by Carole Duff | Jun 30, 2014 | Local or Human Interest, Nature |
I read somewhere that good health includes five elements: Physical Intellectual Spiritual Family and friends Community, both local and global. Here at Vanaprastha, we spend most of our time with elements two through five. We check news feeds and email, read widely and...
by Carole Duff | Jun 23, 2014 | Local or Human Interest, Writing and Reading |
“This is the prologue to my book-length memoir tentatively titled Gretchen’s Journals: A Memoir about Honesty, Goodness and Lies.” I cleared my throat, tucked a stray hair behind my ear, took a deep breath then plunged. “I am a good girl. Let me explain…” Two weeks...
by Carole Duff | Jun 16, 2014 | Dogs & Other Creatures, Family, Writing and Reading |
Dogs have played a variety of roles in their long history of domestication. During wars, dogs served along with many other animals. As cited in Susan Orlean’s book Rin Tin Tin, 16 million animals deployed in World War I: camels, cavalry and draft...
by Carole Duff | Jun 9, 2014 | Faith, Writing and Reading |
“Faith is a choice like any other,” Mary Karr wrote in Lit, a memoir about alcoholism and redemption. More than anything, Lit is about making choices – the difficult ones. The title reflects a choice people make every day, and the consequences. Anyone...
by Carole Duff | Jun 2, 2014 | Dogs & Other Creatures, Local or Human Interest, Nature |
I do not have a green thumb. Yet, I have always kept a garden, even if it was just a small plot along the side of the house or plants in pots on terraces in Texas, Baltimore, Alexandria and now here on the deck outside the dining room at Vanaprastha. Fresh herbs and...
by Carole Duff | May 26, 2014 | Family |
I have a secret. I used to steal cookies. Not the freebies at the grocery store that parents give to children as bribes, I mean, rewards for good behavior – no, I stooped much lower. I stole cookies from my own children. The rule was this: you could have two cookies...
