On Every Street

By Judith Garfield

On almost every street in Manhattan you can buy fruit, vegetables, souvlaki, earrings, socks, batteries, and pashminas. On my street/dirt road, I can buy honey and eggs. Self service. Take your honey and leave your money in the coffee can. And although I know local honey has properties that will help my allergies, I miss those earrings.

How did I get here? Here are the facts.

1. I met my husband when we were 16 at the Jersey shore
2. He drove without a license. It should have raised a red flag
3. It didn’t
4. We’re still together
5. We raised two beautiful daughters in Manhattan and I never had any inclination to move
6. I live in New Jersey
7. On a horse farm
8. In a charming old farmhouse (so my husband tells me)
9. In a charming town (charm is highly overrated)
10. Where no one will deliver dinner to me

If I want to eat, I have to drive. It’s twenty minutes to a banana. I always buy too many and watch them languish on the windowsill. I really wanted to give you a recipe for honey banana bread, but there was just too much mixing and measuring involved for the loveless cook.

So instead here’s a great idea for a relaxing beauty treatment. An egg and honey mask. You will need
* 1 egg
* 1 tsp. honey
* 1 tsp. olive oil

Mix one egg yolk, one tsp of honey, and a tsp. of olive oil. Smooth on and leave for fifteen minutes. Rinse in lukewarm water and pat dry.


My skin is soft and glowing. I look radiant and youthful. S. is taking care of dinner tonight so I can relax. I make a pot of coffee and gaze out at my lovely farm/money pit.

I feel content.

Until I realize I’m out of half and half.