…And Other Existential Observations on Home My colleague (we both teach at university) said, quite innocently: “I guess I don’t think of Wisconsin as the Midwest.” This while I was rapping a heavy mix of Madison virtues and Midwest easiness. “Oh,” she said when I called up the map. “I guess I thought it was…
Category: The Details
In which the smallest particles bring meaning to the universe.
Where the Wild Onion Grows
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Wild onions grow everywhere here. I smell them through the moon roof on those particular weekend days when men are at home in their kingdom yards, busy mowing alone and in harmony. If I made this up, forgive me, but I think maybe someone told me that a long time ago this entire area was…
On Seeming Effortless
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Cinnamon rolls have to be one of my favorite foods. Over at Pioneer Woman this morning I was drooling at her recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookie Sweet Rolls. The recipe even starts from the yeast, and not from a blue can you tear paper off of and bang on the counter’s edge. Man, I like…
Enter the Storm
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I like to see people who write –all people who sit down and write, not just those who call themselves “writers” — to try to write beautifully and meaningfully. One of the writing concepts that I teach is this: Complicate the Metaphor To make writing more meaningful, we all need to back the f*ck away…
DIY: ‘Between Desire and Reality’
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Ok, so I know it’s Thursday — one day late for We Scout Wednesday— but isn’t that status quo on any DIY project? Scoutie Girl asked us: why do you DIY, then answered herself better than I could ever put it. “DIY fills the void between desire and reality. If God can create an Eve…
Vampire Power and the Money We Lose
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When I started dating my hubby, I owned the following electronics: A cheap, 3-disc changer stereo that was roughly the size of a large breadbox A CD walkman that ran on AA batteries (rechargeable) A Sony Dream Machine clock radio A laptop A small point-and-shoot film camera A cordless phone One cellphone and one charger…
Disney Princesses Have Ruined the Color Pink
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Being politically motivated and standing up for my beliefs had an interesting side effect of making it difficult to choose a straw for my iced tea this morning. At my favorite locally owned coffeehouse, I purchased organic tea in a recyclable cup. Being the artful sort, I paused as I reached toward the cup of…
Striving for Balance
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A Guest Post by ‘Shiny Bits’ blogger, Paul Merrill I love quirky products. It’s fun to cruise our local Whole Foods Market on a Saturday and taste samples from a variety of sometimes local small companies. Occasionally I take the plunge and buy one of their toothpastes or boxes of cereal. But for the most…
Taking the Bagel
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The truth about life lies in this pat of butter. We can ask for what we want. We can even PAY for what we want. We can desire and expect it. But we won’t always get it. Here’s the bagel I had for breakfast at my favorite Milford cafe. I order it in this way.…
Hipstamatic, and Other Faux Nostalgia
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I’ve fallen in lust with Hipstamatic on my iPhone … All made possible because the iPhone 4 has a decent camera. Hipstamatic is the app that allows previously young people like me (who refuse to believe that status has changed) to believe that we can still be the great photographer we dreamed of being when…
Parenting Happiness: A “Magic Trick of the Memory”
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I’ve been reading the article “All Joy and No Fun” from the New York Times Magazine with interest. I’m in a position to speak about the “joys” (or otherwise) of parenthood now that I’ve been in the thick of it for 16 months. Anyone who knows me can attest that I haven’t always been a…
On Being an American Pacifist
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I started writing a long, kinda preachy post and then I just stopped. Here’s how I feel as a pacifist: I am a conflicted human in my American place. I often wonder if I am stupid and ignorant. There is no doubt I am grateful for the freedom of our lives here. And my mind…
Anxious to Return
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My blog has stopped being what it used to be … out of necessity. For sometime now I’ve been keeping my fingers hunched over the keys, holding them back from all of the things I want to say. I am being watched, and no that is not paranoia seeping in with old age-ish-ness. It’s an…
The Unfinished Basement is Not Worth Examining
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So I’m just emptying the dishwasher this morning and number one son runs out the the kitchen and says: “Mom! I just saw this guy on TV! He says he can finish your basement!” “Oh yeah?” My mind is spinning. I start to do the math. Local news is on. Commercial jingles ring. TiVo has…
The Tweet is a Lonely Hunter
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Today ScoutieGirl posed an interesting question about how the internet shapes and changes our creativity. She and I seem to agree that, like all things that are woven to the human form, the Web has the innate ability to remind us that we are alone in the universe. She asked: “as sister diane pointed out…
