I’m looking at our wood-stove that we installed in April blaze brightly. It’s a satisfying thing to light the first fire of the year, and this new stove just keeps on burning, no need to fiddle or diddle. My old Franklin stove, which had a historical pedigree, would go out […]
I love corn. This is the perfect time of year for a corn-lover and last night I made a recipe, for the second time, from a cookbook I heard about and ordered. The book is Sweet Corn Spectacular, by Marie Porter, and it contains 70 recipes for fresh corn. Last […]
There is probably no name that struck more terror in me as a kid growing up than Paul Ehrlich. He was the biologist who wrote the book that freaked me out more than any other–The Population Bomb. In a review in the WSJ, a new book details a famous bet […]
I am fascinated by the vast infrastructure that’s required to keep a railroad running. And I’m especially excited by the coming Amtrak service that will blow through South Deerfield while making new station stops in Holyoke, Northampton and Greenfield. The other day I was having a soft-serv at Hillside Creamery, […]
I met a tall man at a party last night named Tyler. He was with his partner, and I heard them say that they lived in JP. Jamaica Plain, Mass. She’s a short pretty woman named Leah who is a nurse. I asked him what he did for a living […]
It’s that time of year. Our annual camping trip to and undisclosed location in central Mass. I think I’d get in trouble if I revealed this wonderful place, so you have to imagine it. There is no car parking where we camp, that’s nice because you use carts to haul […]
Familiar faces were all around me last night as I checked in with Dishcrawl Ambassador Jenn Iannaconi at the Greenfield Grill. That’s all we knew–that our night of roaming the town for different courses would begin at this restaurant that was for more than 50 years known as Famous Bills. […]
This is the best time of the summer. Finally, finally, the weather is sultry and perfect. Temps like this make me want to get outside as much as I can. And to think that I was just contemplating taking the air conditioner out of the window! Tonight is another Dishcrawl, […]
Today’s August 25, the last, sniff, Sunday in August. How sad, how fleeting…but wait. There’s another day of Tanglewood left for us to enjoy! I am always sad about summer’s abruptness, that no matter how long it’s never as long as the winter. The spring too, sometimes seems drawn […]
Every week, my pal Ed and I go out to lunch and we usually go to a new restaurant every time. Ed never knows where we’ll be dining until I surprise him with the invite. Our choice this week? Wildwood Barbecue, in Hadley, a new joint that’s been open for […]
Deb Doolittle often sends me fascinating little nuggets like this. Here is her latest… Q: Why do men’s clothes have buttons on the right while women’s clothes have buttons on the left? A: When buttons were invented, they were very expensive and worn primarily by the rich. Since most people […]
I’m in the thick of a huge family surrounded by brothers, sister, inlaws, young relatives and even the tiny tots who make up the Cunningham family. After a somewhat arduous drive, six hours in the rented van, we made it. We had a harrowing experience when we blew a tire […]