June insisted that she record this video of me demonstrating how NOT to eat, after she found humor in a couple of my other, similar demonstrations while I was trying to impart some table manners. It was actually hard to chew with my mouth open after so many years and meals of not doing so!
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Post-Helene 5: Is Normalcy in Sight?
October 17, 2024 Water returned to our neighborhood yesterday after having moved in a westerly direction from the North Fork Reservoir, whose main distribution lines were destroyed by Helene some 20 days ago. It is brownish; folks are using the term “chocolate milk.” It’s really not that bad, at least here. But, it is certainly…
Post-Helene Update 4
October 6, 2024 This is day 10 for us without power. Many others in surrounding neighborhoods have had theirs restored, but our clump of 295 Duke Energy customers has proven harder to get reconnected. I feel like we have adapted fairly well to what would have been unthinkable a couple of weeks ago. Depending on…
Post-Helene Update 3
October 3, 2024 I took some much-needed self care time today while June (miraculously!) attended a day of ZigZag, the Agile Learning Community she had been part of prior to this school year. They were not much damaged by the storm and had a port-a-potty already set up there. I was a little wary about…
Post-Helene Asheville, continued
October 1, 2024 I heard from a neighbor that the more people from this area who apply for FEMA assistance, the more they will prioritize and send aid (like food and water) our way. I went to try to do that, but it’s really difficult without reliable cell and Internet service. Looking at it in…
Post-Helene Asheville
September 30, 2024 And so I am writing now not to report on the conditions and culture of a remote, less-developed country, but rather from my own home in Asheville, North Carolina – a city to which many have been flocking, not only because of its food, beer, arts, and outdoor activity acclaim, but also…
“Memory” from Cats
I’ve been working on and off on accompanying myself to sing “Memory” from Cats with guitar. Here’s a recording of me playing it outside in the shed the other day.
Return to Togo
Here are some pictures from my recent trip to Togo, West Africa. I had served there as a Peace Corps volunteer working in Girls’ Education and Empowerment from 2009 to 2011, and I returned to my village in the north of the country this summer to visit my friends and contacts. I’ve written journal-style updates…
Making Yogurt at Home
While living in Azerbaijan during my Peace Corps days, I would watch my host mothers make yogurt at home and relish the thick, creamy, sour taste alongside meals of dolma or fresh green beans and bread. When living on my own in that country, I learned to take large, clean, glass jars (bankalar) to a…
Breast Cancer Rap
I’ve been trying out a new genre…rap! Here I am spinning verses about my recent experience with breast cancer. Lyrics below. What is the Answer? I had a lump in my breast it turned out to be cancer. The doctors said surgery’s the only good answer. Would I lose my whole breast, or only a…