"Give a Piece a Chance." — Books. Blog. Pie Classes. And a Pinch of Activism.
Making pie always makes me feel better. Which is why I’m making a pie tonight. Apple. I’m making the pie because my neighbor yelled at me, more like shrieked actually, because my two little terriers had walked on her lawn. She came rushing out at me through her front door in a wild panic. “Get … Read more
No one told me when I rented the American Gothic House that I was going to get corralled into doing things out of my normal scope of life. But then moving from Portland, Oregon to Eldon, Iowa (pop. 967) and into a house listed on the National Register of Historic Places was already way out of my … Read more
This is how my day in Eldon, Iowa started today. Molly Moser — who is not only the new museum curator/American Gothic House Center administrator but also a fabulously talented artist with a sense of humor as dry as vermouth — called me my from the parking lot in front of my house on my Los Angeles cell phone … Read more
This is Chloe, age nine, with me in front of my new house, the American Gothic House. Chloe is my new pal, and also a kindred spirit. She is tough and feminine. She climbs trees and wants to be a fashion model. She catches frogs and has Justin Bieber posters hanging next to her all-pink … Read more
You’ve seen the shots of people posing with the pitchfork with the American Gothic House in the background, but here’s a new perspective. This is what I see when I look out my kitchen window. Three couples, dressed in the free costumes provided by the American Gothic House Center, lined up to have their photos … Read more
No sooner did I complain about how hard it’s been to clean this house (again, my apologies for venting) help arrived!Carrie Teninity (pictured above left) is many things. She is City Clerk for the City of Eldon. She is caretaker of the American Gothic House grounds, where she can be seen weekly maneuvering her John … Read more
My apologies for my absence here but I have been busy cleaning my new house. The American Gothic House hasn’t been lived in for two years and given that the place doesn’t require a cleaning deposit it appears the last tenant took advantage of this little loophole. She packed up her belongings but didn’t scrub … Read more
Sometimes you come to a fork in the road where you are forced to make a decision about which way to go, and the direction you choose can forever change your life. When I met Marcus in 2001 I was on a road trip from California to Oregon and saw a sign for Crater Lake … Read more