Shop for Home
In the We Couldn't Resist Category: Just Icing on the Cake, Part One, by Roberta McReynolds
Roberta McReynolds writes: Imagine a ‘toy store’ dedicated to the decadent, culinary urges of pastry chefs (both professional and amateur) and the scene is set for a dieter’s nightmare. This store exists a mere four miles from my front door, and worse yet, within walking distance from my husband’s favorite hobby shop. The aisles are stocked with innovative gadgets for every conceivable special event and season, with a rich emphasis on wedding supplies. Cake pans, cookie cutters, and candy molds are strategically situated to catch and hold the attention of those who dare enter. I suspect that the sugar-laden atmosphere is delivered directly through the air-conditioning system to reduce any natural resistance, causing a hypnotic-like trance. more »
Ferida Wolff's Backyard: Hostas and Us; Waving Beans
Ferida Wolff writes: I try not to casually dismiss each plant’s possibilities of expressing itself. I feel the same about people. We each have the possibility of offering the best of ourselves and especially in this difficult pandemic time, I hope that consideration of others is part of our social interaction. I notice lately that neighbors are waving and smiling when I take a walk, a friendly and welcome but sensitive distant greeting. more »
The Autobiography of a Garden at The Huntington, a Joy for Viewers and Gardeners
One life-affirming pleasure awaiting visitors will be found in The Huntington Art Gallery’s Works on Paper Room. There, displayed against walls of saturated blue, is a resonant, even elegiac, visual narrative. The story that it tells of life and renewal is not on paper, but on 12 uniquely bordered, luminous, ceramic plates revealing in keenly observed detail “The Autobiography of a Garden,” a month-to-month evolution of a real-life garden in Providence, Rhode Island. The exhibition, on view through July 5, 2021, is the work of American painter and printmaker Andrew Raftery and is the product of his inventive, modern-day approach to the transfer of print images onto ceramic, a process dating back to the mid-18th century. Also on view at RISD is Beth Katelman's exhibit. And don't forget the Huntington's shop! more »
Rose Madeline Mula Writes: Addicted to Amazon
Rose Madeline Mula writes: My other impulse purchases on Amazon include a string of mini, solar-powered lights to brighten my quarantined balcony; a label maker (which I have used to make two labels since buying it a year ago); a roll-up keyboard (in place of the Steinway I can’t afford and have no room for) which I immediately rolled up and put in a drawer before plinking even one melody; a five-pound bag of gum drops (yes, five pounds!); essential oils (which were certainly not essential); make up (too little, too late), and a garden kneeler. No, I don’t have a garden. I live in a third-floor condo. But I’m hoping it will help me get up when (not if) I fall so I don’t have to call the firemen (though, actually, their visits are the highlight of my social life). more »