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                                         A KITCHEN IN BLACK OR WHITE   PHOTO CREDITS: Beauty and the Beach photo creditBrad Nicol; Park View Pied a Terre photo creditChas Metivier We like to think of ourselves, modestly, as kitchen aficionados ever since we wrote two kitchen tomes, first The Kitchen Bible, followed by Kitchen Conversations (both from Images Publishing).   The kitchen (and we know you’ve heard this ad nauseam) is the heart of our homes. In recent years, that heart has been beating even stronger. After...

One of the difficult realities of aging is loss. Sadly, we all lose loved ones through the years. That’s just a fact, and it’s gut-wrenching. But grief can extend to any loss, and the longer we live, the more losses we incur in our lives that are constantly shifting.    Do you wince? Do you shout? Do you cry? All. With such losses, you can feel like you’ve fallen off a cliff and aren’t sure, without any playbook, where and how you’re going to land.   To add to the grief is guilt--for grieving something not as important as a...

Let’s face it: we won't last forever unless we go into cryopreservation or animated suspension, where our cells are frozen in time like a giant slab of meat—expiration date to be determined. Once we’re stored away tightly, mum’s the word. We will be unable to share important information with our loved ones about our financial assets and other stuff such as whether we prefer to be resuscitated or have the plug pulled and when, be in an urn or casket, be buried next to our bf in some bucolic setting, in a mausoleum or perched on some fancy mantle, and...

One of us just turned 80. The other is not far behind. Hitting that milestone makes us reflect on who we are at this stage, when time is precious. It’s about accepting the new, older us. As youth, ambition, our looks, and long-held plans begin to shift, we care less about what we accumulate and more about how we love, how we listen, what we return to, what work is worth our days, and how we treat people.  Who are we now? Maria Shriver grappled with this in her Sunday Paper, "I've Been Thinking," on May 23, 2026. Take the...

  One of the positives of older age is that it can be freeing, like an elixir. We can be ourselves, perhaps for the very first time. Why suffer through grumbling about certain medical procedures, uncomfortable clothing, foods, moods, movement, toxic friendships, unpleasant conversations and more when it is acceptable to toss some of our routines and many obligations and even relationships out the window or door?Here are some examples of what has become disposable. Like old newspapers and magazines, we can pitch them or hang on to them forever. It’s our choice. Unpleasant medical procedures that are no longer...