The cabinet below the kitchen sink comes alive with the eerie sounds of pots and pans that rattle, followed by deathly moans that exclaim, “Uhhhh! I’m making soooup. . . Dinner will be a while. .. Making soooup takes an eteeeernity.” Nate runs into the kitchen. “Right. Chicken noodle soup,” he says. “That sounds good.… Continue reading Chicken Noodle Soup: The Secret Ingredient Is . . . Magic

I’m hitting the panic button craft alert because I’ve been invited to a dinner party and the bottle of wine that I want to unload on the host is naked. “Where were you raised? A saloon?”—is not what I want the dinner party host to say to me when I thrust a bottle of wine… Continue reading Craft Alert: The Five-Minute “Multiple Uses” Wine Cozy

“After the soup, it was over,” could either be the title of a rom-com that ends in culinary horror, or it could be Nate’s exact words as we left a restaurant that we chose for his birthday a few weeks ago.  If you guessed the latter, you win a free bowl of soup! (Don’t get… Continue reading Tapas Crawl

Venturing into highly dangerous dog poop territory means that I need to sound the craft alert—for myself.  I’m on high alert as I gather leaves from a red maple tree in the front yard that every dog in my neighborhood loves to claim as its own in so, so many ways.  I probably should wear… Continue reading Craft Alert: Setting the Dining Room Table for Fall

The Fixin’ Leaks and Leeks Team recently sent one of its most precious members to the hospital: Nate.  For many years, Nate has had the resting pulse rate of a full-time Olympic athlete who might also relax on the weekends by scaling the Scandinavian Mountains and lifting large bricks.  In reality, Nate is a thoroughly… Continue reading From Underpants to Fake Plants: The Dos and Don’ts of the Hospital Visit

Picking a pepper from the potted patio plants puts me in a perfectly perplexing position.  Nate has planted plenty of particularly identical peppers in one pot, so picking a pepper is puzzling.  If I pick the wrong pepper, the family salad becomes an overpowering ring of fire that sends everyone to the kitchen sink—fighting to… Continue reading Pepper Problems

The size of a suitcase is only limited to the size of my imagination, when I pack for the annual family Sun Mountain Lodge vacation.  I imagine that, if we’re staying four nights, I’ll need about four bags:  two big bags, a smaller bag, and a purse that’s stuffed to capacity.  The family Subaru is… Continue reading Reckless Packing

Blueberry muffin treats, in my house, have the power to transform my entire family into butter knife-wielding animals that make crumbs of defenseless baked goods. The primal sounds of “More butter!  MMMM” have alerted the neighbors more than once.  Some think we are watching a horror movie at full volume. Others think we are truly… Continue reading Gluten Free Muffins and Face Yoga

Watching a whopping number of exercise videos (five to be exact), led me to theorize that squats were the gold standard of low-impact fitness—and that perhaps, they were “safe” enough to do repeatedly in different variations for 30-40 minutes each day. Only part of this theory is true, for me at least.  I run on… Continue reading Create a No-Squat Zone

The red-colored stuff in the jar in the fridge smells like some kind of flesh-eating foot fungus—and I can’t get enough of it.  No— pickled radishes do not fill the house with heavenly aromas, but they taste wonderful.  In fact, I’m trying to figure out how to take them in my carry-on luggage for my… Continue reading How to Pickle Radishes Without Leaving the Dance Floor