“By the Iowa Sea”
“By the Iowa Sea” is a memoir by Joe Blair, a middle-aged Massachusetts-born motorcycle-lovin’ adventurer who examines how he became so profoundly unhappy with his life, his marriage, and with himself. In the summer of 1989, 25-year old Blair is trying to figure out what to do with his life when he decides to leave his hometown (Boston) and take a cross country trip on his motorcycle. With $1,500 in his pocket he spends two months exploring the US and decides he will always travel, never cave in to convention, or settle down. Read more 
John Kelly Chocolates
John Kelly Chocolates is a California-based company that makes award-winning chocolate fudge products by hand in small batches using premium all-natural ingredients. The company’s signature piece is the Truffle Fudge Bar which combines the rich, creamy texture of a truffle with the intense flavor of fudge. Scrumptious and decadent, the Truffle Fudge Bar is best described as a silky fudge bar coated with a thin layer of semi-sweet chocolate. Made primarily of sugar, chocolate, evaporated milk, and butter, the bars come in a variety of flavors: Read more
Seggiano Pesto Sauces
Several weeks ago, my daughter was grocery shopping with her dad when she called me from Whole Foods to tell me there was no fresh basil to make pesto and asking if Seggiano Pesto Genovese Sauce was ok to buy. She read the label and repeated the list of ingredients to me: olive oil, cashew nuts, fresh Ligurian basil, sea salt, and pine nuts. Rarely do we ever indulge in a store-bought sauce but after hearing the list of ingredients, I told my daughter to put the jar in the grocery cart; it was worthy of a try. Read more
“Wild”
Cheryl Strayed, author of “Wild” is a 43-year old writer, wife, and mother who lives in Portland, Oregon. When Strayed was 22 years old, she lost her 45-year old mother to lung cancer and spent the next four years alternating between trying to preserve her family and her marriage, both of which disintegrated by the time she was 26 years old. Recognizing the need for a change, Strayed (the name she chose for herself after her divorce) set out to hike 1,100 miles of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT), a 2,663 mile trail that lies east of the Pacific coast from California to Washington, and then write about the experience. Read more
Soliciting Grocery Shoppers for Donations
Over the past week, I’ve been asked 11 times by retail clerks if I want to donate money to a charitable cause. This question has been asked by cashiers in grocery stores and in a variety of retail establishments. Yesterday, I decided to use the self check-out at a Stop & Shop grocery store in Connecticut and was approached by three separate sales clerks asking if I wanted to donate money. After I finished bagging my groceries, I went to the manager’s desk and politely told her that most people want to grocery shop in peace, that the grocery store is one place where the expectation is to be a customer, not a source of donations. Read more
Cookies For Grown-Ups
In 2008, a company called Lark Fine Foods started making and selling “cookies for grown-ups” meaning cookies that are full of flavor but not overly sweet. Using all natural ingredients: flour, butter, olive oil, whole wheat, sugar, chocolate, and spices, Lark Fine Foods makes scrumptious crisp cookies that can be truly appreciated by adults, although kids have been known to devour them, too. Read more
“Gilded Lives, Fatal Voyage”
One hundred years ago today – April 10, 1912 – the Titanic left Southampton, England on its maiden voyage stopping at Cherbourg, France and Queenstown, Ireland before continuing across the Atlantic Ocean towards New York. Four days later on April 14, 1912 at nearly midnight, while maneuvering through the icy waters of the North Atlantic Ocean, the Titanic hit a massive iceberg causing enough damage for the ship to sink 2 hours and 40 minutes later on the morning of April 15, 1912. Read more
” The Sense of an Ending”
Winner of the 2011 Man Booker Prize (an annual award for the best original full length novel written in English by a citizen of the Commonwealth), “The Sense of an Ending” by Julian Barnes, is a story told from the perspective of Anthony (Tony) Webster, a British pensioner who finds cause to reexamine the past after an old friend comes back into his life. Read more
The Brutal Honesty of the Young
I love the brutal honesty of kids and teens. They don’t need to stand in front of the Bocca della Veritá to state the truth because the world hasn’t piled the rules of gracious manners on their doorstep yet. Have you ever noticed that kids always talk about everything that is going on in their house much to the parent’s dismay?
Spend a few hours with a child and you will learn that Dad said the “F word” last night, Mom cooked breakfast for dinner, Grandpa has a new girlfriend that Mom and Dad don’t like, and Sister had a meltdown because she forgot to lock the bathroom door and Brother walked in on her while she was on the toilet. One day my friend’s 4-year son walked out of the bathroom and announced to his family “I have a big butt and a little penis.” Forks dropped, laughter ensued and my friend pulled his son aside and said “son, you may not want to advertise that family attribute.” Read more
Powell’s Sweet Shoppe
There are three big holidays a year where candy is emphasized: Valentine’s Day, Easter, and Halloween. With the Easter season upon us, there is no better time to talk about candy: jelly beans, chocolate bunnies, malted eggs, marshmallow chicks, lollipops, peanut butter eggs, and more. Read more
Paddock Post 