In 1978, there was no fashion love for straight-haired women. Every where you looked, curls and Afros ruled—big, haloed heads, bobbing up and down, all sassy and free and wild. I was obsessed with getting a perm. It started with Barbra Streisand in "A Star is Born," her formerly ordinary long hair a mass of wonderful tangles that I yearned for, even as I tried, with no luck, to … [Read more...]
I Don’t Need Kondo-ing
As much as I appreciate her tidying and thanking and being genuinely nice and kind, I could only watch 15 minutes of the first episode of Marie Kondo's runaway hit show. You see, I don't need Marie Kondo. It's not that I don't get the value in what she does - though the thanking part does seem a bit much to me - it's just that I have been Kondo-ing all my life. I didn't … [Read more...]
The Day I Damn Near Lost My Mind
Even though there’s rarely anything interesting or unexpected, I still love to get the mail. A magazine, a package from Amazon, even a packet of coupons from my grocery store – it’s like when I was a kid and would grab the prize in the cereal box before my little brother could get it. Though I usually expect what’s coming, and most of the time it’s not anything I want, the … [Read more...]
It’s All in My Head
Today, I made quiche. Today I fried bacon, shredded Jarlsberg cheese that I tossed with a little flour, and chopped green onions. I mixed those ingredients with eggs and milk and a dash of nutmeg, plus a little salt and pepper. Then I poured the mixture into two warm piecrusts and baked them for 45 minutes, until the quiche was firm and the crusts were just a little bit … [Read more...]
When Something Happens
You know that old Yiddish expression that translated means "Man plans, God laughs?" Well God ha ha ha'd at us big time. I mean, really, really big. A few years ago, my husband and I decided to downsize from our family home, where we had raised our children and lived for 24 years, to a cozy little beach house where we could hear the surf rolling in at night and walk 3 blocks … [Read more...]