Need Hope? Jane Goodall Will Give You Some
This post originally aired as a commentary on Tri States Public Radio. To listen, go here. Author E.B. White once said, “I get up every morning determined to both change the world and have one hell of a good time. Sometimes this makes planning my day difficult.” For me, planning my day is never the […]
How I’m Dealing with the Pandemic (And Other Anxieties)
I want to get back to being a writer, to writing the book I started in early December, or to scrapping that and starting a new one, even just to blogging, but I’m too restless. Like most people, I am sitting in a prickly pear cactus field of fear and anxiety. With the world as […]
World Piece: A Humble, Homemade Film About Making Pie Around the World
During the summer of 2015, I traveled around the world making pie in 9 countries. At long last, I have gotten the story down, but not on paper as you would expect. Instead, I taught myself how to edit a film using iMovie. Forgive my amateur skills, but like I always say about making pie: […]
For the Love — and Grief — of Goats
Mr. Friendly, Mamacita & Chaps asking, “Yo! Where’s our breakfast?” Three weeks ago, on a Sunday morning, I went out to the barn, as I do every morning, to feed the goats. The three of them—Mamacita, Mr. Friendly and Chaps—are normally waiting at the gate, having already been staring at the house with anticipation upon […]
The World Needs More People Like Ann
My friend Ann is dying. She had breast cancer about 10 years ago but it came back. In her spine. Containable but not curable, the drugs held it back for about a year or two. I hadn’t talked to her for a while and last fall I had a very strong sense that I needed […]
The Book That Doesn’t Want to Be Born…Yet
The photo to the left (it’s a Bitmoji) is me. It’s me and it sums up everything I am feeling right now about writing my American Gothic House memoir. I am trying to get my story down — my whole story — about my four years of misadventures living in a rural Iowa tourist attraction. […]
Bread Making Class: When the Teacher Becomes the Student
The Pie Lady goes to bread school. On Saturday I took an artisanal bread making class. I have been teaching baking classes for the past 11 years, not the student of them. But I believe in continuing education, in stretching, growing and expanding. I hunger for new information, crave new ideas and skills, and I’m […]
Taos: Making Friends with the Locals
During my recent weeklong Taos Writers Retreat I skipped the scheduled morning dance sessions. Free-form dancing in a group is waaaay too far out of my comfort zone, even though Jen insisted everyone keeps their eyes closed so no one is watching you. Instead, I walked a few blocks from the Mabel Dodge Luhan House […]
The Women’s March on Washington: Just Go
Ready for Washington.“I am woman, hear me roar.” I hate crowds. I avoid rock concerts and rallies. I shy away from situations or gatherings that might put me in harm’s way. Especially now, in today’s increasingly violent, gun-toting, backpack-bombing atmosphere, previously safe situations like going to an airport or a nightclub or a marathon have […]