We are all in this together

Yesterday morning at 9 am, I checked out of the Grand Rapids Comfort Inn and boarded their airport shuttle. American Airlines’ alerts sent to my phone had indicated my 11 am flight was “on time.” While the driver navigated the slush and ice-covered streets with...

New Paths

The landscape crew arrived a week ago to carve a path up the ridge to the flat rock-outcropping. For three days, dodging rain and chill, they cut and shored up a zig-zag trail. They had created many paths before, including steps, terraces, and walkways on our...

The opposite of people

“We’re actors – we’re the opposite of people!” So stated the character called The Player in Tom Stoppard’s play Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, a fabulous production my family saw this past weekend at the American Shakespeare Center. As an absurdist...

We know how the flowers felt

Flakes of fine snow began to fall here at Vanaprastha last Tuesday evening. By early Wednesday morning, several inches covered the ground, driveway, and deck. Local schools, churches, and government offices closed. Lodged The rain to the wind said, “You push and...

What is it really?

A week ago, I assembled the following pickling spices: mustard seeds, whole allspice, coriander seeds, whole cloves, ground ginger, crushed red pepper flakes, bay leaves, whole cardamon pods, whole black peppercorns. I added a few tablespoons of the pickling spices to...