The Uniqueness of Pie…and People
Like a Miss America pageant, only pie. I had forgotten what an individual expression pie can be. I get so used to making my same old classic apple pie, stuck on my soapbox preaching “keep it simple” and “I don’t like to have to follow a recipe.” Apple is certainly delicious pie, but when I […]
A Good Reason to Wear Orange
Jack & Daisy. “We’re dogs, not deer. Please don’t shoot us.” I used to live in Venice, California in a neighborhood referred to as “The Hood.” A transitional neighborhood, this is an area where young hipsters can afford to buy fixer-uppers, nudging gang members out of their dwellings, one half-a-million-dollar house at a time. Even […]
Happy 75th Birthday to the Hippest, Coolest Mom Ever
Today is my mom’s 75th birthday. I would be in Los Angeles celebrating with her, but instead I am in New Orleans attending the American Booksellers Association Winter Conference as a guest author. I feel very privileged to have been invited to this conference, but I feel even more privileged to have been raised by […]
The Birthing Process of a Book
Get this thing out of me already! I’ve never had a baby but I can only imagine it is similar to getting a book published. You conceive the idea, the seed is fertilized, and after some weeks of development, you are shopping around the proposal. Once it sells and you have the book contract it’s […]
Iowa Caucus Mania
In spite of this brilliant parody by Mike Luckovich, I was surprised that none of the politicians showed up on my doorstep. They missed an ideal photo op! I maintain that pie is not about politics. “Pie is non-partisan,” I have been known to insist. “It is meant to be shared, to build community, and spread good […]
Starting the Year with an Empty Box
Instead of making New Year’s resolutions, I decided to tackle a few projects — the ones I’ve had on my To Do list for way too long — and get them done BEFORE the New Year. One of the big ones was emptying my “Box From Hell.” This was a cardboard box that contained the […]
Grief: A Progress Report
Eldon, Iowa’s McHaffey Opera House Thrift Store transforms into a magical “Winter Wanderland” at Christmas —but what did they do with all of Marcus’ clothes? With the holidays here again (my, how fast a year goes by!) and H gone for good, I’ve been experiencing a collision of past and present. As I try to make sense […]
Unveiling my Book Cover!
Here it is, the final design for the hard cover book jacket of “Making Piece: A Memoir of Love, Loss and Pie.” But wait, there’s more. Check out the back! It reads: “Beth Howard describes with warmth and wit how the bitter events in life are set off by the sweet ones — much like […]
Even If You Don’t Feel Like It, Make Gratitude Pie
Some of you know that H and I broke up. Some of you know that because I posted a blog last week telling the somber, gut-twisting story about how he drove away leaving behind only tire tracks in the snow and how I stood there sobbing in my bathrobe and boots, and how I spent […]
Pie and the Operating Room
I was just in LA for a medical treatment. Nothing major, just a part of a body part needed to be removed. I wouldn’t normally write about such matters (then again, I write about every other private and personal matter), but pie features prominently so I couldn’t pass up sharing this funny tale of my […]