Sassafras Mama

It is a well-known fact that I love flip flop sandals and, given the chance, I would wear them all year long.   However, as I’ve grown older...

The outdoors are my sweet spot and being able to go for walks and visit gardens and parks has been one of the best parts of my post-hip repl...

When JT was a little boy, he called his baseball cap his “ball cap hat.” The phrase stuck with me and though I rarely say it out loud, when ...

The arrival of warmer weather means that unless there is rain, supper at my house is always served outside on the back deck.   Everything ta...

Now that the school year has ended, I’m faced with the prospect of actually having enough time to do all the things that need doing.   It’s ...

My first house in Nebraska had a fireplace with a terrific Craftsmen-style mantle.   In the backyard garden, I grew zinnias, cosmos, dahlias...

Our Summer started off rather cool in June and only heated up at the start of July.   The heat was briefly blistering before rains set in to...

Since the weather became warm enough to eat outside, JT and I always have supper on the back deck.   Summer suppers are cooked on the grill ...

This year, I planted zinnia seeds in pots on the back deck.   I planted in May, fertilized and watered, had to re-planted a smidge (damn the...

I love flowers.   At home, I grow zinnias, begonias, geraniums, and impatiens in the Summer.   On occasion, I’ve been known to indulge in a ...

  I love flip flops.    I know that love is a big word and I mean every bit of it.   Between-the-toe flip flop sandals (known to me as “thon...

For most of my adolescence, I loved to read historical fiction.   I consumed books about Eleanor of Aquitaine and Queen Elizabeth and read t...

It’s the last day of the school year.   There’s plenty to celebrate, of course, but damn if this hasn’t been a hell of a hard school year fo...

We’ve had a truly lovely month of May and, as is my custom, all of the indoor houseplants were moved outside to soak up the sunshine and war...

I often reflect on the fact that May is - hands down - the best month in New Jersey.   Days can often be warm - but not yet sweltering - and...

Come May, I begin to organize the front porch and back deck for the outdoor living season.   Well before May, I am daydreaming about being o...

The arrival of June moves my reading habit into its highest gear and all Summer long, I consume books with a greater ferocity than usual.   ...