ŷ������

You can give a book as a gift: They probably don’t already have it. You can write reviews of books you loved: authors would appreciate it! You can catch up with me in 2 cities, Providence, Rhode Island and Raleigh, North Carolina: we’d have a blast.    

The year is winding down. Classes are finished, my grades are completed, and the kids are out of school. We are able to dodge the manic holiday pace of North American in our desert retreat. Before we make the trip home for a few weeks, to sling around wet sludge, pretending it’s snow, the slower […]

Not every recipe is a winner right out of the pot. This curried celery soup was an excellent way to use up an entire bag that was languishing in the fridge. I skipped a step in the coconut milk, which was straining the powder out of the broth. If you like coconut, that’s probably okay. […]

You’ve probably been in the room when someone starts off with “I don’t want to sound racist BUT —�� The speaker goes on to expand on a stereotype that is likely to make the other listeners uncomfortable. Or, you’re at the dinner table a friend’s house and without any warning, someone drops the N bomb […]

New Year’s Day 2014, while driving to the first lunch of the year, I debated in the backseat of my sister’s mini-van. Meat or soda? Which would be easier to give up? Sitting at the table, waiting to order, I still couldn’t decide. I had identified a healthy lifestyle as high on my list of […]

  The latest installment in the exciting Cassidy Jones series by multi-tasking mother-teacher-writer Elise Stokes.

I felt very much like one of Ms. Hannigan’s girls, growing up as a Hindu child in north Florida. “Santa Claus, who’s he?�� When friends called in the afternoon on Christmas Day, asking me what I had received, static filled the line on my end. In the years since, the holiday season became a tradition […]

You know how I feel about soup: we should eat it once a day in the cooler temperatures. If you have broth and a slow cooker, you have the makings for a low prep, nutritious and filling meal any day of the week. Tougher vegetables like potatoes or squash, take on a delicious tenderness when […]

Want to save yourself the stress of finding a unique gift for that person or child who had everything? Get him/her a book in a subject they’re already passionate about. Someone gave our son The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Years later, here’s the result. We hadn’t practiced him reading during the Qatar-Brazil festival. In fact, he […]

In the story of the Tortoise and the Hare, I know exactly which creature I am: the hare. This was evident when I was younger: studying a bit all semester and sleeping while my college roommate crammed all night, her Dr. Pepper’s lined up on her desk. When the exams were handed back we each […]