Hallmarket Is Virtual!
Since 2009, Hallmark Cards has held an annual art festival outside its headquarters facility in Kansas City. This festival, called Hallmarket, showcases the artistic creations of Hallmark employees and retirees apart from their work for Hallmark. And Hallmark employees have marvelous and varied talents. This year, because of the pandemic, Hallmarket is virtual. And for […]
Which Would I Rather Be—a Recluse or a Hermit?
I used to debate with myself whether I would rather be a recluse or a hermit after I retired. I could never decide for sure. All I knew was that I suspected I would want less human contact, rather than more, as I aged. The definitions of the two words are quite similar. Merriam-Webster says […]
An Autumn Walk at Sunset
Last Saturday evening I took a walk after dinner. I had intended to stay on the neighborhood sidewalks, but a gaggle of high-school girls all gussied up for homecoming pictures stopped me. They and their mothers were having such a good time, even during this pandemic, that I didn’t want to interrupt. So I turned […]
Hits and Misses in Other Book Clubs
I wrote in my last post about one of my book clubs, the one I call the Best Book Club Ever. But I am also in two other book clubs at the moment, and they each have their benefits as well. A year ago (in pre-pandemic days), I joined a new parish and began attending […]
Hits and Misses of the Best Book Club Ever
Traditionally, in October, National Book Month, I have posted about “haunting books”—books that have stayed with me after I read them. This month, I thought I’d focus on what I’ve been forced to read because of my participation in various book clubs. Left to my own devices, I would probably read mostly popular fiction—thrillers and […]
Bragging: Recent Reviews and Recognition for My Novels
One of the joys of writing is getting feedback from readers. Of course, the feedback isn’t always positive, but reader reviews are generally a reward for the long slog of writing and editing. Here are some of the reviews readers have posted recently about my novels on Amazon. Each of these reviews—as well as most […]
Going Batty
Almost as soon as we moved into our new home last summer, so did an uninvited guest—a bat. He (though it might have been a she) took up residence under our screened porch. The underside of the porch has open support beams beneath its deck flooring. In one corner near the back door to the […]
Southern Oregon and Forest Fires: Then and Now
I spent many weeks (and even months) in Klamath Falls, Oregon, during my early childhood, but I don’t know a lot about Southern Oregon in general. I’ve been to Crater Lake several times, and I remember that my grandfather’s machinery company did business with a sawmill in Medford. But otherwise, I just remember endless forests […]
Census Undercount? Don’t Blame Me
The news reports recently have contained stories about the 2020 U.S. Census not reaching everyone. Given my experience with zealous census workers this year, I don’t see how this can be. I’ve had to respond to the Census Bureau four times. Last April I did my civic duty. When publicity began about the obligation to […]
A Baby Sister
Some events stand out in the mind firmly enough that we remember where we were on a particular day, even a day decades in the past. National and international incidents like the first moon landing or President Kennedy’s assassination or September 11, 2001, are among these occasions. But so are family events—the death of a […]