Here’s something fun everybody can do at Thanksgiving that does not involve a football, a television, a parade float, a stick of butter, or even an iPad. Seriously! Start a new family tradition! Does not contain trans-fats! Good for you and good for your brain. And did I mention fun… Are you puzzled??? (wink, wink)
Grace & Wit
A Symphony for the Soul, in the Autumn Light
For several days now–spurred perhaps by the frantic-but-I-love-it pace of autumn in New York and the prospect of the holidays that the shop windows are already putting upon us–I’ve been thinking of this piece I have taped to my kitchen cabinet…
The Silver Lining of Breast Cancer? One Woman’s Journey Inspires (and Informs) Us All
“Beautiful and inspiring” aren’t words you expect to connect with books about cancer, but that’s exactly what Hollye Jacobs’s The Silver Lining is, and why you want it.
What a Month! Part 2-Santa Fe, Stomach Bug, SWAT Team, Quick Draw, La-La Land
Like I was saying, August posts have been a little light because August days have been a little busy. What I want to know is what happened to the “lazy days of summer”? Am I just a girl who can’t say no, or are we all just doing 72,000 more things than we used to do? What’s going on?
What a Month! Part 1: CityKids Storm the Ranch!
Whew. And you wonder why I haven’t posted more. (Or maybe not.) And I wonder why I still haven’t finished my book. Here’s the answer. It starts with a rodeo. August 4: Yup, when I landed back here in Californee we went straight to the rodeo in Santa Barbara. I love me a rodeo for five… Continue reading What a Month! Part 1: CityKids Storm the Ranch!
A Great Trick for Hanging Belts
For those of us not sunning in the South of France this August, we can always enjoy staying home and organizing something. Nothing gives greater satisfaction for so little expense.
Well maybe a few things, but you won’t find those at the Container Store. This you will.
How to be Charming
How to be charming? Oh I wish I knew. Sometimes I think I know. Sometimes I think I am. Definitely not always. Some days are better than others. Surely that is true of even the most effortlessly charming people on earth. Charm is a quality, but it’s also a skill…
Beautifully Handmade Wooden Jigsaw Puzzles, and What They Can Do for You
Here’s a fun summer activity that can be done in groups or alone, all ages, requires no athletic prowess or (mercifully) the wearing of a bathing suit, has no calories, does not need Wi-Fi, and… is soooooo good for you.
Just Another Night at the Ranch… Starring Shirley Jones and the Cassidy Brothers
How often do you have in your living room an Academy Award-winning actress, a Tony Award-winning costume designer, an Emmy-winning composer, and a Grammy-nominated bona-fide teen idol all at once?
We did when we hosted a singalong with Shirley Jones and Shaun Cassidy and decided to make an evening of it. Rancho La Zaca was filled with music, laughter, and a tear or two.
Letter From the Loire – Part 2 Coming Up. Meanwhile… a Highlight
Visiting this marvelously whimsical folly (is that redundant?)–the Pagode de Chanteloupe– was a highlight of a recent, sometimes rainy, romp through the Loire Valley of France. Feast your weary eyes. Your not-weary eyes, too, of course.
Southerners and the N-Word, for the Record, Y’all
In some accounts there is the suggestion that because Paula Deen is from the so-called Old South, there may have been a time where it was acceptable to say n*****. Well I’m from the Old South, too, many generations of it, and it was never okay to say that word in our house. Never.
Little Life Enhancer: A Handy Way to Clean Dental Devices
Here’s a nifty little case for cleaning retainers and bleaching trays. You know how grotty they can get. It’s called a FreshKase, and you put your dental thingie in it and pop it in the dishwasher. Boom. $11.95. A good little travel case, too.