Category: Writing

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What did you like best about 2012?

Hey, before we kick 2012 to the curb and rush headlong into our resolutions, I’m just wondering: What did you like BEST about 2012? You can reply in the comments, or on Facebook. But I’d really like you to write out a response. Why? Because when we write things down, it makes them more true,…

Take a Letter, Maria

The person I most dig, admire, croon after, and just all-around want to brain-pick (for the year 2012) is Maria Popova. In case you haven’t gotten any of my many nudgings about her awesomely curated website Brain Pickings, here’s another one. Her site (and the weekly newsletter, which is any artist or bibliophile’s perfect inbox source for…

Resolve – A Beautiful Word

In the next week, you’ll likely ponder, and then make, New Year’s resolutions. Yes, you’ll break them eventually, and that is what I’d like to mention. The root word for “resolution” is the word “resolve.” This is a beautiful word. As a verb, it means “to solve a problem or a dispute.” This could be something personal and internal (the classic…

Beautiful Writing: Decadence by Kelly Letky

Here’s a post today from a writer and poet that I love, Kelly Letky, also known as “Mrs. Mediocrity” and “The Blue Muse.” This poem is called “Decadence.” (click to read it) Kelly posts her poetry with original photography. This enhances the poetry, solidifying the imagery in her writing. But it also shows the direct…

A Splash of ‘Small Kindness’

On Tuesday the 27th of November I’m joining the international Small Kindnesses Blogsplash. Along with more than 150 other bloggers, I’ll be writing about a special small kindness someone paid me in the past. My blog post will be found here, as usual, but you can follow this link to read many many other posts about…

When I’m Wearing Home Shoes

These are my “home shoes.” I don’t mean slippers or anything like that. What I mean is: when I am wearing this shoe configuation — ie. tennis shoes and blue jeans — I feel “home.” It’s a cultural thing. And a family thing. Growing up, this is what we wore: white tennis shoes, blue jeans,…

No Prize is Modest to a Poet

A little poem of mine is published this quarter in Boston Literary Magazine. (yay!) I’m only bragging a little, because it’s funny to go prancing about saying “Oh look at me! I got a poem published,” … because I hardly ever update my Facebook status with the more common haiku news of my life: Rejection…

On Changing My View of Cooking

making tea, how to make iced green tea

Today, I have a guest post over on “Take Back the Kitchen,” a great blog hosted by Alma Schneider. My post is a RECIPE (don’t faint) I created for Iced Green Tea that actually tastes good. Yes, I realize that I won’t win any foodie awards for this recipe. (ie. What? “Boil water. Put tea…

A Patriot in the Garden

You know all that flag-waving, “true-American” rhetoric we hear from the Rush Limbaugh conservatives? I was thinking about that today, as I was pondering getting our organic garden ready to spring planting. It’s Ok. I know I am preaching to the choir generally.  But a good argument is worth saying, just in case it’s seeps…

Will Eat for Numb

I’ve been on an emotional roller coaster lately. Like many people (read: everyone) I know, I eat to feel “better.” Lately, the go-to food of choice for easing emotional bumps is the Cinnamon Crunch Bagel from Panera. — I accidentally remembered that Panera existed recently when I started going to the gym the next town…

Savor All Things Gold

a Guest Post by A-Lotus French fries—the crispy deep gold covered with a lightly scattered dusting of salt. Their warmth as they spill out of the box—all dipped in a Rorschach pool of ketchup. Waffle shaped, tightly curled and sprinkled with a bit of pepper. Or just like pocky sticks—straight and tall with a soft crunch…

Eat Green Food

Happy St. Patrick’s Day. The twins almost had a conniption fit (is that a word? is that how you spell it?) when we couldn’t locate a SECOND green dress in the closet today. I am glad I didn’t mention to them yet the Irish-ish tradition of dying things green and eating them. Because of this:…

What an Orchid Eats

The orchid and its splitting leaves Sat drying out on the Tank of our toilet for a Year, uncomplaining about The noise, and the sheetrock dust, but, Most of all, The proximity to the Water it desired but could not Taste. Me and the orchid eyed Each other every damn day. Well, that is, what…

The First Recipe

A BIG QUESTION Guest Post by Krista Richards Mann — I love cooking. Starting in grade school, my mother let me make dinner for the family once a week. The first recipe I remember learning was something she called salmon patties. We removed small vertebras from a can of salmon with our fingers, mixed the…

Damn, the Cheeto

I really love Cheetos. That dusty, cheesy goodness reminds me of… well it doesn’t remind me of anything. Other than MORE Cheetos. The puffy ones are particularly good. — Remember when “baked” became all the rage in snack food. I remember that. I remember when Kentucky FRIED Chicken morphed into KFC… now they even had…