Debby Does…

Category: Uncategorized

  • We need to talk…

    Look, I don’t want to be the gal yelling at kids to get off her lawn or shaking my figurative finger at everyone all the time, but it’s time to talk turkey about behavior at the theater. I have ranted and raved on this topic before, but I believe, post…

  • Old soul, simple pleasures

    I’m sitting at my desk with a Mary Hoyer doll to my right. She belonged to my mom, purchased on the boardwalk in Ocean City, New Jersey, when she was a wee girl. She is well loved, though in need of some “work.” At some point, my mom decided to…

  • The power of soup

    It’s a pretty gloomy day here, as I get myself moving, slowly. The coming forecast seems to hold a lot of days like this. I suppose that is the price we pay for pending spring. My daffodils sure think so. Yesterday, I felt, as my mom would have said, really…

  • Two types of people

    When it comes to preparing for travel, there are two types of people: The Debby types, who start packing and unpacking and making lists and planning for every possible scenario. And, the other types, who shove it all in a duffle bag or suitcase, letting the wind take them as…

  • Sanibel Soul

    In 1978, we embarked on our first road trip to Sanibel with my grandparents in the aforementioned station wagon. It’s possible this trip was combined with a Disney adventure, but that part is foggy. The Sanibel bit is crystal clear. My grandparents spent their winters on the island, shelling and…

  • Shake It Up!

    Without taking you on a very long journey through my life, I’ll encapsulate a time that absolutely sucked, so that we can get on to the good stuff.   Everybody had a shitty 2020-2021; and we took shittiness to a new level during those days.  We kicked off 2020 with a…

  • To heart or not to heart

    On this chilly Valentine’s Day morning, I find myself sitting in my sunny office—the room that has become my very favorite in this house that we bought after seeing it for 10 minutes, in 2021 during a crazy real estate boom.  I love my desk that sits right across from…

  • Stuck on Sally

    My maternal grandmother, Sarah Elizabeth Castle Israel—Sally, was quite a character.  A beautiful, smart, funny, creative, hardworking, pragmatic, and loving woman, she battled her weight and depression throughout her life. Even though I surely didn’t understand it as a child, I always knew that my granny was sometimes unpredictable but…

  • Men Like This

    I love cookbooks.  I don’t know why, but I do.  I have a zillion (please don’t give me any more), and I find them fascinating, especially vintage cookbooks.  I pored over my mom’s, looking at the pictures and imagining the lifestyle that would allow me to cook those meals.  One…

  • Chips are life.

    While I have always loved the potato chip, until I met my husband, I didn’t understand their importance in my life.  There’s rarely a wrong time for chips. And, there are certain meals that simply cannot be eaten without chip accompaniment. This is the Gospel of Jim. When I come home with them…