"Give a Piece a Chance." — Books. Blog. Pie Classes. And a Pinch of Activism.
I am rushing out the door to the Iowa State Fair this morning. Seems I am always rushing these days between the demands of the Pitchfork Pie Stand, my ongoing book edits (one more round to go), entertaining a steady stream of house guests, and caring for my two dogs. How I’ve managed to create … Read more
My friends Sam and Lisa and their two kids (ages 8 and 12) visited from San Francisco last week. I gave them what has become the standard Southeast Iowa tour for all my house guests (and, oh, I have had many this summer). As we drove from place to place, through the wide open fields … Read more
It’s a weird and heart-wrenching business, this online dating thing. And I’m not comfortable going into much more detail about it, but since I’ve whetted your appetites and you all seem so damn curious now, I’ll feed your ravenous, voyeuristic curiosity a little more. But only a little. And then I will have to stop. … Read more
After crying all day Saturday over Marcus and what would have been – SHOULD have been – his 45th birthday this past weekend, I decided it’s time. It’s time to stop wallowing in the past and bravely, boldly embrace the future. What I’m trying to say is two years after Marcus’ passing, it’s time to … Read more
I had an old boyfriend who insisted that in his house he would hang only original art. This guy wasn’t an artist, and he was broke, but by god he wasn’t going to have any cheap posters adorning his living room walls. Even if they represented Picasso or Matisse. I remember rolling my eyes at … Read more
As 2010 draws to a close I would be remiss not to mention the things that helped get me through the year, my sources of survival, salves in the continuing healing of my grief. Looking back, there were many people (Alison, Nan, Melissa, Stacy, Sylvia, Susan my grief counselor, and yes, even Mr. X), places … Read more
For Christmas, my mom gave me pajamas. These were not your ordinary pajamas. They were not from Victoria’s Secret or Gap Body or Soma. These were bright pink fleece with a dog appliqué on the chest. So far, not soooo bad. I love pink. I love fleece. I love dogs. But the pjs were a … Read more
Eldon Postmaster, the ever-smiling and compassionate Kathy I made it to the post office with Marcus’ coat and bike jacket. Barely. The packages had sat on my desk for several days but I hadn’t sealed them. So before I strapped the tape on the Priority Mail packaging that held the coat and bike jacket I stuck … Read more
I’ve been spending a lot of time in my basement lately. Why? Because it’s zero degrees outside, my basement is dry and spacious, and Marcus bought a bicycle trainer before he died and I figured I could put it to use. A trainer is a bike stand in which you hook up your rear tire … Read more
When I was 22 I took a career interest test. I had always wanted to be a writer but my parents didn’t consider writing a real job. But if not a writer then what would I be when I grew up? In a fit of desperation to find out I consulted a career counselor. The … Read more