Fire Pits on the Beach: Sand Is Not a Free Pass
I was standing on a beach in South County a few Octobers back, at the point in the evening where the sky goes that particular shade of purple that makes…
Sideboards in Commander: The Rules Question
The reputation goes like this: Commander doesn’t have sideboards, full stop, end of conversation, don’t even bring it up unless you want someone at the table to explain the Comprehensive…
Lava Rock in a Fire Pit
Lava rock has a reputation problem, and it is entirely the fault of every 1970s gas grill photograph ever taken. Say the words “lava rock” to most people and they…
Chimineas and Charcoal: Heat and Clay
I checked the smart plug data for the porch string lights the other night, mostly procrastinating on grading, and worked backward from it to figure out how many nights I’d…
Gas Patio Heaters Indoors: I Would Not
I was standing on my back porch steps last November, in two coats and the fingerless gloves my mother thinks are ridiculous, dragging our propane patio heater six feet closer…
Ceramic Vases and Hairline Cracks
I was standing at the sideboard on a Sunday evening, the one that belonged to my grandmother and has survived two moves, a flood in 2019, and one memorable Thanksgiving…
Chimineas on Wood Decks: Tall, Top Heavy and Spark Prone
Everyone talks about chimineas like they’re the polite, contained cousin of a fire pit. Something you can tuck into a corner of a deck, light with one match, and forget…
Candles in the Bedroom: Cozy Habit or Bad Idea?
Fran was staying over for a conference at Brown, sleeping in my spare room, which in a hundred and thirty year old triple-decker means sleeping approximately four feet from whatever…
Sizing a Lampshade by Eye and by Ruler
I got my first lampshade rule from a laminated card that came free with a lamp base I bought at a yard sale in Pawtucket for eight dollars. The card…
A TV on a Sideboard: Convenient or Awkward?
My sister walked into the living room in October, took one look at the television sitting on top of my new (to me) sideboard, and said, “That looks like the…