One thing I’ve learned the hard way at farmers markets is that if you see something you like, grab it. Which is at odds with my “I have to look at everything first” approach. One such Darn It I Missed It moment came when I spied a beautiful lavender … [Read more...]
MY NEW LOVE AFFAIR: LAVENDER (PART 1)
The summer is for falling in love, right? While trying recipes from my new novel Opposites Attack (bouillabaisse to wild boar) and strolling through central North Carolina farmer’s markets in search of the freshest, closest-grown produce, I’ve become … [Read more...]
PETANQUE, SMOCK, AND RIVALRY
I recently went searching for the pétanque set I bought in 2001 when I returned from my own total-immersion experience in Hyères, France. Just like Alyce, pétanque was the only thing taught to me in which I showed any immediate aptitude. Pronounced … [Read more...]
EARWORMS, THEIR CURE AND UNEXPECTED MESSAGES
Gene Krackehl was someone I knew in passing at a Westchester, NY, gym that I patronized in the late 1990s. A few years ago, I received a friend request from him on Facebook. “Oh, the gym guy,” I thought. My attitude toward friend requests is this: if … [Read more...]
SUMMER DIVERSIONS AND WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING ABOUT “OPPOSITES ATTACK”
Hi there. It's been a busy summer as I part with more of my mom's dolls (always bittersweet), write, and try out recipes from OPPOSITES ATTACK for a future cookbook. When the latter will become a reality is unknown but it's given me a great excuse to … [Read more...]
WIN A COPY OF OPPOSITES ATTACK. BLOG ABOUT YOUR FAVE UNLIKELY LITERARY COUPLES FOR REDROOM.COM
From Redroom.com, where the writers are, comes a fun way to win a copy of my new novel, Opposites Attack. “Mr. Collins is a conceited, pompous, narrow-minded, silly man; you know he is, as well as I do; and you must feel, as well as I do, that the … [Read more...]
THE 700-DOLL QUESTION
Just in time for Mother's Day, here's my essay on the laughter and tears of selling my mother's dolls that I wrote for The New York Times. Be sure to check out the slideshow as well as the short video made by the very talented Jacob Rosdail. Mama Jo … [Read more...]
The First Top 10 Forever Home Photo Contest Winners!
Photos of me by Mama Jo To commemorate the anniversary of my mother's heavenly ascent, I'm introducing the Forever Home Photo Contest using photos sent to me by new “moms” and "dads" of her dolls. Mama Jo loved to take photos. Many were of her/our … [Read more...]
Q&A: Carol Miller, Rock Radio DJ and Led Zeppelin expert (Part 2)
Part 1 of my interview with New York legendary rock DJ and Led Zeppelin expert Carol Miller ran in the New York Times. Click here to read it and here to listen to the accompanying podcast. Behind Carol’s glamorous life is more than forty years of … [Read more...]
Q&A: CAROL MILLER, ROCK RADIO DJ/LED ZEPPELIN EXPERT — PART ONE
I've known of Carol Miller since the day she spoke her first word on the New York airwaves in the 1970s. I was an aspiring DJ myself then. There were so few women on the radio that word spread quickly when a new one infiltrated the all boys … [Read more...]