Randy Susan Meyers's Blog, page 8

Mrs. Maisel Fails the Cookie Party

When I was newly married (19!) my then-husband and I moved to a farm located between Binghamton and Ithaca, New York. His job was being a farmhand. Mine was reading, watching the one television station available, and gaining weight. The cookies below helped enormously in that last endeavor. We lived far from any neighbors—other than…

Ten Holiday Gifts That Taste Good / Bring Goodness / Spread Goodness: Part Two

Seriously love color? Visit the shopping side of the Creative Art Center,  a non-profit based in Oakland, California that serves artists with developmental, intellectual, and physical disabilities by providing a professional studio environment for artistic development, gallery exhibition, and representation. You’ll find lots of intricate designs, such as the wallet (and pin) above. I’ve never…

Passover/Hanukkuh Brisket Turned “The Christmas Meat”

One of my favorite once-a-year dishes is apricot brisket. It’s an old family recipe passed down from a cousin long ago. I make it every year for our Passover Seder, and often for Hanukkah, and it’s so good that my decades-long vegetarian daughter sometimes makes an exception and takes a few bites each year and…

Holiday Shopping for Good Causes, Great Artists, Talented Craftspeople & Fantastic Museums: Part One

Gateway Crafts   “Gateway is dedicated to providing individualized, arts-based services to adults with disabilities, and supporting meaningful lives and careers in art.” I’ve bought some of my favorite art here, along with extraordinary craft pieces. Now I’ve fallen in love with the art above: A beautiful painting by artist Carmella Salvucci depicting three family homes…

Grandma Millie’s Stuffing: Childhood on a Fork

  My sister and I may not have grown up rife with traditions–we wore old shirts on Halloween (dressed as  ‘hobos’) and when we hung our socks on Christmas Eve, the sight them flat and unfilled the next morning reminded us that Santa didn’t stop for little Jewish girls, but there was always Thanksgiving. We…

Grandma Millie’s Stuffing: The Food I Can Never Stop Eating

  You know that sick game one plays after too many glasses of wine at a family dinner, right? “If you were on death row, what would be your last meal?” Mine would be stuffing. Not just any stuffing. We are stuffing snobs in our family and only this stuffing will do. Originally made by…

The Before and After of Author (All?) Photos

  If you love every picture of yourself, or you’re one of those naturally photogenic people, you won’t need this post. And I probably don’t want to stand next to you in any photo. For the rest of us, there are tricks to make ourselves look less double-chinned, squint-eyed, or serial killerish in photos. I…

How to Encourage Voting

  “Just because you do not take an interest in politics doesn’t mean politics won’t take an interest in you.” – Pericles In this time of societal gnashing of teeth—whatever one’s political inclination—it seems there is at least one thing almost all citizens with a patriotic heart can agree on: voting is not only important,…

Sleeves, Make-up, Heels, Frizzy Hair & Other Badges We (Do or Don’t) Wear

  Unless one’s made of stone and iron*, writing a novel (Waisted) based on extreme body-shaming & how the eyes of others scorch women, must change one, yes? Pair that with compiling an anthology titled Women Under Scrutiny, and voila, the perfect storm for facing personal crucibles. Examining ‘knowing one’s character’s crucible**’ is paramount, I…

WAISTED: DAPHNE’S ASTONISHINGLY AWFUL, ADEQUATE, & OCCASIONALLY ADMIRABLE SUPPOSED DIET TIPS & ADVICE

  2 Days Till Launch Cookies from Mike’s Pastry gifted from neighbor yesterday: 9 Cookies eaten by me (since yesterday) 3.5 Eaten by husband influenced by me: 3  WAISTED tells the story of two women with the same secret: their overwhelming preoccupation weight overshadows concerns about their children, husbands, work—and everything else of importance in…