Selfies

Mother and I took a selfie during my visit last week. First, I updated her laptop’s operating system while we went to the dining room for lunch. Then I installed her printer software, held my iphone at arm’s length, took a picture of the two of us, emailed it to...

Vanaprastha

It occurred to me the other day that I hadn’t explained why my husband and I chose the name Vanaprastha for our mountain house. Traditional Hindus divide life into four stages called Ashrama. The Student (brahmacari): one is chaste and obedient to teachers The...

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...