Baking Zukey Bonanza Bread

August 22nd, 2014
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Many of our most powerful memories are tied to food.

A spectacular cake served at one of our birthdays, a delicious meal eaten at a special restaurant, or a dish made by someone we love.

One of my favorite summer memories is remembering the dinners I used to have at a beach restaurant that sadly doesn’t exist anymore.  It was a comfortable family restaurant with great food and friendly service and it was a relaxing place to go after a day spent on the beach.  Our son was about seven or eight years old when my late husband and I … Read More

Prescription: Go To The Beach!

August 18th, 2014
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I have always believed that the natural elements of the beach can heal me and help to make me feel whole again. No matter what my age, from childhood to right this minute, the beach is always a comforting place for me to work through my troubles. I have spent countless hours wiggling my feet in the warm and comforting sand, listening to powerful and relaxing sound of the waves crashing on the shore and I always come away feeling renewed.  The beach, almost any beach, is my trusted “go-to” place, my happy place if you will, and the beach… Read More

As High As An Elephant’s Eye

August 15th, 2014
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“There’s a bright, golden haze on the meadowThere’s a bright, golden haze on the meadow.The corn is as high as an elephant’s eyeAnd it looks like it’s climbing clear up to the sky.” Lyrics to “Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin’ ” by Oscar Hammerstein II Walking among the farmer’s stalls yesterday, my eyes were in search of corn on the cob.  Specifically, the kind of corn on the cob that you can only get in August when the corn is white and oh so sweet and when you eat it it feels like it goes to your very core to… Read More

An Absolute Amazing Thought

July 30th, 2014
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As a human community, we are constantly interacting with each other on different levels.  Working, playing, and collectively striving to figure out — often through some kind of spiritual activity — what it’s all about and the nature of our roles in this great journey of life. Yet as much as we think we know someone, I find sometimes that we only know the portion of another person’s story that they want us to know. By focusing and  listening to what others have to say to us and perhaps also watching how they react to various things that happen to… Read More

Off The Beaten Path

July 28th, 2014
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Some people say that vacation is having nothing to do and all day to do it in. I think it’s more that you have things to do but you do it when you want. And the things that you do are more for you than for others. I feel when a group of adult friends are on vacation that everyone is similar to being a free agent with no schedule.  My vacation philosophy is best reflected in the lyrics from “Go Where You Wanna Go,” sung in perfect group harmony by the 60’s rock folk group, The Mamas & the… Read More

Louis Zamperini

July 9th, 2014
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It is worth noting the recent and sad passing of 97-year-old Louis Zamperini, a man whose life story was defined by his spirit of resilience. Everyone encounters challenges and traumas in their lives but Zamperini’s were of a sort that would have crushed most people.  No matter what came his way — imprisonment during World War II, torture, substance abuse, he never gave up. To me, his life is a unique resource.  When the Japanese capture him, and he is held captive and tortured, he digs deep within himself and finds a way to go on, even though he is… Read More

Independent Behavior

July 4th, 2014
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Happy Fourth of July! Today I will be spending the day with friends I have known for decades; really great, tried and true friends.  There will be a cookout along with patriotic music, a reading of the Declaration of Independence, fireworks and best of all, relaxation. This 4th of July party is an annual event and one that I and the rest of my friends look forward to attending every year, rain or shine. ( http://crylaughheal.com/independence-day ) There are only a few times I purposely missed attending this party.  For two summers in a row, after my husband’s death, I… Read More

Dance Walking

April 4th, 2014
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I don’t know about you, but now that the weather is getting a little warmer and I’m shedding my layers of winter, I’m feeling way out of shape. Too much time spent sitting in front of the computer.  Too many afternoons noshing on comfort food. A new season means moving is the name of the game for me and I think this You Tube video below showing how to Dance Walk is the perfect way to kickstart some outdoor motion and burning off those almighty calories! Even if you don’t need to tone up, check out this Dance Walk video… Read More

The Good Wife Grieves

April 1st, 2014
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Television doesn’t always get it right when trying to show the raw emotional effects a person experiences after learning of a death but Sunday’s night’s episode of The Good Wife came very close. As is true in real life and acted in The Good Wife, everything instantly changes as each character finds out that attorney Will Gardner (Josh Charles) has been shot in a courtroom shootout and killed by his own client: the look on a person’s face, the tone of their voice, the way they carry themselves.  Something gets turned off.  There is a dazed and dull feeling after… Read More