September 30th, 2023 | Europe, Family, General, Loss, Travel
The Garden Saint Martin seems to be the hotel of choice for many women traveling solo. It also has truly charming gentlemen at the front desk. Murat, in particular, is something of a flirt. I realized while unpacking that I had forgotten—despite my best efforts—an...
September 29th, 2023 | Europe, General, Travel
Café Plat du Jour Cheeseburger Terrible name but the café is on the corner of Place de la République and this morning, in addition to strong coffee, I seek the liveliness of traffic. And the oh-so-French accent of emergency vehicles. My café au lait is delicious, too....
August 17th, 2023 | business and finance, General, social media, Women
The attorney checked in to see if I had completed some assignments. I hadn’t and got to work. Did the paperwork to transfer the title of Garnet, the RAV4, into my name. Arranged for appraisal of the Barthiana: check. Communicated with Vanguard on various tasks: check....
July 29th, 2023 | Cooking, Kitchen and Table, Family, Friends, General, Loss
I had been putting off serious thought about the menu for Dan’s memorial this coming Saturday, now exactly one week off. Putting together a video and assembling a play list had been a diversion. I worried, moreover, that if I didn’t get it started, I might have...
July 24th, 2023 | Gardens and Gardening, General
It seemed like a good idea, some fifteen years ago or so. Plant a couple of persimmon trees, be patient, harvest the fruit. So I waited–patiently–long long past the five-year mark by which time I should have been seeing flowers. Nothing. Not a blossom, not...
July 19th, 2023 | Cooking, Kitchen and Table, Family, General, Matters of the Spirit, Memory
Well, technically they’re his and not mine, but they are all I have. Anyway, I’ve had the full experience from diapers through adolescence to adulthood. An Old Joke There is an old joke I told students to explain why young artists reject the styles and aesthetic...
July 6th, 2023 | Cooking, Kitchen and Table, Family, General, Shopping
Dining has changed from a social activity to little more than a chore. Granted, Dan’s appetite faltered considerably over the past year or two. As Covid threw a pall over all our lives, I had taken over food shopping as a defensive posture. Dan’s increasing fragility...
July 4th, 2023 | Family, General, Health, Matters of the Spirit, Time Passes, Writing
Unless I want to be an Edie, Big or Little, in an ersatz-colonial Grey Gardens, I need to begin the process of emptying this house. We’ve been happy here. At least I think so. It is hard, indeed, to truly know what Dan was thinking about much of anything....
June 29th, 2023 | Family, General
Do I want to sell my house? No, I do not. At least not now and not to you, whoever you are. That has been my answer to phone calls and what I would respond to the people who send letters. Vultures, the bunch of them. Carrion Eaters They read the obituaries and do the...
June 28th, 2023 | Architecture and Design, Education, General, visual arts
Marcia Gayle Snee is a wonderful artist and dear friend, so when she said her work had been accepted into a juried exhibition at Harford Community College’s Chesapeake Gallery, I was thrilled for her. Curious, also, about just what might be in the exhibition....
