Posted in family, seafood, sketchbook on Apr 12th, 2010
Every season’s change, like pollen surfing a breeze, new readers float toward Simmer. I don’t know if it’s warm air, light rain or laptop-friendly sun, but something about spring equals something new to read. So welcome new readers, pull up a chair. And ice cream. You’d think the best welcome mat would be a shiny [...]
Posted in crafty, Holiday, Josie, sketchbook on Feb 24th, 2010
After fielding several reader requests for “those centerpieces you recycle” and “bat mitzvah dog stuff,” I decided a quick rerun was in order. Whatever you’re planning – bar or bat mitzvah, birthday party, wedding or fundraiser – I hope you sweep past the glitter, and find your own reuse/recycle inspiration. The Center of Everything [originally [...]
Posted in drinks, family, sketchbook, vacation, winter on Jan 9th, 2010
Home exactly one week, and with jet lag behind me (and snow shovel in hand) I can look back now and smile on a glorious time. Vienna was magic, Salzburg was alpine, and Munich – Munich was fascinating, with many faces: historic, kitschy, lively, stony, colorful, both wholly modern and mired in its past. We [...]
Posted in blogging, books, friends, Josie, sketchbook on Jul 12th, 2009
Why are we detouring into the nursery? Well. When Josie was very small, and I was very tired but she was not, I’d walk the floors with her in the dark, and make stuff up. Nonsense murmuring stuff, like this – a rhyming stream of bakery talk. Yes. I was one whacked-out sleepy caterer. Why [...]
Posted in crafty, Holiday, Josie, sketchbook on Jul 2nd, 2009
It’s been a month since Josie’s bat mitzvah, and looking at photos now with a better-rested and less tearful eye, it’s hard to believe we did all that. But we did, and at least one part of it merits a closer how-to look. Centerpieces. We planned 16 tables of adults at our party (some 60 [...]
