We have just arrived via van and U-Haul in Benson, AZ where we will stay the night before heading on to Sherman, Texas tomorrow. We have driven 10 hours, covering 425 miles. We had lots of traffic for the first 3 hours. We have about 11 more to go, give or take an hour or…
Tag: writing discipline
Ginger Cookies: A Recipe to Count On
I have been baking today and the above picture shows the most perfect ginger snap I’ve ever made. The recipe is adapted from the book bigfatcookies by Elinor Klivans, which I gave to Ray for Christmas (one of my many finds from Out of the Closet thrift store). We don’t eat refined sugar so I…
Congratulations To My “Early Action” Students
I am pleased to report that ALL of my students who applied “early action,” meaning before the regular admission deadline have been accepted at the schools where they applied. These schools are fine institutions and competition is stiff. The acceptances so far include: University of Pennsylvania: Claremont McKenna: Tulane: Sarah Lawrence: University of Michigan Ann…
Christmas before Christmas
We celebrated our family Christmas this evening and the picture above shows my favorite present. Of course, I liked everything I received: the pack of panties, the bubble bath, the pumice stone and foot scrub, the gift card to Coffee Bean, the socks, face cream, Chai tea and new frying pan. But my favorite gifts…
A Cold Night + A Honey-Sweetened Cranberry Sauce Recipe
I am sitting in front of my fireplace with the fire blazing. It is cold for LA – 51 degrees with a light wind. Only chilly for other parts of the country, but for Southern California, it’s down right frigid, especially knowing it is getting down to 44 tonight. I am sitting two feet from the…
One Stop Christmas Shopping
Let me name a one stop gift buying store: IKEA. We went there today and, though I had to rush and not meander since I was with other people, I still found all sorts of great little buys for my Christmas list. I can’t go into exactly what I bought since my daughters tend…
Life of Pi: A Sincere Grappling with Questions of God and Faith
This movie could have been awful. A boy, a tiger and lots of water… Instead, it’s visually beautiful as well as emotionally satisfying as the questions of life and death, belief and unbelief, and God or no God are seriously examined amid action, tension and humor. My husband, who had to be dragged to this…
A Film to Recommend: Flight
Today I went to see Denzel Washington in the movie Flight. I went with a friend who liked the movie well enough to see it for a second time. I went in cold, meaning I knew almost nothing about the film save that Denzel surely was an airline pilot given his “look” on the movie…
A Holiday Party
We just returned from our first holiday party. This was at Liz’s boyfriend Ron’s parents’ house in Hollywood. We had good food: chicken sausage lasagna and arugula and sun-dried tomato pizza and lots of good conversation. I only knew Ron, Liz, Rick and Cindy (Ron’s parents) when I arrived, but over the course of the…
“Christmas-Lite”
Here is our little Christmas tree here in CA. We are going “Christmas-Lite” this year, working to shift the focus from stress and spending to calm and sharing. We are limiting the amount of money for gifts with family and having a potluck with friends on Christmas Day. (This is after having an evening celebration…
20 Minutes a Day 