Ole Tom

This past holiday season, Keith and I tried some new recipes – herbed lamb roast with yogurt and cucumber, pot roast with creamy mushroom grits and a root vegetable medley – and trotted out the old favorites – turkey with bread stuffing, mince pie and Christmas...

Keeping up

“’I didn’t know what twerking was, so I had to research it.’ –mom” (Twerking: a combination of the words ‘twist’ and ‘jerk’ – widely associated with hip hop in the U.S.) During my visit to Dallas this past fall, my son David and I stopped for coffee....

Choosing Joy

As the season’s first major ice and snowstorm swept across the country this past weekend, our dogs mirrored the concern and exuberance that accompanies such natural events. When I opened the kitchen door to Sunday ‘s early morning ice pellets, Heathcliff stopped in...

Life Expectancies

“I wish I’d been born in the 19th century,” I told my father one day in my far-past adolescence. “It is my favorite time in history.” In my teenaged mind, the 19th century in the United States elicited thoughts of romance and realism, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams and...

Looking Back

In October, I traveled to New York City to see my daughter Jessica, to California to visit my long-time friend Winnie and to Dallas to attend another dear friend’s wedding – and spend time with other friends and my son David. Along the way, I met several people, saw...