Our first home came with a high-ceilinged living room, lots of wavy glass windows and a big empty garden. I spent hours thinking about what to plant in that garden and consulted plant and seed catalogs for inspiration. One catalog was devoted to apples and taught me that you could grow something beyond the five [...]
After ten days traveling on the East Coast, I’m suffering from a serious case of leaf envy. Starting with the Shenandoah Valley and ending at the Charles River my trip was awash with the sunset colors we rarely see on our trees here in California. Oh, the leaves change alright. But they do so with [...]
Ever since I finished a ten-years-in-the-making quilt top on Tuesday, I’ve been happily plucking clipped loose threads off my furniture, clothing—even my hair brush. Now the top (and back) are off to be professionally quilted and I’m savoring the delicious pause between completed and new projects. I’m also taking a little break from fiction writing [...]
Perhaps you’ve already seen the video of British street artist Banksy’s paintings being sold—or mostly not being sold—at a street fair in Central Park. If not, take a look. Like me did you get more anxious as people kept missing the opportunity (Banksy’s paintings sell for hundreds of thousands of dollars) that was Right There? My [...]
I’m looking forward to a fun, full weekend that’s kicking off with a co-ed baby shower for two recently married men adopting their second child. The happy couple are part of my Mormon church congregation and we’re gathering to celebrate their new addition. Yep. You read right. A group of Mormons are hosting a baby [...]
Happy Birthday to my husband, M.J. Well before Google was invented, he became the search engine in my world. Brilliant, clever, kind and decent–he’s provided the answers to so many questions in my life. Big and little. Our children mock our geeky courtship–we met in our university’s honors program, competed on the same College Bowl [...]
On this week of the fall equinox I’ve been spending time getting ready to host a baby shower for a young friend. Other friends are bringing the food which means I’ve been able to focus my party prep on my home and garden. Early in the week, feeling very Mrs. Dalloway-esque, I headed to my [...]
After reading Jackson Lander’s chilling account of being bit by a black widow spider, I’m cautiously eyeing the fall crop of spider webs around my yard. Though Landers writes that black widows are notoriously shy and likely to stay clear unless threatened, he was still caught unawares when he stepped into a water shoe to [...]
How does something ugly become a thing of beauty? Take the popularity of this bruise-like grey/purple/green nail color from Essie called “For the Twill of It.” (Don’t you just love nail polish names?) The shimmery black shade evokes beetle exoskeletons, fish scales and bat wings–perfect for Halloween but how about early September? I decided to [...]
. . .the thing I still remember is how quiet the sky was.
