All The Home Forum
- A holiday lift to play out a long year: Bring on the tubas (animation)
While the pandemic has affected many traditions, thoughts of holidays past can be a source of great warmth and comfort. Even if those memories involve pouring rain and a cacophony of tubas.
- He doesn’t know it, but he’s in my book club
I felt a kinship with him immediately when I saw him during jury duty, but we did not speak. The books do the talking.
- My helper was closer than I thought
I was driving an SUV on a lonely road at night when a tire blew out. With no cellphone to call for help, who would rescue me?
- I learned to lean into the hills
Coach taught us we could always dig deeper. It wasn’t until much later that I grasped all that he’d meant.
- Angel practice
“You don’t get good at blessing overnight,” our rabbi tells the congregation. So that was our homework.
- Love plus comfort, with batting in between
How better to celebrate a baby than with a quilt? Especially when it’s a quilt with a themed pattern.
- A feathered member of the herd
I took in a month-old chick at my friend's request. The young rooster had been a pet, so my hens rejected him. But my goats ...
- There’s much more to learn at home
I’d had it with advice on home schooling – until I got some from my young daughters.
- Navigating the boundaries of thrift
It is an old-fashioned virtue, but it persists in my life and in that of Maine. There are limits, though.
- As long as we’re talking
My father’s love of conversation led him to a career, a credo, and a path toward peace. I think of his words often in my job as an educator.
- A jungle has developed in my digital library
A digital camera is perfect for my artwork and for capturing a hummingbird’s best side. But 4 billion photos later, I am lost.
- Remembering Justice Ginsburg: To my mom, she was ‘Ruthie’
The late Ruth Bader Ginsburg was one of 11 women accepted at Harvard Law School in 1956. My mother was also among them.
- In which I witness someone falling in love
Should we even be here at the dog shelter, given COVID-19 strictures? Then a police officer pulled up.
- Picture of comfort: Gardening in times of crisis (animation)
In times of crisis, gardens can bring joy and solace. Our animated take on an essay about the two gardens that helped one writer cope.
- Confessions of a self-talker
The trick is to be circumspect about talking to oneself in public, lest genius be mistaken for madness.
- Proud to be included as ‘one of the guys’
I wanted to play all the sports the boys were playing. In those pre-Title IX days, it was not to be. But that hasn’t stopped me.
- What I was told I could grow up to be
When I was young, my parents observed that I was unlikely to be prevented from doing whatever I wanted to do. They were right.
- Our daily deer
I break down the data from my daily nature walk with Freya June, who is 3 1/2 months old. We’ve seen thrushes, does, and even a porcupine.
- A paean to the porch
A screened-in porch brings the best of all worlds; memories of childhood intertwine with the pleasure of being outside while inside.
- A bold and wise princess who doesn’t need a prince
As a woman in what had been a man’s world, I was a target. But I learned not to let barbs fester, and that helped me forge ahead.