One of my son’s best friends growing up, was a girl named Sarah King. They were peas in a pod, both bright with a lot to say. Sarah is the child of two former actors, so it makes sense that she has the performance bug too. Lucky for those of us who still live in LA, she was performing a comedy skit at the Ice House in Pasadena.…
I cannot prove that my cookie baking has made my children, or nieces and nephews love me more, but it certainly hasn’t make them love me less. So, once again, as a public service to you moms out there who never seem to be able to do enough for your kids, I am giving you my favorite sugar cookie recipe. Gramma Ev’s Old Fashioned Sugar Cookies. Although they’re…
The silver lining is this: Anything that forces you to get healthier is a good thing, even if you have to be dragged into it by your hair.…
I started listening to a podcast last week called Dolly Parton’s America. My daughter was obsessed with it and knew I would love it. What she didn’t know was that I used to do a pretty mean imitation of Dolly before post nasal drip wreaked havoc on my vocal cords. I always liked Dolly, she was pretty, funny, and self deprecating. She was feminine, but not fragile –…
I am one of those annoying individuals who thinks a tree in my house at Christmas, just HAS to be a real pine tree. Trees have their way of seeking revenge against people like me though. I do it because I love the smell. As a child, I sat under the tree and played with the wise men, Jesus, Mary, Joseph, camels, angels, and sheep, while inhaling that…
It’s New Year’s Eve. I am snug on my couch in my flannel pajamas with my fuzzy, cream bathrobe on, keeping an eye on Topper, cozy in the corner. I am having a cocktail of Maker’s Mark whiskey and Canada Dry Ginger Ale with TWO cherries and am incredibly content. I’ve never been one to traipse around in high heels at New Year’s Eve parties. I always hated…
How do you say goodbye to your last living connection to your mom?…
When you become a mom, you moan almost daily about the mess your kids make. Then they go to college and come back during holidays, leaving a mess, but are finally so grateful for your cooking, you totally forgive them. Then they move back after graduation, become your friend, resume the mess, wonder what to do, then tell you they’re moving to Seattle. Then they actually have the…
I love fall. If it’s autumnal bring it on. But not when it’s 95 degrees outside. The stores here have been filled with pumpkins and cinnamon brooms for over a month, like southern California is Canada. Who wants a pumpkin spice latte when you’re bathed in your own sweat? Our weather doesn’t have the decency to change until at least October, but last night I slept with an…
My father was always in the garden, even this time of year, picking the last of his beefsteak tomatoes, or digging around and pulling out the dead plants. He loved it. I remember shortly after my kids and I moved in with him after my divorce, I asked my daughter to go out to the garden to tell him dinner was ready. He was 95 at the time.…