Tag: reading

• Turning the Tables

  The first time I really felt like a grown-up was when my parents came to spend the weekend with me in my tiny studio apartment. I cleaned like a fiend all week, shopped for all my dad’s favorite foods, changed the sheets and made my bed like a hospital orderly (I would be sleeping on…

  michardillo

  June 19, 2017

  Essay

  food, Hurricane Katrina, Louisiana, Maryland, Niagara Falls, Pittsburgh, praying, reading, writing

• Irish Soda Bread in a Hurry

  My spring break is drawing to a close. For once I made sure I could really relax and not have a ton of school work hanging over my head the whole time. It made a huge difference. I had a great visit with my older daughter, did a bit of spring cleaning, baked an elaborate…

  michardillo

  April 22, 2017

  Essay

  Agatha Christie, baking, C. A. Larmer, Irish butter, Irish soda bread, Julia Child, orange marmalade, reading, tea, writing

• Travel for Beginners

  I know almost nothing about soy sauce. I know I like to dip my sushi rolls into it and I know that the colored tops of the soy sauce bottles on the tables in Asian restaurants denote whether the soy sauce is regular (red) or low sodium (green). I know it is one of the…

  michardillo

  February 7, 2016

  books, Essay

  A Moveable Feast, A Week in Winter, Africa, Asia, Asian, Bangladesh, Baton Rouge, Beryl Markham, British, Circling the Sun, Ernest Hemingway, Europe, Hadley Richardson, Ireland, Irish, Kenya, Kirstin Chen, Louisiana, Maeve Binchy, Memphis, Monroe, Nell Freudenberger, New Orleans, Paula McLain, pub, reading, Singapore, soy sauce, Soy Sauce for Beginners, St. Jude Children’s Hospital, The Newlyweds, The Paris Wife

• Scent: Message Received

  Thanks to winter storm Jonas, a/k/a #Blizzard2016, I had an unexpected “winter break” from teaching, and I must say I have really enjoyed my #snowcation. Sandwiched nicely between my Christmas break and my Easter break, this one came with no expectations of shopping or meal planning. With my six school days I did some school…

  michardillo

  January 31, 2016

  Essay

  Al Di La, Aromatic Elixir, bread, Chris Grabenstein, Cinnabar, Clinique, crochet, Estee Lauder, figs, Freeport Sulphur Company, Gumbo, Janet Evanovich, Jonas, Katrina, king cake, Kirstin Chen, knitting, library, make-up, Mardi Gras, marmalade, Mississippi River, perfume, po-boy, Port Sulphur, Rachel Carson, reading, roux, satsuma, snowcation, Soy Sauce for Beginners, sulphur

• Drowning, But Don’t Save Me — Yet

  At the annual Back to School Night last week I introduced myself to the parents of my 7th graders with my usual background information: “This is my 9th year teaching and my 9th year at this school. I came to education as a second career after twenty years in the legal field. After leaving my…

  michardillo

  September 20, 2015

  Essay

  back to school, Belgium, creativity, English, grading, international school, language arts, library, middle school, reading, real estate, retired, retirement, St. John’s International School, teaching, theatre, Waterloo, writing