Month: March 2019
Friday Food and Drink Post: Just Desserts
We all know what they are. They are what we want for ourselves and for everyone we know, friend and foe alike, right? When we get ours, we expect them to come trailing clouds of goodness, mercy, and grace, and to bestrew puppies, butterflies, rainbows and joy throughout our lives forever. When our enemies, and… Continue reading Friday Food and Drink Post: Just Desserts
Border Wars
Things have been a bit fraught at Chateau Right for the last hour or so. You see, I had a breach in my “big, beautiful” high-tensile fence, procured at great expense about 12 years ago. One of the wires snapped and it didn’t take long for the sheep, probably incited by the goats, to find… Continue reading Border Wars
Occasional Quote of the Day: By a Gentlewoman of Those Parts
“If we had no winter the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.” — Anne Bradstreet, Meditations Divine and Moral So, there I was, looking for a quote about Spring, about how glad I am that the cycles go on, and that this… Continue reading Occasional Quote of the Day: By a Gentlewoman of Those Parts
Friday Food and Drink Post: Soupçon!
I love almost any kind of soup: Thick soup, thin soup, vegetable soup, meat soup, cold soup, hot soup, clear soup, cream soup, soup with “bits” in it, smooth soup. Soup is great. A bowl of steaming chowder on a frosty day, a dish of chilled fruit soup in midsummer. Croutons. Garlic bread. Oyster crackers.… Continue reading Friday Food and Drink Post: Soupçon!
34 Years Ago Today: Politburo Selects Gorbachev as Soviet Leader
Thirty-four years ago today, the revolving door that had become the entry point to leadership of the Soviet Union stopped when Mikhail Gorbachev was elected General Secretary of the Communist Party. On that day, he became the fourth Soviet leader in under three years (Brezhnev died in November 1982, Andropov in February of 1984, Chernenko… Continue reading 34 Years Ago Today: Politburo Selects Gorbachev as Soviet Leader
The Stepmother Diaries
With very few exceptions over the years, I’ve never minded being defined in terms of my familial relationships. Dad’s daughter. Mr. She’s wife. Peachy’s granny. Sam, Mike and Jenny’s stepmother. I’ve never thought of myself as an appendage or a cipher, nor do I function as anybody’s foil. Although by no means perfect, I’m generally… Continue reading The Stepmother Diaries
Making Fizzy Bath Salts
OK, Ladies. If you can give me just a few minutes, I’ll show you how to turn your very own bathtub, in your very own home, into a scented luxury spa. It’s easy, and uses ingredients that, if they’re not in your kitchen already, are readily available either in stores or on the web. I… Continue reading Making Fizzy Bath Salts
Taking Care of the Pennies
“Take care of the pennies, and the pounds will take care of themselves,” was one of Dad’s favorite expressions. He was, not to put too fine a point on it, thrifty (I attribute this aspect of his character to the Fraser strain in the family. Or perhaps it was growing up when times were a… Continue reading Taking Care of the Pennies
Friday Food and Drink Post: Not So Fast
Five days to go before Ash Wednesday and the start of Lenten fasting for many Christians. Of course, that means that Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) is coming up too. We didn’t call it “Fat Tuesday” when I was growing up. We knew that the religious context of the day, the last day of Shrovetide, deemed it Shrove… Continue reading Friday Food and Drink Post: Not So Fast