Avalon Here between the branches of the slipping stream bedded by moss and sentineled by trees lies my ever-living Avalon. Here art is forged on the anvil of the mind with the blows of the senses and the heat of the heart. Here I may rest, wound-weary from the world, sit on […]
Dream Poem#1: Hog Stew, Krispy Kremes, and Ann Voskamp
Hog Stew, Krispy Kremes, and Ann Voskamp The quicksand tried to swallow me. Then the train came and an elephant held out his trunk. When I grasped it, it wiggled into a rainbow’d snake that flung me into the red Corvette convertible in Canadian National auto carrier #1000 graffiti’d with gifts. We snaked our […]
All I Want For Christmas Is…
I’m off on another hunt that takes me under the couch cushion, inside a chartreuse kitchen cupboard, under the gray Formica table, behind the toaster, on top of my parents’ dresser, and finally into the oven. I stare at the package tied up with string, and the fun fades. I so don’t want a […]
Becoming Mindful in Place: Under the Maple Tree
I’m sunk into a red sports chair in the shade under the backyard maple. The site of the Great Lilac Massacre is behind me and in front is the home of the baby bluebird murders. In my mind, I still see the blood-splashed walls and little pecked heads. The grandgirl no longer plays softball, […]
Still Saturday: As You Sit Still
It takes courage, of course, to step out of the fray, as it takes courage to do anything that’s necessary, whether tending to a loved one on her deathbed or turning away from that sugarcoated doughnut. And with billions of our global neighbors in crying need, with so much in every life that has […]
A Prayer For These Days
Share a prayer for these days in the comments. Your own or an existing one. In the stillness, Sandy
God, Are You In . . . ?
At the end of chapter 12 (“Hospitality”) in God in the Yard, L.L. Barkat suggests a writing exercise. Begin with a simple jotting of the objects and people around you . . . Choose just one of the images and make a second list, focused particularly on the item’s attributes . . . Next, try […]
Between the Lines
Stories often hide between the lines even in old cookbooks. Like this well-used one that belonged to my mother-in-law and holds many ink-altered recipes. Mom loved to entertain and often had small groups in her (now our) home. In fact, she had two kitchens because the family lived in the basement for a year while […]
Breaking The Border of Self
I shook my head and sighed as I folded yet another frayed towel. We’ve had these light mocha (now practically cream) towels for what seems like forever, and to replace them is low on the needs list. But the other day I used a Target gift card to buy just one big, fluffy, white bath […]
Laughing At The Fire
The big house across the road was on fire. Our house. Well, not really “our” house. But a piece of our history. My husband’s great-great grandfather built it in 1870. My inlaws sold the property back in the late 1970s, and I think I was more sad to see it go than they were. […]
