Margaret Kirkland, who participated in this year’s Southern Living Idea House, is an interior designer based in Atlanta.  Known for her timeless interiors, she has been named a Next Wave designer by House Beautiful and best 15 under 40 by Atlanta Homes and Lifestyles Magazine. Kirkland works on projects throughout the East Coast and abroad […]

The director of the public library in Thorntown, Indiana, extended a job offer this week to a stray ginger tabby cat named Chance. He is to replace Tober, a much-loved library cat who died last fall after seven loyal years of service in the stacks. Meanwhile, a thousand miles away in White Settlement, Texas, fur […]

A few months ago, a friend of mine was sharing her introvert guilt, explaining that she hates events at her daughter’s school where she has to make small talk. I told her I sympathize because I am an introvert, too. She responded with, “I figured you were. You spend every day with imaginary worlds and […]

I just watched my beloved, treasured, magical, sharp and thoughtful 12-year-old struggle to open a CD case for a full 20 seconds. He stared at it, fidgeted with each edge and then fought with the wrong side. He pushed on the black spine, trying, I’m guessing, to activate some secret spring-release mechanism. He flipped it […]

Summertime and the living is easy. Unless, of course, you live in Maine, and then someone is always stopping by for a visit. It’s life in “Vacationland” and you’re the host of somebody else’s vacation. How do you prepare for the unexpected guests who drop in while driving by? If you’re Heidi Klingelhofer, the owner […]

Twin Cities native Ayumi Horie has been around the world sharing her artistry and expertise in pottery. She was recently awarded a $50,000 Distinguished Fellow grant from the United States Artists; given to the most accomplished and innovative artists in their field, only three other Mainers have received the award. Horie, who now lives in […]

The Fourth of July is one of America’s beloved holidays. Combine the abundance of food, great company and the celebration of the United States as a new nation, and you have the perfect makings for a memorable party. And there is one more element in the July 4th merriment not to forget: drinks. Elaine Spugnardi […]

Travis Springer, an English teacher at a Washington language institute, was outside drinking coffee with a friend the other day when he was asked an unusual question, but one that divides folks nationwide: Which is better, automatic or manual flush toilets? Springer criticized automatic-flush toilets on the basis of their “weird timing.” The indictment was […]