Since I've arrived in Arkansas, I've been called many things.  Yankee (both with affection and thinly veiled contempt), northerner, foreigner, import and my personal favorite, alien.  Small wonder, then, that I still don't feel like I actually live here.  Sure, when I travel it feels good to come "home", ie, to the place where IContinue reading "It’s takes a snowstorm…"

I grew up in New England, which means that my idea of high fashion is a cool pair of boots and a fleece vest from LLBean.  In college, makeup was something I put on for dances, concerts and plays.  And while I wasn't a femme fatale, I did ok with the boys.  Then I movedContinue reading "Does this seem right?"

I don't quite understand how people can pay attention to the news and not be torn apart inside by the hugeness and difficulty of the issues we face.  As my dad would say, I just need to relax and not let it bother me.  But I'm not sure how.  Here are some of the questionsContinue reading "Big questions, no little answers…"

Disclaimer: This is going to be a long blog entry.  I always regret not keeping better track of trips I take.  Hence... I always follow the same pattern in trips to NYC: the thought of spending a week in midtown seems a bit soul-sucking: no time to head to funky, less-touristy places like either of theContinue reading "A midtown marathon"

At times like this, I alternate between rueful amusement and sheer frustration.It snowed last night.  A whopping 3 inches.  At most.It sleeted/snowed a little today.  Barely enough to cover the ground.  But cover it did, in a slick, greasy layer.Up north, we'd throw some salt on it, slap on our boots, downshift into first gear,Continue reading "Salt is more than a condiment"