Like Grey Gardens. Only With Terriers.

Last night I finally got a chance to see the excellent HBO production of Grey Gardens with Drew Barrymore and Jessica Lange. It is of course the story of the eccentric aunt and cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis so memorably told in the Maysles’ cult seventies documentary of the same name. For those of you who aren’t documentary fans or have no Gay friends, let me bring...

Why Michelle Obama Should Be My Gardenin...

Up here in Sonoma on my own trying to set out my garden has not been as much fun as I thought it would be. The favas are infested with aphids, the Lady Bugs I bought are more interested in partying than eating them, and this is the stage where “gardening” is really about shoveling stuff. Turning soil, digging in compost, hauling stuff. After the dreaming stage of planning...

Kickin’ It Old Skool

Several decades after I graduated from college (okay, I’m only admitting to one and a half), my old school is suddenly pounding on all my virtual doors trying to re-establish contact. It started with several classmates “discovering” me on Facebook. Then I started getting Twitters (Tweets?) from fellow Class of Awhile Ago members. Next, I’m being heavily...

De Young Museum Exhibits World’s M...

I used to be obsessive about museums. I paid my fee. I went in the front door. I viewed every gallery in order on every floor from start to finish until I’d seen every single item. I did this once at the Louvre. Took me eight hours and that’s WITHOUT a snack or lunch break. (Or bathroom break given the state of French bathrooms. But that’s a different post.)...

Around and About Two Terrier Vineyards

  My Mother and Father had one inviolate rule of parenting (although I don’t believe it was called “parenting” back in the Sixties.) That was the bedtime story. They were convinced that, if each of us were read a story, each and every night from age one to when we demanded they stop, we would grow up to be confirmed readers for life. I think they secretly harbored...

My New Deal Garden

Two things I’ve been reading about lately: gardening and Franklin Roosevelt’s New Deal. Both are related to the economic woes we’re experiencing. Typically, food bills wouldn’t be the bulk of our budget, and not the logical place to cut back. But since we’ve started really trying to focus on organic, local and sustainably-grown vegetables, it’s...