In the last couple weeks, I’ve talked to a number of people about working hard vs. hardly working. Mostly it’s been men (probably because men make up about 75 percent of my client list). We’ve been talking about their dads and how they learned hard work was good work, respectable work, the “right” kind of […]
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The “Meez” (or why the first 10 minutes matter)
I recently learned there’s something about why the first 10 minutes matter in commercial kitchens. I’d never heard of this, yet read the most renowned chefs do it and are almost fanatical about the ritual. And I find it fascinating because I do it, too. What is it? Mise-en-place Mise-en-place is translated as “everything in its […]
Naked boxwoods – or how less really is more
You may or may not know I went to Queens University of Charlotte for my third of my three attempts at college. I finally got my bachelor’s degree in Organizational Communications there at night and worked there full-time during the day. And I spent a significant amount of time on campus four busy years. Luckily, […]
Three and a half years of practice
On Saturday, I saw the results of nearly three and a half years of practice. It was an almost every day practice. And admittedly, it was an imperfect practice. Yet, I stuck to it. Here’s the magic: Nelson and I were taking our dogs, Marley and Rex, out hiking with us. We were headed for […]
Don’t just do something…stand there!
Last year I wrote a blogpost about what a coffee snob I am. I used this lovely device called a Chemex to make my coffee in. I hand grind my beans with a fancy burr grinder. Sometime in the fall, I broke my Chemex when I accidentally hit it against the faucet in the sink. […]
I touched a tadpole!
On Sunday this past weekend, Nelson and I went kayaking. It had been quite awhile since we’d sat in our boats. Life sort of got in the way with the move to the mountains and the wedding. Happily, Sunday was a gorgeous day. Cascade Lake in Pisgah Forest is a little gem. A friend of […]