Kristi was the first person I met in the house. She interviewed me only hours after I had arrived off the plane to see if I was "suitable" and would "fit in" in the house. The irony in this will appear later. Apparently the word "Rube" written in secret ink across my forehead told her … Continue reading Berkeley Episode 4: The Education of the Rube
I am in Kandersteg. Part of the Swiss Alps. And tomorrow I am going skiing. I have not been downhill skiing since the church youth trip to Afton Alps when I was 15. I was not particularly good at it and I spill down the hill losing both poles, both skies, my hat and a … Continue reading I Must Be Out Of My Mind
Everyone's been late to school, right? Especially when you are 17 and have your own car and are supposedly mature enough to wake yourself up on time and get yourself to school before 8:20am? Well, that is not why I was late when I was 17. I was, in fact, up early. There is nothing … Continue reading Late to School
Of all the people who lived in the house I was probably the closest to Sarah Beth. She grew up in a somewhat small town with a mother who clung to Sarah Beth and her sister only slightly more tenaciously than she clung to the ghosts of her family's wealthy and glorious past. Sarah Beth's … Continue reading Berkeley Episode 3: The Crack Pixie
A word to Americans, brush up on your Metric System before you come to Switzerland, or go anywhere in Europe. Things here, especially food, are sold using metric system measurements. Fruit is measured in grams. Beer is in deciliters on the menu. Just knowing the basics and some conversion formulas will help keep you out … Continue reading In Switzerland Know your Metric System
After the episode with the Hole-y Stairs we learned we shouldn't rely on Burt to fix things. When the kittens pulled the curtains down in the living room we put them back up with no problem. When the pliers we were using to shut off the kitchen sink water no longer did the job, Sarah … Continue reading Berkeley Episode 2: The Landlord Returns
I moved to Berkeley in 1997. For the first year, I lived in a sort of communal house in El Cerrito by the BART station. It was a 5 bedroom house painted a butter-white stucco with a one-car garage that the owner had finished out into a 6th bedroom. I lived in that 6th bedroom. … Continue reading A Berkeley Episode: The Landlord
Curling. The sport no one knows about. Or very few people know about, anyway. And if you know about curling it's because you play it or you know someone who does. So, what is curling? Curling - noun a game played on ice, especially in Scotland and Canada, in which large round flat stones are … Continue reading The Magic of Curling
Billy Collins is my favorite poet (aside from Jim Danger Coppoc whose poetry I love for totally different reasons). I am writing for NaNoWriMo, as I have mentioned and I was looking for a snippet of poetry that would pop into the head of my hero and help her put the whole mystery together. But … Continue reading I love Billy Collins
Last night I made spaetzle. This may be the one and only time I actually make it from scratch. I'm still traumatized. Spaetzle is a kind of an egg noodle pasta dish that is popular in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, and Hungary. It means "Little Sparrows" in old German. I have no idea why. It doesn't … Continue reading Swiss don’t make Spaetzle
Dedicated to finding author Greer Larkin
Poetry BLOG By Edge of Humanity Magazine
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My honest opinions. Day to day life, and how I go about handling it. An outlet for creativity.
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“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sailaway from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” ~ Mark Twain
I want to be rich. Rich in love, rich in health, rich in laughter, rich in adventure and rich in knowledge. You?
Mindy Carlson 