Authors

Rose Madeline Mula writes: Every day, except Sunday, my mail carrier inundates my mail box with mountains of miscellany — sales flyers from every store within a fifty-mile radius of my home, and mail order catalogs from companies based in states boasting purple mountain majesties or fruited plains, from sea to shining sea — and even from across those seas. (How did that cheese maker in Liechtenstein get my address? And who gave that tailor in Hong Kong my measurements?) more »

Julia Sneden writes: The name Grandabbie was my own invention. Before she came to live with us, my mother’s mother lived next door to a lively band of six nieces and nephews who called her Aunt Abbie. One day I referred to my Grandmother as Aunt Abbie, whereat several of them pounced on me. "She’s not your aunt. You can’t call her Aunt Abbie," said another. I remember feeling crushed, but I don’t remember how I came up with the solution of combining Grandmother and Abbie into what was to become her label for life. She used to tell me: "All my life, I looked forward to being called Grandmother. It’s a beautiful word. But then," she would sigh, "I hadn’t reckoned with you." more »

Does Fluffy have dreams of grandeur? A cardboard cityscape scratcher can help her fulfill those dreams by allowing her to reenact her favorite 1950s horror film. From proper revolving door etiquette to learning how to tie a Windsor Knot The Gentleman's Deck will help men become a man of the 21st century. Four sets of blocks to play with: Hebrew, Chinese, Korean and Japanese. And a bird house like no other, the Sylvester Bird Box. A articulated elephant named Hattie performs. more »

Val Castronovo writes: His debt to the Impressionists, his friend Monet in particular, is readily apparent in these sun-drenched, en plein air works that seek to capture particular moments in time. As the curators note, he was drawn to certain themes — "sun on stone, reclining figures tumbled together, patterns of light and shadow." White on white — light as it strikes a house, a sheet, a garment, a marble block or a balustrade. more »