Calling Claude Bolling

Excuse a brief departure from my usual topics. But it’s not often I see a New York Times news item that includes an obituary for someone I had the good fortune to spend a bit of time with, albeit many years ago. It was such a pleasure to read [paywall, [...]

2021-02-20T00:31:42+00:00February 20th, 2021|France, Memories|

Well-Being and Health

Cozy and warm. Peanut butter toast and coffee. Word puzzles and Saturday morning radio. Ingredients laid out for an apple cobbler needing to be baked. There were plenty of things tempting me to stay in a couple days ago, but instead I donned my walking gear and headed outside. It [...]

2022-03-14T16:15:59+00:00November 5th, 2018|Health and Well Being, Inspiration, Travel|

My Travel Bug

A friend nailed it in a recent email, lamenting how hard it is to coordinate our work schedules to plan a group trip... "Why can't we all just be independently wealthy and travel the world at our leisure?" Yes! Why not, indeed. It's almost enough to make me buy a [...]

2020-01-23T22:45:35+00:00April 12th, 2018|Family and Friends, Memories, Travel|

Glorious Tarte Tatin

My first stab at making tarte tatin came back in high school and was a terrible flop. I'd never had tarte tatin before, and even without an existing point of reference I knew something wasn't right. Having just pulled that recipe out of my decades-old collection of recipe cards, clippings [...]

2022-06-06T19:32:53+00:00April 2nd, 2018|Cooking at Home, France, Recipes, Sweet Treats|

A Return to Dijon

The Cathedral Saint Benigne I thought it was hilarious at the time, during that visit I made years back to the city of Nîmes in the south of France. I don't know of any historic record that my last name, Nims, has any connection to that city -- [...]

2023-11-30T22:33:01+00:00December 2nd, 2017|France, Memories, Travel|

Palm Springs Get-Away

It's rampant this time of year....Seattleites running away to find a dose of warmth and sunshine wherever they can. Facebook posts of toes in the sand, fruity cocktails on the beach, ocean sunsets, pool-side lounging, and airport check-ins before boarding flights southward are in my feed daily. Hawaii and Mexico [...]

2020-01-24T00:09:08+00:00January 20th, 2017|Food and Drink, Restaurants, Travel|

Inn at Langley: Bucolic Modernism

Whidbey Island is one among many beloved destinations for folks in the Puget Sound area, popular for day-trip escapes from the city, second homes and get-away weekends with friends. Walking the beaches, visiting lighthouses, biking country roads, kayaking, fishing, whale watching, catching crab....that's what we tend to associate with a [...]

2015-05-12T19:31:58+00:00May 12th, 2015|Chefs, Northwest Destinations, Restaurants|
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