Category Things I love
Speaking of flowers… those lilies did not cooperate 🤨
After two full weeks —aka eternity—the lilies finally deigned to bloom. By then nearly all the berries had turned brown, the pussy willow buds had either dropped off or begun to sprout—and the lilies weren’t even white. Pink! Sigh. But it’s good lesson in the importance of getting the timing right in floristry. And of […]
Floristry! First task: the vase arrangement
Back in, hmm, maybe 2010 I spent a few days in Guatemala City with my friends Jennifer and Mark who were living there on assignment with USAID. I have a lot of good memories from that trip, but one that has had a surprisingly long lasting impact is of an enormous vase of stargazer lilies […]
Urban guerilla gardening
There’s an old, fire-damaged house down the street from me with an overgrown garden that, in happier days, must have been a pretty little garden. Every spring amidst the overgrown brambles and roses, I’ve admired a crop of unusual oxalis plants with pink flowers rather than the typical white. Well, today I saw that the […]
Progress at the little house
Quick overnight trip to Boise this weekend to check on the renovation project. The house has been gutted, reframed, and newly outfitted with HVAC and natural gas. It’s ready for drywall, floors, and the rest—and since the historic district approval came through on Friday, we’ll be able to get started in earnest on the next […]
A merry Christmas and a snowy Boxing Day
Christmas was as delightful as could be. We rose late, brunched on quiche, and once Bryce joined us, sat cozily in the living room opening gifts and enjoying each other’s company. In early afternoon Amy and Carol arrived, completing the party for the day. We pulled together a tasty raclette dinner followed by games, pie […]
Happy Christmas Eve!
Amanda flew to Seattle last night. Today we brunched on quiche, spent the day exploring Olympia with Amy, and then back to my place for a cozy, candlelit dinner and followed by a pairing of baked goods for dessert and baking shows on TV. Now off to bed so that dreams of sugarplums can dance […]
The Met, grilled cauliflower, and a jagged little pill
How better to start the first day in New York than with an uncle/niece breakfast date at Le Pain Quotidien. Thus did Brynn encounter the glory that is Belgian hot chocolate. Then off to the Metropolitan Museum of art, with a brief pause at Grand central Station to marvel at the stars. In the best […]
Senior trip to New York!
Not my senior trip—Brynn’s. Can you believe she’s that old already?! I’m beyond delighted to be here in New York with her and Heather and Jordan. Some of my favourite people in one of my favourite places doing some of my favourite things together. Tonight’s activity: Bryant Park and Times Square. I ate: six pork […]
I bought a house in Boise!
As of Friday, I’m the proud owner of a little 1905 house in Boise’s historic North End neighborhood. It doesn’t look like much at the moment—in fact, having been abused by renters and neglected for years, it needs a complete gut and remodel. But it’s got incredible potential and the neighbourhood is one of the […]
The sunset matched my roses
My garden felt a little empty today without the pond fish (as predicted, the full population has now died), and I felt a little blue. But as I left the garden after dinner I turned for one last look at the roses—just in time to see the pink and yellow sunset in shades that matched […]
A More Gentlemanlike Manner 