I Should Have Buried St. Gabriel
There is a tradition that says that when one wants to sell a house, one should bury a statue of St. Joseph in the yard of the house to be sold to help it sell quickly. I have had Catholic and non-Catholic friends tell me they followed this practice, and they all swear their houses […]
Going on Hiatus While I Move
We are in the final days now before my husband and I move to our new home. I’m planning to take a two-week hiatus on this blog while we move. But in this last post from our old house, I wanted to let readers know how it’s going. In two words: Not well. I have […]
Remembering the Old House: My Son’s Perspective
While he was visiting recently, my son posted a series of photos on Instagram with his memories of the house he grew up in. I took screenshots of his Instagram posts, asked his permission to put them on this blog, he agreed, so here they are. He had a child’s perspective of many of these […]
Remembering the Old House When It Was New: Wallpapers
On a spur-of-the-moment Fourth of July visit, my son appointed himself my assignments editor for this blog and requested a post about what our current house looked like when we moved in. He was two-and-a-half at that time and has only vague memories of the home we lived in before this one. Our daughter wasn’t […]
On Shells and Rocks
I’ve always been fascinated by seashells. I think it goes along with my love of beaches. When I visit beaches, I spend half my time staring at the sand looking for shells. After most coastal vacations I bring back a small baggie containing a few shells. Often they are imperfect, but I bring the best […]
Locked Out
As part of my due diligence in preparing to sell our current house, I have been collecting all the keys we’ve given to various people over the years. We have specialized Medeco deadbolt locks on the house which use keys that can’t be duplicated easily, so I’ve kept fairly tight control on who gets keys. […]
Unwritten Words: Reflection on the Fifth Anniversary of My Mother’s Death
“Alas for those that never sing, But die with all their music in them!” ―from “The Voiceless,” by Oliver Wendell Holmes I ran across an approximation of this quote in my mother’s journal entry for July 28, 1999. Specifically, her journal reads, “‘Alas for those who never sing (or write), but die with their music […]
Memories of Childhood Fourth of July Celebrations
I don’t remember too much about Independence Day celebrations when I was a kid. I’ve written about the flags someone gave my brother and me when I was about seven, and the trauma that our misuse of those flags caused me. That year, the Fourth of July was more problem than pleasure. My parents never […]
Historical Aspects of My Work in Progress
In February 2018, when I began writing my current novel, I speculated about what historical events might be featured in the book. I’m now in the polishing phase, and this post is an update on what has in fact made it into the novel’s plot. The Oregon Land Donation Act of 1850 is a big […]
The Value of Critique Groups Redux: Norman Ledgin and the Sedulous Writers Group
Last week my critique group lost a member, Norman Ledgin. Ninety-year-old Norm had been ailing for months and had not been able to join us in person. But until just days before his death, he faithfully printed out our submissions, marked them up in his bold black pen, and returned them with his corrections and […]