Fits and Starts

The first 15% of a creative project, any project, is exhilarating. The next 65% can be solidly satisfying. The final 20%...sucks. With knitting, I call it the "This Damn Sweater Stage," when I stop knitting to measure the piece over and over again, as if remeasuring will magically make the infernal thing as long as it needs to be.

This should be a year for finishing things, including the dozens of incomplete knitting projects carefully packed in plastic boxes and at least some part of the three unfinished novels and four short stories that are carefully saved in folders and backed up in the cloud.

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Open Letter to Shenendehowa Schools

Dr. Oliver Robinson, Superintendent of Shen
Mr. Donald Flynt, Principal of Shen High School
Mr. Jonathan Burns, Principal of Acadia Middle School
Mr. Greg Pace, Principal of Tesago Elementary School

In the wake of the election of a US President whose campaign was an outpouring of racism, sexism, bigotry, and xenophobia and a VP who believes that LGBTQ people are in need of "curing," I feel it is urgently important that I write to you about incidents at Acadia Middle School and High School West.

On Thursday, November 10, a number of children were chanting, "Build a wall! Kill 'em all! All hail Trump!"

Of course Shen students have a right and even a responsibility to start exploring political ideologies, learning about our elections, and choosing candidates to support, but in a free, democratic society, "kill 'em all" is never acceptable. It is hate speech, pure and simple. It is an affront to civil discourse, it violates Shen district rules, and it…
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One of the problems with people today (yes, feel free to groan) is our collective refusal to take context into account in our seemingly irresistible desire to feel offended. To whit:

People got mad at President Cheeto this week because he "complimented" the first lady of France for not being fat, saying, "You're in such good shape...beautiful."
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I hoping this comes across as a public service announcement and not a commercial. For several years now, I have...not enjoyed cooking (for these picky ungrateful wretches I live with). Uh-hem. So in the midst of my uninspired kitchen doldrums, after getting a coupon in the mail, I tried Blue Apron, the uncooked meal delivery service, and it was actually quite good! Maggie ate collard greens without complaint and actually asked if we could have fish more often. WTF? The portions are well-sized, and it comes with nutritional information—always nice when someone else figures that out the carbs for me. The full price (without the coupon) is a smidge more than the cost of the four of us going to Panera or Chipotle, but judging by the meals we've gotten, it's healthier. Again, collard greens!?! It's a great way to teach your tween or teen to cook...assuming that I'm not the only one whose kids aren't already totally prepared to make a freaking soufflé on Chopped Junior. I…
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