Category: Uncategorized
-
The V.I.P. Cookie Tower
Back in the ’70s, one of our family rituals at holiday time was poring over the Swiss Colony catalogue and picking out gifts for our far-flung relatives. Not being billionaires, we usually opted for a modest cheese-and-sausage combo, or a single dobosh torte, but I remember gazing longingly at the…
-
Sounds of the Season, Pt. II
What an awesome thing it was to imagine oneself one of the shepherds who heard that first Nowell, and to hear and smell some of the critters Jesus would have heard and smelled when he was lying in the manger.
-
Sounds of the Season, Pt. 1
My first musical impulse for the season is, I’m sure, a pretty common one, at least among classical-music lovers like me. Listening to the Old Testament reading on the second Sunday in Advent—“Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people,’ saith your God”—always sends me rushing straight to the CD shelves (yes,…
-
The Waiting Game
When my sister and I were kids, my parents used to take us on an annual pre-Christmas pilgrimage to Yorkville, where the essential stops included the Elk Candy Company (for spitzkuchen, kringels and nougat-filled chocolate pinecones, among other heavenly confections); the Kleine Konditerei (for meringues); Kramer’s Pastries (for stollen) and…
-
A Touch of Summer
Snapdragons have always been high on my list of favorite flowers. I happen to like their spiky yet lavish shape, their dashing variety of colors and patterns and their subtle, spicy/sweet smell. But more than that, I associate them with East Hampton, my summertime happy place since childhood, where every…
-
Turkey Day
I love Thanksgiving. For one thing, I love baking pies, and Thanksgiving is a great excuse for doing that. (Since I also love eating pies, it all works out quite nicely, except for the effect on my waistline.) Furthermore, I like parades, dogs and the Detroit Lions, which means there…
-
The Birth of a Website
Now that my dream job has come to an end with the final issue of OPERA NEWS, the World Wide Web seems like a wondrous land of opportunity for a person in search of new directions.
-
All for One …
Recently, I was taken to a New York Philharmonic concert by a man I’d never met. (No, not a blind date; more a particularly pleasurable networking opportunity.) Thanks to my new friend, I got my first look at the newly renovated David Geffen Hall, which I had read all about…
-
Love of Cat
The winding down of the holidays can be a gloomy time, with no more traditions or festivities to look forward to and even the pile of yet-to-be-worn Christmas socks beginning to dwindle. Luckily for me, that warm, contented Christmas-y feeling is available year round courtesy of my beloved kitties, Boris…
Louise T. Guinther 