Lime Lessons

We’ve all heard the sentiment: When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. We have a key lime tree on our deck, potted in a retired Napa Valley wine barrel, & we enjoy her bounty in sparkling water & salad dressings, marinades & other sauces. We don’t pick her fruit, however. She freely offers it to … Continue reading Lime Lessons

Reading: Mar-April 2024

The most amazing recent events in my bookish life are as follows: I attended the Festival of Faith & Writing at Calvin University, where I heard great lectures on books and writing and other fascinating things writers write about, connected with old friends and met so many wonderful new people, many of whom I already … Continue reading Reading: Mar-April 2024

The Lupine Lady

The lupines are beginning to bloom. I noticed one flower a week ago. Today that one flower had become a patch of purple. “Spring has sprung” is fun to say but “spring is springing” more accurately describes the situation, as more and more plants will push forth, spring up, and unfurl their beauty. As I … Continue reading The Lupine Lady

Reading: Jan-Feb 2024

FICTION Amazing Grace Adams by Fran LittlewoodMy rating: 5 of 5 starsEmotionally intelligent & entertaining novel about a woman having a significant mid-life crisis on her daughter's 16th birthday. It is ironic, & the book says so toward the end, that a woman who can speak five languages can't communicate with her loved ones, & … Continue reading Reading: Jan-Feb 2024

Meatless Monday: Game Day Snacks

I don't Super Bowl (beyond commercials & half-time). I don't football (when the NFL takes concussions seriously instead of putting players in danger, I'll reconsider). Yet I am the MVP of veg-forward game day snacks that make a meal. I cook while they cheer & all is well. Yesterday's menu: Deviled potatoes Sheet pan nachos … Continue reading Meatless Monday: Game Day Snacks

I met author Michael Cunningham

I met Michael Cunningham, the PEN/Faulkner and Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Hours, subsequently made into a movie starring Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, and Julianne Moore. He was at Book Passage, an independent bookstore in Corte Madera, CA, to promote his new book, Day. As he signed our books, we chatted casually about the … Continue reading I met author Michael Cunningham

Do you have ANTs?

Hi, I’m Siv (“See-v”) and I struggle with negative thinking. That might seem like a vulnerable thing to write, but I suspect I’m not alone. I won’t ask for a show of hands, but I wonder if you relate. I snapped this selfie before a special occasion. I deleted it the next day when my … Continue reading Do you have ANTs?

Observing MLK Jr. Day with New Appreciation

I have a new appreciation for MLK Jr. Day this year. The week before New Year’s, Dave and I traveled to Georgia and Alabama, places I’d never been. The destination was a wedding in Montgomery, AL, but if we can when we travel, we add extra time. To take the journey at a more comfortable … Continue reading Observing MLK Jr. Day with New Appreciation

Barbara Kingsolver: “Novels are True…”

Dave and I heard author Barbara Kingsolver speak at Dominican University last week. Her latest novel, Demon Copperhead, won the Pulitzer Prize. I haven’t read it yet, but I will now that I’ve heard her talk about its inspiration in Dickens’s David Copperfield and her intention to write “the great Appalachian novel” as a window … Continue reading Barbara Kingsolver: “Novels are True…”

Meatless Monday – Stuffed Shells

By the time I graduated college, I could feed myself the basics: veggies and salad, pasta, sandwiches, scrambled eggs, pancakes and brownies from a box, anything easy. My roommate, however, could cook. She often made stuffed shells and I watched to learn from her. Fast-forward many years to Q expressing his delight in stuffed shells. … Continue reading Meatless Monday – Stuffed Shells