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
Vermont
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
Winter Solace: Food Without Tweezers or Fog
Last night Chef David and I watched The Hundred-Foot Journey, an inspired movie about life and love and beautiful food (and you know you can’t go wrong with Helen Mirren)—the scenery alone is worth your time, to say nothing of the enchanting score: go find it and watch it if you haven’t already, or watch … Continue reading Winter Solace: Food Without Tweezers or Fog
Journal Entry: The Compulsion to Make Soup Continues
Blue Moon Soup. It makes me happy because it brings back so many memories of preparing food with my kiddo in our Knoxville kitchen. The book is not a child's cookbook per se, but a family cookbook. It's easy to add ingredients and seasonings to make the recipes a little more complex. But good soup … Continue reading Journal Entry: The Compulsion to Make Soup Continues
Sunday Photo Essay: Glass Pieces
Chef David came inside from an outside task yesterday and said, You should look at the ice formations where the river has grabbed the trees. It's photo-worthy. And so it is, as it was last year. But this time, I believe it's safe to say the river is roiling, and even so, yesterday when I … Continue reading Sunday Photo Essay: Glass Pieces
Journal Entry: Winter Storm Harper
Here's a little lazy vlog for you on this snowy Sunday in Vermont.
Journal Entry: Spring Cleaning in January
My internal hard drive feels full—not in the “I know everything now” sense. What I mean is, there’s lots of junk on it. Lots of annoying clutter slowing it down, taking up too much space. It needs defragmenting. Or maybe reformatting. I need some intellectual spring cleaning. I’ve also been thinking about the other kind … Continue reading Journal Entry: Spring Cleaning in January
A Christmas Story: Holidays Are Hard
A few days ago something or other I saw on the telly prompted me to hop onto the web and find out who’s living in my erstwhile home in Tennessee now—whether it’s the same people who bought it at auction in 2012, mere moments before the bank would’ve foreclosed on it, as it turns out. … Continue reading A Christmas Story: Holidays Are Hard
Journal Entry: Confessions of a Christmas Control Freak
Is there any time better for derailing a self-proclaimed control freak than the holidays? I mean the Christmas holidays, and not the beachy summer vacation I’ve been coveting since we had our first cold snap, and forget about poetic hoary frost: I’m talking single digits, when the deck boards outside our back door explode as … Continue reading Journal Entry: Confessions of a Christmas Control Freak
Journal Entry: Sunday, Muddy Sunday
Yesterday Chef David made lefse, a traditional Norwegian flatbread. He comes by it honestly. And I can't resist it. While I was in the other room folding clothes he sailed in with a folded corner of it, steaming hot, butter dripping out of it and all over the floor, and crammed it into my mouth. … Continue reading Journal Entry: Sunday, Muddy Sunday
