Living
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Hands
“…they kneaded and twisted and unknowingly squeezed youth back up through their veins…” – From “Making Taralli” – a poem of mine originally pushed in Ginosko Literary Journal The women in my family have beautiful hands. Of all their pleasing qualities, this is the one that fascinated me as a child. Well-formed and graceful, not to be confused with delicate, they are the type of hands that served, cooked, and too often were wrung together over loss. As they worked with dough or arranged chicken in a stock pot, their plump skin defined my notions of age in such a way that I found it difficult even to remember the…
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Pink Margarita Salt
This post is not about how to dye margarita salt, though I would advise using a few drops of beet juice were you to try. It is about a tin of pink margarita salt gifted by my dad a few birthdays before he passed. Becoming the father of a baby girl introduced him to a world of wild curls, strawberry picking, and pink. While it is not my favorite color, one could argue the opposite, particularly staring at a dresser full of stuffed animals, which my father would do nightly. “What’s this one’s name?” “Pinkie.” “And what about this one?” “Pinkie.” The people I love are every age at once.…
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No Eggs Before Noon
For a new relationship or simply the day, the beginning is important. The hook. The tone. One thing that will not hook me into a beautiful morning is a plate full of eggs. Sure, I love a delicious eggs Benedict, but it struck me while breaking a gorgeous yolk that my eggs are never on the table in the AM hours…even at a restaurant. I don’t eat eggs before noon. As Americans, high protein breakfasts are pushed on us all the time. Even if it’s not eggs, we are encouraged to find ways to amp up the protein in our oatmeal or to feel quite guilty until lunchtime. Yet with…
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Birthday List
In celebration of my birthday month, I was going to come up with a cake to share, but then I remembered someone else will whip one up. Instead, I am sharing a list of things I adore. Of course I treasure my favorite people, intellectual exchange, true kindness…this is not that list. These are some of the simple pleasures. I hope you will celebrate along with me by enjoying something off my list. (And if you happen to whip up a cake, find me on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter and share it!) Lobster rolls with lots of butter. Now top that with some more butter. Oh yum. Rainbow sprinkles, especially…
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Grow Something
Small, and sometimes secret, spaces make the best spots for growing. Acres of fields have their vast beauty, but I have always been drawn to the figs peeking out of a city garden or the potted olive tree. The most flavorful produce is often grown right where you live. It’s hard to get much more fresh than ripe, just-picked tomatoes, and the sweetest, albeit tiniest, strawberries I’ve ever eaten were from a plant I grew at the age of six. Whether you care for a lone berry plant or commit yourself to the summer-long haul of coaxing vegetable vines upward in a narrow yard, find a place to grow something.…
