Reading about the young Nobel Prize winner Malala Yousafzai, this link to an earlier film about her life appeared. Watching it I was struck by her shy smile, the rushing waters where she lived in northern Pakistan and the inescapable violence that surrounded her. But I was also fascinated by her parents–the never photographed mother [...]
I grew up in a farmhouse where most of the rooms were covered in wallpaper. Flocked wallpaper in the entryway became the backdrop for my wedding photos. Big orange and white panels of wallpaper led the way to my bedroom. Fish swam on bathroom walls and English gardens bloomed in the kitchen. In my grown-up [...]
We were lucky enough to have old friends over for Saturday lunch. The wife is undergoing treatment for a brain tumor and after nine months of procedures is just now taking short trips out and about. Longtime friends, we used to camp and hike together when our children were little. Now I worried she wouldn’t [...]
Last Friday I put together my Friday Things post and stepped away from my desk to meet a friend for lunch. Twenty minutes later I was hit by a car as I was crossing the street to meet her. Yes, I was in the crosswalk. And no, I hadn’t looked both ways before crossing. I [...]
After taking a few months off from home-remodeling projects to travel and entertain house guests, we’re back at it. Today I’m trying to hear myself type over the bang-crash-clang of demolition. If I didn’t know better I’d think some super heroes were duking it out upstairs. But no, it’s the super-duper tile guys demo-ing one [...]
Deep summer is when laziness finds respectability. –Sam Keen I’m enjoying a few more days of lazy summer fun until the last child heads back to college. Hope you’re spending time with people you love as well. More soon!
About this pie. It’s made from this recipe in response to an offhand remark from my son-in-law Dan that “everybody likes a good strawberry-rhubarb pie, don’t they?” Apparently, a good number of people do, as 6,366 people have paused to look at this pie photo so far today on Flickr. I’d shared the photo in [...]
I’m always interested in how successful artists create their work. A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to hear four different “creators” talk about how they do what they do at a discussion on the “Structure, Art and Expression of the Creative Process” at the innovative San Francisco showroom Coup d’Etat. Panelists included designer [...]
Every time I return from a trip I think “I’ve got to find a way to do this more often.” Not because my everyday life is so tedious, but because traveling helps me make the most of my day-to-day world. I always return more focused on what I want to do and less burdened by [...]
Happy Independence Day! How are you celebrating the 4th? We’re searching the unpacked storeroom for our flag, assembling a new grill to replace the old Weber that got crunched in the move and catching up on The Americans (so good but intense!). Tonight, barring too much fog, we’ll see if our new hilltop location affords [...]
