There is nothing like family and holiday traditions to rile us up, at the same time it seems we can hardly live without our relatives and all that comes with being a family, so here’s a toast to mine. In no particular order, I am thankful for so much this past holiday week, not least [...]

Apples for jam, apples for butter, apples for jelly, for eating and more. I managed to can 5 cases of slow-cooked apple butter (or apple jam, I say) this past week in my tiny kitchen, and boy was it a lot of work–who knew? Hence so many other things just didn’t get done, like the [...]

The fine ladies at the Nepenthe Phoenix Shop got down to business this week and made one fabulous window display featuring My Nepenthe book and other hand-made goods from family members: paintings by my aunt Holly, one by cousin Erin (lemons with vase), wall fabric and knitware by my uncle Kaffe, round floor rug by [...]