Beyond the tent strung with its twinkling lights and tables decorated with rustic bouquets, George and Elizabeth Burden’s White House glowed in the falling light. I thought of all the many happy events held on the lawn...
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Four Mounds with Million Dollar Views and Hearts to Match
Four Mounds truck
When you visit Four Mounds, and I hope you do, serenity will sweep over you as soon as you enter the winding drive. The gentleman’s farm estate was established by the George A. and Viola...
Gluten-Free Hello Dolly Bars
Hello Dolly
Gluten-Free Hello Dolly Bars 1/2 cup butter 1 1/2 cups gluten-free arrowroot cookie crumbs* 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate morsels 1 1/3 cups flaked coconut 1 cup sliced...
Girls’ Night Out
candlelight dining
The Cúpla Sisters enjoyed a girls’ night out with appetizers and drinks at the charming Pepper Sprout followed by The Hundred Foot Journey at the cinema. Pepper Sprout is a boutique restaurant on Dubuque’s Main Street with a...
Green Tomato Pie: our new favorite
Green Tomato Pie
Often our gardens are still full of green tomatoes when frost is predicted. One delicious way to use these green tomatoes is in a pie. With the addition of orange zest, raisins and freshly grated...
Out West in Carlsbad
Out West Menu
Menu: Jicama and Orange Salad with Lime Dressing Black Bean Mango Salsa Chicken Enchiladas Apricot-Cheese Filled Grilled Hot Peppers Beth Ann’s Out West menu reminds me of an evening spent several years ago at El...
Catching the Cassville Ferry
Cassville Ferry
The designation as the Great River Road is no misnomer. The road follows 3000 miles along the Mississippi and nearly bisects the country from Lake Itasca, Minnesota, to Port Allen, Louisiana, on alternating sides of our...
The Thing about a Silk Petal
Sli Cheann Sleibhe (Slea Head)
We met a man walking his dog, or a dog walking his man, in the churchyard of St. James, home of Other Voices music event. He was an Airedale, the dog that is, wearing a...
Piccalilli by Any Other Name
Piccalilli - green tomato salsa
There is a poetic alchemy in canning piccalilli. Like the sentiments expressed in Ray Bradbury’s Dandelion Wine, piccalilli preserves the best tastes of summer gardens for future enjoyment when the world outside is not so lushly...
Only What You Can Carry
Backpacking has a way of weeding out what is unnecessary. It makes you understand why there were so many discarded items along the Oregon Trail. If you have to carry it on your back for...
The Deuce Coupe Followed Him Home
1932 five-window Deuce Coupe
My husband said he needed to run an errand. Buying a 1932 five-window Deuce Coupe was his errand. Funny thing is, he had been trying to buy the car for fifteen years. Several years ago...
Joy on Four Legs
Mila and Connor
The California Animal Welfare Law prohibits the adoption of puppies and kittens under 8 weeks old. The intent was to prevent puppy mill sales of underage animals. An unforeseen consequence is that litters taken to...
Jewelweed – the Hiker’s Friend
Hazel had a lot of good advice. One of her best gems was a cure for poison-ivy rash. Beth Ann had tried all the over-the-counter remedies and some other extreme measures to treat her poison-ivy...
Big Moon Nights
We’ve been blessed by two perigee-syzygy Super Moons this summer and are looking forward to one more on September 9th. We live in a valley surrounded by trees, so the moon loses most of its...
Steamboat a’Coming
Who could read Mark Twain’s Huck Finn or Life on the Mississippi and not dream of boating down the Mississippi? As ten and eleven year olds, my sister, brother and I were so inspired by...