Feb 14, 2025 – The day started sweet with a loving Valentine’s Day message from a far away old friend. I thanked her & then sent a text message to my adult daughter who lives in another state. I wished her a lovely day & told her I loved her. She replied with a ❤️…

Last year I wrote about taking a break from packing boxes for my big move to Oregon. I baked a wonderful sour cream coffee cake with cinnamon, ginger cardamom & orange zest thanks to Ruth Stroud’s family recipe learned from her mother, Flora Stroud. Now, a year later I’m taking a break again. Only this…

Whatever you are thinking, feeling this November 6th morning, I wish you both solace and hope today as we march forward into the unknown. Let’s do it… Turning to Poetry in Troubled Times

It’s been 4 months since I moved to Oregon. It takes a lot of time and effort to build new relationships after a move. When we were newlyweds & moved to LA, I was bewildered but we had each other. Now I’m single and finally returned to the land I love. Evenso, some days it…

For the past year I have been pursuing the possibility of making an old dream come true: move to my homeland, Oregon, where I was born & raised. Could I really do it after 40 years in Los Angeles? At my age, 69? “Why not?!” I thought, I’m more free now than I’ve ever been.…

And now for the taste test …. Awww, heavenly! Light & fluffy, sour cream delight, sweet cinnamon, ginger, cardamom, sugar, & walnuts on top and inside. Thank you Ruth Stroud for your great family recipe! Best coffee cake I’ve ever tasted! If you’d like the recipe, here’s the link to Ruth’s recipe: https://open.substack.com/pub/timetravelkitchen/p/time-travel-kitchen-18a?r=2qhxm6&utm_medium=ios

“Bake a cake?” you say. Yes, a simple coffee cake. While reading my friend’s newsletter (link below) of yummy cake recipes from her mother, these thoughts came to mind: • Take time to taste the sweetness of life. • Slow down, pause all the preparing & packing for my move to Oregon. • Don’t be…

I just read about hygge in The Art of Happy Moving by Ali Wenzke. Hygge (pronounced “HOO-ga”) is a Danish concept that’s hard to translate. Some people think it means “cozy” living, but the Danes say it means much more than that. So, here’s a quote from an expert, Meik Wiking who wrote, The Little…

My first sight of LA was from an airplane at night. I’d never seen so many lights. It was rather beautiful, like a giant carpet of sparkling gems. We were newlyweds then and took a cheap midnight flight to LA for my husband’s job interview. As native Northwesterners, who met & married in Seattle, Washington,…

When shall I start this Big Move of mine? I’ve been preparing for months you see, I threw out and gave away a ton for free! Now the next phase has arrived for me, To choose the right mover, but who should it be? Three estimates I acquired, Then pondered the facts for hours! Oh…