daisies, yellow ceramic boots, […]
While visiting a friend in Palm Springs recently, I had an “interesting” day. Throughout the day, three different people told me my hair was beautiful and asked if it were natural—ah, yes, I answered, both in curl and color. One even asked if she could […]
Happy Valentine’s Day, dear readers❣️ I’m sending much love and appreciation your way and hope the day fills your heart with joy. […]
We had been talking for quite a while about going to one of our favorite foodie destinations—Gayle’s Bakery and Rosticceria in Capitola (home to my all-time favorite biscottis!)— to hear the Hot Club Pacific Jazz group which performs there every Thursday evening. Finally, we did […]
With all that is going in our world right now, finding “comfort and joy” feels challenging at times. But I’m not giving up hope. I am going for both. And I hope you are, too. Some days for me that means doing two meditations […]
I love short quotes that seem to “say it all.” I have quite a collection of them, having saved them since high school. I remember an innkeeper in Door County, Wisconsin, who used to place a quote at each guest’s place setting for breakfast. It […]
So…there we were in Grocery Outlet buying a bag of popcorn for the road when I saw the “home decor” item in the photograph above. I had to have it. It seemed like a perfect reminder of what made our recent week in Tucson and […]
I’m buying lots of yellow flowers these days—yellow zinnias for the garden, yellow tulips for the house…my mini-attempts at bringing sunshine into my life as a counter balance to the shortening days that September brings. I’m also trying new things, like contra dancing (fun and […]
Today marks the date, seven years ago, that I started this blog. Happy Birthday, Blog🥳 And thank you! You’ve given me, and I hope others, little reminders that life can and does provide points of joy, big and small—through precious moments, people, pets, places, […]
Home—an oasis of comfort and beauty, a place of simple pleasures and little joys. It is where I watch our plums coming into their own and birds flitting from feeder to bath. It is where I water my newly planted basil and parsley and […]
Here we are in Madison, Wisconsin, enjoying all the summer fun this town offers. The weekly Saturday Farmers’ Market around the Capitol building is one of my favorite activities. All the shoppers and lookers walk counter clockwise around the square, slowly, which makes it easier […]
We just returned to Madison from a two week escapade to London and Paris, our first international trip since the pandemic. Oh, my. It was filled with all the “Joie de Vivre” elements I love about travel, and life: ⋅great food,⋅beauty, art, fashion, ⋅wonderful people, […]