Stuff by Judith Ritschard

  • Locations: Columns, Opinion Published

    Bits & Pieces: Re-learning the family reunion

    Bits & Pieces: Re-learning the family reunion thumbnail Judith Ritschard

    I swear, yesterday I saw summer poking its head around the corner. That means our summer weekends are filling up fast. First stop: family reunion. Whooee, do I have mixed feelings on going over to Delta County for a weekend of mingling with a bunch of characters on… read more →

  • Locations: Columns Published

    Overcoming long-hauler symptoms

    Overcoming long-hauler symptoms thumbnail Bits & Pieces by Judith Ritschard

    I’m back. Did you miss me? I’ve been laying low recovering from long-haul COVID and certainly lacking any creative mojo. I read my last column in quarantine, while eating soup I could not taste or smell, extremely anxious about being sick with the virus. I suppose I had every… read more →

  • Locations: Columns Published

    Thanksgiving with a Latin twist

    Thanksgiving with a Latin twist thumbnail Bits & Pieces by Judith Ritschard

    Bits & Pieces
    By Judith Ritschard

    There’s an old adage my mamá always said: “Pansa llena, corazón contento,” or full belly, happy heart. It’s a pearl of wisdom that I fully live by, and come to think of it, maybe that’s why I love Thanksgiving so much.…

    read more →
  • Locations: Columns Published

    Bits & Pieces: Proximity doesn’t cut it

    Bits & Pieces: Proximity doesn’t cut it thumbnail Bits & Pieces by Judith Ritschard

    We’ve all been in a situation where someone made a racist joke or comment. 

    Remember how some people cheered on the joker by laughing? While others stood there awkwardly staring at their drink, and when someone did speak up they got told, “Oh, you have no… read more →

  • Locations: Columns Published

    Bits & Pieces: The good, the bad and the weird

    Bits & Pieces: The good, the bad and the weird thumbnail Bits & Pieces by Judith Ritschard

    “How are you guys holding up?” I asked a friend. 

    She groaned and told me how her marriage was strained after months of unemployment, not to mention the stress of having her older children suddenly thrust back into the nest. I sensed she wanted to go… read more →

  • Locations: Columns Published

    Bits & Pieces: Eight ways it’s weird to be Mexican

    Bits & Pieces: Eight ways it’s weird to be Mexican thumbnail Bits & Pieces by Judith Ritschard

    I don’t care what culture you identify with the most, or how amazing or superior you may think your culture is to others. Every single group has its eyebrow-raising, kooky, cultural neuroses, and we Mexicans are no different.

    As most of you know by now,… read more →

  • Locations: Columns Published

    Immigrants and our food

    Immigrants and our food thumbnail Bits & Pieces by Judith Ritschard

    Even though we’d been going to the same restaurant for years, I hadn’t noticed a little message at the bottom that read:  “Today’s menu was made possible by immigrants.”

    I left a tip for our waiter, signed and exited the restaurant, surprised at my own… read more →

  • Locations: Columns Published

    Ten years in town — a love letter

    Ten years in town — a love letter thumbnail Bits & Pieces by Judith Ritschard

    Dear Carbondale:

    Cheers, sweetheart, on our ten year anniversary! Last month marks a decade since I spent my first night on the floor in our new townhome. As you may recall, at the time the economy was puttering along and I was months away from becoming a first-time… read more →

  • Locations: Columns Published

    Bits & Pieces: Becoming a fermentista

    Bits & Pieces: Becoming a fermentista thumbnail Bits & Pieces by Judith Ritschard

    This new book I have assures me that, “fermenting vegetables is a simple, inexpensive process that was used reliably for a few thousand years.” 

    Okay, so if it’s so simple why am I so scared to venture into the world of lacto-fermentation? I assure you I know my… read more →

  • Locations: Columns Published

    Getting the most out of an exchange

    Getting the most out of an exchange thumbnail

    “Isn’t your life already too busy to host an exchange student?” is a question we heard over and over.

    I don’t know? Aren’t all our lives eternally busy in some form or another?  But our dedication to raise two boys to be globally aware… read more →