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As temperatures soar along with cases of covid in U.S. hot spots, we craved something cold, something that would help us chill, so to speak. Our thoughts went straight to icy cold soups.  Cold comfort soups epitomize the yearnings of summer. They’re light, soothing, cool and easy to make. Preparing them keeps the heat out of the kitchen. In addition, they are a colorful savory or sweet bowlful of everything good that summer produce has to offer. We are both reluctant to go to the grocery store, so we asked ourselves, where is the safest, best place during this pandemic...

Like millions of others stuck at home for much longer periods than we expected, we’ve had more time to reflect about the trajectory of our lives, how we want to spend time when we once again get to move about more freely and how we’ve evolved gradually to become the people we are today. This involves more than just bettering our Pilates skills by doing more Pilates on our own or via Zoom classes or ramping up our tennis game by taking more lessons or playing more hours. It’s really all about examining our internal selves, how we’ve changed for...

When Margaret wakes up some mornings, as a strategy to get her through the day, she has started spending a half hour before she gets out of bed listening to classical music. It calms her and clears her head. When she does this, she feels better and is an optimistic person from then on throughout the day. This is one of many new endeavors she’s started since her move six months ago to New York City from St. Louis, another new start that has changed her life. Barbara has become relentless about fitting in daily exercise, preferably at a new...

Cooking may be a joyful pursuit for many. Look at what everybody has been making and showing off on sites during the pandemic. And at other times they cook, too, or otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many cookbooks, food blogs, food sites, cooking shows and movies with a chef as the star or assistant. Yet, not everyone shares our passion. Some view it as an arduous, mind-boggling, time-consuming task that requires too many ingredients, too much measuring and certainly too much waiting. “Who needs to prepare something that you consume in several bites and then have nothing to show for...

We grew up in an era where most of our parents, their friends, and even ourselves and our peers divided up tasks once married. Usually, the man did the messy inside and outside stuff—dishes, garbage, fixing the toilet and changing light bulbs if handy, yardwork and maybe grilled—and cleaned the grill afterward. The woman got the stereotypical female work—wash, iron, clean, cook, set the table, grocery shop—unless we did it as a pair (Margaret’s late husband always went with her to shop and Barbara’s liked to do the wash). We also took over the carpool, care of a sick child...