I am probably the only person on the planet that hasn’t seen Season 2 of Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s series, “Fleabag,” but if you haven’t seen this wonderful series, the time is now. This is a charming British comedy that goes deep into what makes the human psyche tick, and the writing and performances are brilliant. The…

I am a big enthusiast of Rose Levy Beranbaum’s The Cake Bible. The cakes I have made from this cookbook have been wonderful even when I’ve varied the ingredients to accommodate my non-refined sugar eating. This past week, I altered a recipe to include orange zest and orange juice since we have a multitude of…

A “shelter-in-place” birthday celebration for granddaughter Lyla. Ray, Rachael and I were on FaceTime here in Beverly Hills, Liz and Ron in Ojai, and Lyla and her family in Pasadena. We chatted, heard a few jokes delivered by Luna and then sang an exuberant “Happy Birthday.” Lyla was most interested in seeing Auntie Rachael’s dog…

Out of the mouths of babes… This story pretty much sums up how many of us are feeling right now. Thank you, Luna.

Tonight my heart is happy. My beloved writing student, Aaron Shahmaram, called me today to let me know that he just received his acceptance letter to Loyola Law School here in Los Angeles. Yes! Aaron and I go way back. I first met him as an awkward middle schooler who came to me for help…

This is a text exchange I had with one of my writing students this evening. He is a senior in high school and we have worked together now for several years. He and I are great friends and had planned to see each other several more times before the end of the school year. Now,…

I am sitting in my den here in Los Angeles this evening listening to rain drumming on the window panes. I associate that sound with peacefulness and it makes me want to curl up on the couch with a blanket and a book and just listen to that gentle pattering. I grew up in North…

I am, like most people, doing my best to adjust to our collective new normal. I have watched endless news coverage on Corvus-19 and then have found solace by binge-watching Doc Martin, where life is fairly predictable and Doc always makes people better. I spent several hours this afternoon weeding and I felt consoled by…

Today is my husband Ray’s 62nd birthday – such a baby – since he’s five years my junior. Every other year, we have gathered as a family for Ray’s birthday celebration, but this year Covid-19 has put a damper on a family party. Instead, we had a FaceTime party (of sorts) with the grandkids, Sarah…