Welcome to the Grouchy Cafe -- a special place inside my heart where it's okay to angst, dance, be silly, whine, figure out life, learn from mistakes, brood, daydream, and create. I cook up casseroles of life. I find creative ways to use the leftovers. Simple ingredients: love, angst, wonder, worry, hope.
My name is Cathy Young, and I'm the cook. Some people call me cafephreak, and you can, too, if you want.
About me: I'm 38 and live near Portland, Oregon. I'm in love with D.; he's patient, kind, and a very creative engineer who might become a screenwriter or director someday. We live with Turtle the dancing dog (all 70 pounds of her) and a backyard full of coyotes, raccoons, and moles (much to D.'s chagrin).
I am a writer, developmental editor, marketing consultant, and web developer for authors, illustrators, and publishers. You can read more about my work here. I help writers and other creative people find their voices and connect with new audiences. As a creativity coach (or midwife!), I help people explore their dreams, define their goals for different creative projects, and bust through blocks.
In the last year or two, my life has been transformed by D., Big Horn Quilts, and yarn.
Things I love:
- big bunches of Italian parsley
- Maurice Sendak's
books (including the stuff he illustrated for Ruth Krauss. In fact,
A Very Special House is probably my favorite book of all time.
"They and I are making secrets and we're falling over laughing and we're running in and out -- and we hooie hooie hooie -- then we think we are some chickens then we're singing in the opera then we're going going going ooie ooie ooie." -- Ruth Krauss, from A Very Special House)
- teenage angstbooks
- talking with creative people
- yarn!
- finding treasures at yard sales
- tofu (really! yes, i do!)
- listening to trees (try it. you can talk to them, too. they're smart.) (thanks, andy!)
- writing to friends
- haunting bookstores and cafes
- exploring forests and cities
- watching people
- quilting, knitting and gardening (i planted a winter garden this year. the arugula and red mustard are growing very well, but the parsley is being a big slowpoke. i heard an old wives' tale about how parsley has to go down to hell six times before it surfaces and grows toward god. something about its slowness.)
- learning about tea and herbs.
- cooking for D.
- Clifford Geertz, the ethnologist who set my mind on fire
- the Dalai Lama
- Howard Finster
- Rob Brezsny
- Maurice Sendak
- Jules Feiffer
- Ursula Nordstrom, a very influential person in the history of children's books
- Kaffe Fassat -- knitting, quilting, and gosh... his approach to mosaic makes my heart leap for joy.
- Judy Blume
- friends... the ones who are brave and heartful enough to love me, faults and all.
Cook's Diary began as an experiment. All of those anthropology classes (and all of the ones I took here) taught me the value of participant- observation studies, and I decided to try online journaling for myself when I was covering the phenomenon for an Internet Culture column.
It isn't an exaggeration to say that my life has been transformed by my site and the journal.
I've learned so much about sharing and listening. I've made nice friends (and even have
met many of them!). I've also learned a lot about the value of privacy, and I think I have a
better idea now about what feels good to share with the rest of the world and what
feels better when left inside my own heart.
So now you know a little bit about me. Who are you? Tell me a little bit about
what's important to you in this world. Send mail to: cathy@grouchy.com.
