à la carte spirit by ilona fried
ilona fried
Knitting as Zen Practice
For years, I’ve had a knotty relationship with knitting. As a teenager, I envied friends who, having learned the skill from their mothers, aunts or grandmothers, whipped up scarves and sweaters. In my freshman year at college, I decided to learn, and took a lesson at a yarn shop down the road from my suburban … Continue reading
Quoth the Maven, “Yelp No More.”
I wrote my first Yelp review in November 2007. I had such a disappointing experience at a reputable frame shop near Boston that I needed to – politely – let off steam. I penned a second review of another business a few months later. But my Yelping didn’t take off in earnest until I was … Continue reading
Taking Stock at the Stock Show
For a few weeks every January, the Denver Coliseum hosts the National Western Stock Show, a celebration of livestock and the men, women and children who tend them. When I first moved here, the event sparked both curiosity and aversion. Having never been to a stock show, I wondered what it was all about. At … Continue reading
Zen Moment: Tea House Turnabout
Last week I stopped at a Denver tea house to write. Expecting to stay a while, I ordered the tea service which, the menu said, included a full pot and a treat. That turned out to be a handful of mouthwatering Earl Grey cookies. The cheerful employee delivered it all to my table on a … Continue reading
Born Again. Die Again. Repeat.
The Camino offered opportunities to experience the full arc of a day, a subtle but profound satisfaction I’ve been missing. When I began the pilgrimage in early October, the sun didn’t rise until after 8 a.m. That it was still dark so “late” was, at first, disconcerting but it meant I was already moving when … Continue reading
à la carte spirit by ilona fried 
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