I sit on the porch, rain lightly falling around me. The roof over my head, the eaves hanging down, protect me–allow me to sit in the midst of nature, without the threat of bee stings, mosquito bites, or rain. I sit at the table facing one corner–the corner that looks out at the yard next…
Tag: cooking
Adventures in Cooking: The Black Bean
I became a vegetarian just over a year ago and one unexpected benefit is a renewed interest in trying new recipes. A month ago I bought dried black beans. I had no idea what the difference was between the canned version I usually bought versus soaking and cooking them myself, but I thought it time…
Changing Tastes
I scoured the shelves on the door of the refrigerator. Dijon mustard! Score! I smiled as I squirted it into an empty salad bowl. I hate mustard. But I always have some in my fridge to make this very dressing – one that I loved from the moment I tasted it sitting in my host…
The Joy of Blogging: Grandma and the Camino
Before my parents took off for the weekend, they asked if I could do them a favor and drop something off at my grandmother’s house. I agreed – not just to maintain my #1 Daughter status, but also because I was moving in less than a week and visiting Grandma was something I needed to…
Asheville–> Kiawah Island
There is an advantage to leaving Asheville at 7:30AM: Arrival at the gates to Kiawah Island at 12:30 pm. Gates? Yes, gates. It’s not a gated community – it’s a gated island from what I can tell. Not the kind of place I’d want to live (I’m not into planned communities), but a glorious place to…
Learning New Things
Is it just me, or is everyone as stimulated as I am by making things? Whether it’s cooking or crafts, I’m just “in my element” when I’m making something. And if it’s something I’ve never made before, well that’s a whole other level of fun, mystery, and sometimes frustration. In the last three days I’ve…
A Host Not Like Most?
“So have you made a lot of things so far?” my new co-host asked me. Having taken eight weeks of classes here at the Folk School, one would assume I have a cabinet filled with the fruits of my labors. “Actually, no,” I said. “I’ve purposely chosen classes where I don’t make a lot of…
Dressing the Part
“Oh – look at your pretty toes!” she said. I smiled as I looked down at my Merlot-colored toenails. They hadn’t been out in public in quite some time. No, it wasn’t the beginning of summer. This was last week. Weather-wise, we are still in open-toed shoe season, but here at the Folk School I’ve…
Adventures in Woodturning
An emotional roller coaster. That’s how you might describe a tough week of unexpected things. Or, if you’re me, that’s how you describe your week in the woodturning studio. By 3:30 on Thursday, I’d had enough. I put a plastic bad over the piece I’d been working on (to keep it from drying out) and…
Myths of the Sisterhood (Part 2)
I described the house where I was saying to my sister Liz. “It’s right on the ocean – on a bluff. There’s stairs down to the beach. Actually, it used to be an old inn and the brochure aid ‘seven steps to the sea.’” I had been to this house many times in the last…
RenaissanceRebecca 