Without Her The morning is cold, with snow and bluster. It’s January 1st, 2019, my second New Year’s Day in a world without my older sister. After a remission of ten years, into which she crammed more travel and … Continue reading →
During melon season, these crescents of beauty often greet me in the morning. My husband is an early riser and a carpenter to boot. Luckily for me, he has a sense of harmony and order not confined to his … Continue reading →
Eggs march up, down, and sideways on the cover of Elaine Scarry’s little book “On Beauty and Being Just.” None of them are exactly alike. And it’s precisely these slight differences in size, pattern and color which keep our eyes … Continue reading →
I’m all in favor of volunteering. It brings you free access to plays and concerts if you do your gig at a theater, and that good feeling of being of service to others or actually saving lives if you … Continue reading →
I’m not fit to spend time with grown-ups. For the past few weeks I’ve been spending at least an hour a day washing rocks. By hand. In a smallish blue plastic bucket. It began when I realized that the bark … Continue reading →
I used to hate zinnias–they way they stood up so straight and tough and obvious, each perfect concentric petal looking like it had been screwed into place in a botanist’s workshop. Now, though, on other side of 65, I love … Continue reading →
On my way to an appointment this morning, Garrison Keillor’s “Writer’s Almanac” kept me company. It is Annie Proulx’s birthday today, as well as Dorothy Parker’s, who, Mr. Keillor told his listeners, was kicked out of Catholic school for labeling … Continue reading →
My mother, who taught me to make my first simple shirt when I was ten years old, also taught me that buttons can make or break an otherwise fine piece of clothing. When I bought this sweater, the pearly buttons … Continue reading →
What is it about the kitchen table that draws us to work there? I have a perfectly good, well-lit work table upstairs in my fiber studio. But when I’m sewing in the ends of yarn on something I’ve just finished … Continue reading →