"Give a Piece a Chance." — Books. Blog. Pie Classes. And a Pinch of Activism.

A Question of Privacy

I know you keep coming back here to see if I’ve updated my blog. I know this because many of you have sent me emails telling me so and subsequently asking, practically demanding, when I’m going to update my blog. I know, I know, I promised months ago – right before Labor Day to be … Read more

Pie Poetry by Bill Graeser

Saying goodbye to the RV, with Bill behind the wheel.I immediately returned to my pie duties in the kitchen. In July, I sent The Beast to summer camp for a week. Actually it was RAGBRAI, the week-long bike ride across Iowa. Des Moines Register columnist Kyle Munson had asked if he and his “Team Sauerkraut” … Read more

I Miss Being a Writer

When I moved into the American Gothic House I thought it would be a good place to write. And it was. I wrote “Making Piece: A Memoir of Love, Loss and Pie” my first winter here. Winter being the operative word. Winters in Eldon, Iowa are supremely quiet, void of tourists and ideal for holing … Read more

CBS THIS MORNING did a story on me!

I have so much more to say about this experience, about having a TV crew in my house for three days while trying to make 100 pies, about the TV correspondent Michelle Miller pitching in and peeling 43 pounds of apples, about producer Chris Weicher sitting in my living room with her camera rolling and … Read more

Life After the RV Book Tour

A lot has happened since my last post, nearly a month ago. Last you heard from me I was driving in The Beast from Southern California to Texas (after surviving not one but two trips to the emergency room). After that 3-day drive from LA (with the help of “Saint Paul” Szendrey), I arrived in Austin, … Read more