Dessert Frenzy

I had looked forward to the meeting we would be holding at our chairperson’s house because she would always make it a point to surprise us with some new recipe that she would make us taste-test, and they were always delicious.  I was still speculating what the new recipe would be when we got to [...]

Vibrant Art on Pastel Walls

I have never been the peaches and cream type even when I was a young girl, and preferred bold reds and blacks during my teen years, but reds and blacks can get old as the paint colors of choice for an apartment’s interiors. When I finally got a longer lease on my studio apartment, I [...]

Framing Windows

I had gotten so used to seeing curtains or drapes on windows, that seeing a bare, square, glass kitchen window was a surprise; a pleasant one it turned out to be. A friend had brought me to this house in farm country, because her cousin, who is an artist, had just moved in and wanted [...]

Storms and Hot Soup

There are very few perfect pairings in this world but one of these few must be hot soup and storms. Big storms don’t hit our part of the world very often but when they do, our group of friends has a pre-planned contingency plan:  Shop for overnight party supplies and congregate at our “crack-pot” friend’s [...]

Teens and Food

I get along well with my teenage sons; meaning there are very few confrontations, and these are usually about the condition of their rooms or the monotony of their preferred diet (until recently). Apart from threatening to have them move into one room and to make the extra room the laundry ironing room, which gets [...]

Rich Colors and Textures in a Humble Home

My friend has a small rental place in a mid-scale neighborhood but his place is always the venue of choice every time our group plans a party.  My friend doesn’t mind at all, because our group rules dictate that whoever owns the place where our party is held is exempted from any other party expenses [...]