It’s been a while since I checked in, so here’s a brief rundown of the C. Toporek solo zeitgeist from the mid-year standpoint. Wicker furniture, paisleys, open shelving: still a strong no. Comic books, coffee, Oxford comma: consistently enthusiastic thumbs up. Friends, I may not be the absolute best choice for bridge-building. I wonder if […]
Continue reading →I became gossip’s ally out of pure spite, which is only fitting. A young woman of my acquaintance shared her New Year’s resolution to stop gossiping so much. This wholesome, make-up-free child, with her curly locks and sparkling eyes, a dutiful churchgoer and caretaker of infants, announced her intention with a zealous earnestness that immediately […]
Continue reading →I visited a Starbucks in downtown Seattle the other day–the ultimate location for a Starbucks. It’s my ideal coffee shop in other ways, as well: the people who work there are the friendliest, nicest Starbucks employees I have run into, and that’s saying something. As a rule, the employees behind the counter at Starbucks are […]
Continue reading →If I may, my credentials. My lineage is thus: three-quarters fourth-generation Irish immigrant, one-quarter Italian. My mother’s grandparents immigrated from Ireland to Charlestown, MA; the Morses, whom I am told were once known as Mosseys (“horse thieves,” as my uncle Denis says), the O’Learys, and the Hurleys. My paternal grandmother’s maiden name was Benotti, and […]
Continue reading →Dear Addict, Right off the bat, let’s stipulate that life is unfair. It’s not that I want to dismiss your pain, just accept it as a basic tenet and move on. The world is full of terrible, difficult things, and anyone who gets up in the morning and goes out to grapple with it and […]
Continue reading →The Binders of Women Writers group and the flurry of #binders activity on Twitter has made me think in the past couple of days about my own writing, or lack thereof. Who’s Out There? I taught literature and composition at the University of Houston in the mid-90s; I was a teaching assistant in the MFA […]
Continue reading →This is a sad day. The truth is I hoped the problem would fix itself, but those of us who read online advice columns know that’s not realistic, in business and/or personal relationships. We’ve got to face this thing head on. Fantasy authors, I’m issuing a moratorium on the use of “savor” as a verb. […]
Continue reading →Pottery Barn recommends bar stools for Casual Entertaining. The picture in the catalog depicts a full bar in a wine warehouse, old wood barrels stacked in the background. Just like we all have in our vineyard, for casual wine-tasting events. In interior shots of rooms in catalogs, windows often have no curtains or blinds, presumably […]
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