Garages have a way of going from deep storage to cluttered chaos. Clearing out the flotsam and organizing what remains can be daunting or downright overwhelming. But with careful planning and a specific game plan, most garages can be organized in a day or a weekend, experts say. And if the job’s simply too much, […]

Last year, around this time, when the snow was melting and there were puddles in the gutters, my youngest son, Lindell, did not make the Little League team. Although this will sound silly to some people, it was a terrible thing to go through, and I have waited, as the snow started melting again, with […]

Mud season for many gardeners is bleak. Raw days of gray and rain mean it’s not fun to spend time outdoors, so we wither on the vine. Thankfully, I start lots of seedlings indoors, and early April is the right time to start most vegetables and flowers. But even that doesn’t keep me very busy […]

Hummus generally contains five basic ingredients; chickpeas, tahini, lemon, garlic and olive oil. Once you have these ingredients combined, it is easy to add other herbs, spices and even roasted carrots — like I do here — to flavor and season basic hummus. In the early spring, I love to roast fresh carrots until they […]

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. It’s not really about the meal at the monthly Conscious Family Dinner, although there is plenty of vegan Indian food. You can spend time in a cuddling sanctuary, sit down with a tarot reader, chat career goals with a life coach or sit in on an acro-yoga sex psychotherapy presentation. And there’s […]

I’m a fairly simple person. I like dogs and flowers and good food. Having friends is important. I like to grow vegetables from seed, and I revere trees that have survived longer than I have. And when it comes to poetry, I like it simple and direct; poetry that evokes images of nature and emotions […]

About 10 years ago, I grew weary of military life. Well, honestly, I had grown tired of it before then. When I was still my Navy dad’s dependent and in college, I said I’d never marry anyone in the military and live that kind of lifestyle again. Pretty much the next day, my now husband […]

Including recliners in home decorating projects used to be an interior designer’s nightmare, says Bonnie Lewis, founder of 55+ TLC Interior Design in Scottsdale, Arizona. But the easy chair has gotten a face lift, thanks largely to baby boomers. “Before, this furniture was strictly about the function — meaning it could recline, but there wasn’t […]

Quite often, I think a simple Greek salad is perfect as is, no adornments needed. But you may notice that in many eateries, from diners to higher-end restaurants, you often get a choice of added protein, usually chicken, shrimp or steak. And it’s true, that extra protein does make a salad feel more like a […]

NEW YORK It’s easy to jump directly to “crazy cat lady” or poke fun at “stay-at-home dog moms” when describing intense relationships between humans and their pets. But for some who spend the bulk of each day with their animals, it’s more like a two-way healing labor of love. Amy Hunter, 51, stayed home in […]