the beauty of an ordinary life
It’s like a David Sedaris essay, I say, talking to the tiny faces on the screen, listening to a wild tale about lost keys and madcap driving and children standing on the river bluff, cheering for newlyweds. (Because, even in a pandemic, people get married.) And the wedding was magical, the tale goes on, even … Continue reading Thanksgiving.
The part of this that is a story, at the beginning, is mostly true and very short - hardly even a story, it's so short. But it's true nonetheless, in the important ways, and amended appropriately because it isn't mine. A number of years ago a dear friend was hosting Thanksgiving dinner. More specifically, a … Continue reading Babies, tarnish and dust.
Opals were meant to be worn only by those for whom opal was their birthstone, that's what my mother said. But I loved opals, loved their mystery, their hologram-like coloring. So I used my babysitting money to buy an opal ring from Lowell Hays Jewelers. It was a dainty ring, the setting bright, yellow gold, … Continue reading The iridescent shimmer of 12.
Today's show-off TV chefs would never have survived the Thanksgiving kitchens of my youth. The roasting turkey, oyster dressing, scalloped potatoes, tender rolls and sweet potato pie were all in well-practiced hands, so my Southern matriarch predecessors would have sent Bobby Flay packing - gracefully, I'll add. At a minimum they would would have dispatched … Continue reading Many hands, light work.
Perhaps to keep us from falling into the abyss that is pre-Christmas commercial madness, here is a story about Thanksgiving that includes a dog, a rat and the frivolity of Starbucks. You should know up front that the dog dies and the rat escapes, but it's really not a sad story, I promise. In my … Continue reading A dog, a rat, and Thanksgiving.
18 years ago this week I was heading to Jackson, WY to celebrate Thanksgiving with my sister and her new husband chase Bernard. As married readers know, there's no Thanksgiving quite like your first Thanksgiving, the first time you attempt to meld whatever traditions were cultivated in each of you and initiate those of your … Continue reading Setting a new table. (food, week of 11.25.13)
Safe travels to our friend, who will never be a stranger. Angle to Key West: Thanksgiving With Strangers (11/22).
Few people understand as well as my friend Marjorie that life is the adventure you make it. Not in an aggressive, carpe diem, "shall we go to Borneo?" way, but in the genuine, inject a bit of madcap into your average Saturday way. I wasn't a bit surprised a week ago, talking about what we … Continue reading People are good.
jenny's lark 