Writing and Driving and Life E. L. Doctorow once said that “writing a novel is like driving a car at night. You can see only as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” This passage from Anne Lamott’s book Bird by Bird came to mind while driving with my … Continue reading Like Driving a Car at Night
Writer’s Life
The Gifts of Being a Writer
There are so many gifts of being a writer - today I am focused on the physical gifts given to me by those who cherish my writer heart.
Share this:
Always, “Forever!”
Honestly, the other day in a really long line at the grocery store, I ended up talking with the woman behind me, the woman in front of me, and the checker gal. We all had so much fun together, laughing and complimenting one another. I walked outside to put my groceries away and thought, "What would be so wrong with telling them I'd like to know them more and hang out?" Well, it would be weird, of course.
Share this:
Music Heard so Deeply, That it is Not Heard at All
For most of us, there is only the unattended Moment, the moment in and out of time, The distraction fit, lost in a shaft of sunlight, The wild thyme unseen, or the winter lightning Or the waterfall, or music heard so deeply That it is not heard at all, but you are the music While the music lasts. *T.S. Eliot, line from The Dry Salvages, out of Four Quartets
Share this:
Shivering Gargoyle
Inspired by dVerse Poets Pub Quadrille Challenge - a 44 word poem of any style. https://dversepoets.com They may send a shudder down our spines in all their grotesque glory. They can appeal to our dark side, our burning desire for Dracula’s romance and black lace. Or as they sit covered in snow, we sip our … Continue reading Shivering Gargoyle
Share this:
Clearing Space
There is wisdom in these woods. It is time to begin again.
Share this:
“Days of Soup and Holler,” ~ My New Book!
It's available wherever you purchase books online - Amazon and Barnes & Noble to name a couple. "Where can I pick up your book?" you ask. Here are some happy links for you - it's available online wherever you would normally order books (most likely). Bloomsbury Books in Ashland - - Powell's in Portland - … Continue reading “Days of Soup and Holler,” ~ My New Book!
Share this:
Sweetness or Stuff
A little memory - a treasure to cherish. Rummaging in the Antique Store with my boys, looking through playthings of the past. They call me to try on a beautiful faux fur, and it fits, and it’s glorious, and I am the toast of the town. The large Islander man at the back counter … Continue reading Sweetness or Stuff
Share this:
Learning to Laugh
Always the lists. Give me too much free time between calls at work, and a fairly slow day with no nearby neighbors to visit with, and I used pages and pages of scratch paper to make lists for the New Year. Lists about working out, and menus, and lists of chores and how to rotate … Continue reading Learning to Laugh
Share this:
Microcosm & Minutiae
Driving straight into a thick blanket of fog, I wondered about our world, the darkness and lack of visibility we are entering. I remembered the blizzard in the Little House on the Prairie books that hit suddenly while children were at the school-house. They formed a line with outstretched arms - trying to get all … Continue reading Microcosm & Minutiae
Share this:
The Stories of our Lives
It all started with Harold & the Purple Crayon. My youngest and I read the story together in front of a blazing fire and he said he wanted to have this book in his collection someday when he grows up and moves out. I told him he would need his own copy because there are … Continue reading The Stories of our Lives
Share this:
Restored
When something takes on otherworldly proportions because of its simplicity and beauty.
Share this:
Mothers
The conflict happens because she’s right and she loves you. And yet, we strive against all her rightness, her great ideas, Her prodding us into things that challenge and define us. She made memories for us, with the books she read us, The games she played, the places she took us, The worlds … Continue reading Mothers
Share this:
Bared Claws
I have heard of the dance of Eagles mating.
I have seen the statue of talons out sharp;
a fierce battle and free fall – wings and bodies
tumbling over one another as they drop to earth.
Share this:
Poetry in Music and Dance
There is so much poetry in dance, in the way bodies sidle up to one another and barely touch and then move away, only to come back around and move together suggestively, still holding back, still mostly eyes, still only hints at what could happen if both bodies fully engaged. There is love and loss … Continue reading Poetry in Music and Dance
Share this:
We could Hug More!
Another bad thing in a world of bad things. I have not become numb, that is not what has happened. I crumble with each new attack, with each new assault - foreign or domestic. And then I disconnect, and block out the media, and become absorbed in my kids' interests and the activities we can do … Continue reading We could Hug More!
Share this:
Inhabit
"At this point in his life, he hadn't started inhabiting his work, like he did later."
Share this:
Ferocious Calm
I am angry and I feel slighted and perhaps, I'm being childish; but I want to pout and stamp my foot and behave inappropriately. At the same time, I know this is beneath me, that I can and should rise above. The issue at hand is of no consequence. I am literally upset over nothing, a minor inconvenience, … Continue reading Ferocious Calm
Share this:
Monkey Brain and Geese Chatter
In which I accidentally discover the Ridiculously Perfect Meditation Stance for a dork like me!
Share this:
Horrifying Comparison of Adolescence
This is not a reference I throw around lightly. This is something I have studied. I worked at the Anti-Defamation League in San Francisco when I was younger, helping maintain their library of groups they watched for hate crimes or atrocities in the making. Every day, researchers would hand me stacks of articles from periodicals … Continue reading Horrifying Comparison of Adolescence
Share this:
Right Brain, Left Bank and Parenting through Teenage Angst
Being on the right side of the brain is a little like being on the Left Bank in Paris: relaxing while watching the passing show, listening to the music on the corner. It's a place to sit around and tell stories and wonder about it all - and most important, to slow down. Call … Continue reading Right Brain, Left Bank and Parenting through Teenage Angst
Share this:
Easy, Now, Grasshopper!
It's Tao Tuesday! As always, I will refer you back to the original page, Tao te Ching Daily, and her series, Tao Tuesday. There, you will find rich discussion and articles from every chapter of the Tao, spanning I think a couple of years. I'm just starting over here, and relishing the discipline of looking … Continue reading Easy, Now, Grasshopper!
Share this:
On Motherhood, Physics and Relativity
Today, while doing chores, I listened to a book on tape from the library called, "How the Universe got its Spots." (This is a link to the Amazon book, because I couldn't link to the book on tape for some reason.) The gifted young cosmologist Janna Levin sets out to determine the size of the … Continue reading On Motherhood, Physics and Relativity
Share this:
Darkness within Darkness
Reflections on The Tao te Ching - Chapter 1: The tao that can be told is not the eternal Tao. The name that can be named is not the eternal Name. The unnamable is the eternally real. Naming is the origin of all particular things. Free from desire, you realize the mystery. … Continue reading Darkness within Darkness
Share this:
Filling Small Pages with Enormous Words of Love
These are the tiny books Bean has made for me in the last week. The Best Mom book is 22 pages with my name written on every page, and as you can see, just larger than a quarter. The other book with stars and moon and hearts on the outside is blank inside and he … Continue reading Filling Small Pages with Enormous Words of Love
