Saturday, November 21, 2009

Minding Your Manners at Thanksgiving

A Few Gentle Reminders:
1. S
it up straight at the dinner table. Try not to slouch or lean back in your chair. Remember, you've been invited to Thanksgiving dinner, not a poker game.

2. Make sure, once you're seated, that you introduce yourself to the person on your right and left if you don't know them.

3. Wait for the host to unfold his napkin before unfolding yours. And remember, napkins belong in your lap, and not tucked into your shirt like a bib (children excepted).


A Thanksgiving Sidedish


For the Love of Horses

by Liz Smith
One neigh or two, please

Princess Anne has two loves: children and horses. Her " hippomania" has won her many distinctions. Anne once said, "When I appear in public, people expect me to neigh, grind my teeth, paw the ground and swish my tail." At dinner she once talked about horses to a man on her left the entire night, ignoring the gent on her right completely. During coffee she asked the hapless fellow, "May I have the sugar, please?" The young man put two lumps on his palm, offering them to the Royal hippomane.



Splashdown: The late Princess Anne lands in the drink in 1982

Friday, November 6, 2009

Cakewalk: A book

The fine art of cake decorating is unveiled in a delicious book on baking, by Margaret Braun.

Margaret Braun



Cake detail: tiny citrus fruits & champagne grape clusters

Under the Royal Palms: Plastic Blue Flamingos

A few mango seasons ago in South Florida, my sister and I made a gingerbread Palm Beachesque cottage. Of course it had the requisite swimming pool (like the one in the picture) which we created by melting a blueberry jolly rancher in the microwave and pouring the mixture into the cottage's yard - a couple of tiny candy beach balls completed our tiny masterpiece.