"Give a Piece a Chance." — Books. Blog. Pie Classes. And a Pinch of Activism.
I was sitting outside on my back patio this morning, drinking coffee in my pajamas when a group of women came around the corner. They were wearing name tags so I knew they were the visitors Molly (the American Gothic House Visitor Center administrator) had told me about when I saw her earlier while out … 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
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
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
I know I’m supposed to be on a Pie Tour of Iowa, but I couldn’t come to my home state without revisiting all the places I lived. Believe me, I will get to the pie but first, here’s a look at where it all started…. I’m torn about how to describe my roots. I am … Read more
On Saturday I was in the shower and looked down at my chest where I saw what looked like a small-but-dead black bug. After a second glance I realized, no, it was not an insect. It was a false eyelash that had come unglued from my eyelid. The sight made me laugh, in a disbelieving … Read more
Pie was not the only thing being judged at the Iowa State Fair. In between rounds of pie tasting I wandered over to the cattle barn, a place I clearly had a fascination with since I went there three times and always had a hard time extracting myself from the place. Inside the barn the … Read more
How does it work to be a pie judge at the Iowa State Fair? Let me walk you through the process from becoming a judge, to tasting the pie, to receiving a blue ribbon. First, you get “hired” by the Iowa State Fair Food Coordinator, Arlette Hollister. Arlette has held this position for 20-some years … Read more
August 19, 2010. The sun was shining, the humidity high, the heat penetrated the growing corn as I laid in bed in Des Moines, Iowa. I woke up at 8:03 and with my head still on the pillow I watched the digital clock as the numbers ticked by until they reached 8:36, which is 6:36 … Read more