For anyone who loves the flavor of chai, you might be interested in the delicious chai cupcake recipe below. It is VERY good. I substituted agave syrup for sugar since we don’t eat refined sugar. Vanilla Chai Cupcakes Recipe(Adapted from The Novice Chef Blog) Cupcake Ingredients:o 1/2 cup (1 stick) buttero 1 cup sugar (I…
Outsiders Who Refuse Silence
I am sitting in a quiet room, having just said goodnight to my student after spending several hours today on the telephone with her researching and writing about two Cuban poets, Heberto Padilla and Nicolás Guillén. We share a Google Doc as we develop a term paper on these two men who became known not…
Duolingo and the Ghost of My Italian Past
This evening, for the first time ever, I went to the free website Duolingo and practiced my very rusty Italian. By rusty, I mean back in the junkyard where the 1970s AMC Gremlins might be piled, since the last time I took Italian lessons and actually practiced the language was back in 1975–76, when my…
Sit Down and Do the Work: Steinbeck’s Advice to Writers
A few years back, I worked with a student on The Grapes of Wrath by John Steinbeck. We read the final few pages together, which are some of the most touching in the entire book. Just in case you still plan to read this exceptional novel, I won’t give away the ending. But I can…
An Introvert Marries an Extrovert
I have always liked small, dark places where I could hide: closets mainly, but when I was little I didn’t mind being under the bed or in a cardboard box with the lid slightly shut. I even had a secret hiding place behind a long drawer in my bathroom when I was nine or ten,…
The Tips I Needed to Read Tonight
I found the following list in an old 2013 writing file tonight. I apologize to the author. I did not write down your name, website address, or any identifying information. I tried typing in the title “11 Tips for Creativity” and found several articles, but none contained this content. I’m so sorry. I will be…
Post-Delivery Homemade Lasagna Request
Daughter Rachael has requested that I make a couple of make-ahead dishes that she can freeze for after baby Milo is born. His due date is March 15, so I need to get cracking on this just in case the little guy (who is now weighing in at 6 lbs, 14 oz.) makes an early…
The Trickster in Stories and Life
I’ve been thinking lately about tricksters in literature since I’ve been working on a new novel. As I sketch characters and test their motives, the trickster keeps slipping onto the page. According to Christopher Vogler’s book The Writer’s Journey, a trickster “embodies the energies of mischief and desire for change.” That desire for change is…
A Poem: I Have Time
I have time to grow,to push past my fearlike a green stalk,slender and fresh,rising up and outof the soil,reaching straight towardthe Sun. And I have time to smile,and touch my hair,and dance down the stairslike a gypsy,wearing earrings anda red skirt. Down I goto findthe others waiting,with feet poisedfor joy.
The Girl on the South Porch Knew
You know how sometimes you read that if you go back to what you loved doing when you were a little kid—four, five, or six—then that will tell you what your ideal occupation should be? Well, in my case, this is exactly true, because when I was a little girl, my favorite thing in the…
20 Minutes a Day 