“No.” It’s a simple word, yet so hard to say. “I really cannot take that on right now.” “No, thank you.” I am not sure where the past week went, but I think it had something to do with being unable to say “no”. I just get caught up in the excitement of creative and new ideas. “Who wants to ... Read More »
Pepe Le Pew – the dude that makes me like the French. Yeah, I had some tough intercultural episodes in France in college. Got a bit of a grudge still hanging on. Just being honest, you know. The French considered the Malbec grape a blending grape, not worthy of its own bottle. Short sighted. Stodgy. I prefer the young upstarts: Argentina, Spain, ... Read More »
Guess what? You can sometimes never get beyond high school! Last week I was at a conference in Minneapolis. At the same time, the hotel hosted a 50th class reunion of a local high school. As people arrived on Friday it was clear who belonged where, but the reunion folks seemed genuinely happy to be seeing old friends. Then at ... Read More »
Toenails? Traveling on US Airways this week, I ran across a great article about the few remaining Quintas in Portugal that still make their port wine in the traditional way, with the foot treading phase an integral and irreplaceable element to the resulting wine. Grape pickers are allowed the opportunity to earn some extra money in the evenings, by stepping into ... Read More »
Just about one year ago, and thanks to a sabbatical semester, I was able to spend one week on The Way of Saint James, the Camino de Santiago, in northern Spain. This is an ancient pilgrimage route that ends in Santiago de Compostela, where the casket of Saint James lies under the altar of the cathedral. Pilgrims have walked the ... Read More »
I am a gym-class-hater. In my 20s I tried many organized gym classes – aerobics, aerobic dance, step aerobics. I got to a point where I had to walk away. For good. Then comes yoga, which I originally scorned with equal pleasure as I did spinning and zumba. “Ah, those sheep, clamoring towards the latest thing! Why can’t they get their ... Read More »
My husband has been telling me for years not to buy our son shorts made of denim. I could not understand why. He is a boy. He is an active boy. His new clothes last an hour before getting stained. Shorts made of denim combine the airy freedom needed in summer heat, together with the durability and stain resistance of ... Read More »
“Mom, what were you thinking? Seriously!” Everything is seriously at 16. Each and every iota of knowledge in a 16 year old brain is ever so much more wise than, say, a parent? “Mom, it is a HUGE hunk of ham! What were you thinking?” Apologies to Granny and Grandad, the Irish grandparents. They just did not know good food. Ham ... Read More »
WAIT! WHAAAAT? Who put that stop sign there? Apparently the fine City of Albany found a few extra stop signs in its warehouses, and has decided to install them randomly throughout the city. Yeah, yeah. If it was my neighborhood, I would probably be happy, too, to have drivers slow down more often. I need to find a new way ... Read More »
True confessions. Oh, Lord, even my husband doesn’t really know about this! Most women with any sort of Mediterranean heritage will understand. Chin hair… just sort of… happens. We pluck, we bleach, we hide it any way possible. Then you reach middle age, and you can no longer see those hairs in the mirror. Without a powerful magnification mirror, ... Read More »
Sauced In New York Sometimes the food is in the sauce, sometimes we are