About Me

Hi there,

I’m Christine and I live with my husband in a suburb of Washington, D.C. Our only son lives in a nearby town, although admittedly, on some days, he wishes it were a little less nearby. I am not a helicopter parent. I swear. Okay, maybe a little….

Writing is both a sanctuary and a bane for me. I’ve kept journals since my teens, have written professionally for the press, magazine articles, and all the marketing hoopla that comes with managing a busy nonprofit organization, which I do in my professional life.

In off hours, writing helps me sort things out in the way that running does for some people, I suppose. Except that going out for a run sounds exhausting and, for me, a lesson in spandex-humility. I think I’ll stick to writing for now.

Here you’ll find some humor, lots of DIY (we are on our third major home renovation project!), some politics (seriously, these days that stuff writes itself), links to interesting or funny bits I’ve come across in my reading, not a small bit of sports talk, and maybe some food porn. There may be a few rants on injustices, as well as a few bits and bobs about our travels. (I taught classes at our local university on how to travel frugally and even wrote a book on the subject several years ago. An unpublished book, mind you, but that is fodder for another day). My family and I go back to visit Ireland at least once a year – always wishing it were more. My love for my homeland runs deep and I’m a good source for answers to questions about the place. There may be a picture (or ten) of our visits back from time to time.

I completely understand my brand of politics may not be the same as yours, but I hope you’ll stay anyway. I find my life intersects with more people than I can imagine, and I am happily learning that we don’t have to run on parallel tracks to find some common ground.

I’m a football fan — on both continents. My dad played for the Philadelphia Eagles (I’ve lost half of you just by that admission, haven’t I?) as a scrub player back in the late 50s and early 60s. He is responsible for my obsession for the team and the sport. I fell in love with the other football, too, two World Cups ago and have been an avid fan ever since.

I’m a cook – and a good one, I think. I learned to cook from decades of lessons and from reading and collecting cookbooks. Oh, the cookbooks! My form of food porn, indeed and I have a collection that could rival a small-town library’s. I make a mean Coq au Vin and an impossibly delicious Boeuf Bourguignon, but, and here’s the kicker, I am a vegetarian. So, there’s that. Started as a sometime thing about two decades ago and morphed into a lifestyle — husband and son are, as well. Take a look at our picture – we’re not exactly poster children for the granola-eating world, are we?! On the whole, we prefer to eat meat-free in our home and whenever we dine out. You’ll find no preaching here, though — solemn promise!

So, what else should you know before you commit any more of your time here?

I love nature, but not all that tickled about being in nature. Huh?? Well, it starts with bugs. I hate them. I know they are good for our world — the whole circle of life thing, and I would indeed label myself an environmentalist, but I don’t want them around me. Not ants. Not bees. And most especially not spiders. I love to camp as long as it doesn’t involve sleeping in a tent. Or, for that matter, lying on the ground. You know, where spiders live. Also, I may have an irrational fear of bedbugs.

SO, that’s about it, in a very long nutshell. In all seriousness, I hope you find a kindred spirit in reading some of this stuff and if you have a moment, I welcome your feedback.

Christine