[S]ometimes I think my fun is done. I know that sounds fatalistic. I know I have joys and things to enjoy ahead. But as far as true, hilarious, tickle-me, laugh-out-loud pleasure — like the fun of childhood — I at times feel I’ve entered into a phase of adulthood where […]
[I] don’t know that everyone goes through a cookie period, but I did. It was extensive, lasting from the ages of 7 to 18 and boy, was I prolific. Like many little girls, the first recipe I asked if I could make was chocolate chip cookies — the Tollhouse recipe […]
“Never grow a wishbone, daughter, where your backbone ought to be.†— Jennie Paddleford to her daughter, Clementine [H]ow is it possible that, in the four years I attended Kansas State University, majoring in journalism, spending two years working on the school’s daily newspaper, The Collegian, and even planning and […]
[I] may be going against popular opinion by saying this but, chocolate does not go with everything. Some people could eat it anywhere, anytime, on anything. But as I recently strolled through a market and noticed a basket full of dried chocolate fettuccine, I realized, surprisingly, that chocolate in that […]
[I] put up my tree recently, and as with many a Christmas tradition, this ritual sent me back — footsteps clearly marked despite the drifting snow of thoughts flurrying in my mind — to trees of the past. Of prickly cedar trees whose feathery branches could barely bear the weight […]
[C]ertain things quell a troubled soul like no other. Comfort foods — they have just the right combination of taste, texture, color and smell to bring immediate relief and send all worry and strife scurrying. If I could choose just one comfort food — or one dessert, for that matter […]
“Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second’s encounter with God and with eternity.â€Â ― Paulo Coehlo (b. 8/24), “The Alchemist†[…]
[S]ometimes it is necessary to fall under a spell. And my potion of choice recently has been hot chocolate. I have been inspired in the past and of late by a beautiful little film called Chocolat (2000), which has its own mystical properties. Based on the novel by Joanne Harris, […]
“If you’re going to try, go all the way./otherwise, don’t even start.†The words – from Charles Bukowski’s thrilling poem, “Roll the Dice†— cut sharp and deep and they loom, and if you have things you want to do, keep the words in mind to set a fire lapping […]