In the spirit of the holidays I wanted to share some really good things–books and not-books–that I have discovered in the past year or so. Maybe something on this list will bless you as they have blessed me!* For music people: If you are a person of my age who’s been involved in music, chances…
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Flute, Fermentation, and Farms (Photo Friday)
It’s been a busy week–busy enough that I forgot I owed a blog post on Wednesday–so I’ll share some photos from the day trip I took yesterday. I drove an hour and a half to the home of my college roommate to rehearse a flute-oboe duet for my recital next week. You know you have…
Read MoreHow We Taught Our Kids To Be Good Eaters
My kids are really good eaters. I’m kind of surprised at this, frankly, because I am and always have been a pretty picky eater. And the thing is, we approach food all “wrong,” according to all the parenting advice I ever read. We’ve almost always forced our children to finish what they’re given—unless it’s starch,…
Read MoreAnatomy of a Pseudo-Foodie Family
Item: one of Alex’s first words was “creme brulee.” Item: when our kids go over to other people’s houses and get asked what they want for dinner, they have been known to ask for “crab quiche.” Item: we’ve started doing cheese tastings with the kids. We love food in our house. And over the years,…
Read MoreThoughts on Maintaining Weight Loss
It’s been about three months since I officially kicked into “maintenance” mode instead of “weight loss” mode. Frankly, I find this stage tougher than the weight loss stage. When you’re losing, there’s the motivation of seeing the number falling to keep you in check at the table. Once you’re “there,” you have to get comfortable…
Read MoreTravelogue, Day 4: Gumbo Recipe
Thursday: Today about half of the cousins go up the Estes aerial tram while most of the rest go horseback riding. Initially I’m worried that it’s a tourist trap, but it turns out to be a great place: rocks to climb, a breathtaking view, even a trail we don’t end up having time for. Then…
Read MoreTravelogue, Day 2: Overlook Ranch and Rocky Mountain National Park
Sunday-Monday, June 23-24, 2013: After Alex falls off the zipline and sprains (jams?) his wrist, and after a “.6”-mile trail to Alberta Falls (so notated because, for reasons I can’t fathom, they don’t count the .3 miles from the trailhead to the official start of the trail in the distance) spent dragging a 6-year-old child…
Read MoreFirst World Problems
I was pulling into Macy’s yesterday afternoon when a story came on NPR about the food supply, or more accurately the lack thereof, in North Korea. When I think of North Korea, I think of world security, nuclear weapons and a hostile dictator–but I’ve never thought of starvation. Until now. “I saw one family, a…
Read MoreThe Mellowing of Mama Kate
Conventional wisdom takes one of two arguments. Some say the transition from one to two is the hardest; others say the real change comes at three, when the kids outnumber the parents for the first time. But everyone agrees after that, it doesn’t make any difference. Four or eight, it’s all the same. I beg…
Read MoreCheese and Crackers
If you’re not a food person, you might not get it. But we are food people, and it was the highlight of Thanksgiving weekend: getting to visit Cheese and Crackers, our brother (in-law/uncle)’s store in Champaign, Illinois. Spice and yeast washed over us in ragged, hungry sniffs. Bart came out to meet us, and the…
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Kathleen M. Basi 