Muppet newsflash.. this just in

I somehow managed to arrive at this ripe old age without seeing the Muppets parodying Bergman in Silent Strawberries, an oversight I plan to rectify as soon as humanly possible.



(thanks to Ben for the tipoff)

for those about to rock, I salute you

excellent gem sweater!



some of my most favorite people.. and, yeah, they dress like this all the time.

nostalgia Wednesday

Mom and her cousin Janet in Indiana.. doghouse and arm cast not included


My great grandparents' (Jake and Esta) farm in Michigan


Jake and Esta's Shady Nook Farm


John Hummon's farm in Leipsig


My grandma Geraldine's childhood home in Fayette


Grandma (right) and her sister at the Fayette house


(thanks, Dad, for the farm pics)

life is full of soap

Today to combat a boatload of sad, I spent an hour singing in the bathtub and then replaced my ukulele strings with some of my grandpa's 70-year-old catgut ones. I am now feeling, if not quite as happy as these ladies, at least a bit better.

see how eagerly the lobsters and the turtles all advance

What a weekend.. sweaty buses, lost taxis, a beautiful wedding, sun, rivers of Pimm's, wedding guest wardrobe malfunctions, three kinds of cake and a tipsy bride who rifled through my handbag thinking it was a backgammon set. whew! I need to lie down just thinking about it.

some people say I done all right for a girl

My first, moderately disastrous, attempt at 1940's style reverse rolls...

no words

My friend Vickie's obituary was published in the Washington Post yesterday.

As one of her colleagues said, she was "warm, inviting, caring, unpretentious, approachable, friendly, vulnerable, open, sometimes spicy, down to earth, sparkling, hope-filled, spiritual."

I don't really have any other words.. she was part of our family, and she was wonderful.