The crickets are loud at nightDo they protest the coming of the winter, their deaths, the end?Do they celebrate the limpid blue skies, the crunchy grasses?Of course not I hate to close the windows and lose the shrill, happy musicBut it’s chillySummer’s back is broken despite the odd hot eveningand sticky afternoon School starts, the…

Maybe you thought one posting about this very arcane, odd substance was enough, but I received the following message from my friend, Amy M., and I had to share it. “When we were up at Prince Edward Island, Irish Moss is harvested in this incredibly beautiful, ‘old time’ way– during storms, on horses! There is…

It was not quite 7 am and I was the only one awake, here in my house. I put on the coffee and went out to pick up the newspapers from the front walk. The Boston Globe had the story. Senator Ted Kennedy died last night. Not unexpected, of course. His absence at his sister,…

Not even The New Yorker reviewer could resist. Critic David Denby writes, “Julie & Julia” is one of the gentlest, most charming American movies of the past decade. Its subject is less food as something to cook than food as the binding and unifying element of dinner parties, friendship, and marriage.” Go see it. Bon…

Not so much the bloody, exploding blockbusters, but I do tend to go to the movies more during the summer months. Just the way I tend to read more in the summer. So here’s what I’ve seen so far:Up: The best. Inventive, heart-felt, funny and beautiful. Best movie for grown-ups since WALL-E.The Girl from Monaco:…

Sitting on the beach last Sunday, I noticed a woman walking amid the rocks at low tide, bent over to collect seaweed. I have seen many people search for starfish and seaglass and shells on these north shore beaches, but never this stuff, which is the opposite of showy — nearly colorless. As she passed…

Oh dear. I am relaxed. Now what happens? I finished the book (and various edits) over a month ago and I have not yet plunged into my next big project. I’m not sitting on my thumbs, of course. I’m not built that way. I’ve been reading for fun. Frivolous books; titles I’m not going to…

Every morning I brush my teeth, brew coffee, turn on the computer, check my email and click on the Breast Cancer site to make a free donation to make mammograms available for those who cannot afford them. It is a tiny gesture in solidarity with the women I know (and all the ones I don’t)…

I’m not sure why I didn’t stop writing when my reading circle stopped growing beyond 12 people. Maybe it is because blogging is inherently valuable to me. The responsibility of it makes me notice the details of my experiences and feelings. I live life more fully because I blog. This was one of the comments…