Tag: Family

historic postcard image of the Old Edwards Inn in Highlands, NC
Aging, Chef David, Descriptive Writing, Dogs, Essays, Family, Home, Memoirs, Non-Fiction, North Carolina, Parenting, Reflections, Scout-the-Goldapeake-Retriever, Storytelling, The South, Writing

Reflection: Can We at Least Finish This Thing?

Over the course of the long holiday weekend I have fairly devoured this novel by Catherine Newman, whose main character and plot resonate with me in 10,000 kinds of ways. The setting for her story is a favorite summer vacation rental on Cape Cod where the protagonist-narrator, a menopausal mom, has returned for a week (the standard annual stay) with her husband and now-grown children, … Continue reading Reflection: Can We at Least Finish This Thing?

Unknown's avatarDeb German1 Comment
Chef David, Essays, Home, Non-Fiction, North Carolina, Reflections, The South, Travel, Weather, Wilmington, North Carolina

How a Control Freak Deals With Nature

When I was a young student of archaeology, I recall being gobsmacked by the notion that the curvaceous Tennessee River had changed its course again and again over millennia and the one I knew, the one whose bluff I lived on for roughly a decade and where my kid spent the first few years of his life, probably looked radically different from the river native … Continue reading How a Control Freak Deals With Nature

Unknown's avatarDeb German1 Comment
Chef David, Christmas, Dogs, Family, Food, Home, Journaling, Knoxville, Tennessee, Non-Fiction, North Carolina, Scout-the-Goldapeake-Retriever, Travel, Writing

Sunday Almanac: Thanksgiving 2023 Is in the Books

I need a vacation from the vacation.” It was The Chef’s answer to me after we wrapped up our Thanksgiving travel, when I asked how he was feeling ahead of his first day back at work, just a few hours away. We had five glorious days off, five consecutive days, where our agenda was possibly a tad too ambitious. Heading over to Asheville to spend … Continue reading Sunday Almanac: Thanksgiving 2023 Is in the Books

Unknown's avatarDeb German1 Comment
Aging, Chef David, Communicating, Dogs, Essays, Family, Food, Home, Journaling, Knoxville, Tennessee, Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Parenting, Reflections, Scout-the-Goldapeake-Retriever, The South, Travel

Reflection: A Father’s Day Gift

It is Monday, the first full day in my week-long visit to Dad’s place down in Chattanooga, to his comfortable house in the suburbs (more properly in Ringgold, just over the Georgia state line) he shares with Sheryl, his lovely wife of many years. These travel plans have been in the works since way back in the fall; Sheryl and her two daughters who straddle … Continue reading Reflection: A Father’s Day Gift

Unknown's avatarDeb German5 Comments
Chef David, Family, Food, Hotel Chains, Journaling, Scout-the-Goldapeake-Retriever, Travel, Vermont, Wilmington, North Carolina, Writing

April 2023 Travelogue: Road Trip

In Which We Visit New England to Celebrate the Life of a Family Matriarch Only a few days home from our ambitious travels, and we’ve concluded the sacred institution that is The American Road Trip is in a perilous state at a moment the world is still emerging from COVID, a moment we hoped things might have changed for the better since traveling (moving!) when … Continue reading April 2023 Travelogue: Road Trip

Unknown's avatarDeb German2 Comments
Baking, Bread Baking, Chef David, Dogs, Family, Journaling, Scout-the-Goldapeake-Retriever, The South, Vermont, Writing

Sunday Almanac: Life’s Been Pretty Good Lately

But it has been a bad season for pollen, even the locals say so. And even though we’re now locals too, we’re still too green (or yellow, as the case may be) to know what qualifies as “bad” for spring pollen in coastal North Carolina. Evidently this does. Our new home has a screened porch adjacent to the open interior living space on the first … Continue reading Sunday Almanac: Life’s Been Pretty Good Lately

Unknown's avatarDeb German1 Comment
Autumn, Chef David, Family, Home, Marriage, Wilmington, North Carolina

Sunday Almanac: We Tie the Knot…Finally

A gown of Cupioni silk, in princess style, was worn by the bride. Panels of Chantilly lace were fashioned in the front and in the back. The back of the skirt extended into a short train. A Sabrina neckline and long sleeves were also featured. The bride carried white orchids attached to a mother of pearl prayer book. The prayer book was given to her … Continue reading Sunday Almanac: We Tie the Knot…Finally

Unknown's avatarDeb German10 Comments
Essays, Family, Great-Grandmother Gracie, Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Reflections, Writing

Family Reflection: Bastard Son of a Woman Named Minnie

You probably got it from Granddaddy Eddie, mom opined over the phone. It doesn’t matter, I have it and now I’ll deal with it, I returned. High blood pressure. Maybe it runs in the family, maybe not, who knows. My doctor put me on some meds, told me to shed a few pounds, and then asked me to check in with her again in a … Continue reading Family Reflection: Bastard Son of a Woman Named Minnie

Unknown's avatarDeb German1 Comment
Aging, Great-Grandmother Gracie, Knoxville, Tennessee, Memoirs, Non-Fiction, Reflections, The South

A Mother’s Day Reflection: Great-Grandmother Grace

My Great-Grandmother Grace was born in 1899, died in 1991, and lived her entire life, as far as I know, in Knoxville, Tennessee. She was not so much a Southerner as an Appalachian, a flavor of Tennessean native to the eastern region of the state known as ‘hill country’ (hence ‘hillbilly’) because of its proximity to the Great Smoky Mountains—the particular stretch of the Appalachian … Continue reading A Mother’s Day Reflection: Great-Grandmother Grace

Unknown's avatarDeb German2 Comments