I love genealogy. I’ve mentioned that here before. I spoke with my Aunt Joyce the other day, and she shared with me the baffling results of an ancestry DNA test she’d just gotten. One of her grandchildren had given her … Continue reading Keeping family heritage alive at the holidays

Last week, I had the best Thanksgiving ever. My adult daughter Lainey spent Tuesday through Sunday with us, cooking, eating, drinking, talking, being merry and being so thankful. We went to sleep early every night, because talking non-stop makes you … Continue reading But I can’t stop thinking about that turkey…

(Note: this was my newspaper column this week. Newspaper readers don’t necessarily read this blog, and I’ve never spoken of our tragedy in the column before now. I also tend to not acknowledge most holidays in my column and wanted … Continue reading Thankful for so many things this Thanksgiving, and always

Last week, my husband and I celebrated my birthday with dinner at Jett’s Grill at the Hotel Paisano in Marfa. The Hotel Paisano is a Marfa institution. The absolutely gorgeous hotel, owned by our neighbors Lanna and Joe Duncan, is … Continue reading Jett’s Grill at Marfa’s historic Hotel Paisano

NOTE: This event was a few days ago… but I was too busy with the event to update my blog and I wanted to get more photos to go with it before posting. It was all over the newspapers, and … Continue reading Enchiladas and friendly faces on a Friday night

My husband and I recently did something we don’t normally do. We ate at the same restaurant twice in one week. As most of you know, I’ve been on a cook-at-home binge for quite some time now. But every once … Continue reading Lupita’s Place in Fort Davis

Earlier this week, the Fort Davis Lions Club served a homemade lunch to the middle school and high school students through a weekly program called Tuesday School. There are no cafeterias at the schools in Fort Davis. Students pack a … Continue reading Feeding a crowd with King Ranch Chicken

The cool weather that came sneaking into town this week has certainly been welcome in our kitchen. In just under a week, I’ve made a big pot of beef stew with carrots and potatoes and a thick gravy, a hearty … Continue reading Chilly West Texas weather calls for West Texas chili

Mr. Johns and I try to eat oatmeal for breakfast just about every day. Each trip to Costco, I toss a seven-pound bag of organic steel cut oats in the shopping basket because the price is right and I can’t … Continue reading Overnight Oats – my new favorite way to eat oatmeal