Mom and I were best friends. We laughed together, traveled together, and talked nearly every day. She was my biggest supporter and #1 fan. When she passed away from Alzheimer’s, it wasn’t unexpected. Someone found her recipe box and gave it to me. Here we were at a crowded market in the Middle East. I…
Some of my trees and bushes are beginning to settle in for winter, while others are still happily blooming. The bees seem especially fond of these! And the yellow bells are still putting on quite a show. With the weather finally cooling down a bit, it’s been lovely to sit on the back porch and…
Unlike today’s jails, where nutrition is monitored by law and three meals a day are served to inmates, surviving a medieval dungeon had unique challenges. Prisoners lacked basic necessities. Unless one’s family or friends brought sustenance, ale, and clean water, captives had no provisions. They had to pay for food, bedding and heat. Dungeons were…
I would love to say I hop out of bed, wide awake at 5am, and have a standard, structured, set routine for my writing, but at best my writing process is wobbly. At worst, it’s papers piled all over my desk and files in seven or eight different folders. I depend heavily on meeting writing…
Being outside is one of my favorite activities—whether it’s walking, eating, drinking tea,or reading a book. We recently moved, and our new backyard has a lot of flowers on the edge,but the middle didn’t have anything. I wanted more color, more interest for the bees, birds, andbutterflies. I found a plant nursery that delivered and…
Bald’s Eye Salve is a 1,000-year-old Anglo-Saxon remedy found in the 10th-century manuscript Bald’s Leechbook. Recreated and tested by researchers at the University of Nottingham, this combination of garlic, onion or leeks, wine, and bovine bile has been found to kill up to 90% of MRSA bacteria. Recipe: Finely crush the garlic and alliums (onions…
I resisted writing about Bella because she is so difficult to describe. If Nia was my dog, and Trooper is my husband’s dog, then Bella is Trooper’s dog. He was delighted we brought him a puppy. She was given to us full of fleas and anxiety. It took her two full years to gather up…
Trooper was given to us as an “oops.” He was supposed to be a Rottweiler, but the Black Lab next door got to his mama first. He was an absolutely adorable puppy: Which was a good thing, because one day during the velociraptor stage I texted my husband and told him we were having hot dogs…
Bees and I have always had a special relationship. My dad raised honeybees. When I put my hand near their hive, they would crawl on my fingers. It was a peaceful, precious connection. They still land on me on or nearby me. In the Middle Ages, honey had many uses. Wine was safer to drink…
Cold rain and wind washed over my face when I arrived at my 6am Nia dance class. It was February, and a storm had blown in overnight. This day, an unattractive small black dog huddled on the front porch, clearly trying to stay dry. I assumed it had become frightened by the thunder and dug…
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