Open heart – Open home (part 2)

I once ran into an old acquaintance from high school who, after some catching up, told me she thought I was a bit of a snob back in the day because I never invited her over. Little did she know the real reason so few of my friends ever crossed the threshold of our troubled…

Open heart – Open home

Honestly, I got more out of the title of that book than I did from the book itself when I purchased it years ago. “Open heart, Open home” was a challenging concept that was not only foreign to me, but downright terrifying. I grew up in a family with problems.. I mean who doesn’t, but…

Music to my ears..

A strange and beautiful thing happened this week-end. I went outside to sit on our back porch and immediately became aware of the most delightful sounds of children laughing and squealing; our neighbors were having a birthday party for one of their kids. I closed my eyes as I swung in our hammock chair; joyful…

Bite-sized, twice baked potatoes

Well, that was easy! Yesterday we met with our neighbors (outside!) for wine and appetizers. I made mini-twice baked potatoes. Talk about a trifecta- great presentation, taste and SO easy to make! First, I poured a bit of oil in the bottom of a pyrex pan and sprinkled on some salt and garlic powder. Then…

BUSYBODY.

Yesterday evening as I walked out the front door with our dog, I was met with a jarring surprise: there was a strange little car parked in our neighbor’s driveway.. NOT ONLY THAT.. their porch light was on! “My gosh, ” I marveled, trying to interpret the evidence, “our neighbors, who have both had their…

Hospitality in the age of Covid

My husband and I had carefully picked out and purchased the wines for our tasting. I had ordered little burlap bags to conceal the bottle’s labels and printed out the forms to make notes about each selection. I was so excited.. and then covid. Our wine tasting was the final social event we cancelled on…