I have this thing with wine corks. To anyone who has spent more than ten to fifteen minutes around me, this should come as no great surprise. After a lifetime of hording them (that's a lot of corks, y'all), I had this epiphany tonight. So here's a little diatribe about the things we keep and the things we give away, and the way decorating can sometimes blend with warm memories to make a house a home. . So, I have this tendency to impulsively grab wine corks from dinners, gatherings and ... View Post
New Year's Resolution: Tackling the Photos (Part 1 – Inspiration)
I'm a little bit passionate about photographs and memories. In 1997 - while living and studying in Dijon, France - I completed a seminal project which involved replicating photos from the 1850s from around the city of Chalon-sur-Saône in the Burgundy region. Chalon is regarded as the birthplace of photography and the home of Nicéphore Niépce, known as the father of modern day photography. While my photos were nothing to write home about, my French was passable and the project gained high enough ... View Post
Reel to Reel
I beg, and they put me off for weeks but finally acquiesce. Dad digs out the projector and the boxes of slides in one Kodak box after another. Mom has me climb the step stool to reach up into the crevasses of the highest kitchen storage cabinet to fetch the old green monster for making homemade malts. She pops the popcorn on the stovetop into big metal bowls and we each receive a thick kitchen dish towel as a heavy-duty napkin. (No wonder, then, that I nearly swoon when my husband pops ... View Post
Turn The Radio Up (For That Sweet Sound)
It seems to me that life has both a script and a soundtrack. As a general rule, we find that we are moved by certain films because they feel like the home run by the underdog: they knock it out of the park. The crowd goes wild. The stands erupt with cheering fans; strangers hug one another and feel deeply gripped to throw their ball caps into the air. The moments are epic, and yet we relate because we've felt those same game-winning hits and the gut-wrenching losses on some scale. It seems ... View Post
Thelma in a Red Frame
There is a tiny photo in my office in a weathered red wooden frame. It probably seems either unimportant to most, or self-indulgent. To me, it's one of the most evocative pieces of my past. Look at it, if you like, but let me try to more effectively capture it, if you are interested: Most centrally and most eye-catching, a slender black woman with pristine skin is holding a small white infant. That's Thelma, and that's me. The couch is yellow and scratchy-looking. A brown ... View Post
