In Spannocchia the fruit trees are blooming, small pink blossoms with petals that fade to white, crisscrossing the sky as though making miniature blue panes of stained glass. One morning after walking I took a hot bath in the big tub in my room, the fragrant soap frothing up into iridescent bubbles. The morning walk,[…]

The path of stones is crowded with wild parsley, yellow sour grass, pink and magenta sweet peas, prickly pear cactus. The stones are uneven, the path built on an ancient trail dating back a thousand years. At the end, what will we find? There are many stories, but the one I like best includes a[…]

Some days ideas crowd around struggling to get my attention. Other says I have set aside the time for work and there is only emptiness. Beginning – even setting a loaded brush to a fresh canvas or pen to paper with absolutely no idea in mind – is a daily practice that short-circuits the second[…]

The Walk The walk. In Cornwall on Hudson we walked through a quiet neighborhood of brick houses and groomed lawns breathing in the rich saturating sweetness of laundry, so present it was almost visible in the icy air. We walked up a narrow country road to a lookout from which we could see miles and[…]

In the morning Tom goes out for an early walk then brings home croissants from the pasticceria on the corner. We drink coffee and talk about where we want to go today. Then we lace up our boots and head out for a walk around the island, astonished at the wild surf and deep green-blue[…]

Last year my wild yeast starter was accidentally tossed away. It took me a year to summon the energy to begin a new one. Did I have the time or attention for daily feedings, maintaining a constancy of nutrients and the proper temperature? I didn’t think I had it in me last year. But this[…]

This month’s focus has been on building the structure of my days. Habits toward health. Habits toward peace of mind. Energy. Well being. Peace. Patience. Purpose. This morning I got up earlier than usual to bake off two loaves of sour dough bread I’d left to rise overnight. Tom, up even earlier, had already preheated[…]

The new habit, day one. Planning my day the night before. The night before, when I am in the midst of my winding down rituals, my sleep hygiene protocol, my end of day doings. My sleep ritual begins by going to bed an hour earlier than I normally would, plugging my cell phone into a[…]