Author Archives: Silver in the Barn

About Silver in the Barn

Life in a 1915 farmhouse in Central Virginia. And the odd thought or two.

Elbows Off The Table

Posted on January 24, 2018

  “If your mother serves fried combat boot, you kids will eat it.” Thus ended any potential debate on the edibility factor of canned beets and succinctly describes the negotiation-free tone of my childhood. We were five kids who held … Continue reading →

Posted in Random Ruminations | Tagged , , , , , | 37 Comments

“When Books Went to War”

Posted on December 29, 2017

I read literature because I find traces of my private self within its pages. All my qualities -admirable and abundantly less so – are there, and in recognizing them I feel a lovely sense of relief that I’m not entirely … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, History | Tagged | 46 Comments

For Better or Worse…

Posted on November 6, 2016

His books, his booze, his Brooks Brothers shirts are all at home, but he is not. In their eighties, my once inseparable parents have been wrenched apart, physically anyway, by the disabling symptoms of Parkinson’s. Dad is in a veterans’ … Continue reading →

Posted in Random Ruminations, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | 85 Comments

Kyoto Syndrome

Posted on August 7, 2015

You’ve heard of “Paris Syndrome?” Often exhibited by the Japanese, it is a condition of anxiety bordering on hysteria upon realizing they have fallen prey to an extreme case of false advertising. Far from the romantic image portrayed in “An American in Paris” and … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Food, Travel | Tagged , , , , , , , | 126 Comments

Leaving On A Jet Plane

Posted on June 5, 2015

Cue the Peter, Paul & Mary. Or better yet John Denver. He wrote the song, you know, even though we often associate it with the former. This hilariously dated hippie-dippie video is completely redeemed once John and Cass Elliot start singing. What glorious … Continue reading →

Posted in Travel | Tagged , , , , , , | 111 Comments

Defending the Chamois

Posted on May 30, 2015

The extraterrestrial has moved from the gardener to the blogger. If the gardener baffled, the blogger bewilders. Once again the Human Ambassador is summoned. ET: Why is the blogger frustrated and unhappy? HA: She feels pressure to remove some favorite things from her writing. ET: … Continue reading →

Posted in Humor, Random Ruminations | Tagged , , , , , | 163 Comments

Just Say Yes

Posted on May 22, 2015

Five Photos, Five Stories #5 Saying “yes” is easy, I suppose, to the extrovert. Not so much for those of us of a more introverted nature. It’s not that we’re anti-social….exactly….but it takes more of an effort to mentally gear … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Challenges | Tagged , , , , , | 106 Comments