Polly Castor

I work to amplify good wherever I find it. I love color, texture, beauty, great ideas, nature, metaphor, deliciousness, genuine spirituality, and exploring new territory. I encourage authenticity, nurture creativity, champion sustainability, promote peace, and hope to foster a new renaissance where we all are free to be our most fulfilled, multifaceted, and terrific selves. Read more here.

Recipe: Great Pumpkin Chili

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Thanks Glyna! Glyna is my husband’s cousin’s wife as well as a reader of this blog. A couple days ago she sent me this recipe and we are so glad she did! It is mild but wonderful and VERY EASY to make. She tells me it originally came from the Gooseberry Patch’s new cookbook Autumn … Read more

Gallery Show: Wolf Kahn

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Yesterday I went with my husband to a gallery show of Wolf Kahn’s pastel works on paper. During the long but pleasant drive to Kent in the soft rain we discussed what made an artist famous, what makes them recognized and valued. Wolf Kahn is one of the best known artists alive today. (Jeff Koons’ … Read more

Other Fall Photos

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Well, the leaves are down now and our first frost has abruptly withered the flowers. It is hard to imagine now on this gray day spangled with bare branches that these photos were taken only last week. Enjoy…

Photos of Red Maples

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A week ago these trees were glowing and awesome, beginning to blanket the ground in crimson carpets. Now these radiant leaves are totally gone for another year. In every “now” there is beauty to behold. That’s why I screeched to a halt to capture these images and to bask in their glory. Enjoy!

Recipe for Apple Cake

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I first had this many years ago just after my brother-in-law’s funeral; it was made and shared with our family by my sister’s neighbor. We loved it so much we obtained the recipe and have made it ever since. We have come to adjust it slightly over the years, so I’ll share the original recipe … Read more

Book Review: This I Believe

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I really enjoyed these two sets of CD’s of a favorite NPR radio program, and give them 5 stars. These two CD sets showcase the 3 minute credos of famous people and everyday people alike. There are housewives, truckers, doctors, astronauts, gang members, mothers, teachers, young people, old people, believing in everything imaginable. There is … Read more

A Dance and a Dorm Room

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Apparently St. John’s College, Annapolis is easier to get in to than to stay in. There is a major exodus of freshman before Thanksgiving; they decide either they can’t cut it or don’t want to. This is also true at other points in the four year process as well, I am told, where either students … Read more

A Seminar on Socrates’ Apology by Plato

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The parents were given the homework of reading Plato’s Apology, which is his account of Socrates’ defense at his trial. (Apologia in Greek means defense, not to say you are sorry…) The parents then, on Saturday morning of Parent’s Weekend had our own seminar on this reading to experience what it is like for our … Read more

Parent’s Weekend at St. John’s College

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It has been our role today to rejoice in our oldest child thriving in a rigorous college setting. She is happy, stimulated, challenged and exhausted. We are proud of her hard work and ongoing diligence to a demanding program. We sat in on her class today – a baffling discussion where no right answers were … Read more

Doodling (Mostly in Church)

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Like many, I listen better while doodling, and carry little notebooks around with me for jotting ideas and doodling. Also in these are partially completed to-do lists, spontaneously collected contact info, scribbles of nascent poems… But mostly I doodle in church. Sometimes I doodle in the car waiting to pick up children while I listen … Read more

Movie Review: Coco Before Chanel

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It has been a long time since I’ve seen a film with subtitles. This one left me melancholy, wishing for a success story not so tinged with disappointment. It is for this reason more than any other that I award this film only three stars. However, given the the face value of the unalterable storyline, … Read more