Another beloved niece just said I do. In a wedding shower celebrating her, inside an intimate circle of advice, she sat storytelling about the time she spends in the kitchen with her groom. I have eaten the delectable evidence of their deep dive into culinary adventures I would never attempt.…
FOLLY, WINDSHIELD WIPERS AND THE FORK IN THE ROAD
Muddling blackberries is a thing for cocktails. Google and see great recipes. Living in a disordered or confusing state…a muddled life…not so much. I am learning to rewrite the narratives in my head. If I had a quarter for every time J. has said there’s another narrative for (another side of)…
OUR BEAUTIFUL COMMONNESS
High winds left the plants on the west-facing balcony disheveled and torn, taking life and beautiful blooms with them. They will recover with care. This gale-force unrest in our country tears at all of us. The noise, chaos and destruction rend the good along with the bad. How we react…
A WELL-PATINAED LIFE
I’ve been thinking about those old, deeply patinaed French shutters, cleaned to a not-quite-but-near-boring finish. So much time at home…staring down the old proverb (Parkinson’s Law) work expands to fill the time allotted, making sure I don’t bill one unnecessary minute to a client project…I’m thinking about the patina of…
THE PLEASURE OF WRITING: A TABLE TALK WITH DETLEF BITTNER
I love fine writing paper about as much as anything. J. loves fine writing instruments. My dad has what he calls his lucky pen. This next long-form conversation in the Shopkeeper Series is a high point for me. It returns me in spirit to Carmel-by-the-Sea in California…like Charleston, a siren call…
OPEN MY EYES TO SEE
Inside 30 minutes I answered—easily five or more times—the same questions. Touching our rescued-from-consignment, restored antique pine dining table and motioning to the places around it, did you bring this furniture with you? Oh, I can see you sitting here and your husband sitting there and your friends around you.…