After such a long and unplanned absence from these posts, I thought it only fitting to mark the Winter Solstice, the tipping point between the old year and the new, by wishing that we could all manage the sort of peace and contentment displayed by Hallie (our German shepherd) and Jolly (our tuxedo cat) in [...]

Yes, I’m back from England, and I promise I will take up where I left off writing about my trip, even if after the fact, but for now I hope readers will forgive a momentary American digression (and the word play.  Couldn’t resist.)
Yesterday was the 134th running of the Kentucky Derby, and Derby day is [...]

Actually, the term “high tea” for the posh afternoon sort of thing with tea and scones is a misnomer, but it worked better in the title than “afternoon tea,” which is the correct term. But since my favorite place for afternoon tea closed, the Basil Street Hotel near Harrod’s, I had been promising myself [...]

I promised I’d post everyday from London, and as of Thursday I will have been here two weeks. That’s always the way it goes with these visits–never near enough time to get in all the things I need and want to do. I’ve been researching the book-in-progress (more on that later) and taking [...]

I just made another disastrous pie–maybe I should give up pastry and stick to writing. It definitely pays better. I’m a “throw things in the pot and hope for the best” sort of cook, even in my finer moments.