The Denny Party: Deciding on Puget Sound
In the last post I wrote about the Denny Party, they had reached Portland, Oregon, in late August 1851, after five months on the Oregon Trail. Mary Denny gave birth to a son, Rolland, on September 2, while still ill with malaria. Arthur Denny, Mary’s husband, who was also ill, was already planning to leave […]
Haunting Books: Three Historical Novels About Remarkable Women
In past Octobers, I’ve written about haunting books—which I define as stories that linger after I have finished the story. These aren’t usually frightening books (I don’t read many of those), but their characters and stories keep returning to my mind. Three historical novels I’ve read recently have haunted me in that way: The Pirate […]
Two Reunions: Stepping Out of My Comfort Zone
In the last couple of months, I’ve had two mini-reunions with people who were important to me at different stages of my life. The gatherings were quite different, but both reminded me how nice it is to reconnect with old friends—and how sometimes I have to push myself to do it. The first reunion was […]
A Visit to the Seattle Asian Art Museum
I’ve been to Volunteer Park several times since we moved to Seattle, but usually I’ve been there to walk the trails and enjoy the view of the Olympic Mountains in the distance. Last week, however, my husband and I finally toured the Seattle Asian Art Museum, which is located on the park’s grounds. The building […]
AI to the Rescue Again: Fixing My Broken Website
I wrote a few weeks ago about how AI saved me money by helping me draft a letter to appeal the denial of a Medicare claim. This past week, it saved me time and headaches when this website abruptly stopped working. I’m not sure when it stopped working, but I noticed it when last week’s […]
The Denny Party: A New Baby and a New Beginning
As I wrote last month, the Denny Party reached Portland in late August 1851, after five months on the Oregon Trail. They had crossed the plains and mountains, then been separated while some took the difficult journey down the Columbia River and others took the equally hazardous trip on the Barlow Road. For Mary Denny, […]
Flower Girls, Then and Now
I recently attended a family wedding out of state. It was the first time I had traveled without my husband in three years. It took some planning to be sure he would be cared for while I was gone, but I am happy to report that we both survived. The wedding was my niece’s—my sister’s […]
How AI Saved Me $1,000
There is a lot of controversy around the use of artificial intelligence (AI), particularly in the writing community, but this post isn’t about the ethics and aesthetics of using AI for creative writing. It’s about the use of AI for more practical concerns—like researching government regulations and interpreting them so the average person can understand […]
The Denny Party: Final Miles to Portland
After four months and nearly 2,000 miles on the Oregon Trail, the Denny Party reached the Columbia River. But the journey was far from over. The last miles to Portland would be among the most dangerous of the entire trip—and would divide the family between two very different routes. On August 10 or 11, 1851, […]
What Twenty-One Years Have Changed
Twenty-one years ago, in August 2005, my family gathered to celebrate my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary. We stayed in Pacific Grove, California, very near where my parents had honeymooned in Carmel in 1955. My parents, my husband and I, and my sister and her family made the trip. My brother and his family couldn’t come. […]