A Sweet Sunday

A Sweet Sunday

Rob was out of town on Sunday, so I got to have one of my little “Leslie days.” It was extremely pleasant. I started it with a delicious breakfast of popcorn popped on the stove. There’s nothing better than eating popcorn at dawn. As I ate, I read a cookbook …

Josie

Josie

Two weeks ago, our cat Josie got very sick. She had a 105-degree temperature. She wouldn’t eat. All she wanted to do was sleep. We thought she was going to die, but it turned out she just had a bad urinary tract infection. We gave 

Clean as a Whistle

Clean as a Whistle

Rob and I did nothing but clean our house this weekend. We cleaned it from top to bottom. We washed all the baseboards and mopped all the floors and brushed all the furniture and cleaned the windows and the windowsills and all the moldings. Of 

A Roble Orange and Other Good Stuff

A Roble Orange and Other Good Stuff

Last weekend went so smoothly it seemed sort of enchanted. Rob and I got so much done. And yet somehow, magically, we still found time to baby the cats and savor our homegrown citrus and have lots of dorky domestic fun. …

Pecans, a Pummelo, and More

Pecans, a Pummelo, and More

Fall is here in all its glory. We’ve got camellias and sasanquas blooming like crazy, and our beech trees have turned gold. Bright satsumas and lemons hang like ornaments, like Christmas balls. The ageratum has turned ghostly. In the late afternoons the sun gets so 

October Glory

October Glory

This weekend was a glorious one here in Quincy. The Korean mums put on a dazzling show, and the satsumas and lemons went about their slow business of ripening, displaying rich, soft shades of gold. The weather was so cool that I was able to 

On My Own

On My Own

Rob was out of town this weekend, so I lived for two days in my weird Leslie way—getting up too early and eating funny things. I enjoyed delicious, salty popcorn suppers and spent most of my time happily puttering and rearranging things—I love to rearrange. …

In the Depths of August

In the Depths of August

Yesterday I did a whole bunch of weeding while Rob mowed the lawn and cleaned out the gutters. I actually love to weed. It’s so peaceful and it gives me a chance to really look at my plants, really study them and their surroundings …

Sweet Babs

Sweet Babs

Babs died on Wednesday. I won’t go on and on about how angry I am about this. I’ll just say I’ve been writing down my memories of her, and here are just a few: She would always sit on the steps by the screen door