Gifts of time and love are surely the basic ingredients of a truly merry Christmas.

It is a rare expert who clearly realizes how inexpert someone else can be.

many people choose, early on, their own truths from the large smorgasbord available. And once they've chosen them, for good reason or no reason, they then proceed rather selectively, wisely gathering whatever will bolster them or at least carry out the color scheme.

As millions of women have done before me, I pulled domesticity over my head like a blanket and found I was still cold.

What most of us are after, when we have a picture taken, is a good natural-looking picture that doesn't resemble us.

There was something immensely comforting, I found, about a crumpet - so comforting that I've never forgotten about them and have even learned to make them myself against those times when I have no other source of supply.

On their return from a trip, it is wise to see friends promptly, before they've had time to get their pictures developed.