Mother’s Day Treat at Towne

I’m not a huge fan of Mother’s Day and I feel celebrated by my children and husband throughout the year with little unplanned moments of tenderness, caring, and appreciation.  Sometimes the pressure to find the perfect outing, or gathering on Mother’s Day can ruin the moment.  I’m not against celebrating, it’s just not worth stressing…

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Talks Versus Textbooks

When I was in school there is not much I learned from textbooks except maybe what was in fashion in the 1970’s. I might learn that so and so’s sister once owned the textbook 6 years earlier (remember the handwritten running list at the front of the book). When I was in university I didn’t…

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Salem Willows: Family Field Trip

A perfect weekend or after school outing. A little play time on the beach, running around on the expansive lawns, ice cream, pizza, and old school video games.

Let it Go: How Frozen is Saving our Spring Break

Let it Go has many meanings for us this week.  We’re letting go of a lot of junk as we spring clean and prepare for a yard sale.  We’re letting go of a lot of built up emotion a year after the Marathon Bombing that had us frozen in our homes during lock down on…

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Boston Marathon 2014: Race On

  The Boston Marathon is the ultimate, elite running race.  The first big race I witnessed was the Barcelona Marathon because my boyfriend and I happened to be in town on race day.  When we moved to Boston, and I worked as a teacher, Marathon Monday was a vacation day for me.  Marathon Monday symbolized…

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Whole Wheat Carrot Pancakes with Honey and Almonds (Recipe)

In this recipe, Chef Jeremy Sewall uses ripe bananas as the sugar.  They have plenty of sweetness themselves but go ahead and top them with a drizzle of honey and almonds for a little “icing on the cake”.  They are also dairy-free, but feel free to use cow’s milk rather than almond milk if that’s…

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Virus Action: Heartbleed & Passwords

The only good thing these viruses, computer bugs, and security breaches do for me is remind me how reliant I am on a tool that I barely understand. They make me want to learn more. The way we use computers with little knowledge of the language is a bit like driving a car and not…

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Spring 2014: A little if this & a little of that

It is spring in Boston and we all still have our shovels and ice scrapers at the ready lest we jinx the season. We smell the damp spring air. We see the crocuses in bloom, and our hearts sing just a little. Spring is also Easter and Passover, and perhaps even more festive the marathon,…

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Chef Jeremy Sewall’s Cucumber Lime Mint Mocktail (Recipe)

Chef Sewall, of Lineage, Island Creek Oyster Bar and Row 34, talked about the virtues of mint not just in your cocktail or mocktail.  He suggested tossing a little in with your salad to brighten it up.  You can also shred (or chiffonnade) a few mint leaves to sprinkle on fish.  Lastly, a couple of…

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Motherhood: Sidestepping the Rat Race or Stomping on the Tails

It’s nothing new “housewife”, “stay at home parent”, “full time mom”, are all given lip service as something somewhere between “the hardest job on earth” and “must be so nice”.  I say “something” because it is not often regarded as a job in the traditional sense. The Oxford English Dictionary has two definitions of job:…

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