Naval Funeral My friends Tippy and Toppy had the fabled attention span of goldfish.  Whenever I made eye contact with them,   they’d meet my gaze for just a few seconds and then they’d turn away – as if they had bigger fish to fry. But they were dearly beloved friends and always  there for… Read More

Afternoon Tea at Hotel Wales When Hurricane Sandy hit in 2012 our Manhattan apartment building was severely affected,  we were evacuated and moved to a Marriott hotel three blocks away for a few days .  (See Cooking with Gas) A few years earlier we also had to vacate when during a renovation the construction dust forced… Read More

The Purloined Passport I pride myself on being organized,  in fact organizing became my second career!   (See Second Career) And altho I would tell my organizing clients to keep important documents in a desk or file cabinet,  for some reason I always kept my own passport in my dresser drawer. Several years ago our… Read More

Bone of Contention  My mother never made much of a fuss over mealtimes,   nor did she take much pride in her own cooking – although I never remember a meal at her table that wasn’t delicious.  (See My Game Mother,   Still Life) She was a high school art teacher,   and came home every afternoon,… Read More

Country Living Although I grew up in a house,  most of my adult life I’ve been a Manhattanite and an apartment dweller.  (See The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, and Cooking with Gas) However over the years we did spend many wonderful summers in rented houses at the beach.   Our stays were hassle-free,  and… Read More

Skinny Dipping For several summers in our early,  married-without-children years we rented a beach house in the Hamptons with our good friends J and K.   After a few years our friends – serious fishermen by then –  opted for the mountains instead and bought a house near a trout stream.  (See Catskill Weekend) And… Read More

Mother and Child,  Mary Cassatt 1897 Going Back to Work I was working as a high school librarian,   with an easy 20 minute highway commute,  when I discovered  I was pregnant.   I happily applied for a maternity leave and told my principal I’d be leaving a week or two before my mid-March due… Read More

The One Who Got Away Like all red-bloodied,  pubescent American girls of the 50s I certainly did my share of dating. In junior high school we started to pair off and with little information and probably more mis-information about the birds and the bees,  we experimented.   (My cowardly parents,  rather than having that embarrassing… Read More

Carousel Although merry-go-rounds or carousels are usually found at amusement parks and state fairs,  the oldest platform carousel in the country,  Flying Horses,  is actually a permanent fixture in the charming town of Oak Bluffs on Martha’s Vineyard where we’ve spent many idyllic summer vacations.  (See Menemsha Sunset  and Wishing for Rain on the Vineyard) When… Read More

Male Cornea HIM,  upstairs:  “Do we have Alka Seltzer Plus?” ME,   downstairs:  “Yes,  it’s in the cabinet.” HIM,  upstairs:  “Where? ME,  downstairs:  “It’s in the cabinet in the white bin.” HIM,  upstairs:  “Where?” ME,  downstairs:  “It’s in the cabinet in the white bin on the left.” HIM,  upstairs:   “Where?” ME,  downstairs getting hot… Read More