I’ve discovered that there are three feral cats that frequent the Temporary Garden. Even though I can never own or even handle a cat (mega-allergies) I’m hoping to encourage these to visit more often. The reason? One word: rodents. One of the more unpleasant surprises of the Money Pit was the fact that this very…
In the world of real estate advertising, some things never change. During my very first house-hunting forays in the 1970s I quickly learned that “cozy kitchen” meant there was barely room to swing a spaghetti fork, that “needs TLC” meant the house had been neglected for decades, and that “handyman special” translated into “bring a…
I’m convinced that just as every gardener has at least one particular plant that flatly refuses to grow for him/her anywhere or any time, the same exists in the world of cooking. My bête noir is (can you believe this?) streusel – that simple and tasty crumb topping on coffee cakes and pastries. My failure…
Now in its fifth season, the Downton Abbey juggernaut shows no sign of slowing down anytime soon and even the mass merchandisers have jumped on the bandwagon. I was not terribly surprised to see that both Kohl’s and Bed Bath & Beyond recently introduced a line of licensed Downton Abbey jewelry items. But the ‘big…
“Vintage” …. ah, what a tricky adjective that is! It’s one of those chameleon words that mean whatever the user wants it to mean, and woe betide the person on the receiving end. Ask a half dozen people and you’ll get just as many definitions, ranging from “antique” (nope… only something 100 or more years…
The Chatsworth Lady 