Lately  a wiser voice in me delivers short observations or instructions at the edge of waking up fully.  Two have been specially useful ( Read more... )

Note to self:  Shelter the peace in your body and mind.  Encourage it, welcome it, as though it were your favorite kitty, slipping under the covers to sleep against your middle, purring.

(a friend who had complained of his own idleness ( Read more... )

I keep running across ideas that startle me. Here's one from a short story by Jeffrey Eugenides in the New Yorker, June 13, 2011 ( Read more... )

It's true that memory seems to grow less reliable with the years. But the particular form this memory waning is taking with me is odd. I remember conversations I've had - at least I remember MY side of conversations - but all too often I cannot remember who the other person was. And it's not as though I have a lot of conversations, so they should ( Read more... )

There are things that cannot be said with harsh words.
There are things that must be said with gentle words.

Even beautiful words. To explain

How the hard knot of fear might loosen at last,

If only for a moment.

It was saddening to read Kate's post letting us know that her mother, jackiejj has died. She was one of the most creative, imaginative, humorous writers I ever came across. I hope her journal remains available and that if you haven't already met her wonderful spirit, you can go back and enjoy her posts and stories and photos. She will be very much missed.

I bought the ingredients for the "Sausage-topped polenta" but the week has gone by and I can't bring myself to cook it. Meanwhile I've been sorting through my collection and discarding a lot of the recipes I've saved. What strikes me is that many recipes seem like rather desperate attempts to think up a new way to combine ingredients, and so often ( Read more... )

Never throw away a recipe till you see how popular the leftovers are the next day.

This evening I made the first recipe of my new project (of trying the recipes I've saved for years). Linguine with garlicky clams and peas -- the flavors were good and its heart is in the right place (low calorie) but sometimes a recipe tries too hard to be low calorie and ends up with internal contradictions. In this case, the sauce made of three ( Read more... )