Kate's Blog

The Amish's work ethic is one of their traits I admire the most. Very rarely are Amish hands idle, especially those living and working on farms or running small businesses. Not that I believe a person's day must be inundated with activity. In fact, it seems some...

Is there a class called Organization 101? I need it! I realize there are compulsively neat individuals who are unhappy, and I don't wish to make light of them. But I'm not one and have even considered hiring someone to help me get organized. Day after day, letters and...

Please help me welcome author Hillary Manton Lodge. How would you categorize your new book? I call it contemporary women’s fiction with a foodie twist – that’s the shorter answer. A Table by the Window has a little bit of everything – there’s romance, there’s...

"What would the Amish be doing?" my husband asked me when I told him I didn't want to watch TV after we'd finished eating. "They'd be sprucing up the kitchen," I said, glancing into the gloomy dark sky. "By hand, no dishwasher." I neglected to mention that I'd slumped...

“You were a baby, and I wrapped you in a yellow and white quilt,” Mum says, sitting there on the couch in her pink sweater, her cheeks rosy, the Olympics on the television. Grandma’s sister made it, and it was folded in a box when we flew to Nigeria, Africa, those two...

The Amish do not observe Advent or Lent, but Easter is given special emphasis, minus all the trappings of the English world. Easter may or may not fall on a preaching Sunday. (every other week) Apparently some Amish families color eggs, but the Easter Bunny is not...

Every time my husband walks into my craft room, he pauses at the doorway and shakes his head. I can hear his sigh and see his fingers twitch as he longs to start organizing. Let me introduce myself – my name is Lisa-Ann and I am a fabric hoarder. But even if there...

Years ago, I injured my hand while pruning. I felt pain, but did that stop me? No. I continued my humongous yard cleanup project until my thumb throbbed. In my misery, I saw a physical therapist specializing in hands, who said my wrist was the culprit-not carpel...