A Movie Review Instead – This Beautiful Fantastic

It has been pouring for two days. What with the rain and the stay at home situation, I have been feeling quite restless. Then last night I found this amazing movie. This Beautiful Fantastic is a 2016 British romantic drama, written and directed by Simon Aboud. Bella Brown was abandoned as a baby in an…

The Humming Room

Book Review: The Humming Room - by Ellen Potter When Roo Fanshaw’s parents are murdered, she is sent to live with her reclusive uncle on Cough Rock Island. She was raised without love, and she doesn’t expect any when she arrives at her isolated, forbidding new home, which was once a sanitarium for children with…

Peace in the Garden

When I was little, my grandmother wrote to me.  I was so excited to be the recipient of letters from the most wonderful person in the world.  These were simple, hand-printed letters that described the flowers, trees, grass, and birds in her garden.  At the time I was puzzled by her obsession with gardening, and…

Mango Salsa

There’s nothing like homemade salsa.  After you have tasted it, you’ll never want to go back to store bought.  My kids liked my salsa so much last year, that this spring I planted a Salsa Garden with tomatoes, onions, cilantro, bell peppers, and hot peppers.  Everything did fine except the cilantro, which went to seed…

Creating a Shade Garden

I come from a long line of farmers and teachers. This must explain the fact that I love to dig in the dirt, plant seeds and bedding plants, and watch them grow. I have a shade garden on the north side of the house where a Japanese maple waves gracefully in the wind. Because of…

From Sun to Rain

For me, Memorial Day weekend signals the almost-end of the school year and the beginning of summer. We spent a sunny weekend with family, eating corn on the cob, watermelon, steak from the grill, and pie -- among other things (I won't mention the homemade Chocolate Chip Waffles if you won't). We watched a lot…