Finding a routine that can be sustained indefinitely, or changed every week, was a creative challenge, but we’re old enough to do what we like and not give a damn, right? Read More
friends Kit and Julian were married for 64 years. When Kit died after years of decline from Alzheimer’s, their friends wondered how Julian would manage. At her memorial service I couldn’t stop the tears when I embraced him, a prince of a man. Julian took care of Kit at… Read More
Our friends from Austria visited New York recently and we invited them to Hoboken for dinner. We wanted to serve them something they would not eat in Austria and decided to treat them to a Thanksgiving dinner: turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, roasted vegetables, gravy, string beans, pumpkin pie,… Read More
When I was sixty, seven of us decided to climb Blue Mountain in the Adirondacks. I’d done it before and wasn’t too enthusiastic—climbing mountains does not bring me joy— but here was a challenge. Could I still do it? What better to do on that particular day? Our group assembled… Read More
My husband Terry takes good care of me. I got my first chance to appreciate how precious that was a year into our marriage when I was on crutches after breaking a bone in my foot. I could I relax. I didn’t have to get back on my feet until… Read More
Six years ago, I moved from a house in suburban Montclair into an 18th floor apartment in urban Hoboken. As a reminder of the garden I was giving up, I brought with me a nondescript chive plant in a cheap orange pot which was reminiscent of clay but was only… Read More
AUX BERGES de THIL, Thil-sur-Arroux, Burgundy This is the co-owner, co-hostess, partner of the chef. It is a mom-and-pop restaurant (though they don’t have any children) which supports local farmers by serving their products. The chef trained in London and they both get along well in English. The food was… Read More
When I was dating online, when every first date was a blind date, nothing confused the feminist in me more than the moment when the bill came. Was the man responsible for the bill by default? If a man considered a woman equally responsible for the bill, did that suggest… Read More
My mother was a riot in the kitchen. She’d look at a recipe (usually in the New York Times Food section) and say, “I can’t make this tonight because I don’t have any parsley.” “Mom,” I remonstrated, “you don’t need parsley. You can use cilantro or just omit it.” But… Read More
