“Mary, Mary, Wake up, it’s Christmas!” I remember my eyes popping open and excitedly saying those words to my sleeping sister on Christmas morning of 1961, the best Christmas of my young life. Out in the living room sat wrapped packages and two large cardboard boxes that must have been too big to wrap…one was for me, one for my sister. Inside each box was a walking doll,…
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And the Winner of the Annual Cutthroat Tunno Pumpkin Pie Competition is…
December 8, 2022
NATE! And ALESSANDRO, my two great-nephews. I keep telling myself this does not mean I’ve lost my touch. Just because Nate is 13 and Alessandro is only six merely means that Tunnos are extremely competitive cooks/bakers. It also means, my nephew, Chris and I will have to keep trying. Plus, there was a snafu this year. Two of the same pies were accidentally entered by Bob. In all…
I went to a fundraiser last Friday for Cystic Fibrosis and left realizing how thankful I was to have children who were healthy. My daughter’s had her health challenges, but has handled them beautifully and is a healthy adult now. When I think of people who have to deal with cancers, heart conditions, Cystic Fibrosis, and other life-threatening illnesses, yet don’t let these obstacles beat them down, I…
If you’ve ever had a friend you truly loved, who made you laugh until your face hurt, then lost her to demon cancer, you know you can’t let her life go without a last, well deserved, round of applause. I was lucky enough to meet Janet Reilly because our kids attended the same elementary school. I used to think I was funny, until I met Janet. She could…
I am not a dog person. I like dogs, but am not one of those people who’ll risk her life stopping in traffic to save a dog I don’t know. My friend, Carolyn will do that. God bless her, I admire her bravery, but that’s just not me. That’s why it took me a few margaritas to start on the long road toward loving a dog, I never…
I think we’ve already established that I am not a cake decorator. See Nate’s cake for proof. It would have been great in Scream 2, but thankfully, Nate didn’t mind. Note to self: Make sure the icing is smooth before writing and maybe pay attention as you write. I tried to deflect attention by adding perky dots but I’m sure Nate saw right through that. But, just because…
We’ve all heard the saying, “Dance like no one is watching.” But I loved coming across this fuzzy photo of my mom doing her trademark Charleston step and seeing her in action. Mom was born in 1913, so coming of age in the Roaring Twenties, she must have loved a dance that had people flapping their arms, kicking up their heels and giving up stuffy, suffocating etiquette. My…
I’ve been craving peach pie lately so I went to Costco yesterday, bought two boxes of peaches and baked a pie Sunday night. Since I make my crust ahead of time and stick it in the freezer, whipping up a pie doesn’t take much time at all. Peaches have been in season for a while now, so get them while you still can. In fact, if you have…
The first day the sore throat was suspicious, and since my co-worker had texted positive, I had my concerns. In spite of them, I took a long walk in the sunshine, met Carolyn for breakfast with the warning that I could have Covid, then went home and took care of laundry. The second day, was decidedly less fun, with chills, nausea, vomiting and the realization that this was…
I love a big city. You can’t beat having restaurants featuring every cuisine imaginable just minutes away, or concerts and plays every week. But in the past year I’ve also learned to savor the sweet, slow pace of Harmony, PA with a population of 1,104. Tonight I was out for my evening walk and ran into a police officer on my path in the woods. He was closing…