Barbara Samuel O'Neal is the author of more than thirty award-winning novels, including THE LOST RECIPE FOR HAPPINESS and

The Secret of Everything
The Secret of Everything

A native of Colorado, Barbara loves teaching, travel, reading, writing, yoga, walking, food, cooking, photography and...okay, reality television.

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The Lost Art of Family Dinners

Dinner in Suburbia by Make Less Noise

When I was a child, we ate dinner together nearly every night. I did not necessarily love the whole ritual, especially when my mother made hamburger pie, covered with mashed potatoes, or when I was in trouble for one thing or another (which was a lot), but [...]

The Practice of Giving Something Up

Today is Ash Wednesday, the day that marks the opening day of Lent, a period of atonement and abstention in the Christian, particularly Catholic, tradition.  Although I no longer attend Catholic masses or actively practice many of the traditions, Lent still seems to me to be a powerful time to practice mindfulness, to notice what excesses [...]

A sweet bow from her shy petals

One of my great desires has always been to have a greenhouse.  In a corner of my dining room is a small conservatory, a Victorian imitation, and within are a cyclamen and African violets.  This morning, this cyclamen was blooming and I spent an hour admiring it, shooting the light on its petals, diving into [...]

Pancake kisses, bacon hugs

THE SECRET OF EVERYTHING is out today! To celebrate, a love song to breakfast.

PANCAKE KISSES, BACON HUGS

Why breakfast is the secret of everything

I suppose I should confess upfront that I am a morning person. I wake up cheery, chatty and at the very first fingers of sunlight creeping over the horizon. I [...]

The tipping point for e-readers

I remember standing at a publisher cocktail party years ago, talking with a publicist about electronic books, and she was shaking her head firmly, saying that e-books were still a non-issue.  At the time, I was utterly hooked on Mario for GameBoy (the original, clunky, white one) and I made the case for a reader [...]

Right brain book building

My youngest son has a cat named Knucks, a long legged and elegant creature who must be coaxed and seduced into letting me play with him or pet him.  He will play, he wants to play, and he especially wants me to rub his long black nose so he can purr almost silently, nose buried [...]

The Ancient One

My old dog and her favorite thing…a fresh [...]

Gifts of summer: Peaches, green beans and a ghost

Around here, we’ve been mellow.  Haven’t gone back yet to my usual schedule–the girls and my brain needed a rest.  I’ve been haunting the farmer’s markets, gardening, going to Nia, and working with the bounty from summer gardens.  Don’t you love summer food? 

One day this week, I ambled around the markets, picking up plums and [...]

Wordless evening

 

Today's harvest

There’s just something so elemental about going outside and picking a handful of strawberries and tomatoes.  I also harvested a couple of raspberries. 

It’s not quite the garden I hoped for this summer, but it’s a start.