My beloved granddaughter Luna turned seven today. What a joy she had been in my life. As my first grandchild, she occupies a very special spot in my heart. Who knew love could grow so exponentially? Happy birthday, sweet girl. May you have a long life and much happiness. Always know your grandma loves you.
Category: Writing
5-Star Butternut Squash Soup Recipe in the Instant Pot
Today for lunch, Rachael and I made this delicious and easy butternut squash soup. The hardest part of the process is to peel the skin off the squash, but besides that, this is a simple soup to make. The spices add depth of flavor along with either goat or cream cheese. The parmesan will make…
Skin: A Graveyard of Past Events
My skin is a conduit of memory. One soft touch takes me back to my sweet high school boyfriend, the first male to every caress me; one harsh squeeze reminds me of one of my college boyfriends, the only person who ever physically hurt me; one stroke on my back connects me to my mother…
An Exceptional Poem by Marie Howe about Losing a Brother to AIDS
Having lost two brothers to AIDS, this poem hits home in a deep and meaningful way. Also, since we are in the middle of a pandemic, it seems appropriate to share. I discovered Marie Howe through the Billy Collins Master Class on Poetry at Masterclass.com. He had Marie join him for several sessions and, in…
Fleabag: Highly Recommended
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…
An Excellent Recipe for Orange Cake from The Cake Bible
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…
Flash Fiction Story Time
I wrote this story a while back and thought I would share it tonight. This is called Flash Fiction, which is a fiction story of 1200 words or less. Clearly, the production value is marginal on this video, but what the heck. Sometimes, it’s nice to hear versus read a story. Hope you’re doing well…
Lyla’s Birthday Party
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…
A Story about Covid-19 from 6-Year-Old Luna, the Daughter of a Front-Line Physician
Out of the mouths of babes… This story pretty much sums up how many of us are feeling right now. Thank you, Luna.
Congratulations to My Student, Aaron Shahmaram, Accepted to Loyola Law School!
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…
20 Minutes a Day 