I decided to bake some strawberry shortcakes. One of the recipes I looked up called for shortening. As I will be serving these shortcakes to vegetarians, I substituted a veggie-friendly option. But the idea of shortening called to mind a story from way back in the wilds of my first year at Simon’s Rock. I … Continue reading
Category Archives: All
The Soup Gnomes of Despair
The weekend started off well. A friend invited me to a barbecue at his workplace in a lovely square in central London–one of the locked ones you can’t normally get inside. Not only was there free food (see previous post on graduate students’ attachment to free wine) but I always like to explore a secret … Continue reading
Sewing Red
Late Friday night I found myself with a handful of red fabric in my hands, swearing under my breath and sewing furiously. I’d agreed (under a tiny amount of duress) to perform at the final Saqarah hafla in its monthly format. (There will be more Saqarah, just not monthly.) The performance was the following night, … Continue reading
Grad School: a Cost-Benefit Analysis
Excerpt from Skirt.com, click the link to read the rest: Last night I went to a set of talks being held for British Academy Literature Week. The British Academy is a wonderful institution, and among their other works they present a series of fascinating talks on topics ranging from ancient relics to modern neuroscience. These … Continue reading
I Turned on the News This Morning (or, “We’re Watching History Being Made”)
Excerpt from Skirt.com, click the link to read the rest: 0 I turned on the news this morning, schlumping lazily out of bed later than usual. As I watched the news of Osama bin Laden’s death break I was transported back ten years. I woke up late that morning, too. I was doing some reading … Continue reading
The Royal Wedding Exodus
Excerpt from Skirt.com, click the link to read the rest: 0 Yes, I know, Skirt!istas. Friday was the Royal Wedding, and it’s probably the only Royal Wedding I’ll ever get a chance to see, and thousands and thousands of people were there, and I live in London, and I should be writing the bestest blog … Continue reading
Vermilion
This post is one of my guest blogs on To Be Shouted. Click the link to visit the archives: I always have to remind myself that the color vermilion is actually red, because the ‘ver’ part makes me think of green. I was going to write a whole blog about that, then realized that basically … Continue reading
Greenlessness
This post is one of my guest blogs on To Be Shouted. Click the link to visit the archives: Last summer I lost my uncle. Shortly after he died I had to be in Oxford for a conference. It was so beautiful there in summer, the colors so lush and vibrant. The word verdant could … Continue reading
Kelly Green
This post is one of my guest blogs on To Be Shouted. Click the link to visit the archives: Kelly, my cousin who has never been overseas before, came to visit me last week. Everything was new to her and it made me see not only London but so many experiences again as if for … Continue reading
Optimum Green-Specificity
This post is one of my guest blogs on To Be Shouted. Click the link to visit the archives: Recently I found myself hunting through a shelf of shimmering spools of thread of all colors. I picked up a bluish one, held it up to my dress, put it back. I picked up a greenish … Continue reading
In a Merry Hour: Caitlin E McDonald 