One of my favorite places to linger this time of year is by the dining-room window, looking out at the birdfeeder dusted with winter snow. The yard feels quieter in December, yet the feeder is still a flurry of life—sparrows, juncos, chickadees, finches, nuthatches, and the occasional determined squirrel. Even the robins make an appearance, […]

A while back, I decided to treat myself to one of those salt flotation spas. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, you spend an hour in a tub full of room-temperature water that is salty enough to keep you afloat. The room is darkened and basically, you just lay there, and because you […]