Write Brain Trust Authors—What We Love (and Hate) About Writing
On my page for writers, I mention Write Brain Trust, a group of Kansas City area authors whose mission is “Writers helping writers with creativity, publishing, and marketing in a digital world.” In the seven years since we began, about thirty authors have been a part of the group. Recently, several of us started talking […]
Black-Eyed Peas: An Instant Pot Recipe
I reported earlier in the month that my husband gave me an Instant Pot for Christmas. Although it wasn’t at the top of my wishlist (nor, indeed, anywhere on my wishlist), I have tried to give it a fair opportunity. Here is a recipe for one of my more successful attempts: Black-Eyed Peas 1/2 bag […]
Ten Years Ago—My Life and Dreams
Every once in a while, I go back through old journal volumes to see where I was and how I’ve traveled to where I am today. Recently, I picked up a volume from ten years ago. Early 2009 was the end of the beginning of my retirement years. Throughout 2007 and 2008, I had relished […]
Logging in Oregon in the 1850s
When the pioneers reached Oregon, they found abundant old-growth forests with timber that had never been cut. But logging has always been a part of Oregon’s history. In 1805, Lewis and Clark built their winter shelter, Fort Clatsop, out of logs they cut. Hudson Bay Company built a water-powered sawmill at Fort Vancouver in 1827. […]
An Update on Our New House—I’m Trusting the Process
Our new home is still not much more than a hole in the ground. The foundation walls were poured in mid-December. By Christmas, some backfilling around the walls had been done. As of January 8, the garage hole had been filled in. (Did you know that garage floors can be made self-supporting, so it doesn’t […]
Memories of Vicks
One scent that brings my childhood to mind is that of Vicks VapoRub. When I was of toddler and preschool age, my mother would bring out the Vicks every time my brother or I had a cold. I used to try to hide my symptoms so she wouldn’t treat me with Vicks. My brother had […]
Snow Day . . . Not for the Birds
Kansas City got hit with a snowstorm last Friday and Saturday. Friday morning I had a meeting at the far end of the metropolitan area from where I live. I was driving other people, so skipping the meeting was not an option. It rained all morning, though the snow held off until after I got […]
My New Devices: Solutions in Search of Problems
My husband is of the belief that I like gadgets. Some gadgets I do like. Some have changed my life—for example, my first Nook Color ereader and its later replacements. Before that, my Palm Pilot converted me to electronic calendars. And I love my current 13-inch HP Spectre touchscreen laptop, which is small enough to […]
Deadline: Epiphany, The Twelfth Day of Christmas
In my family growing up, the tradition was to take down the Christmas tree before New Year’s Day. My mother said it was bad luck to keep the tree up any longer. I think her real reason was that she was allergic to evergreens and wanted the scent out of the house. Whatever my mother’s […]
My Performance Review for 2018 and Writing Goals for 2019
In December 2017, a writer friend of mine asked me what my 2018 goals were. This is what I told her: 1. Publish my third historical novel, Forever Mine (a first quarter goal) 2. Draft a fourth historical novel (the first draft to be written and reviewed with my critique group by the end of […]