Dialysis 1: Home Sweet Hemo

Dialysis 1: Home Sweet Hemo

It once seemed inconceivable that we—or anyone–would operate a dialysis center in a spare bedroom. If a medical treatment must consume most of your attention and half your week, then bringing it home makes a certain amount of sense. When the Kidneys Give Out For...
Damning Greatness with Faint Attention

Damning Greatness with Faint Attention

The exhibition Wayne Thiebaud 100: Painting, Prints and Drawings, is simply glorious. I saw it at the Brandywine River Museum of Art, the fifth and final venue of a five-museum tour. Wayne Thiebaud is one of my most favorite American artists; he died on Christmas Day...
Reading the Fine Print on Politicians

Reading the Fine Print on Politicians

I had just gotten comfy for my months-overdue fix of “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” when the doorbell rang. It was Republican Christian Miele, come by to stump for my husband’s vote for state senator in District 34. My Dear One is still a registered Republican...
Christmas Letter 2021

Christmas Letter 2021

Christmas 2021 Dearest All, The box turtles look so surprised, heads withdrawn above the hinged front of the plastron, topaz eyes wide and startled. They are invisible until I yank weeds or scatter fallen leaves; then the carapace, rounded and daubed with orange, is...
Our Own Private Maryland Money Pit

Our Own Private Maryland Money Pit

It was so thrilling in January. The worn, stained carpeting in the family room and the tired vinyl in the kitchen had been replaced with warm oak from one side to the other. Suddenly the space seemed brighter, lighter, bigger. Even the addition of a large area rug and...