Stewed Rhubarb

My mom has been on my mind lately. A lot. I presume this is primarily because I’m pregnant, and her absence from my life—it’s been more than eight years now since she died—is more conspicuous than it’s ever been. I’ll soon become a motherless mother. I would give almost anything for this to be different. …

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Tell it Brave

After a whirlwind four days of revising, editing, and finessing a cookbook proposal with my fine lady friends over at The White Moustache, my eyes were tired from staring at track changes, my body sore from too many hours in a stiff-backed chair. I needed a day off. The morning cooperated, giving me a pale …

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Feeling Tentative

I wrote this on July 23, the morning we took off. I was having some tech problems then… so here it is, late (and after the fact). Update: I’m still not ready. In fact, I’m feeling grumbly about being back inside after a mostly barefooted week, spent doing little more than waking, reading, cooking, swimming, …

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Saudade

It’s our first ninety-degree day here in Brooklyn, and I just gave Pico a bath on the roof. And while I was busy cracking up while he pushed his soapy flank against me wiggling to avoid the hose’s chilly “shower” setting, I found I wanted to cry. Weird, I know. I just couldn’t stop thinking, …

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Fridays for One

I love Friday evenings. Work is done for the week, I usually don’t have to schlep into the City, and Chris works late at the restaurant. Sometimes I have dinner with my bodacious neighbor, Jasmine, which usually means to two of us, totally wrung out from the week, taking stock of our respective fridges and coming …

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Fast Food for Slowing Down

Things have been a little nutty around here lately. The recycling bin is overflowing, our kitchen/dining room/desk table is a hodgepodge of to-do lists, exam reading and bills to pay. To make matters worse, sweet Pico impaled his mouth on a stick last night in the park, and has been down for the count ever since. …

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Taking Stock

Wow. It’s, uh, been a while since I was last here. And I was a little nervous to come back again. But after a few false starts this warm May morning, I decided to peek in and have a look around.  I’ve been pretty worked up these past few months, and now that I’ve found …

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Thinking about Sandy

First, forgive the odd formatting here. Internet is slow and funky right now. Aesthetics aside… Here’s an email I sent to my friends and family this morning while watching the news. I’m not sure it’s decent writing, or even right. But I needed to get some words on paper. A note about the start: Our …

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Pull on your boots

Here’s a dangerous thing to do when you’ve just begun a doctoral program in a major city: read a memoir about hiking the Pacific Coast Trail. Some of you probably know which book I’m talking about. It’s that book that’s been in every shop window for the past several months, displayed prominently with its stark white background …

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