Tasked with making the desserts for a little girl’s first birthday party, I went with a lemon tart, matcha cookies, and one unorthodox little cake.
Read MoreFamily
Beta Version
That satisfied look on Anker’s face is a lot like the one on mine as I present news of his recent success along with a neat little throwback.
Read MoreThirteen
My son’s birthdays measure both his age in years and my own evolution in motherhood, which continues to be a breathtaking, exciting experience.
Read MoreFrontispiece
Find out what happened after microbiologist Christon J. Hurst found a mother-and-child image he liked on the web and tracked down the photographer.
Read MoreEmotional Baking
I bake to feed an elusive hunger in me that can only be sated by a diligent labor of love. The cakes, tarts, and cookies are a happy coincidence.
Read MoreForty-Four in Twenty-Two
The end of one year has me taking stock of how I’ve been living. The first days of another bring me inspiration to invite what I desire.
Read MorePlot Twist
My recent stay with Marta’s family made me want to write about the times we’ve shared. And then events shook the story in another direction.
Read MoreA Summer Scene
A glimpse of white linen and periwinkle silk on an al fresco summer date inspires me to wonder why I am moved so deeply by this sight.
Read MoreThis and That
April elicits heavy memories while ushering in lighter days. (It turns out that three years into bereavement one is whole again.)
Read MoreAdvanced Adventing
This year’s calendar combined the exuberance of gift giving with a controlled architectural streak. In other words it was perfect.
Read MoreSummerhouse Stills
For this text-free post I’ve selected a dozen photos to tell the fragmented story of a whole season’s worth of simple pleasures.
Read MoreA Week in Greece in June
What makes the Aegean adventure into what it is has to do with that tranquil turquise sea made for swimming, but that is not all.
Read MoreCelebration Song
A boy’s ninth birthday inspires contemplation of how this unlikely milestone marks not just the child’s life but motherhood, too.
Read MoreNotes from Connecticut
Last week I had the honor of attending a UCONN Human Rights Institute conference in memory of my father. Here is what I had to say.
Read MorePoems from Poland
One of the ways I remember my father is through poems he loved and ones I wish we could have read together. Here is a handful.
Read MorePortugal, Volume Two
A revisit can deepen one’s regard for a place and still let down expectations of better weather. The same can be said for photos.
Read MoreHigh Middle Childhood
Photos of boys of a certain age enjoying their winter break. Also, a glimpse into the origin of the phrase in the title.
Read MoreDeck the Halls 2017
A handful of photos documenting December wonders plus a brief confession about my experience of this year’s holiday season.
Read MoreOlá Portugal!
Photos and thoughts summing up my impression of Portugal: a place less “southern” than expected and bracingly unostentatious.
Read MoreOre of the Woods
Longer than anything I’ve written since college, this essay is about a summer cabin and a daughter’s memories of her father.
Read More