Travel. Garden. Eat.

05/27/2013

Dessert for Summer Potlucks When You Have No Time to Cook (If the Cat Licks the Beaters, Even Clean Up Goes Quickly)

Kudos to those who enjoy and/or have time to spend hours crafting an elegant dessert that creates a memorable end to a meal. I tend to be the one who thinks as I am working, “Crud, what are we going to make for the neighborhood gathering tonight?” and then runs a quick lunch-hour errand to…

05/22/2013

Weekly Photo Challenge: Escape

My planned post for this week’s photo challenge has once again been tabled. While spending a couple of nights in St. Paul, Minnesota for work, I was reminded that an escape may consist of a small oasis of downtime. True solitude was not possible, but some quality “me” time for a few hours in the…

05/19/2013

Three of My Favorite Things: Brie, ‘Shrooms and Arugula

I started my photo challenge post for the “escape” theme, but between track meets, orchestra concerts and work obligations, it has stagnated (due to it becoming a bit more elaborate of a post than I had planned, as I spent time reflecting on, or perhaps planning, my escape). . . . But, while replying to…

05/11/2013

Weekly Photo Challenge: Pattern

While climbing Giotto’s Bell Tower (Campanile di Giotto) in Florence, Italy, I could appreciate the patterns covering the Duomo as I peeked through the windows of the winding stone stairwell. Climbing the 414 steps of the Tower provides such an incredible overview of Florence’s many patterns — from the red-tiled rooftops to the colorful marble…

05/09/2013

Sending Out Ripples of Hope

“It is from numberless diverse acts of courage and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of…