Fifth Grade: A Blur With One Specific Memory
I’ve written about my early school years. See here and here and here. By the time I reached fifth grade, I’d been there since the start of second grade, and I was likely to remain there through eighth grade. I knew where I stood. I’d survived the double names of fourth grade, and I spent […]
My Brother’s Sixteenth Birthday
September 7, 1973, was my brother’s sixteenth birthday, so yesterday he turned sixty-four. I left for my freshman year of college, three thousand miles away from home, about two weeks before my brother turned sixteen. But I bought him a birthday present before I departed—a key case, into which I attached my keys to the […]
More Battles with Newspapers and Post Office
When we moved into our new home in July 2019, I waged a campaign to get our newspapers and mail delivered accurately. All I wanted was for the newspapers and Post Office to provide the services my husband and I paid for—either directly in the case of the newspapers, or with our taxes and postage […]
Summer of 1864 and the Overland Campaign
In 1864, after three bloody years of frequent battles and stalemates, the Civil War slowly turned in favor of the North. President Lincoln gave General Grant command of all the Union armies, and Grant assumed the role of general in chief in Washington, D.C., in March 1864. Only after Grant’s appointment did the Union armies […]
Random Photos: When the Cares of the World Hit Hard
As I scrolled through old photographs recently, I came across pictures of my father taken on the beach at Port Townsend, Washington, in August 2006. This was my first visit to my parents’ new home—what would be their last home—in Port Ludlow, Washington. What strikes me about these pictures is that my father looks like […]
A Curmudgeonly Author’s Take on Social Media
It’s been awhile since I wrote about my likes and dislikes on social media. (But see here and here and here.) During the pandemic, social media has been the only way for an indie author to market books, so I have been forced to use it and to explore some new channels. But I’m finding […]
Moving Memories From Two Years Ago
In recent weeks, my Microsoft OneDrive memory feed has reminded me of our move into our new home in late July 2019. I had this blog on hiatus for a couple of weeks in that time frame, so I didn’t post about some of our moving experiences. There was some doubt about whether the new […]
Fort Boise
In my current work-in-progress, which takes place in 1864, some of my characters are traveling toward Fort Boise. In 1864, Fort Boise was in its second location, where the current city of Boise, Idaho, is located. In 1834, the original Fort Boise began as a fur trading post on the Snake River, near what is […]
When the Work-in-Progress Progresses Slowly
All writers have times when their writing moves slowly, and I am in one of those times. It feels like I have been editing my work-in-progress forever. Maybe I should have expected this—the first draft came together very quickly during NaNoWriMo last November. A quick first draft probably means there are a lot of gaps […]
A Driving Tour of California, 1967
I only recall one summer driving trip in my childhood to California. We made a Christmas driving trip in December 1965, right before my maternal grandfather died (though at the time I didn’t know he was so ill). And my brother and I flew to California—either with or without our mother—for summer visits with my […]