Essays
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The End of the Affair: What happens when it's time to leave a much-loved, much-remodeled home?
Appeared in the Spring 2003 issue of House Beautiful Home Remodeling & Decorating
The worst moment of many bad moments renovating my 150-year-old farmhouse? The time I realized I could not get inside my home because every door and most windows were blocked by the detritus of bad remodeling decisions made by previous owners: beige vinyl siding, cheap storm windows, mocha colored carpet, vinyl flooring...
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Laurel Saville in India
"December 14: I've been reading Kipling tales of India from the turn of the century as well as contemporary Indian authors. Seems that the colonialists tried to use tradition itself as a means to pass on tradition. Others societies use food. Very specific ingredients, elaborate preparations, serving meals and sharing stories, while eating together. I'll take the food route, any day. I had more incredibly vivid dreams last night. Crowds, fantastic animals, colorful bazaars, strange peoples and adventure straight from a Star Trek episode. I started to congratulate myself on the vividness of my imagination, but then remembered that hallucinogenic dreams are a not uncommon side effect of anti-malaria drugs. Oh well..."
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Single Minded - Sorting Through the Strange Sociology of Going Solo
The following article appeared in the Spring 2001 Women's Issue of Seven Days, Burlington, Vermont, and was syndicated to alternative newspapers around the country through AlterNet.
"When I was much younger, I had a vision of my adult self as married, with a home and family life. In my twenties, I got a husband, house, dogs, gardens, furniture, good jobs, a decent car. By the time I was 31, I also got a divorce..."
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Lost & Found: Like most accomplishments, successful remodeling projects require both creativity and perseverance.
Appeared in the Winter 2003 issue of House Beautiful Home Remodeling & Decorating
I was standing in the aisle at the hardware store while three men shook their heads at me. The teenage shelf stocker had no idea what I was looking for, the clerk thought there might be something back in aisle eight, and the customer who interjected himself in the overheard conversation said, "You can't do that. Who told you you could?" I'm used to getting this kind of response at hardware stores. Twenty years ago, I got the same thing when looking for a natural sponge...