Living Between Two Worlds: One Cataract Gone
Last week, I had cataract surgery on my right eye. The left eye is scheduled for three weeks later. The morning after surgery, I discovered that the walls of our apartment are bright white—not yellowish white. I’d been told colors would seem brighter after cataract surgery, but I had scoffed. I thought the colors I […]
The Rain Falls Mainly on the Plain
My father used to tell me, “It never rains in the Pacific Northwest.” That was when he lived on the Olympic Peninsula, where mornings were often damp and gray. Yet by afternoon the sun frequently appeared. And even when it rained, it was usually drizzle—not the thunderstorms, downpours, and hailstorms I was accustomed to in […]
The Denny Party: From the Missouri River Along the Platte
I’ve written before about emigrants crossing the Missouri River at Kanesville, Iowa (now Council Bluffs). The Denny party made that crossing on May 6, 1851. Earlier that spring, hundreds of emigrants crowded the riverbanks there, preparing to leave the settled East behind and begin the long journey west. The Dennys had already encountered hardship before […]
My Thoughts on Finishing Another First Draft
This past week, I finished the first draft of my current work-in-progress. I began this book in August 2025, just after publishing A Life of Joy. That novel was the last in a seven-book series centered on the same families. By then, I knew most of my characters well—I had spent more than fifteen years […]
The Little Engine That Could (Redux)
One of the presents I gave my three-year-old granddaughter for her sister’s birthday earlier this month was a copy of The Little Engine That Could. I happened upon a Little Golden Book edition that used the same illustrations as the copy I had when I was in preschool, which made me feel like I was […]
A Second Granddaughter’s First Birthday: More Icing on the Cake
As I’ve written before, when my daughter was born I thought she was the “icing on the cake” in my life. I already had a wonderful son. I would have been happy with another boy, but having a girl was “icing on the cake” because I wanted a daughter. That daughter grew up and now […]
Jumping Off with the Denny Party in 1851
I’ve mentioned before that I’ve been researching the Denny party, who traveled from Illinois to Oregon in 1851. Once there, most of the group decided to continue north to Puget Sound, where they would eventually found Seattle. I decided to share some of my research about the Denny party in monthly blog posts this year. […]
On Taxes, Accountants, and Staying Too Long at Anything
I wrote last week that I had planned a post about taxes. It would have been more appropriate on April 15, but as I wrote, a friend’s death trumped taxes. Still, taxes must be paid, so here is my post. For twelve years, I stayed with the same accountant. That sentence, on its own, sounds […]
Sedulous Writers Group: Another Requiem
Nothing is certain but death and taxes. I was going to write about taxes for this April 15 post, but death trumps taxes. A good friend and writing partner, Beth Lyon Barnett, died last week at the age of 97. Beth and I met in 2008 through the Kansas City Writers Group, which has been […]
70th Birthday on Easter: Reminiscences and Anticipation
Eleven years ago, I wrote about my birthday falling on Easter for the first time ever. This past weekend, it happened again—only the second time in my life that the two have coincided. And this time, it marked a milestone—I turned seventy. The week of my sixtieth birthday, I wrote this about being in my […]