This is a new year that feels a bit stale from the start because of the sour taste lingering from the one it follows. That is, for those still with the ability to taste. We are all struggling to find balance and peace and renewal. In what felt like a fitting mistake today, I lopped […]
Gwendolyn Brooks said, “We are each other’s magnitude and bond.” I’ve been reading a book about libraries, how vital these spaces are to community knowledge. Susan Orlean makes an argument that libraries are the way we live out our human desire to be immortal and connected. “If something you learn or observe or imagine can […]
”Nothing is happening,/ and yet what is being acted-out/ or proven right now, flamboyantly/ might just turn a corner/ and become the real thing.” Ralph Angel, Poetry 1987 Stagnancy isn’t really stillness; waiting isn’t a deferral. Purgatory isn’t just the space between a red light and a green—in that yellow light there is always a […]
O, that we could learn to camouflage with brightness day in and day out like the spring moth in New Orleans. Or that we could be so fearless in the face of predators. See me; I’m right here, living wild. May you eat as spicily as you live. This week’s work comes again from the […]
I could not think of a more perfect antithesis to the DIY ethos which dominates the blogosphere than the cancer experience. Cancer treatment is a season of not being able to do much of anything yourself. Really tough for the stubbornly independent. Therewith, giant, hard-to-swallow doses of humility have become the mainstay of my treatment […]
In New Orleans, I find that we pivot about Mardi Gras as the rest of the country pivots about New Years. The week after, we reset. I’ve gone back to yoga, to eating salads more days a week than not. I recommitted to self care. My friend Lucy and I completed the National Women’s Half […]
Mardi Gras season is here! The most wonderful time of the year in New Orleans! With parades every night of the week, the key to survival is remembering that Mardi Gras is a marathon, not a sprint. Same principles apply: good fuel, stay hydrated, and wear good shoes. I’ve got my bases covered. For shoes, […]
Heading to San Francisco this weekend with the Bake This Day team to enjoy the Winter Fancy Food Fest. Don’t worry, I’m bringing a king cake as my boarding pass. On the advent of this gargantuan Specialty Food Association extravaganza, I’ve been contemplating “What is fancy food?” Must it come from an exotic place? Must […]
Our sweet bulldog is now half-blind. In a Shakespearean twist, her eyeball had to come out last Tuesday. She is adjusting like a champ. We are resorting to pirate costumes to adjust ourselves, but she is in much less pain now without the tumor that had invaded the eye, and so we are grateful. She […]
Thunder is shaking the house. The summer skies are darkened with heavy clouds full of water that just started spilling over onto the rooftops. I’m watching rain pelt the roof of the bright orange house next door and feeling grateful for all in life that serves to cover and shelter us. At times I am […]