• Garden - Inspiration

    The Herb Spiral

    Making Micro-Climates During the pandemic, I, like everyone else, was stuck in my house, using the internet as a tool to learn.  My mother had just died, and I was getting used to the idea of making decisions about my childhood home, which included over seven acres of land –…

  • Family - Food - History

    Rebooting an Old Tradition

    As a child I spent parts of my summer vacation with my mother’s relatives, mostly her sister.  My Aunt Jo had two daughters my age, and since my own sister was five years my senior and wanted nothing to do with me, having two playmates who actually wanted my company…

  • Art - Joy - Rebellion

    My Mother’s Living Room

    When I removed my mother’s pin-striped valance and replaced it with an ornate Victorian curtain my heart skipped a beat.  I knew my replacement was too elaborate, but it was my first attempt at getting a foothold into my mother’s Sensible Beige House. My mother had been in assisted living…

  • Cats - Poetry

    The Mouse

    A sip of brew,A gift from Lu.She laid it neatRight at my feet.And you can guessTwas motionless“Oh no!” I said,“This mouse is dead!” Said she, “this louseWas in my house!It was my rightTo bat and bite.The catnip toysMake little noise,So I did shredThis mouse instead!” Karen BrockelbankAugust 5, 2021

  • Art

    Dos Mujeres – An Intimate Family Portrait

    Dos Mujeres (Two Women) is the 16th painting by the pioneering Mexican artist Frida Kahlo.  Painted by Kahlo in 1928, it measures 69 x 53 cm (27 3/8″ x 21″), oil on canvas, and is prominently displayed at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston in “The Americas” section.  It…