A few years back, I had lunch with an old family friend who I hadn’t seen in quite a long time. I mentioned in passing that my marriage had had some rough patches and she looked surprised. “But I thought you two had one of those near perfect marriages,” she said. “After all, you’ve been…
Category: Family
Then and Now
Here is what 35 years looks like: June 7, 1980 June 6, 2015 Tomorrow we celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary. I asked Ray tonight what he’s liked about our marriage. His response: “The fun.” Oh, yes, we have had fun. He added,”The kids, too.” Ah, yes, the kids. What could have been better? I am a…
Novel Writing, Disappointments and Baby Steps
For those of you who don’t know, I am working on a novel. This is my second serious attempt at long fiction; the first completed manuscript is lying in the bottom of my desk drawer after not finding a home among publishers. The first is memoir turned fiction and is based partly on real-life events…
Repost 5-Star Recipe: Chocolate Eclair Cake
This is one of those recipes that deserves a repost. Here it is. Let me know if you try it. I would love to hear how it worked for you. This recipe comes from America’s Test Kitchen, and even after I modified it to use agave syrup rather than refined sugar it is still awesome….
Visitors in Ojai
We have just returned from an overnight visit to Ojai. We had the pleasure of having two visitors while we were there: Rachael and Luna. This was possible because Sarah is currently working nights and Gregorio had a graduate class on Wednesday night so Rachael was able to bring Luna up for the night. We…
Lessons from Two Masters
I just finished helping a student finish his 10 page term paper on how Edith Wharton’s and Tennessee Williams’ lives inspired Ethan Frome and The Glass Menagerie. The truth is that both of their lives are right there on those pages, disguised as other people dealing with problems of guilt, abandonment, thwarted dreams and societal…
5-Star Recipe: Lentil Soup with Spinach
If you are looking for a 100% predictably wonderful lentil soup recipe, then look no further. This comes from a Greek cookbook, The Foods of the Greek Islands: Cooking and Culture at the Crossroads of the Mediterranean by Aglaia Kremezi. This particular cookbook is ranked #2 in a list of 8 for the best Greek…
Birthday Celebration at The Natural History Museum
Here are photos of Sarah’s birthday celebration today at the Natural History Museum here in Los Angeles. Liz joined us for dinner, but no photos of her, unfortunately. Sorry, Liz! Lots of fun. Happy birthday, sweet Sarah.
Happy Birthday, Sweet Sarah
My beautiful firstborn baby is turning 33 tomorrow and I thought I would share a few pictures over the years. Here are just a few: …
On Developing a Visual Eye with the Help of Edward Weston
I am sitting in what has become our “eBay “ room, where I have been taking pictures of items and listing them for sale on eBay for the past several hours. We have handled several estates over the past 6 months and we are still busy posting piece after piece so they can go up…
20 Minutes a Day 