Walking toward our favorite Chinese restaurant in Ithaca, NY in the late 1960s, we noticed a huge Buddha statue in a dusty storefront. The sign on the door said “American Brahmin Bookstore.” Someone was unpacking books inside, so with a name like that, we were curious. Soon Vic and I were hanging out at the […]
I know what I want for Christmas. I want to be a cowgirl just like Dale Evans. I want boots, a vest with tassels, and a cowgirl hat. I want a horse like Buttermilk. Creamy, gentle, a girl’s best friend, but I know that’s a lot. So please, oh please, Santa, help me dress like […]
Who were these stern faced women dressed in black? Did they find joy in marriage or in staying single? Were they worried at night about their children and the crops? Did they write letters to family left behind when they immigrated to America? It’s comforting to know the names of six generations in my female […]
On clear nights, Venus sparkles in the indigo sky. She’s been a bright evening star since early October. In late November and early December when she’s highest in the sky, I’ll stand at the windows on clear cold nights and soak in Her beauty. I’ll scan the southern sky for glowing Jupiter and pale Saturn […]
On a melancholy October afternoon, my friend Steve invited me to join him for tea and a torte at his teahouse. He packed a basket with loose leaf green tea, a clay pot, and delicate glass cups and plates. On top, he placed a gluten-free apple torte he’d baked earlier that day. We walked from […]
In ancient Egyptian art, Ma’at (pronounced Muh-aht) may appear as a small kneeling figure or a large goddess with outspread or embracing wings. Her defining feature is a feathered headdress–just one upright feather. She’s first mentioned in the Pyramid Texts of Unas (ca. 2375 – 2345 BCE). Our women’s mythology class studied Egyptian Goddesses for a few […]
They hang, silent and still, for one to two weeks before the chrysalis darkens and I see wings. The birth (eclosure) takes seconds and I usually miss it, but I caught one last week. A caterpillar becomes a chrysalis and inside that container of dissolving caterpillar nutrient broth, a Monarch takes shape to emerge as […]