Shared Experiences

Ok, so this is enormous.  My esteemed and much admired son-in-law lives all the way out in California, three thousand miles and a couple of lightyears away from me, here in Central Florida.  We are separated by distance, states and rivers and mountains, time zones and the Continental Divide, age and gender and politics.  And […]

Loading

Once upon a time…

Ok, let’s get this straight from the get-go: I’m not going to cry.  Got that?  No crying. Because yesterday I acted on a crazy impulse and had my eyelashes ‘done’.  I didn’t even know there was such a thing and poof, today I woke up with eyelashes you could actually see in the mirror, and […]

Loading

First Responders, Last Call

We’ve all been there, or known someone who has.  It’s last call, we’re pushing the line of being over-served, a bit worse for the wear, maybe not staggering drunk but long past tipsy.  Time for the taxi or the designated driver or the dreaded phone-a-friend option.  We’re thinking about keeping the party going, and then […]

Loading

Yesterday with Yurii

Every so often, the stars just align and everything comes together perfectly.  Eleventy bazillion years ago (ok, twelve, but who’s counting) my neighbors mentioned that there were Russian boys coming to town and they would be looking for extra work.  Larry and I had our hands full with this growing property, and Arturo, Ivan and […]

Loading

Pasta For One

I thought y’all might appreciate what became of those luscious tomatoes from Stony last week. Sorry, I don’t do measurements unless it’s baking.  Baking is chemistry.  Stove-top is art.  That’s my theory.  Bearing that in mind, everything here is subject to taste.  Add, subtract, substitute, knock yourself out.  I’ve always found recipes to be great […]

Loading

Apples Amaze Me

Yes, kids.  It’s that day.  Barber Orchards! I was born in Central Florida.  You can make fun of the capital C if you like, but now that I live in Western North Carolina – topping the list for capitalized directions – I’m more comfortable with the Central.  Specifically, I was born in Gainesville and grew […]

Loading

Fellowship and Fresh Tomatoes

Some time ago, when Larry died, I was searching for some direction, certain that there was a book that might give me some guidance about how to grieve.  Well.  How to survive the initial stages of grief.  Back when I was in college, I had a math professor who taught in a fashion that made […]

Loading

World Traveler

Passports Pictures

I’ve renewed my passport.  Ok, let me just say that again.  I’ve renewed my passport. Heady stuff!  I get butterflies just saying it.  Never having imagined I’d even need a passport, and then getting my first one at 50, it just didn’t occur to me that I would ever be so worldly as to say, […]

Loading

Fresh + Local = Supper

I stopped at a roadside stand in Georgia this week, and picked up some of the sweetest peaches, ever. The vidalia onions were enormous and irresistible, so those went into my market bag, too. I’ve been eating the peaches all week, but the onions were waiting for today… Wednesday means the Waynesville Farmer’s Market is […]

Loading

Saturday morning at the Farmer’s Market

This particular Saturday morning at the market was special: I was meeting up with a bride. Ron & Cheryl were married here last November, and now (because I’m insanely lucky) they are also my part-time neighbors. Our schedules have kept us like ships passing in the night, and I’m always arriving in Maggie Valley just […]

Loading