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Letter from Joyce Archives
November 21, 1998
Dear Friends,
Here it is at last: a picture of the second annual Pie Party, held at my house last week:
TomP, Lisa, Laurie, Daniel, Christie, Sharon, Jill, Joyce,
Cork, Opie, Lisa, Steve, Rigo, Rhonda, & Paul
Knowing that twenty-one guests were due to show up to bake pies -- most of them people I'd never met before, and most of them non-bakers, who were coming in part so I might impart to them my mother's baking wisdom -- I had set up work stations around our house (in the kitchen and the dining room), with all ingredients ready, down to the ice water and cinnamon. Everything looked incredibly organized. Until the guests started showing up.
There
were twenty one in all, several of them having flown in for the weekend,
from out of the area. After a brief warm -- up, we got to work. I tried
hard, in my demonstration, to convince future pie-makers that recipes
can be restrictive and confining, and to trust one's self. (It worked
for Dr. Spock.) My concept with pastry dough is to rely on the feel of
the thing, and let the flour fly. So there were no measuring cups on the
table.
We had a few rebels in the group: Daniel, from Missouri, who suggested that we melt the butter first; Paul, from Berkeley, who favors walnuts in his apple pie; Lisa, from Seattle, who insisted on washing her hands before baking. Sharon and Christie, who had flown in from Oregon, insisted on putting cinnamon on TOP of their pie. No sooner had we convinced Daniel not to mix the dough with his hands, than he revealed his next plan: to use tomatoes for the filling. And then there was Tom P, an alumnus of last year's baking party, who got all the way to putting on the top crust before remembering he'd forgotten to put sugar in his filling. He thought he'd rectify the situation by cutting a giant hole in the top and pouring it in. Not so fast, Tom....
Two hours into the festivities, with most of the twenty-some pies baking or baked -- and my dog Opie somewhat indisposed from all the unbaked pie dough crumbs he'd consumed -- we gathered in my living room for pie a la mode with coffee, to get to know each other. In the nine years I've been hosting pie parties and passing on my pie technique, I never cease to be moved by the stories I hear, when men and women get together over homemade pie at these gatherings. Hardly anyone had met before that afternoon. We parted friends.
This
week, as Thanksgiving approaches, I'm inviting you to let
us know about a person in your life you are thankful for. (Could be
your husband, wife, a parent or a child. But it might also be some unlikely
person, who has touched your life in some small and unexpected way.)
Speaking of ancillary products (a term I have recently learned), Myrna has been working round the clock on the brand new Joyce Maynard catalogue and order form, to help you out with all your Christmas shopping needs. To inspire you further, Myrna can now take your orders over the web with a credit card. As you know, I took down our old order form, many months ago, when I became concerned that my previous helper, back in New Hampshire, was not filling orders promptly or dependably. We now have things all set up so Myrna can send you books, CD's and tapes (and even collections of never-before-published columns) within days of receiving your order, guaranteed. Proceeds of the new ordering business here will go to support Myrna's hard work, maintaining this website. And of course, if you ever feel like shooting a donation her way, you're also free to support the work she does by sending a check to Myrna Uhlig, P.O. Box 636, Clatskanie, OR 97016. Checks for Joyce Maynard Catalogue products (books, etc.) should be made out to Joyce Maynard Catalogue. Impressive, huh?
Also
this week, I'm posting a number of my writings here. There's a new excerpt
from At Home in the World -- this one dealing with the period of
my marriage, and the struggle I underwent to match my picture of a perfect
mother. Didn't come close, in case you were wondering. I'm also beginning
a new feature here, bringing back some of my previously published columns
from Parenting Magazine, for whom I wrote a monthly column called
"A Mother's Days"
for over eight years.
Finally, as promised, we're providing a link to a wonderful essay by Chris Kraus, published in the November 16 issue of The Nation magazine. It's a discussion of my new memoir, but more than that, an examination of some troubling attitudes towards women artists, that were revealed in the critical response to my book.
As always, I'm interested to hear your stories about whatever happens to be on your mind. Could be tips on how to make gravy. Could be the meaning of life.
Jennifer, Sarah, Larissa, Jaime, & Laura
RECOMMEND JOYCEMAYNARD.COM TO A FRIEND
