Fruit, Flowers & Country Roads

Earlier this week, after morning meetings, I met up with my sister-in-law, my niece and two grandnieces to make strawberry jam and pretty much chat and giggle the time away. Well, I say “making” like I was in the thick of things sweating over a hot stove stirring sugar-laden bubbling strawberries; when in reality, I was merely lending support, standing on the sidelines sipping a refreshing herbal iced tea! I think not doing all the work might be one of the benefits of growing older and having granny status. It's time to step back and let the kids do the cooking while the elders stand back and give sage advice on both the making of jam and the living of life, right? Although, to be fair, my sister-in-law was making pie crusts for the two strawberry pies that were also in the works. Fun fact – she was using my mom’s pie crust recipe – a recipe that I have never used!

Halloween, Cairns & Love

Sometimes in life, if we're lucky, we have the great fortune of sharing our path with a few incredible spirits. For the last thirty years I shared that path with Janice…the first twenty from a distance and the last ten in each other’s backyards as sisters, of sorts. For me, these pix of Beatrix and Janice’s Missy, celebrating Halloween in their own special way, will always remind me of the loving, silly and sometimes sad times I shared with Janice.

Morning Moon, Traffic Jams & Flags

It tickles me as I read through my Twitter and Instagram feeds – everyone is so busy and so hungry! I don’t know if it is my age now or my current country living self but I find myself wondering if anyone ever just hangs out at home. I know that when I lived in New York way back when, there were days I met up with friends for dinner, farmer’s markets, museums, Central Park and shows but I know that I spent a lot of time at home on the Upper East Side with Agatha, my Norwich Terrier. I’m the first to admit that I am a homebody to the max – to the point that people have stopped asking me to join in since they know I will most likely turn down their invitations.