Charmed Life
Yankee Swap Revisited
Having written about the infamous institution of Yankee Swaps back in December, I thought I’d check back in to report on my experiences at this year’s swap held by the Baltimore Improv Group. It was held late in January, giving everyone plenty of time to recover from the holidays…
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Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 02/09/10 at 05:46 AM
Anyone who knows me well knows I hate to bake. Just loathe it. Can’t stand measuring. Can’t stand having to be precise. Can’t stand following directions. And, most of all, can’t stand the fact that you really don’t know if a cake or pie will be good until it’s finished and you have no way to improve it—as…
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Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 12/28/09 at 03:06 PM
I love books, actual books. My father-in-law generously offered to buy me a Kindle for Christmas this year, and I declined, even as my husband accepted and now waits with bated breath for his. So it feels a bit treasonous for me to say that in the past year or so, I have divested myself of almost all…
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Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 12/08/09 at 10:46 AM
“Death of a Salesman” is one of my favorite plays. I know, it’s not original—many people love it. (And many hate it.) To me, it is so quintessentially American, the whole idea that one can reel in suckers and take their money all the while grinning and smiling and spinning convincing yarns. And the idea that some people…
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Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 11/25/09 at 08:07 PM
In the beautiful weather yesterday I took the New York Times out to the deck and plopped down. I picked up the magazine first and planned to read it all the way through like a civilized person. But after reading the day’s installment of the regular column “Cooking…
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Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 11/16/09 at 03:08 PM
“It looks just like Julia Child’s kitchen,” my mother said.
“Exactly the idea,” I replied, beaming.
We were gazing upon the wonder that used to be an empty wall next to my stove, and now is my new pegboard pan system ala Ms. Julia. Like most folks, I’ve never had enough convenient storage for pots and pans in…
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Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 11/09/09 at 12:59 PM
OK, so I just put the kibosh on the Chicken Marbella that I cooked on Sunday, and I have to say it improves with age. It was great on Sunday, but it was terrific today. I ate it all up and had extra sauce….and, in the absence of any sopping medium like bread or crackers, I almost took…
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Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 11/04/09 at 01:34 PM
If I’ve heard it said once, I’ve heard it a thousand times: “Baltimore is a big small town.” Lately I’ve been feeling that even more so given that, since having a kid, my world has shrunk somewhat. I largely stay in my neighborhood or within a few miles of it, and nearly everywhere I go, I see someone…
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Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 11/02/09 at 11:09 AM
If you happened to be out for a Sunday drive along Roland Ave. in North Baltimore yesterday, you’d have seen dog walkers, bike riders, scooter-ers, speed-walkers, and my own toddler pushing her stroller herself in the middle of the road—because the south side of Roland Ave. was closed to cars from Northern Parkway to Coldspring Lane from 8…
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Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 10/26/09 at 01:03 PM
This morning I crossed a line….over to the dark side. No, I didn’t steal my neighbor’s mail or sneeze and not wash my hands before hugging someone (a capital crime in these flu-ish times). I….well….inflicted a recipe swap chain email on 20 people I know (I say “people I know” because they may no longer be friends post-receiving…
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Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 10/16/09 at 12:56 PM
