BENSALEM, Pa. Forget the clanging of coins. It’s more the sounds of silence at the vending machines in area schools these days. Many students aren’t buying the healthy snacks, fruit juices and water that must now be offered in school vending machines instead of candy, soda and other sugary, high-calorie treats. That means school districts […]

At the end of a week of gray, raw and drizzly days, I was at my wit’s end. Even my intrepid corgi, Daphne, was less than fully excited about taking walks in the rain. So I did what works best for me: I planted bulbs indoors so that I can force them to bloom in […]

Last week I wrote about a relatively new concept recommending a 9-to-5 school day for American children. “Can your 10-year-old self even imagine the awfulness?” I asked. The idea was promoted by The Center for American Progress in a recent report titled “Workin’ 9-to-5.” The week after the center’s report, the New York Times featured […]

Leaves are changing, the weather is cooling, and the smell of fall lingers in the air. Pumpkins are appearing on doorsteps and families are beginning to plan their Thanksgiving menus. Pecan pie should always be on the list. Pecan pie can be difficult to describe. It’s not a fruit pie or a cream pie, and […]

Here it is, early November and I’m still harvesting food from my garden. All of it could have been picked earlier, but I love letting vegetables stay in the garden as long as possible, and eating them the day they were picked. And I enjoy making a dish that uses as many of my own […]

Before I tell you how much I hate the movement advocating a 9-to-5 school day, I want to share a quote I read this past week in the New York Times magazine. “Think about your own 10 best memories of childhood, and chances are most of them involve free play outdoors,” said Mike Lanza in […]

Although Thanksgiving is the quintessential American holiday, some of my American friends and I celebrate it here in London every year. A few years back, after cooking a turkey curry, I learned the hard way never to mess with the traditional roasted turkey, the star of the show. Since then my contribution is always to […]

EVANSVILLE, Ind. A shirt hanging on the wall of the Evansville YWCA reminds visitors: “Your safety, love and happiness matter.” Another cautions: “Build your home with love, don’t break your home with hate.” Domestic violence affects more than 10 million people a year in the U.S., but almost half of those incidents go unreported. Organizations […]

As we walked down the beautiful, sloping streets of Old Quebec, toward the Furniculaire, and with the Chateau Frontenac lit up against the night sky as our guide, Dustin reached for my hand and said the following with an upbeat, hopeful tone: “I’ve been providing you with interesting memories and plenty of writing material for […]

I recently fielded a query about moving a shrub: Was this a good time to do so, or would the spring be better? I responded that either was all right, but that spring might be better. There is no clear answer among experts, some favoring spring, some fall. I know from my readings that scientists […]