
The Essence of Home What felt lost was actually here all along By Jennifer Bringle The holiday season always makes the absence of someone you love more pronounced. The sharpness of the hole they’ve left in your heart — whether fresh or a cavern that grows deeper — seems craggier, more dangerous with each […]

Praise be to Eggnog A perennial holiday favorite By Noah Salt The leftover candy supply from Halloween had barely dwindled when the wife returned from the grocery store with a coy smile on her face. “Guess what I got you?” she teased. “I can’t believe they have it this early!” Before I could reply, […]

A Winter’s Walk Snapshots of this snow-laced season By Lynn Donovan Winter. The very word brings a chill to the air. The trees are bare. Birds and critters search for food and shelter. The cold brings skies as blue as you’ve ever seen or, sometimes, icy rain and even snow. Notice how the sun […]

Rain Man And the stuff that deferred dreams are made of By Nancy Oakley The handle of the snow shovel had rubbed blisters on my thumbs as I stood in ankle-deep water, bailing gallons from spring’s continuous déluge swirling in my father’s basement workshop. It is part of an addition to the house that […]

The Art of the Tart America’s melting pot gave us melt-in- your-mouth apple pie By Noah Salt Every year, as surely as leaves fall and the temperatures drop, my wife the baker goes into serious apple pie—making mode. Quite rightfully she’s known for her spectacular cake- and bread-making prowess. But in terms of […]

A Touch of Hollywood A Contemporary Gem in New Sherwood Forest By Noah Salt Every now and then we come across a house that leaves us politely gobsmacked in the best sense of the word. Such is the case at 853 Buttonwood Drive in Winston-Salem’s leafy New Sherwood Forest neighborhood, a stunning contemporary home […]

Confessions of a Horticulturist One man’s lifelong passion for growing things By Phil Koch As a young boy, gardening was not last on my mind. It wasn’t even on the list. The first backyard I ever had was concrete. It was four flights down. No trees to be seen anywhere. Central Park was the nearest […]

Mulch Ado Or, a buried life By Noah Salt Every year about this time — late winter, early spring — trucks towing flatbeds of pine needles begin to appear like clockwork, roaming the neighborhood in search of customers who wish to bury their trees and flowerbeds with blankets of longleaf pine needles. Keep in mind […]

Mayor’s Manse A historic home is a microcosm of Winston-Salem heritage By Nancy Oakley If the walls of 1121 Arbor Road could talk, they’d divulge so much about the golden past of Winston-Salem. To a casual onlooker, the sprawling, two-story structure resembles many of its gracious counterparts in the Twin City’s leafy old Buena Vista […]