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Respecting our food
“Cooking is at once one of the simplest and most gratifying of the arts, but to cook well, one must love and respect food.” ~Craig Claiborne Like everyone else I know, I cooked at home more often during the early days of the pandemic. I spent untold hours searching online for recipes to vary our weekly menus. And I realized (more than ever) that having access to the right ingredients is essential to preparing a delicious, healthful meal. Once I was able to get out and shop for our own groceries again, I was twice as grateful for the variety of fresh produce available at the local markets. I had…
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… And don’t look back
“Contrary to popular opinion, quitting is for winners. Knowing when to quit — change direction, leave a toxic situation, demand more from life, give up on something that wasn’t working and move on — is a very important skill that people who win in life always seem to have.” ~Steven Bartlett I love it when friends share fabulous quotes with me, and the one I’m using today is a case in point. Have you ever had to leave a toxic workplace or difficult relationship that created more stress and drama than satisfaction? Did you ever find yourself investing way more of yourself in something/anything than you were getting out of…
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Dear subscribers …
Mailchimp, the service that sends my email posts, has changed its free program limits. To curb new monthly costs — while keeping the subscriptions free to you — I’ll share fewer posts each week. Starting next month, I will stop offering email subscriptions to NEW readers, making “Life Lines” more like a private blog with a limited audience. Again, I will not charge you for a “Life Lines” subscription. If you currently subscribe, or if you start a new subscription by the end of this month, you’ll still get free “Life Lines” email updates when they’re posted. If you have friends who’d enjoy getting “Life Lines” posts, the time to subscribe is now, before the “Subscribe via…
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Looking on the bright side
“Every sunrise gives you a new beginning and a new ending. Let this morning be a new beginning to a better relationship and a new ending to the bad memories. It’s an opportunity to enjoy life, breathe freely, think and love. Be grateful for this beautiful day.” ~Norton Juster, children’s book author I usually try to avoid cornball positivity when I choose quotes for Life Lines. All of us have demons of various shapes and sizes to battle, and throwing pink paint or motivational pap on our problems doesn’t help. Sometimes it’s easier to adapt to the general negativity that clouds the atmosphere lately. But today’s quote struck a chord…
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Spring blooms
“Giving flowers is a disarming way to remember another person, but flowers were first a gift from nature to all of us. They look beautiful, they smell beautiful, and they make us feel beautiful.” Victoria Moran, Younger by the Day This week I spotted a hyacinth and a miniature daffodil starting to bloom in my garden — the first of the spring bulbs to surface this season — so much earlier than usual. Like some of the other bulbs scattered around our yard, the hyacinth was an Easter gift, years ago, and I’m always delighted and amazed to see it reappear every spring. Flowers are living symbols of perseverance and…
