I’m still here. —Elaine Stritch, et al. Which is to say, I’ve had a tough time carving out a minute to sit down and write. Chef David has done the lion’s share of work, haltingly, painstakingly, one box at a time, and one carload at a time (with one rental truckload for the stuff that wouldn’t squeeze), until now all that’s left to do is … Continue reading Sunday Almanac: Moving Is Brutal
Here is the list, I explained less than one month ago to our patient realtor. 1. It must be a pure architectural style—preferably Arts & Crafts, but we’ll keep an open mind. As long as the style represents an authentic design movement, we won’t rule it out. And naturally, the home’s interior should possess character in keeping with its style. 2. The finishes and building … Continue reading Sunday Almanac: The Myth of the Perfect House
Here is the truth about buying a home in this here economy. First, forget about anything represented in the glossy home-flipping/buying/renovating shows on HGTV, et al. I’m just about convinced the couples on them are made-up people. Avatars. Meet Mr/s. and Mr/s. Dewy-Faced & Well Dressed. S/he sharpens pencils for a living and s/he catches butterflies. The reno specialist smiles into the camera on a … Continue reading Sunday Almanac: House Shopping Begins
Chef David bought some professional equipment because he’s been itching to get at it, while we he chews on possible business plans and angles and such. Those delectable little confections are chocolate bombs, or bombe au chocolat, if you prefer. When I say it in French, The Chef rolls his eyes. I didn’t capture all of the steps, but I did many of them. This … Continue reading Sunday Almanac: In This House We Play With Our Food
I pass a road called Rosa Parks Lane each morning on my way to work. It’s unpaved and does not look like much from the major north-south artery in Wilmington that serves it. Driving past it, were you to turn your head and glance, you’d see the characteristically flat, scrubby, sandy landscape that defines coastal North Carolina, offset by clumps of Loblolly pines with their … Continue reading Reflection: Getting Parenting Right, in the Best of Times and the Worst of Times
Some years ago a post popped up in one of my social feeds, an image of a pair of running shoes with a clothes iron wedged between them, business side up, and on top of it a stovetop-style espresso maker, captioned simply Cuba Linda. Hat tip to the Cubans: Are there any more resourceful people? They’ve had to be all kinds of inventive to make … Continue reading Sunday Almanac: Stretching Our Dollars
I come from a long line of fearless women and at various times in my life have been called upon to dip into that gene pool. Sometimes when I reflect on those occasions, I marvel at how I wrestled my way through this or that miserable or terrifying chapter, but somehow did, and suppose I would again if I had to. My great-grandmother Gracie did … Continue reading Sunday Almanac: New Year, New Me…Maybe
…in which I bake my first pie. It’s true, gentle reader: I’ve made it this far in my life, which is to say a certain number of decades, without ever having baked a pie. The Chef pointed out a pie crust is not so far removed from the biscuits I bake every single weekend. Huh. I decided Thanksgiving was as good a time as any … Continue reading Sunday Almanac: Thanksgiving 2021
Vermont’s Green Mountains are jaw-dropping, worthy of their moniker, and at times can even make your breath catch in your throat. They can also make you yearn for wide, open spaces, especially when you live on the eastern-facing slopes of a particular mountain which has the audacity to blot out the late-day sunlight long before you’re ready for it. So now, here we are, in … Continue reading Sunday Almanac: Late October at the Seashore
It’s not just the chill in the air, but something a bit more elusive, the angle of the sun in the east and the fragrance of drying foliage borne aloft by the wind, maybe. Whatever it is, I sensed it this morning when I took Scout-the-Goldapeake-Retriever outside for his first pee of the day. Here we are, feeling more and more settled in our comfortable … Continue reading Sunday Almanac: First Hint of Fall
Carolina Thinklings 