Everyone has a brussels sprouts story. This is mine. When we moved to Aspen from Des Moines in 1988, we bought a house that wasn’t grand but situated on lovely property abutting Red Butte Mountain and surrounded by 40-some evergreen trees. Along with moving too many belongings, we also packed up our shovels, pitchforks…
A DAY in the LIFE of a RANGER
Since the mid-1990s, with a time out for Michael-care, I’ve been a volunteer wilderness ranger in the Colorado Rockies. During those 25-some years my life has changed dramatically but the one constant has always been my ranger gig. Hitching myself to Smokey Bear’s wagon was a bit of a stretch. Never considered a rough-and-tumble outdoorsy…
VERY FULL TART, VERY FULL SCHEDULE
When I was in second grade my teacher had us raise our hand if we wanted to be a nurse, fireman or fill-in-the-blank, when we grew up. She never asked if anyone wanted to be a juggler. Yet most of our lives have probably been a juggling act. How well do you juggle? These days…
VIGNETTES de PARIS
It’s been 5 weeks since I arrived in Paris with 2 small suitcases, keys to an Airbnb rental (first time ever) and a blank slate. Albeit unnerving, the onus on me, there’s freedom in that. If my friends and family questioned the sanity of this adventure, I didn’t know it. That was truly a gift….
BEFORE FLYING ACROSS the POND…
As you’re reading this post, I’m throwing last-minute essentials into my suitcase before leaving for a week in London and Edinburgh. Thanks to the low-fare transatlantic carrier Norwegian Air International now with more direct flights to London than any US airline and a British travel agency, I found a vacation package unable to ignore. TWO…
WHEN IT RAINS, IT POURS…
Did I ever mention my appointment with a Des Moines, Iowa psychologist. In my mid-thirties, I was needing counseling and advice. After talking to me for 30 minutes he remarked that ‘I would hit my head incessantly against the wall to get something done.’ Heck, I smiled broadly, got all puffed up, considering that a…
WHAT MAKES ASPEN TICK?
If my walls could talk, their words would be sad. Last Saturday a 21-year old man lost his life while climbing nearby Capitol Peak. Among Colorado’s 58 fourteeners, peaks that rise more than 14,000 feet above sea level, Capitol, at 14,130 feet, is acknowledged as the most difficult. Devastating as one hiking death can be…
#Everyonehasastory, #Cookthebookfridays,
“Everyone has a story, the air is full of stories.” Isabelle Allende Do you realize January 2017 has packed its bag, left the house and won’t return? Already two days into February, it’s Groundhog Day. Punxutawney Phil saw his shadow. Looking ahead, (or, not,) Super Bowl Sunday, the Oscars and Presidents’ week-end are in the…
SNOW STORM=FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS…OUT
COOK the BOOK FRIDAYS. SCALLOPED POTATOES with BLEU CHEESE and ROASTED GARLIC Tomorrow (Friday) I’m headed West. First stop, Anthem Country Club in Henderson, Nevada where I’ll drop my bags for six weeks. Michael and I lived in ACC the last 8 years of our marriage. What I positively know is I wouldn’t have survived…
LIFE on the SAFE SIDE: A LIST
Can you handle a How-To List? Realizing you’re involved in your own lives, I can hear heavy sighing. Take a deep breath. Grab that leap of faith. Today’s post is loaded with gems of wisdom. Lifesavers. For you. And, loved ones. It’s also CooktheBookFridays. Our recipe is Fattoush, David Lebovitz’s ingenious salad loaded with ‘a…
HUGH, BEES & WILDLIFE REFUGES
My end-of-month post is often a favorite since I’m meeting unique recipes and buying ingredients that have never graced my pantry. Michael was a meat and potatoes, Oreo cookies, chocolate marshmallow pinwheels and Häagen-Dazs guy. If there was a bag of Snickers around, hip, hip hooray. He did love spinach, if it was creamed, but…
IRRESISTIBLE FARE and SNORKLE UPDATE
Last summer when we finished cooking through Dorie Greenspan’s Around My French Table, I seriously considered signing off. The major reasons I began LightsonBright. as I’ve often said, were not only to bring structure to a chaotic time but also to chronicle the journey of rebuilding a life. Besides completing the cookbook, I also felt…
