I have made two pans of stuffed shells for Christmas Eve dinner, which we will be eating at Sarah’s house tomorrow. Sarah is at the end of a grueling rotation in Family Medicine that has required 80 – 90 hour work weeks, so we are gathering at her house since she will be too tired…
Category: Family
Flash Memoir: Christmas Traditions at My House Growing Up
When I was growing up, our family tradition for Christmas was to go to Midnight Mass at Holy Trinity Episcopal church in my hometown of Bonham, Texas, then return to our house with all the church people for a big party. This meant the party started around 12:30 or 1 in the morning on Christmas…
Short and Sweet Tonight
I have been to Ojai today where I picked 3 crates of oranges, to Santa Barbara to visit with the women for whom we are handling her estate, and then on to Target in Oxnard where I did some Christmas shopping. That was 14 hours ago. I am going to bed now. Sleep well, my…
A Grandma By Any Other Name…
My little granddaughter, 20½-month-old Luna arrived today for a visit. “Hi, grandbaby!” she said as she leaned forward for me to take her in my arms. I looked at my daughter, her aunt and nanny. “Grandbaby?” “That’s what she’s calling you these days. She was chanting, “Grandbaby, grandbaby, grandbaby,” all the way over here. My…
The People in My Life
I took pictures today at the Breakfast Club, our church’s homeless breakfast program, and it occurred to me as I surveyed all the smiling faces of the volunteers just how lucky I am to be surrounded by so many good people. These fellow volunteers, with their devotion to good-hearted service, are only a few of the people…
Book Review and Author Interview
I am happy to introduce my readers to a wonderful author, Fran Simone, PhD, who has written a heart-felt and helpful memoir entitled, Dark Wine Waters: My Husband of a Thousand Joys and Sorrows. This book recounts the author’s experience of being married to an alcoholic and is a clear-sighted look at the disease of…
Quick and Easy Peach Cobbler
Here is a recipe I can highly recommend. I made this today and it is easy, easy, easy and also fairly quick. It is a modification on a peach cobbler using a can of crescent rolls as your lower and upper crust. Yum. It bakes up fast, too. Directions: Put 1/4 cup of honey into…
Lucky
Sometimes people described me as the Marilyn in my family. That is a reference to “The Munsters” from television in the 1960’s when Marilyn was the only “normal” person in a family of vampires, werewolves and several more other worldly creatures. If you knew my family, everyone had a special something that made them unique…
A Sleepy Day
This has been one of those do-nothing days, just hanging out and recovering from a cooking marathon yesterday for our belated Thanksgiving. My nephew, Jim, and his family are here and we also had visits from Liz, Rachael and Luna. We watched television, ate left-overs and chatted. No work, no duties. Just pure relaxation. Luna…
Ray’s 5-Star Cranberry Sauce Recipe
With Thanksgiving right around the corner, I thought you might be looking for a good cranberry sauce recipe. Well, if you are, then here it is. This is the best cranberry sauce you will EVER taste. The nice part is that it’s really simple, and it is better if you make it ahead so the…
20 Minutes a Day 