by jennifer | Nov 4, 2016 | History
On my morning run, I pass a house proudly displaying a “Make America Great Again” sign, an anomaly in my liberal Boston suburb. My heart palpitates and it’s not because of my pace, which is snail-like. It’s because when I see those signs, I see swastikas and notices...
by jennifer | Sep 21, 2015 | Food, History
Because the last baking attempt was such a success (meaning the raccoons that got into the garbage seemed to enjoy the kindlech as no one else in the family did), I decided to try again, this time attempting kuchen, or coffee cake, still using the 1941 Jewish Cook...
by jennifer | Jul 29, 2015 | History, Writing Research
I’m revising Modern Girls, and in the course of making changes, I’m doing a lot of research. So far I’ve looked at an early 1900s NYC streetcar map, researched Socialist speakers in the 1930s, and am trying to draw that fine distinction between a...
by jennifer | Jun 8, 2015 | History
The line between research and wasting time is so incredibly fine, and I walk it all the time. This is equally true for both writing and genealogy, which do tend to overlap for me. I fell down another rabbit hole. The New York Public Library, which has an amazing...
by jennifer | May 13, 2015 | History
Thought it was interesting that I just mentioned Economy Candy in my last post, and today I stumbled on a short video about the store in an article in The Forward. And no, my kids have not yet earned the right for a visit. They’re still behaving atrociously. But...
by jennifer | May 11, 2015 | History
My jaded children have been to New York a few too many times for their liking. Because my parents are slowly retiring to the city (yes, retiring to the city; people often do a double take on that but I always say, “Well, when you live in Miami Beach where should...