Recipe for Great Crab Cakes

Having been in Maryland recently, I finally had what was reported as the area’s “best crab cake,” but I have discovered they have nothing on mine. I can’t really take credit for how good mine are since I use Martha Stewart’s recipe. (see here). The only thing I do different is I separate the batter … Read more

Today’s Poem: Garbage Removal

Polly Castor Photography: Rain on the Parking Lot

Garbage Removal I’m up praying at four in the morning. Misty, moist, cool air refreshes, wafting in on tendrils from the open window. The only sound I hear is the massive bang and clunk of a garbage truck with hulking mechanical biceps in grinding metal arms, picking up those hugely heavy commercial containers, dumping out … Read more

Why Socialism Doesn’t Work

I don’t often merely pass on email I get, but this came from my friend Linda and I found it very apt, particularly since my son thinks he wants to live in Sweden. (Mind you I’m no economist and I’m not attempting to discredit “progressive taxation”…) See the email forward below in blue… and my … Read more

Photos of Magnolias

Don’t you love magnolias? My aunt had a wonderful one we used to climb; year round they make good climbing trees but to climb them in bloom is to love them forever. Every year I photograph them. The fragrance is so subtle and delicious. The profile of each bloom is unique and slightly melancholy. And … Read more

I Bought a Box of Pastels!

  This is a big deal for me! We really didn’t have this in the budget, and it is both a true indulgence and a show of commitment to this medium for us to over extend ourselves in this direction! The box came from Heilman Designs (see here) and will keep the pastels from crumbling … Read more

Movie Review: Little Dorrit

  We enjoyed this production of Charles Dickens’ Little Dorrit immensely, watching it in series on Sunday evenings on PBS Masterpiece Theater. We give it five stars. Amy Dorrit, brought up her whole life in debtor’s prison, where she cared for her father who has been the longest inmate there, was played exceptionally well by … Read more

Photos of Forsythia

Forsythia is always such a delight to see. I think it was one of the first things my kids could identify out of the car window, since we always enjoyed spotting that luscious color after months of winter. That cadmium yellow can be almost intoxicating after one has been living among muted neutrals! Enjoy the … Read more