* i am reposting this story because it includes the recipe for plum cake… a few summers ago the plum tree at our cottage went bananas with fruit. early each morning i went out to harvest (i DO have farming roots) enough to make plum cake. sometimes i gave it to someone, but most days we ate it. they are so DELICOUS! unfortunately, i totally over plum caked lucy and i don’t think she will ever eat one again. that is truly unfortunate. (i also did that to her with scrambled eggs - a big bummer both because i make AMAZING scrambles and because i think they are such a healthy way to breakfast.) today when i popped over to my parents’ house the yummiest smell was wafting around… mom was having her quilt friends over for lunch and had made the coveted cake. i was beside myself so, of course, i stayed for lunch! ENJOY! x0x
Read Moresan francisco
i left my heart in san francisco
we are preparing to road trip back to boulder from berkeley this week. last summer we drove out because of the corona but this summer we drove because hank is not allowed to fly anymore. he used to travel as an “emotional support” dog but people started boarding with peacocks and donkeys in tow and now the whole program is cancelled.… i am reposting this story from a couple of summers ago because i am always so sad to leave… we DID hit up all of our favorites, except bartavelle because they closed during the pandemic. we’ve had an absolutely lovely time and are so excited that we will be able to come back for thanksgiving this year! x0x
Read More
california corona
somehow against all rational thought i imagined going on holiday in california would also be a break from the corona. of course, the closer we got to the golden state, the more the virus was spiking in our destination. we arrived to a berkeley even more bunkered down than boulder, where EVERYONE was wearing masks in public, where most of the restaurants were closed (except for take-out), where many people still had not had a proper haircut (most notably my parents who look like a couple of the founding fathers - my dad favoring thomas jefferson [normally he looks more like jimmy carter] and my mother’s curls reminiscent of john adams’ with the middle bit filled in) and people practicing really conservative social distancing. nevertheless, we were DELIGHTED to arrive.
Read More
i left my heart in san francisco
every summer the kids and i spend a month in northern california. they go to camp during the day (kee tov) where they each have a gang of dear friends because all the same kids return year after year. EVERY day they come home smiling and full of stories about their crazy camp adventures. they also come home VERY dirty, which is a bit challenging for me, but i try not to get too flapped and keep baby wipes in the car, except on “messy day” when they need to be seriously hosed down and baby wipes are moot. (on messy day they are squirted with paint and chocolate sauce and whip cream and slime and whatever else their counselors come up with… they get off the bus wearing garbage bags!)
Read More