And all through the house …
[NOTE: This is a repeat of a previous Christmas Eve post.] … a creature was stirring. On Christmas Eve I was expecting a visit from my son, who was flying in as a rare treat. I had tidied up, and … Continue reading →
Category Archives: Me, myself, and I
It’s lebkuchen time again
[NOTE: Regulars here may remember that most years I put up a family Christmas recipe. And here it is again.] This recipe was brought over from Germany sometime in the mid-1800s, and was my favorite of all the wonderful treats … Continue reading →
The wild and wacky world of car rental
I recently rented a car for three weeks on the west coast. That’s a long time, and car rentals have become very very expensive. Indeed, the prices I originally got for this 3-week car rental ranged from about $1200 to … Continue reading →
Dostoevsky’s Demons
I was in high school when I first read a Russian novel; it was Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment. The book immediately grabbed my attention – here was something to really sink my teeth into, something that dealt with the Big … Continue reading →
About Pelosi’s hip fracture
First of all, a disclaimer: I make no predictions about Pelosi’s recovery from a hip fracture she sustained in a fall the other day. But anything is possible. I read these musings: Statistically, when a woman in her mid-80s breaks … Continue reading →
Ghosting and cutoff – political or otherwise
Yesterdays’s thread on the subject of cutoff because of political disagreement had so many interesting comments that I want to take up one of the issues raised. I think there’s a huge difference between cutting off an acquaintance with whom … Continue reading →
Centerville piecrust
Back in the days when I did a lot more cooking, I used to make my own piecrust. It always was okay, but I never mastered the art of making it really really good. Oh, I got lots of tips … Continue reading →
On Trump, snobbery, and the roller derby
I was talking recently to the only person I’m close to who is also on the right, and the topic of Trump-hatred came up. I said that I thought a huge part of the intensity of that hatred was snobbery. … Continue reading →
Happy day-before-Thanksgiving to you!
[NOTE: This is a slightly-edited reprint of a previous post.] I happen to like Thanksgiving. Always have. It’s a holiday for anyone and everyone in this country—except, of course, people who hate turkey. There are quite a few of those … Continue reading →
On holiday fruitcake
Somehow I got on the list of a whole bunch of fancy food catalogues, which are coming to me in the mail almost every day. I’m pretty sure I earned my place on that list by sending some fruit to … Continue reading →
JFK was assassinated sixty-one years ago today
Like most people of a certain age, I remember where I was: in school. I found out piecemeal – first that someone had shot at him, then that he was injured, then that he was dead. Then all the rest. … Continue reading →
The mighty encyclopedia: doing research in grade school in the 1950s
The blue volumes of the World Book Encyclopedia stood tall on the shelves of my brother’s room, the only reference books our house had except for a dictionary and a thesaurus. But the World Book was king, an essential tool … Continue reading →