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Monthly Archives: December 2011

The village, deep in snow, awoke like a sleepy fairyland

On the morning after Christmas I slipped away from my son’s house and all the crumpled wrappings and chocolates and people tuckered out from making merry. Careful not to fall on the ice, I plodded down the winding lane, plowed only two days before. Soon everyone would be awake, steeped in the aroma of fresh brewed coffee; but the new day, freezing cold and ablaze with sunlight, could not wait.

 

Snow veils blew off pinon pines and junipers and skimmed Continue reading

The very best snowed-in Christmas ever!

CABIN FEVER DAY FIVE. Pictured here are a few of the more severely affected members of the family. The snow stands at knee height here in the mountains east of Albuquerque where I’m spending the holidays, and the crazies stand at about an eight on a scale of one to ten.

Fortunately, there’s still plenty of room for more insanity, Continue reading

Fresh From the Hungry Mom Kitchen: Indian Dosas – Fun to Make, a Treat to Eat!

A mountain of fresh vegetables greeted my daughters and I as we walked into Nandini’s kitchen. Beets, spinach, squash, mushrooms, broccoli, and potatoes all seemed to be growing out of the counter – a one day supply for two adults and three teenage girls, she said.

What on earth would she make with all that food?

The answer was not long in coming.

Breezing around the kitchen in a sari, Nandini reminded me of Lakshmi, the four-armed Indian goddess, simultaneously stirring steaming veggies with one hand and flipping dosas with the other.

It smelled fantastic.

She finally led us to her dining room, where she’d set the table with a variety of tempting sauces and chutneys.

Dosas with kale, carrots and potatoes and raw beet and carrot salad

Continue reading

Thank You, Barbara Cook, for Entertaining Us

Long before songstress Barbara Cook was awarded Kennedy Center Honors for her life-time contribution to the performing arts earlier this month, my daughters were singing along in the back of the car to the song that became her signature: “Ice cream! He brought me ice cream! Vanilla ice cream, imagine that!”

With its clever, brain addicting lyrics from the 1963 musical She Continue reading

What Harper Lee Can Teach Parents About the Penn State Dilemma

I can imagine that Joe Paterno, the 84 year-old shrinking paterfamilias of Penn State football, might be doing some pretty intense soul searching these days.

The man many still tout as the best football coach in college history has deceived everyone, and his lie will likely haunt him for the rest of his life.

We all know the details. Let’s cut to the chase.

Paterno’s undoing was not what Jerry Sandusky did – although 40 Continue reading