The madeleine Blog

@Vanity Fair Last week, on a day when I was supposed to go to the library but ended up staying home after taking a quick look out my window – snow? sleet? rain? The darkest of skies, whatever it was, - I found myself eating lunch shortly before 2 pm, just in time for Fresh Air .   I love Fresh Air and Terry Gross and used to be a regular listener, a good twenty years ago. I remember listening while making dinner, after a long day in the library. Those days when I would spend

As you may have figured, the title of this post does not refer to any kind of real-life situation. It is, I am sorry to say, purely aspirational. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be writing about it, three weeks – or is it four? - after my last post.     There was a time, a couple of years ago, when I committed to publishing a post every Thursday. I think I stuck to it for a while. I remember being quite consistent last year. Not including summers, family disruptions or any kind of scho

I have decided to be revolutionary today and to write a pumpkin post a few days before Halloween. It is so groundbreaking, I might suffocate. What can I do? Inspiration has been hard to come by lately, and whenever I feel compelled to sit at my computer and break free of my family to-do list for a minute or two (Thanksgiving break! Christmas break! Nutcracker tickets that will be rare and overpriced because I should have done it two months ago! Birthday gifts for the 17-year-

It has been so hard to concentrate lately. When I say lately, I mean the past three months. Or the past seventeen years, really. My oldest child will turn seventeen next week. And it has been about that long that I have owned a smartphone, I believe. Does it really matter who the culprit is? Children, modern technology, perimenopause, an undiagnosed ADHD? Who knows. All I can see is that it has become almost impossible for me to sit down at my laptop and STAY THERE for more t

It sure looks like the entire summer went by without a post. Again. And then I wonder why I am not more accomplished, a wonder CEO of...

It feels strange saying it, after complaining for so many weeks – or months? But I am feeling okay. With my house almost empty and a...

@MadeleineDiaries Relief has finally come, in the form of a lake. I might stop whining for a while. It took a few days, but I am now...

©TheMadeleineDiaries That’s it, the kids are gone. Three of them at least. Which, out of four, makes a big difference in the house as you...

As you might have gathered from my last post , I am not exactly going through a season of bliss, motherhood-wise. I have been feeling...

The dreaded mom’s to-do list has been growing so fast lately, I’m not even sure how to catch up. I keep reminding myself that this is...

I mentioned anxiety around my high-schooler’s tests last week, and I am sorry to report that symptoms have not improved. The fact that he...

I am afraid this post will be even less ambitious than the unambitious plan that half-formed in my brain over the weekend. I thought I...

©TheMadeleineDiaries I confess to feeling quite stumped, and not really knowing what to write about. I know that it’s Thursday afternoon,...

I am not the most natural hostess. I think I’ve already said that, maybe several times. If so, I apologize. As much as I love a good...

Well, I did not end up cooking on Easter in the end. And it turned out, this was exactly what I needed. I had found myself craving...

I am not sure yet whether I will be cooking for Easter this year. I just came back from France and didn’t plan anything before leaving....

©️TheMadeleineDiaries Well, after complaining for several weeks about how much I missed home, I ended up going back for the children’s...

Things have been tough around here lately. It’s nothing new but I have been missing home keenly over the past few days, or maybe even...

I don’t feel much inspired today, and nothing really came up for me over the past week, cooking wise or otherwise. It’s been one of those...

It might not have escaped you that my last post did not include a recipe. And was just some weird rant about a difficult week and a...