It is what Chef David calls the days and moments leading up to our road trips, which we anticipate eagerly all year, and embrace giddily in spite of all the feverish preparations before liftoff. Crunch time has arrived, and entails not only planning the so-called ‘capsule’ wardrobe one takes on a trip, and unearthing the … Continue reading Journal Entry: Travel Crunch Time
Dogs
Journal Entry: The Garden Thus Far
Somebody was supposed to bake honey oatmeal bread on the weekend, a thing that never came about because of Pressing Matters. I had every intention of photographing that somebody whilst he was baking the bread, and the bread itself. So now I shall give you a little photo essay showing what happened instead, which was … Continue reading Journal Entry: The Garden Thus Far
Travel Story: Writer with a Wanderlust
The best gift Chef David gave me this past Christmas is a beautiful little piece of non-fiction writing by John Steinbeck called Travels with Charley: In Search of America (Charley being a colorful and personable Standard Poodle). I’ve always loved me a good Steinbeck story, but ‘til now have read only his novels. Travels with … Continue reading Travel Story: Writer with a Wanderlust
Journal Entry: Change Is Bad, Except When It Isn’t
“My ass is hanging off the bed.” Those were the Chef’s first words to me this morning, prompted by one Scout-the-Goldapeake-Retriever’s pushing four paws into me, with his back to the Chef, who was forced out of the bed this way. All six-feet-plus of him, at a quarter ‘til six. The planets are misaligned; that’s … Continue reading Journal Entry: Change Is Bad, Except When It Isn’t
Journal Entry: Oh, Spring, Don’t Be Such a Sullen Teenager
Sometimes spring reminds me of the agony of adolescence: It’s gangly, awkward, sulking, insecure—still a work in progress. And as much as it wants to be all grown up, has miles yet to venture down that road. Springtime in Vermont still doesn’t quite know how to groom or fix its hair or make nice with … Continue reading Journal Entry: Oh, Spring, Don’t Be Such a Sullen Teenager
Springtime Story: The First Snowdrops
The snowdrop, or Galanthus (from the Greek gála for ‘milk,’ and ánthos for ‘flower’) has supplanted the crocus, and the jonquil, as the reassuring first sign of spring in this Yankee life, still a source of bewilderment for a Southern girl after seven winters in Vermont (seven!). The jonquils have been blooming for a long … Continue reading Springtime Story: The First Snowdrops
Journal Entry: It Is Still Winter
And we are almost out of firewood: we have what you see in the photo, plus a bit more stacked on the front porch. No big deal. We don’t depend on it to heat our house, as I did in the beautiful but isolated Vermont loft where I lived between 2013 and 2015. But we … Continue reading Journal Entry: It Is Still Winter
Journal Entry: Sunday Soup and Silver Polish
Polishing the silver on a glorious Sunday afternoon means one of two things: the silver is tarnished, or I’m procrastinating. I leave you to draw your own conclusions. Today I had a vestry meeting after church, which meant I got home mid-afternoon, antsy to move around after sitting on my bum for about three hours … Continue reading Journal Entry: Sunday Soup and Silver Polish
A Memory: Living Like the One Percent
The main condition for the design, we said to the contractor standing in our Knoxville back yard 15 years ago, is for the pool to look like it’s been here since the house was built, in 1926. Yes, he said, he thought he could do that. No vast expanse of boring white concrete pool deck, … Continue reading A Memory: Living Like the One Percent
Journal Entry: Winter Storm Harper
Here's a little lazy vlog for you on this snowy Sunday in Vermont.
