Hanging Together

Ma always said, “If I didn’t have a washer and dryer, I’d never see my children.” In most things she was prone to exaggeration; about this, not so much. Her kitchen, however excellent her cooking and well-stocked the refrigerator, could not compete with the laundry...

A Costume Drama for the World

A student stayed after class this past week to ask a question.  She seemed a little hesitant and I encouraged her to go ahead. “Are you watching The Borgias?” She blushed. “Now in what universe would I not be watching a costume drama with Jeremy Irons in the lead...

Saturday, 2 March 2011

The most recent deluge and its run-off have charged the Susquehanna River and the fearsome weight of the water is muscling its way to the Chesapeake Bay. Flood stage is 23.5 feet in these parts.  This morning, the river reached 27.7 feet and it is expected to crest at...

A Day at the Boston MFA

My Dear One says, “I don’t know anyone who likes riding subways except you.” He laughs. I smile. He’s right; I do like riding public transportation, at least in Boston. I told him that it makes me feel like a teenager again, and it does. The feeling is not so much a...

Real Friends

I anthropomorphize. Pretty much everything, all the time. Of course, I idealize, too. Not only do I see creatures as human, but I see them as beings of the kind that I wish people were. I don’t always think about this tendency, but I have been more aware of it...

Blame the Today Show

Culinary experiments are rarely a good thing when guests will be sitting down to eat. Most of the time. This Thanksgiving I caught myself paying undue attention to recipes and cooking tips in the days leading up to the annual Day of Gratitude. It was not that I was...