Family

A celebration of Dad

Our eulogy titled “All the ways Dad failed us” was written with the intent to laugh, not cry, and I almost made it to the end without shedding a tear. Miss you, Dad.

Mom’s day

Mom’s day

An ode to Mom, to home, to our origins, to the love, humor, and delicious hamburgers that remind me who I am.

Mom’s nails

Mom’s nails

Mom had perfect fingernails. In the pic above we're comparing the paint job to the color of the marble in a Roman palace we visited when she was 72. Her nails were better. Always. No matter what was happening around her. What's more, she had the hands to go with them...

Guest post: Tear down that wall

Guest post: Tear down that wall

Never thought you'd hear me quoting Reagan, did you? I'm full of surprises. But tearing down walls is not, prima facie, a bad thing. Today we have a guest post from my dad, Gene M. Culver, currently of St. Peters, Missouri. Dad was born in Los Angeles but grew up in...

One night in Tunis

One night in Tunis

We made it to Tunis. It's lovely. The weather is divine. Ramon's job looks great, and I can work at his office for now. There's wifi to spare and a cute coffee shop out front, run by a fellow who teases us about our French. But try to get a taxi and... ARGH! The...

What I did on my summer vacation

What I did on my summer vacation

I haven’t worked for months. No, it's okay. My last months in Colombia were rough – very long hours with several enormous tasks dangling over my head. It was time for a break. Sabbatical - lovely word, right? Leaving Colombia was also a big change for me – because...

Happy ThanksWedding!

Happy ThanksWedding!

You may not have heard of a ThanksWedding. Leave it to my family to come up with a new holiday - Thanksgiving + Wedding, obviously. But who does that? ONLY US, that's who. Because nothing goes better than overeating and dressing up. In Alaska. Striking. Brisk....

CARNAVAL!

CARNAVAL!

What a joy this week to head to Barranquilla for Carnaval with my best buds Shane and Ali. Barranquilla hosts the second largest Carnaval in the world, with Rio (natch) holding the top spot. I don't know... I can't quite imagine more feathers than what we saw:...

Aspects of Mom

Aspects of Mom

Some of the different ways I saw my mom during my time with her in Deer Trail: Motherly Mom. Looking at the three of us with pride, beaming, telling us in so many words what she thinks of us. Womanly Mom. A woman, almost unknown to me. Proud and grande-Dame-ish....

Back from Kaintuck – with the Moron Brothers!

Back from Kaintuck – with the Moron Brothers!

Kyna, Dad and I went to Kentucky. You can't go to Kentucky without seeing horses:   This one is a stallion that is rented out for his... prowess. If you know what I mean. It's creepy in that they tie up the mares to whom he is... assigned. He goes four times a...