Planning for a Sabbatical in Three Months (And Cooking with Ice Wine)

We are wheels up exactly one month from today! But first we’re gearing up for the holidays. Continue reading

(Overly) Sweet Thanksgiving Memories

In our family, like many other American families, Thanksgiving is a feasting holiday. The buffet is endless and we eat until the thought of one more bite makes us cringe. We eat until it hurts…. Continue reading

Quiet Reflection – Making Pies from Scratch

It has been a reflective week. Do you ever have those? The kind where your thoughts run a little slower. You have a feeling of nostalgia that you can’t quite pinpoint. You might even be a little more withdrawn and less talkative than normal. It’s not a wistful look back, a pitty party, or a time for dwelling on mistakes or regrets. It’s simpler than that. It’s calm. It’s peaceful. You could even call it a quiet acceptance – of what, I’m not sure. Maybe everything? Maybe nothing? Maybe it simply marks the closing of a chapter. A new one is afoot afterall. Continue reading

Skin in the Game

We’ve known for some time that Mr. N loves theater and it didn’t take us long to realize this was more than a mere hobby. Maybe it’s the art of performance, or the camaraderie of the group, the ability to engage the imagination, or what is learned from walking in someone else’s shoes. Whatever it is, acting is intrinsically woven into his very soul.  Continue reading

Seasons Change

This is Mr. N’s first year of middle school. That means walking a fine line on Halloween. He absolutely did not want to miss trick or treating, but he also didn’t want to be caught dead in anything “babyish” or that might entice ridicule. So what to do? Gruesome? Clever? Or silly? Continue reading