

Plain and Simple
I had the big sister and her husband for dinner the other night. I was busy pouring over cookbooks and planning to make some outstandingly complicated gourmet meal, when I suddenly thought about my father. No one could have called him a chef, but he taught me to respect and enjoy the pleasure of plain and simple food. He taught me how to hoe potatoes and how to clean and eat a carrot just pulled from the earth, while still standing in the garden. A bowl of maple syrup with a


Hiding
I live in a big Victorian house by myself, so there really isn't any need for me to hide anymore. But old habits die hard. As a child I was always hiding somewhere...under the basement stairs, in the lilac bush or up a tree. I would sit for hours, usually with a book, waiting to hear those magic words "Where's Carol?" But no one ever noticed I was missing. Eventually I'd come out tired or hungry and rejoin the world. I still love to have a secret hiding spot. During the bad m