Adventures in joyful living
Photo: Late spring at The Carrot Barn in Schoharie County, NY. New beginnings, thrill of an approaching harvest, flowers and veggies to plant, and all that. Has absolutely nothing to do with this post, but enjoy it anyway. Writing a blog is a commitment. I knew that in the abstract 151 posts ago, when I […]
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I received James Beard’s Love and Kisses and a Halo of Truffles as a gift about a decade ago, when I was deep into Julia Child and M. F. K. Fisher. All this time, it had sat there patiently on the shelf. About two weeks ago, in search of a change, I picked it up, […]
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Apart from wishing away what is hopefully the last of the cold weather, I can’t say that I’ve been full of ambition in the last few weeks. I can say with reasonable reliability, however, that I have hit this same slump every year of my adult life. I expect I’m not alone. On the bookshelf… […]
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Inside a writer’s inspiration. #AnneOfGreenGables #PrinceEdwardIsland #LMMontgomeryInstitute #ExploreCanada
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So long, January. #FrenchCanadianPancakes #pancakes #organizing #teatime #scones #cleanfloors @LLBean @Backmanland @Living_Lou @TeaAffair
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Welcome to 2019. Here’s what’s on my mind…
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I promised to let you know. After writing yesterday’s blogpost, I went about my business for an hour or so, texted my cousin Liz that I’d had no luck so far, then sat down to do something or other. I’d bothered St. Anthony enough for one day, so I tried to distract myself with some […]
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Note: This post actually isn’t about books (see the photo) or the macaroni stick. It’s about what happens when we lose things. And find them. Or not. My mother’s macaroni stick, I am convinced, was enchanted. With it she created flawless “homemades” and ravioli, holiday after holiday, year after year. She made her last batch […]
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I’ve been erratic about writing these last few months. That tendency, to be erratic, is probably one reason why I’m never likely to write the Great American Novel. Serious writers, in my experience, are highly disciplined and highly routinized—and that’s never been quite my cup of tea. First of all, I probably ate too much ice […]
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Hot, sticky days fracture my attention span and–quite frankly–make me flat-out lazy. I hate that feeling. Today I decided that I absolutely MUST get something done. So that I don’t feel like a complete slug, I’m going to recount just about everything I did today. I. Fed Miss Pup. 2. Walked Miss Pup. 3. Went […]
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Today’s title is actually the lovingly borrowed title of a song written by Sandy Denny in 1967 and recorded by a variety of artists over the years—the signature recording, in my estimation, made by silky-voiced Judy Collins. As those of you who follow my blog (thank you!) have no doubt deduced, I have a time […]
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Dear Frances Mayes, The time I brought The Tuscan Sun Cookbook to you for signing in Chapel Hill, I remember saying, simply, “Can I tell you how much I loved A Year in the World?” You smiled sweetly. I frankly never thought anything else of yours could eclipse that smashing book—which really wasn’t about travel, […]
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Hashtag Retired 