The surf and silt it washed up onto the shore beckoned me on a daily basis. This siren’s call became the mandate and mantra of what defined my days closing 2010 and beginning 2011. I would lazily roll over in bed to be greeted by the bright sunshine filtering through the wooden slats and the… Continue reading Mending the broken bits
Category: Notes from the Kitchen
2011: A delicious year
Out with the old, in with the new is the adage that probably most comes to mind at this time of year. Beginnings are a great time to contemplate the former things and what they might have taught us. Thus, from this, my illustrated 2011 recipe box, it appears that kale might be the star… Continue reading 2011: A delicious year
In resolution for a change
No more excuses. You’ve heard that one before. Maybe you even uttered it this morning. Why is it so hard to change? A few years back, I had begun interviewing friends with the same three questions to try to get at the crux of what brings about change and makes it stick. It’s nearing that… Continue reading In resolution for a change
On pageants and pillow pregnancies
The pillow was not cooperating. Weeks earlier, I’d been in the kitchen concocting a semblance of dinner in a bowl called salad when one of my roommates Lisa had asked me to play Elizabeth in our church’s Christmas Day pageant. “Do I have to memorize a lot of lines?” I asked, tossing the odd bits… Continue reading On pageants and pillow pregnancies
A stage and a man with no voice
The note read “I lost my voice. You’re number three.” Frank, the k-jay smiled his broad toothy grin as he sashayed back up to the stage. Gone were the days of him shooting me a look laced with small steel blades. Last time he had hugged me as we began waving goodbye. Christmas lights twinkled… Continue reading A stage and a man with no voice
Redo’s and Reckonings
The sun is hiding like a child playing hide and go seek. These mornings, darkness greets my lumbering body coercing its way from sleep. Along the linoleum floor in the kitchen, my feet pad and slap, as my arm reaches for the light switch. It is morning. It is night. Darkness stands like two bookends… Continue reading Redo’s and Reckonings
Foibles and first batches
Failure. The waiting mouth of the open trash can or compost bin. We’ve all been there. We don’t like to linger in this location often or tell people we’ve visited it even on occasion. Nope, this destination is for other people, right? I’m right there with you. Failing is not something I want to be… Continue reading Foibles and first batches
On Ice Slides and a Proper Celebration
“Let’s do it again!” Sometimes you give in. Sometimes you don’t. I looked behind me, up the tall sturdy ice slide from which we had promptly whizzed to the bottom and I politely declined. The guides had been very kind and quite firm: “Keep your arms and legs inside the sled. You will be going… Continue reading On Ice Slides and a Proper Celebration
Preserving goodness
I have a confession to make: I’m a sucker for superheroes. Whether it’s Marvel or DC (and certain opinions are afoot chez nous about which one is better), there is something incredibly scintillating about slipping into a superhero story. Perhaps it’s found in the constructs. Take one ordinary person and introduce extraordinary circumstances or an… Continue reading Preserving goodness
To have, to hold and a plate of oatmeal cookies
If the first year of marriage has taught me anything it might be this: practice tenacity, forgiveness, listening then talking, embrace the need for God, plan adventures, respect the need for space and time, cultivate dependence and independence. It’s a longer list than I expected. It grows every day. To have and to hold- that’s… Continue reading To have, to hold and a plate of oatmeal cookies
In search of earth – farm to table
Growing up in an urban setting, and appreciating the earth may seem tricky. On Saturday mornings growing up, I would sometimes wake to the whine of the blower or perhaps the wheeze of the lawnmower. Mama relished tending the garden. Every Spring, we could count on daffodils to pop their sunny heads out of the… Continue reading In search of earth – farm to table