Jo Freeman

Rose Madeline Mula: If You Can’t Stand the Heat

Rose Madeline Mula Writes: “It was with considerable trepidation, therefore, that I entered the kitchen of my hostess, the legendary actress, Joan Fontaine, one long-ago Thanksgiving morning, to offer my assistance. Acting was not Miss Fontaine’s only talent. Not by a long shot. She was also a hole-in-one golfer, a prize-winning fisherwoman, a hot air…
An Undocumented Childhood by Rose Madeline Mula

Rose Mula Writes: Some people never leave home without their American Express card; I never leave home without a camera. Digitized pictures of the twenty-five countries and forty-plus states of America that I’ve visited since my first tour of exotic New Hampshire constantly flash on my computer monitors and digital frames throughout my home, helping…
Julia Sneden Wrote: Love Your Library

Julia Sneden Wrote: My mind’s eye can still see the face of the Children’s Librarian, although I have long since forgotten her name. We will be wise to continue to back up our knowledge of history and literature and art and science with hard copy. She kept up with my reading level, suggesting writers and…
Julia Sneden Wrote: If The Shoe Fits … You Can Bet It’s Not Fashionable

Julia Sneden Wrote: My mother was a mini Imelda Marcos. She kept upwards of 40 pairs of shoes well into her 80’s, and was crushed when she had to give up high heels following a heart attack at the age of 89. Her sole criterion in buying shoes was style, not comfort, and she was…
Joan L.Cannon Wrote: A Family Inheritance: More Than ‘Things’ … Emblems of Our Lives

Joan Cannon wrote: As one advances in years, one accumulates possessions the way a caddis fly larva accumulates grit. The glue that makes us carry it all along with us is in a way self-secreted as well. However, it’s psychic rather than physical — emotional rather than material. Perhaps the most obvious example is a…
Julia Sneden Wrote: Old Dogs, New Tricks

Julia Sneden wrote: At the age of 37, I started a new career as a kindergarten teacher. My first day on the job, the lead teacher, who was in her 70’s and scared me every bit as much as she scared the children, watched me writing a note. “You’ll have to change the way you…
Joan Cannon Writes: Finding the Right Excuse; Committing Words to Paper Because …

Joan Cannon Writes: Think of the poets and novelists and playwrights whose words sink into the consciousness of thousands and even millions and remain there, as emblems, guides, beacons of hope or warnings of disasters, and the excuse (as if one is needed) presents itself. Maybe there’s information or a revelation for some unknown viewer…
Joan Cannon Asked: What is a Book Club? An Old-Fashioned Book Report? A Program Given By an Author? What Is the Accepted Practice?

Joan L. Cannnon wrote: A year or so ago, I was invited to attend a tea given by the combined membership of all the book clubs in the town where I now live. A presentation was scheduled for the proprietor of the much-loved local independent book store cum gift shop. She is a legend in…
A Woman’s Crusade: Alice Paul and the Battle for the Ballot

Over 500 women were arrested and 168 served time in jail. Some of that time was served in the Occoquan Workhouse, whose superintendent took great pleasure in giving the women a hard time. When they refused to eat the worm-filled food, he had them force fed. It was an exciting time. Walton tells this story…
Rijksmuseum’s Gabriel Metsu, A Master Rediscovered

The shop at the Rijksmuseum is worth a detour: Bags with zip closing in various sizes; water-repellent, jacquard woven fabric and leather based on a table runner with a strewn floral pattern woven by an anonymous artist from the Northern Netherlands around 1650.
Kristin Nord’s Book Review of Natalie MacMaster’s Cape Breton Aire

As the tunes Cape Breton musicians play follow the twists and turns of lives and landscape, so too do the familiar sights of the island’s history and bounty further enhance the repertoire. They emanate from homes and dimly lighted church halls. They are found in the Cape Islander listing on the shore after the lobster…
My Mother’s Cookbook; Recipes from Professionals: Beef Stroganoff, Yorkshire Pudding, Corn Sticks, Pushover Popovers

The obvious way to avoid suspicion of pirating another cook’s creation is to attribute the source. My mother did this throughout her cookbook, regardless of whether the recipe came from a relative, close friend, acquaintance, restaurant, cookbook, newspaper, or magazine. I’ve done the same for the recipes included in this series.
Why Men Shouldn’t Vote

Male commentators are inordinately focused on how “hot” a woman is, rating her “tight little butt” rather than her policy positions. Way too many men believe that Palin’s ability to attract crowds is due to her “babe factor,” or that “right-wing cuties” are what’s new in politics today.
President Obama on Mythbusters, the White House Science Fair and the Archimedes Solar Ray

“It’s in these pursuits that talents are discovered and passions are lit, and the future scientists, engineers, inventors, entrepreneurs are born. That’s what’s going to help ensure that we succeed in the next century, that we’re leading the world in developing the technologies, businesses and industries of the future.”
A New Reverse Mortgage Product and NCOA’s Use Your Home to Stay at Home Booklet:

With a new FHA Home Equity Conversion Mortgage Program (known as HECM), one of the biggest upfront fees that borrowers are expected to pay will be almost eliminated. But The New York Times article, Changes on Reverse Mortgages Will Alter Fee Structure, warns that the “ongoing monthly insurance premiums will rise drastically”.
I’ll Never Understand

Remember when decolletage was confined to evening wear? Last week, even my middle-aged, plump, local librarian (yes, a librarian!) wore a blouse cut so low it made the wanton wenches on the provocative covers of the romance novels she was cataloging look positively puritanical by comparison.
Unregulated – Nutrition Rating Systems and Symbols on Front of Packages:

Nutrition rating systems and symbols on the fronts of food packaging would be most useful to shoppers if they highlighted four nutrients of greatest concern – calories, saturated fat, trans fat, and sodium – says a new report from the Institute of Medicine.
I Do! Chicago Ties the Knot

The Chicago History Museum’s expansive costume collection of nearly one thousand wedding gowns, suits, and accessories dating back to the 1720s allowed for the exhibition to unveil a unique view on wedding traditions.