Resiliency: A Single Word That Has Come To Mean A Lot

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It’s just so easy to fall off the wagon, isn’t it? Honestly, if I had a dollar for every time I decided to develop a healthy habit and stick to it, I would probably have a savings account, or a tidy little IRA. But I don’t. Like most people, I tend to make resolutions around…

To Err Is Human: But Can We Bounce Back? Absolutely!

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Mistakes…I’ve made plenty. But even after making so many, it annoys me to no end when I do. Annoyance forces me into rumination which in turn leads to anger and anger turns into self-flagellation. Now, it is a given that not everyone reacts as vehemently as I probably do, but by and large, people really…

How The Pandemic Taught Me About Happiness

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Confined indoors over the past few months, I realized, like so many others, that I had all this extra time. Besides binging on Netflix, cooking new dishes and drinking copious amount of wine I had the time to catch up with old friends…some of whom I hadn’t spoken to for a few months, some a…

Is 2020 the new Unlucky 13? Or, the uncanny value of improvisation and the ability to adapt

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Does luck really exist? And if it does, is it necessarily good or bad? Isn’t life more about what you make of it? Improvising, adapting to circumstances, knowing how to dance around misfortune, rising to the occasion or sitting still? After all, isn’t good or bad luck something viewed through a personal prism? The number…

Inspiration Required

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What inspired “A Suitable Necklace?”
As a writer, I am often asked about inspiration, especially upon the publication of a book.
What inspires me? Where do I find it? How does it manifest?
I always try and give an honest answer, and one, that as Doctor Henry Kissinger said of a selling argument, has the added advantage of being true.

A Virtual Dinner: Viva Cuba!

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For this virtual dinner party, a Cuban feast!

This is NOT America…

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This is not America….so sang David Bowie in 1985. The song was recorded with Pat Metheny for a movie called “The Falcon & the Snowman,” a spy drama starring Timothy Hutton and Sean Penn about two young, privileged American men who sold CIA secrets to the Soviets, destroying their lives and ruining their families.The song got its’ title from a scene in the movie in which Sean Penn’s character is arrested and beaten by the police in Mexico City. “I am an American citizen,” Penn shouts, implying his entitled rights, to which the policeman replies, “but this is not America.”

Life’s Simple Pleasures

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Simple pleasures are experiences that are exactly as described: simple. They are everyday experiences that don’t take forever to plan or schedule, but mainly, they balance our life, allow the prism to shift from our mad, daily schedules to certain things that fill our souls and make us whole again.
Simple pleasures are highly personal: what is a simple pleasure for me may not be one for you.

A Virtual Dinner Party: Lamb Ragù

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Lamb ragù recreated from memories of a dinner a quarter of a century ago in Sardegna

A Virtual Dinner Party: Harissa Chicken

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Entertaining at home is the apex of hospitality. Inviting people for dinner you have spent time preparing is so rewarding, n’est-ce pas? These days, even if you can’t physically be with your friends, you can still have dinner.