After ten days traveling on the East Coast, I’m suffering from a serious case of leaf envy. Starting with the Shenandoah Valley and ending at the Charles River my trip was awash with the sunset colors we rarely see on our trees here in California. Oh, the leaves change alright. But they do so with [...]
After reading Jackson Lander’s chilling account of being bit by a black widow spider, I’m cautiously eyeing the fall crop of spider webs around my yard. Though Landers writes that black widows are notoriously shy and likely to stay clear unless threatened, he was still caught unawares when he stepped into a water shoe to [...]
Will tomorrow find you lighting sparklers in your childhood backyard or someplace entirely new? Maybe you’re staying put for the 4th but packing your bags for later in the summer. Lucky you! Despite the hassles of modern travel, there’s still nothing like Getting Away From It All to shake things up for the better. Here [...]
Flipping through the June issue of Vanity Fair on my way out to D.C. last week I noted that when actress Christine Baranski was asked what she considered the lowest depth of misery she said “Being stuck indefinitely in an airport when I’m desperate to get home.” Amen, sista! Take yesterday. After an action-packed few [...]
My apologies to the rest of the country. I know you’re oh-so-tired of shoveling snow and watching icicles form on icicles. But here in the Bay Area, we are in the clutches of an early spring and we can’t help but crow about it. Try to think of our incessant postings of beautiful blossoms as [...]
After years of interviewing people about the objects they’ve chosen to decorate their homes, I can tell you that beauty is definitely in the eye of the beholder. That said, a recent New York Times story says there is a science to good design—or at least design that most of us want to hold close. [...]
If this graphic illustrating the history of Earth is accurate, human existence is as inconsequential as a plover’s feather. Which would be a bleak thought for a Tuesday if I hadn’t just spent several glorious Indian summer days at the beach.
