Recipe: Apple Crisp
Now that autumn is officially here, it’s time for apple recipes. I’m very particular about the apples I eat because I grew up in Washington State—the apple capital of the world. Growing up, I thought there was nothing better than Washington State Red Delicious apples picked in late September (or maybe early October). Through the […]
First Methodist Church in Oregon City—A Setting in My Novels
In my about-to-be-published novel, My Hope Secured, several scenes take place in or around the Methodist Church in Oregon City. This church was also a setting in one of my earlier novels, Now I’m Found. I imagine my characters in worship services, hearing marriage banns read (though the reading of banns was not required at the […]
Mrs. Birdsong’s Bell Pull
My husband and I are starting to think about what to hang on the walls in our new house. Before we moved, our daughter told me, “Mother, if you don’t hang your pictures within a week after you move, you’ll never do it.” I disagreed with her then, and I still do. I wanted to […]
A Confession on My Sister’s Birthday
I often try to post about family members when their birthdays come around. Well, today is my sister’s birthday, so it is her turn. But I find I have already written about most of the memorable moments in our relationship (at least, the most memorable from my perspective). So, instead, I will write a confession. […]
An Interview About My Writing and Books
One of the things writers have to do is market their books. This blog is one form of marketing, though I also post to preserve my memories for succeeding generations and to reflect on the world around me. But, from time to time, I have to focus on marketing. Recently, I discussed my books at […]
September 11, A Generation Later
A few days ago the topic of September 11 came up during a conversation with a friend. “Can you believe it’s been eighteen years?” she said. “My grandchildren don’t remember it. The youngest one wasn’t even born.” Few days live in infamy across our entire nation. Pearl Harbor, which was before my time. President Kennedy’s […]
Gremlins
Equipment is supposed to work perfectly, isn’t it? It doesn’t matter what kind of equipment—computers, kitchen appliances, our bodies, or in the case of my most recent skirmish with disaster, automobiles. One evening last week I attended a meeting that ended after dark. It wasn’t late, but the sun was definitely gone. I started home […]
Forty Years Ago Today I Began My Legal Career
Forty years ago today, September 4, 1979, I started working for Hallmark Cards. It was the day after Labor Day, summer was over, and it was time to get to work. My husband and I had spent the summer studying for the bar exam, taking the three-day test at the end of July. Then we […]
My Hope Secured: Cover Reveal
It seems appropriate that on this Labor Day I am updating you on my most recent labor of love. I am pleased to show you a near-final version of the front cover of my soon to be published novel, My Hope Secured: Love and Loss on the Oregon Frontier. I might revise this cover slightly, […]
Where Did 1850s Oregon Farmers Get Their Water?
As I am finishing my current novel, it dawned on me that I have not focused on how the settlers in Oregon obtained their water. I’ve just assumed they had plenty, mostly from creeks or springs near their cabins. This is probably a reasonable assumption, but I decided I should do a little research into […]