Our daffodils are poking up out of the mud, a sign of spring on our Vermont hill. I’ll post photos once they’re in bloom. In the meantime, I gathered these photos of daffodils in the Cotswolds (top, near where I placed Oliver York’s fictional country home!), the Netherlands (middle) and Ireland (bottom). They make me smile and I hope they will you, todao, as we go forward into the rebirth of spring. Take care!
It might be mud season on our Vermont hilltop but elsewhere spring flowers are in bloom. Like so many of us, I’m an armchair traveler at the moment, but a few years ago we arrived in Ireland early on an April morning and wandered in a walled castle garden filled with spring flowers. It was snowing in Vermont when we took these photos. It snowed here last week, too. Hm. Enjoy!
With gyms and just about everything closed, many of us are tying on our walking shoes and heading outside for a wander. I love to walk, whether at home in New England or on our travels. I’ve come up with countless scenes and descriptions for my books while I’m off in the Irish hills. Here are photos of some of my favorite trails. I find them inspiring and soothing during this challenging time, and I hope you do, too.
Are you baking while staying at home? Below is my favorite recipe for molasses cookies using simple ingredients I typically have on hand. This is one of the recipes included in A Knights Bridge Christmas, a hopeful contemporary story with a connection to World War II.
Molasses Cookies
3/4 cup vegetable shortening or butter (I use butter)
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1 large egg
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. each salt; ground cloves; ground ginger
2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. cinnamon
Melt shortening or butter and let cool. Add sugar, molasses and egg. In a medium bowl, sift or stir with a fork th… Read More
