My Irish ancestors settled in the Tuckaleechee Cove area of the Great Smoky Mountains in the 19th century and made their living as apple farmers. I wonder how they would view New England's landscape, where harvesting apples in the fall is woven into the fabric of life and where the topography is at times so … Continue reading Mad Tom Apples: Sunday Photo Essay
Transitions
Nourishment
Fall term has been up and running for two weeks now at ballet school; that means that I have been sneezed and coughed upon by little people (and a few medium ones, too) for about as long. In years gone by I have been good for a solid head cold once a year but lately find … Continue reading Nourishment
Finding Family
This has been a Handsome Chef Boyfriend weekend through and through. I am writing from his place this weekend, hanging around an extra day on the chance I can meet a deadline in a foreign and yet ever familiar environment. It is messy and inconvenient for everybody concerned; tomorrow morning will come early, and I … Continue reading Finding Family
Monday Morning Fog
This morning I am listening to a Hildegard of Bingen recording that was once my parenting soundtrack. The fussy infant I cradled against me often fought sleep, and later fought just about everything; I wished for vision and clarity to help him. And I am thinking of him now, a young man a thousand miles … Continue reading Monday Morning Fog
A Most Happy Ear Worm
On a day some time in the early 90s a song from The Most Happy Fella insinuated itself in my head as an earworm--you know: that refrain or tune you get in your head that will not leave you? The show had just enjoyed its second Broadway revival which is probably why I was thinking of … Continue reading A Most Happy Ear Worm
Pressing Reset
Time for a change. Not How The Story Ends served its purpose, saw me through the thousand-mile journey which in so many ways continues. And although I think the overriding message there is one of hope, it is still a bit backward looking. My hope now is to live in the moment and tell stories … Continue reading Pressing Reset
Waning Summer
I have a pair of visitors who make their presence known every single morning on my front porch, expecting to be fed. I confess I have cultivated this habit in them. Handsome Chef Boyfriend chides me about this, insisting I will be the kind of old lady one day who can't afford to put food … Continue reading Waning Summer
Elusive Friendship and Little Swans
Last week we wrapped up a three-week summer intensive at ballet school; on Saturday the high-intermediate-level students showcased their work in a studio demonstration for their families, something that usually happens at the end of intensives. Each of us on staff was asked to set something on them. I chose Cygnets ("young swans"), the dance … Continue reading Elusive Friendship and Little Swans
Living Small, Living Well: (Almost) Two Years of Handsome Chef Boyfriend
When Handsome Chef Boyfriend and I had our first delicate conversations in September of 2012, I told him that chefs are artists of the highest order of magnitude, to my way of thinking. I meant that. The two of us have so much fun with food--talking about it, finding, creating and playing with it, and … Continue reading Living Small, Living Well: (Almost) Two Years of Handsome Chef Boyfriend
Clear Brook Farm, 180 Degrees
We are spoiled in Vermont during the summer growing season with an abundance of gorgeous produce to be had in local Saturday farmers' markets and elsewhere. (I am okay with being spoiled, or spoilt as a Southern friend likes to say; the flip side of that is Vermont winter.) I have observed before that the … Continue reading Clear Brook Farm, 180 Degrees
Sycamore Stories 