The most delicious, honest and truly gourmet foods are handcraft foods. What I mean by handcraft is that they are created by artisans in small batches, not mass-produced or highly processed, and made from ingredients that are locally-grown or locally-produced.…

I have been fortunate to have grown up with hand-made quilts. My aunt Elizabeth was born in the late 1800s on a rural Iowa farm with outdoor “facilities”, no running water and no electricity. She lost the tips of her…

The feeling of accomplishment is perhaps one of the most important that can be acquired. Accomplishment comes to us through our own hands; it is not one of those feelings that is evoked by another’s actions or activities, nor is…

In the garden there are two favored plants- the sunflowers and the snap peas. These two plants are vastly different in appearance and disposition but each are better for having been sown and grown together. They combine into a relationship…

Fine laces and decorative linens were once a sign of opulence. They required a great deal of planning, skill and time to craft, and were expensive to purchase. Fine laces and linens were created by hand up until fairly recently,…

Some of the great joys in life come from simple, handcrafted gifts, foods and experiences. On these pages are essays on some of the simple things in life that bring joy. Many of these are around us every day and…