On June 22, 1996, Bill and I collected the keys to our first house. This was when it was under construction, in a new (at the time) community. With its zero-lot line and postage-stamp yard, our place was technically a condo. It boasted three bedrooms plus a loft, and...
The Hermit Crabs
Happy Place
Since I took a break from writing fiction, I’ve been compelled to blog again. The post below is something I wrote during the April meeting of my writing group. Each month we begin with a brief meditation, then a ten-minute response to a prompt. I’m sharing the result of...
Water Under the Bridge
First the days pass and then weeks. You blink and three months of water flow under your blog’s bridge without a new post. Do I care? Does anyone else? Do people read blogs anymore? And anyway, I tell myself, I like my last post. It was for my mother...
Mother Knows Best
In my earliest memories, she wears a long blue robe and smells like coffee. My dad offers goodbye kisses to her, my little sister and me. Then he goes to work. He’s a high school Spanish teacher. My mother’s work is us. She is young, in her early twenties,...
You Can’t Buy Everything at Ikea
*This post on Christmas Eve traditions originally appeared at Dances with Chaos in 2011. — Our Not-So-Silent Night I hear–first—the angel chimes. Do you know about them? (They’re sold now at IKEA.) The ding-ding-ding of bells as golden trumpeters circle the candle flames, urged onward by heat and little-girl excitement....
Another Christmas Poem Because When All Else Fails, I Rhyme!
Just settled down for a long winter’s nap… ‘Twas two weeks before Christmas 2016, And I had just showered. My house looked SO CLEAN! The dogs mastered heeling; the dishes were done; Our laundry was folded. I’m Mom Number One! My novel hit the biggest bestseller list; My skin...
Letters for Scarlet: The Movie
PEOPLE, I HAVE BIG NEWS: No, Letters for Scarlet is not a movie. Yet. But it is on sale for just .99 until November 15th. NOW! (Edited to add: The sale has been so successful, we’ve extended it. Don’t miss out!) Oops. I meant IT’S ON SALE FOR JUST 99¢ !!!...
Since You’ve Been Gone
I mean, you’re not that far from us. You’re in Oregon. Our states touch. We’re one plane ride away. (If we fly direct to Portland then drive to Eugene. Otherwise it’s two plane rides with a connection in San Francisco. Sometimes one of the planes has a propeller.) So...
When Your Duck Is Leaving the Nest
Summer vacation is over and school’s back in session. September’s the time of year I usually kick back into writing gear—start kicking ass!—but I haven’t been writing much, at least nothing new, and it occurred to me only yesterday why I can’t. Not that I haven’t been productive. (Who’s...
7,305 Days
On August 17th, 1996, the wedding videographer pulls me aside, asks if I’d like to record a few words to my future husband. An English teacher and aspiring writer, I am confident; but I overdo it, trying hard to win at romance. I gush some flowery lines I no...