I’m not saying my husband is cheap Even though he wears a special “uniform” for summer yard work. He cuts off the sleeves of his white dress shirts and completes the ensemble with faded, tattered, and holey jean cutoffs, with strings hanging to his knees–and has no problem wearing the outfit to town. Sometimes I […]

I’ve blogged now for a whole year. Translation: I’ve kept up with one thing for a whole year. Yep. July 12. This blog’s birthday. I planned to repost some earlier writings this week to celebrate. But nah. Maybe I’ll tweet some links to some of my favorites or top hits. Maybe. Maybe not. I wrote […]

Mike was a police officer. Joanne was a nurse. They birthed children, fostered children, adopted children. Special needs. Mike and Joanne played soccer in college. Their kids played practically from the time they could walk. Mike and Joanne coached. They lived life on the run. Church activity to church activity. Doctor to doctor. Game to […]

I’ve begun to work my way through The Right to Write by Julia Cameron.  ” . . . most of us try to write too carefully. We try to do it ‘right.’ We try to sound smart. We try, period. Writing goes much better when we don’t work at it so much. When we give […]

I have this scar. It’s fully four inches long and runs from the center of my palm up the inside of my wrist, skimming the vein. Pooh, a part Siamese from years past, sat on the kitchen counter, focused on something invisible in the sink. So focused that when I picked him up, he went […]

 First harvest 1. Weeds multiply. Fast. 2. A pruned plant is a healthy plant. 3. Overgrowth hides new fruit and drags it down. 4. It’s hard to support an overgrown plant without breaking it. 5. Mosquitoes thrive in overgrowth. 6. There’s a snake in my garden. 7. Don’t plant seeds called “flower mix.” 8. Only […]