I’m so glad nature knows what it’s doing. Here we are at the end of March, and spring, whether winter likes it or not, is finally here. Not so as you could tell by the thermometer, but the signs are all around. The branches of my rose bushes are tipped in red, the iris and …Read More
Growth is messy. I uploaded this photo of our ravine without taking a really good look at it. I was fixated on the late afternoon sun peeking over the hill and treetops, and thinking “light! life!” *cue angelic chorus* But seeing the whole image, I’m reminded that there’s much more going on here. Buttressing the …Read More
Sometimes we can be too close to a thing. Over the past few weeks, when I’ve only been putting between three and four hundred words a day on the next Bliss House manuscript, I’ve felt as though I were operating a kind of microscope in reverse. Observing tiny dots of detail backwards through the lens, …Read More
The next eight days or so are going to be very compressed for me. I have word that the first edit for BLISS HOUSE should land in my inbox on or about December 18th, and after it arrives I will need to hide myself away for about a month to work in those changes. I’ll …Read More
If I don’t do it, who will? If you’re walking down an empty street far away from the nearest fire station, and come upon a burning house, you’re going to have to ask yourself this question if you suspect someone inside needs rescuing. The question is also going to come up if you’re the only …Read More
The snow was so deep that I had to put on my rain wellies to keep my socks dry when I went outside to feed the birds Friday evening. Thursday, I had added a big scoop of sunflower seed to the main feeder and jerry-rigged a broken suet feeder so the more adventuresome woodpeckers (we …Read More
There’s something about an incoming snow storm that makes me feel like nesting. Instead of writing, I spent most of the afternoon scraping our very long driveway of 1/4 inch of sleet. There’s a large hill involved, and my beloved had yet to return from teaching his last classes of the semester. I confess I …Read More
How hard is it for you to unplug? To turn off your cell phone, computer, tablet, television (yes, television counts)? I’m finding it increasingly hard to do. The last few days I’ve found myself obsessively checking Facebook and Twitter. I’ve begun to suspect it has something to do with my addiction to natural dopamine. In …Read More
If you know me, you know I’m all about the lists. Here’s a pic of a list my daughter wrote on one of my lists earlier this year. It cracked me up because the poor child has suffered my lists for all 21 years of her life. I don’t make lists for absolutely everything, though …Read More
The writer John Edward Williams has been dead since 1994, but I am apologizing to him anyway. Months ago, I began hearing many amazing things about his 1965 novel, Stoner, which details the life of a midwestern English professor of little fame and consequence. Curious, I bought the audio book just before embarking on one …Read More