“Romance novels are birthday cake and life is often peanut butter and jelly. I think everyone should have lots of delicious romance novels lying around for those times when the peanut butter of life gets stuck to the roof of your mouth.” Janet Evanovich, American novelist Cake is not my go-to dessert. That is brownies.… Continue reading Simple Saturday cake
JOY JOURNAL BLOG
Enough light to keep from falling
“There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in.” Leonard Cohen, Selected Poems, 1956-68 It was because of No. 2 pencils. We needed them. For one of those testing milestones that punctuate the teen years. My feet -- safe from falling -- even in the dark. "Let's walk to the store," my… Continue reading Enough light to keep from falling
House-itosis simmering pot
“The house smelled musty and damp, and a little sweet, as if it were haunted by the ghosts of long-dead cookies.” Neil Gaiman, British author I once had a friend who was a commercial herb grower. Her gardens were immense, of course, and filled with all sorts of interesting things. What fascinated me most about… Continue reading House-itosis simmering pot
Has our bloodthirsty world left us anemic?
“All crosses had their tops cut and became T's. There was also a thing called God.” Aldous Huxley, Brave New World When Helena, mother of Roman Emperor Constantine, traveled from Caesarea to Jerusalem in the early AD 300s, the ink on the Edict of Milan was barely dry. In theory, the document provided respite and… Continue reading Has our bloodthirsty world left us anemic?
Edamame salad
“An idealist is one who, on noticing that a rose smells better than a cabbage, concludes that it makes a better soup.” H.L. Mencken, "A Book of Burlesques" Dinnertime can get pretty boring if you don't try new things now and then. Go ahead, do it. Mash up a rutabaga as a side instead of… Continue reading Edamame salad
