I always think of my maternal grandmother, Alberta Sullivan Joslin, affectionately known as 'Bobbie' to her family and friends, on February 29th, which was her birthday. To me, though, she was simply 'Bob Mama.' I don't have many photos of her; she was only 19 in that one, which is a photo I made of … Continue reading Journal Entry: When February 29th Comes Calling
Winter
Sunday Journal Entry: Staying True to Intentions
Sunday, February 9th, 2020, and we’ve settled into mid-winter in Vermont, the moment when Christmas 2019 is already a distant memory, but the first tender shoots poking up through the earth are still weeks or even months away, never mind the vernal equinox: We’re on our own time up here. Somebody warned me about long … Continue reading Sunday Journal Entry: Staying True to Intentions
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
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
Sunday Vignette: Scout Informs the Neighbor Woman
A two-story house abuts the line separating it from our property. Covered in asphalt shingle siding, it is an early structure, you can tell, nineteenth century at least. An educated guess says there’s clapboard under the asphalt, and the door on the other side, the front, has a pleasing curvilinear shape to it, double arches … Continue reading Sunday Vignette: Scout Informs the Neighbor Woman
