Category: Uncategorized

Time to declutter? Ya think? Photo: Tomwsulcer What’s your clutter threshold? I usually hit mine when I’m just about to hit the road and I realize I can’t find any of the things I’ve been squirreling away for the trip: My reversible rain jacket has gone to ground somewhere in my closet, my travel toothbrush…

When I say the words “chocolate cake” do you immediately think “guilt”? Most Americans do, according to Michael Pollan’s In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto . The French, on the other hand, go right to the idea of “celebration!” I have no official knowledge about the Spanish response, but I can tell you this:…

At a Transylvania guest house “I used to dream about all the places I would go as soon as I was old enough to get away,” says blogger Stacy Monday . “But then … life happened.” After a career as a paralegal and mediator, Monday (who’s just a kid of 50) decided to join the…

This was up in Napa; my house was spared. Photo: Sscknapa At 3:20 on Sunday morning, I was jolted awake when my bed started doing the jitterbug. Earthquake! And this was no minor tremor, but a serious effort by Mother Earth to realign a couple of plates that met at the long-dormant West Napa fault.…

Not long after we decided to make San Anselmo, California, our home base when we we’re in the US, Rich and I were invited to a casual neighborhood cookout. The main course? Barbecued whole baby squid . “I am so outclassed,” I whispered to Rich. “I am going to have to get all new recipes…

“So how much rent do you pay?” Spanish friends ask, not realizing that to Americans, providing specifics about our finances is as personal and taboo as giving the details of our most outlandish sex acts. “Who do you think is prettier, me or my daughter?” a Spanish hostess once asked, boxing me into an excruciating dilemma in which…

“There is no home repair,” an old friend used to say, “that I can’t take care of with three simple tools: the yellow pages, a telephone, and my check book.” Luckily for me, Rich is considerably handier around the house, thanks to his capable father and the wisdom in the Better Homes and Gardens Handyman’s…

Last week, after a refreshing dip in the California lake where my family has vacationed for twenty years, I walked past the lifeguard stand and read this sign for the first time: ​Wait, what?!? I have all sorts of skin sensitivities, entered the lake through a shallow area (doesn’t everyone?), and practically had to step…

If you Google Naples, Italy, you’ll find “ 79 Tips on Naples Warnings or Dangers – Stay Safe! ” where travelers can express their feelings about the city, mostly using such terms as “filthy,” “dangerous,” and “stay away.” Many complained bitterly about “helpful” residents who turned out to be thieves, and described, aghast, the staggering…

​When American friends become engaged to Sevillanos, they are often staggered to learn that in accord with Spanish tradition, they’ll be having lunch with their in-laws every Sunday. “Every Sunday?” they ask in stunned disbelief. “We have to eat with your parents and your brothers and your sisters every single Sunday for the rest of…