Someone just told me about a gorgeous new book on David Hockney, and I wish I could remember who, but thank you so much, whoever you were… and presumably still are… I’ve raced ’round the corner to Archivia Books to fetch it. Actually a catalog of the just-closed exhibit at the Royal Academy in London,… Continue reading David Hockney Landscapes
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Longing for the Garden at Bee Cottage
NEW YORK–Spring is sailing along. Want to go? Click here if you want to go model boat sailing in Central Park. Central Park today is bursting with blossoms and bright with the fresh green of new foliage. The cool April air and its promise of showers bring to heart the joy of flowers and the… Continue reading Longing for the Garden at Bee Cottage
Bye-Bye Bahamas – Watercolor of Palm Trees
Bye-bye Bahamas. On the way back to New York–and (ahem) more substantive posts. (Thank you for your patience.) Meanwhile, parting shot is a quickie study of the palm trees outside my door. I’ll miss them… Note to self: Resist the tendency to wimp out on the colors. Live and learn. And paint.
Sunrise Service on the Beach
Every Easter in Lyford Cay, Bahamas, there is a sunrise service at 6 a.m., at the water’s edge. The service is sponsored by the Parish Church of St. Christopher and the Lyford Cay Club. The Venerable Keith Cartwright, archdeacon of the Turks & Caicos and the Southern Bahamas, is celebrant. I am not Catholic but… Continue reading Sunrise Service on the Beach
Knock-Knock
Just in case you have a lull in a conversation with a 5-year-old who has not heard it: Knock-Knock Who’s there? Eater. Eater who? Eater Bunny. Knock-knock. Who’s there? Cargo. Cargo who? Car go VARRROOOOOOOM! Run over Eater Bunny. Knock-knock. Who’s there? Boo. Boo who? Don’t cry, Eater Bunny come again next year. Happy Easter.… Continue reading Knock-Knock
Albert Hadley: In Memory and the Value of Sketching
John Danzer, longtime friend and the beauty and brains behind Munder-Skiles outdoor furniture, had a party for me on the occasion of my first book, Atlanta at Home. It was around 1994, and I was still living in Atlanta then. Well there I was in John’s chic upper east side atelier, and up I looked to… Continue reading Albert Hadley: In Memory and the Value of Sketching
Wild Sweet Peas in the Vineyard, and a Painting
As His Grace and I left the ranch last Friday for New York and parts East for a few weeks, I felt a twinge for the days of early spring I will miss there. Here’s an idea: Surely these wild sweet peas came last year, but dawg if I remember them. That’s the thing about… Continue reading Wild Sweet Peas in the Vineyard, and a Painting
Fabulous Rooms: Lyford Cay Club
The design blogosphere lit up like Times Square when Town & Country last spring unveiled the re-do of the Lyford Cay Club in Nassau, Bahamas. I lit up too when I first saw it on the drawing board two years ago and then nearbout swooned when I saw it in person last Easter. This living… Continue reading Fabulous Rooms: Lyford Cay Club
Possibly the Best Pasta Ever
I have eaten this pasta for 3 of the last 4 days and still want more. So dang good and not one of the same old recipes. This one, oh, this one will make you want to slap your grandma. It’s a smokey-sweet-savory mixture of sausage, caramelized onion and fennel, asparagus, artichoke hearts, spinach, olives, a… Continue reading Possibly the Best Pasta Ever
Beauty, Seduction, and Sex: a Stunning Video on Pollination
Beauty and seduction are nature’s tools for survival, says Louie Schwartzberg introducing his stunning short video on pollination at a TED conference last March, “because we will protect what we fall in love with.” Oh do we ever. And so do the birds and the bees. Yes it comes down to sex, but it is… Continue reading Beauty, Seduction, and Sex: a Stunning Video on Pollination
Last Taco Night–Recipe Included
Tragic. The end of an era. Along with the hiatus of Brothers Restaurant in the fabled Mattei’s Tavern in Los Olivos, comes the end of Taco Night. Gaining steadily in popularity since its instigation on Thursdays many moons ago, Taco Night had arguably become a center of social life in the Valley, right up there… Continue reading Last Taco Night–Recipe Included
First Growth
Back to the ranch after three days in Colorado. We had finally gotten some much needed rain in the Valley and as we left there was snow on the mountains around us. The countryside turns green in a minute when the rains come, so it was especially beautiful to come home to. Out in the… Continue reading First Growth