Caraway seeds. I can't stand them, which is a pity, because I love rye bread. And I can understand those who dislike cilantro. Too many restaurants are heavy-handed with it.

I made chunky potato salad one time and my husband went into shock. We almost needed marriage counseling. We are definitely from the creamy branch of potato salad. I use a potato ricer to get the t...

I hole up and read. Listen to jazz. Watch the birds at the bird feeder and bird bath. Look for heart-shaped pieces of flint in my driveway. Watch for new fawns ... I swear they really do look like ...

Loren Eaton, who writes at "I Saw Lightning Fall" advocates "the middle shelf." ONE shelf of books---that's all. I've been thinking about his method, and I know I can't live with just one shelf, bu...

My son uses what he calls the nuclear alarm clock. It has a mechanical bell that will leave you shell-shocked, and he puts it in his bath room closet---so he has to get out of bed to turn it off. W...

The Swiss medicine box is terrific. I use two translucent boxes with latched lids---tall enough to hold bottles. One is labeled "Inside the Body" and the other is labeled "Outside the Body." If you...

I grew up making a similar dough. Impossible to mess up. My husband adores the pineapple/peach combination of flavors. Actually, my mother would pair pineapple with almost anything and it would tas...

ok to give as a present, but pretentious to buy for yourself.

I've been a nomad for the past ten years, and cooked in eight different kitchens. Please no chopped up counter spaces. Can I have one decent counter-top---4 or 5 feet will do. But no more little po...

Sharp cheddar cheese, sliced apples, and popcorn, made in a heavy pot with realllll butter and just a little salt. It's a terrific combination of flavors. Pass the napkins.

ooohh. I've been shopping for a new digital camera. This one is a definite maybe ...

I've always wrapped my rinsed greens in a big dish towel and sent the son or husband outside to demonstrate the powers of centrifugal force. Couldn't be cheaper or more earth friendly.

Not the usual; I like it.

Read up on micro-fiber. You won't believe how good it is.

isn't this the same as the old fashioned English-style china garden, where you use old, chipped china plates in the garden?

Not the same, but Husband and I applied solar film to 8 dozen little panes of glass (11 x 14 inches). The reduction in heat gain was worth the effort (about 8 degrees on the thermometer), but it wa...

I bought a slipcovered sofa from Pottery Barn ( a Mitchell Gold design) eleven years ago for about $1200. I subsequently bought two more slipcovers and I rotate them seasonally. It is the best mone...

The apartment is most charming, but I must comment on the practice using photographs in the bathroom. The high humidity of a bathroom is extremely detrimental to photos, and hanging them on the wal...

As a former cartographic draftsman, I spent most of my career working on a light table. I still miss the light (and working on glass).

Very pretty---I love it. I eat at a restaurant that has one wall built out of rough cut exterior grade commercial brick/cinder block. The wall is now an interior wall and the owners pa...