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

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 … Read more

Resurfacing…in Los Angeles

No sooner did I finish the first draft of my manuscript for MAKING PIECE, I looked up from my laptop and realized three months had passed. Spring had arrived. The snow had melted, buds were popping out on the trees, the grass had turned vibrant green and my nice neighbor Don Eakins had come over … Read more

A Life of Contrasts

One of the qualities I pride myself on is my range of adaptability. I am equally at home camping in the wilderness (with no toilet or shower for days!) as I am staying in five-star hotels (soaking in a Jacuzzi bath and ordering room service). Marcus shared this love of contrasts and we even had … Read more

First Pie Made in the RV

I’m still in LA and though I have a 1,000-mile drive back to Portland awaiting me this week I didn’t mind making a 120-mile round-trip drive to Faria Beach this past weekend to take my friend Christine (pictured below) on her first RV road trip adventure. In fact, the weekend was one of many firsts.It … Read more

Lights! Camera! Action!

The shoot for the pie TV pilot begins tomorrow. In all the preparation I contacted many different pie shops for permission to film and to arrange interviews with their pie bakers. All that talk of pie made me hungry. So when the end of my conversation with the owner of Apple Pan, one of Los … Read more

Don’t Get Mad, Get Busy

Things went from bad to worse at the dog park this week. The woman with the three big dogs was there again, and AGAIN they came toward us, surrounded us, and provoked another attack. But this time I was prepared. I had brought my dad, and we were both armed with big sticks — more … Read more

Signs of Pie in LA

Today is the first day of my second week in Los Angeles. I woke up with a premonition that something bad might happen to my dog, so I spent 15 extra minutes in bed snuggling with Jack before taking him to the dog park. We usually have the park all to ourselves in the mornings, … Read more