Trolling Pinterest for fat art, I run across Happy Beppy dolls/figures. They are delightful, fat round people.  So many different styles, but only one shape – ROUND.  Really, really round. So why are Happy Beppies so diverse?  Because they are made by all kinds of people!  Happy Beppy is a business in the Netherlands that…

My friends and family always told me that they wrote my address in their address books in pencil. And for good reason.  Let’s see. First home, was on Essex Street in Essexville, where I lived with my sister, Mom and Dad. Mom and Dad got divorced and my maternal grandfather died.  Mom, me and my…

The State of California has put Blue Shield and Kaiser Permanente in charge of COVID vaccine allocation. Before that, each County was in charge of their own vaccination rollout.  Santa Clara County (where I live) was (and still is) doing a great job.  A much better job than, let’s say, Kaiser (my HMO).  I, along…

I know lots of people in theater.  Some are very dramatic (in real life) and some are not.  In my personal life, my mood swings can be kind of epic.  (Just ask my dear husband.) Luckily, thanks to some excellent drugs (better living through chemistry), they are not so close together anymore. And yet, I…

I got nothing.  I’m stressed out, frustrated, and angry. The stress is giving me “digestive issues” (how’s that for polite language)? And I just basically feel lousy. Come WTF Wednesday, I plan on a yell-all (and no that’s not a typo).

Carolyn Stich is an artist who lives and works in Holland, Michigan, where she operates her own studio (complete with gift shop). https://carolynstich.com/ I have long been a fan of her “The Girls” series.  These are Michigan women.  The women I grew up with.  The women that I am one of. They are unapologetically fat…

For the most part, I was a good kid and followed the rules.  For example, when I was sick with the measles, my mom had to run out and she told me not to answer the door and not to let anyone in the house.  I was about 5 years old, and that’s just how…

That sweet brown tabby that I took a photo of swaddled in my cardigan (so I could work and hold him at the same time)?  Well, today he is a cat crazed by his desire for Kit & Kaboodle dry cat food. This is not gourmet cat food.  This is the cheap stuff. But because…

If you are a singer and aren’t familiar with your diaphragm, you need to make its acquaintance now (and no, I don’t mean your birth control of choice).  And if you are an actor and think that diaphragms are only for singers – you’re wrong.  You need the same skills in speaking that a singer…

I have been working from home for quite a few years now.  Long before the pandemic, anyway. My biggest distraction is our cat Leo.  The sound of me typing (and I’m a legal word processor – so if I’m typing, I’m busy) is a siren song to this stupid cat.  The tippy-tapping of the keys…