Blogs
This is my last post as Skirt!’s December Muse of the Month. Blogging every day has been an interesting exercise, particularly during the holiday break. One thing I’ve learned is that...
Blogs
Yesterday an assortment of Piepmeiers met for lunch in Nashville. Biffle and I had one of our dogs in our car, along with several of Biffle’s musical instruments. We parked the car on the...
Blogs
How do you have a conversation with someone whose views are dramatically different than your own? If, in fact, you consider this someone’s views offensive and hurtful? And what if this...
Blogs
My family’s beginning to scatter. My parents are making a grocery list to replenish the food we’ve all eaten over the last few days. The dogs seem calmer. We’re all recovering from...
Blogs
I went to bed early last night because of my bad cold, which means that I’m up this morning before the rest of my family. The house is quiet and warm, and I’m sitting here at the kitchen table...
Blogs
I’ve just finished reading a book I wish I’d edited—or at least contributed to. It’s called Choice: True Stories of Birth, Contraception, Infertility, Adoption, Single Parenthood, and Abortion...
Blogs
I’ve mentioned here several times that I’m feeling somewhat less than cheerful about the holiday season this year. Last night, walking through the mall with Walter, he made a comment about this...
Blogs
My husband is a huge fan of the Coen brothers’ movies. Raising Arizona is one of his all-time favorites (“If you think round is funny” is a familiar saying in our house). I don’t know...
Blogs
One of the great things about the Christmas holiday is that I have time to consume some of the pop culture stuff that I often miss during the school year. Last week I saw the film version of...
Blogs
A quick (and late!) post today from the road. I’ve just arrived in Tennessee, where my family lives, for an extended holiday visit. As you all know, I haven’t been feeling the holiday...
Blogs
I may be a little late with this posting, but if you’re like me, you haven’t actually finished your holiday shopping yet, so you might be looking for ideas. Here are some of my recommended...
Blogs
Yesterday I was in one of the women’s bathrooms at a local
spa (after a wonderful massage), and I glanced over a the shelf beside me to
find a little box with the words “Blonde Betty” on it. ...
Blogs
Eggnog: Although I find that I have about zero holiday spirit this year, I bought some Organic Valley eggnog, and I’m loving it. It’s mostly cream and sugar, so it’s perhaps not all that...
Blogs
The other morning the guy I’m married to (who I sometimes still accidentally refer to as my boyfriend, even though we’ve been married for coming on nine years) was playing banjo, as he often does in...
Blogs
In the late 1990s, people would ask me what I did for a living.
“I’m getting my Ph.D. in English,” I’d tell them.
They’d immediately say, “Oh, I’d better watch what I say around you! My...