By Sue MurphyPoor Harold. Since he broke his arm, he had had to rely on my patchy expertise in way too many areas. It would try the patience of a saint.I know what you’re saying. Didn’t Harold break his arm before? Yes, he did, and that made the poor man crazy. But this time it’s his right arm, which has added a host of other indignities.We tackled the “I can’t … [Read more...]
Delicious Days in Decatur
I’m not going to Paris this summer. The world situation being what it is, I’m not going to visit Rome or Istanbul or the White Cliffs of Dover either. I’ll just have to be content to read about them. I’m a sucker for travel memoirs, imagining myself a silent companion along all of those interesting roads. My latest reverie is called “Delicious Days in Paris.” The author takes … [Read more...]
Binge Decorating
I once wrote a column comparing my string of home decorating projects to the children’s book “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.” For the mouse, a cookie led to a glass of milk, which led to a napkin, which circled back several pages later to another cookie. For me, putting new drapes in the living room led to a new couch which … well, you get the idea. Now, several years later, my … [Read more...]
The Bluebird of Happiness
It’s that time again, the time when I keep my binoculars on the kitchen table. Don’t worry, I’m not keeping tabs on my existing neighbors. I’m trying to attract some new ones. I’m on the lookout for bluebirds. It’s been a big year for other birds at my house. Along with the usual chickadees and cardinals, there have been robins and Alabama orioles wandering around the yard. A … [Read more...]
A Certain Ring to It
I didn’t take him for a marimba kind of guy, and yet there it was. He pulled back his monogrammed Brooks Brothers cuffs and said, “Hello?” Like a custom license plate, a person’s cellular ring tone can be a little window into who he is deep down, freed from all of his grown-up trappings. Of course, it could just as easily be the ringtone set as a program default, but I guess … [Read more...]