I am reading for The Office of Letters and Lights the folks who bring us NaNoWriMo today as I love what they are doing for literacy with their Young Writer's… Read More

Mom Summer 2023age 91Dropping in for a quick note to explain why I disappeared for a week just as it began to seem I'd established a nice rhythm.  One that had held in spite of my falli… Read More

Second Post Section 4/6 CompleteCan't afford to spend much time on this.  Need sleep.  So just a few comments.I'm pleased with the progress.  Most especially pleased that ther… Read More

Rocking Chair with Long Heating PadThis is where I've spent most of my hours not in bed since last Tuesday afternoon when the fallout from my fall on my tailbone early Monday morning began t… Read More

The Full 8ft Long LA couple weeks ago I traded my wheeled office chair for a rocking chair.  I thought I would be able to manage without the wheels but after one weekend of trying to ma… Read More

A Piece in ResistanceThis is an update on Friday's fiber art post about the frustration of a day of putting in and taking out four short rows so many times I lost count.  Well the next… Read More

Post Virus Poncho 50.55% FinishedI finished the first Post Virus Shawl last spring and instead of wearing it, I set it aside because I decided I'd rather have a poncho.  So I started a… Read More

From Where You DreamThe Process of Writing Fictionby Robert Olen ButlerEdited and with and Introductionby Janet BurrowayThis is one of the writing craft books most influential on my craft.&n&hell…Read More

Mr Merryweather Giggles and My New Glider RockerMy caregiver, Laura, took me to the Habitat for Humanity thrift store last Thursday.  I was looking for a deep glass baking dish for cass… Read More

Hat & Scarf Set 2/3 DoneI started with 3 of these small balls or skeins.  Not sure what they are called.  I hoped there would be enough for the hat and scarf set.  Now I'm… Read More

Storyworld Go Bag Filling UpMy new storyworld go bag for my Fruits of the Spirit storyworld was ready for NaNo on Monday night.  I got the printed manuscripts of several WIP installed a… Read More

Hat Crocheted with Ice PicassoWhen I finally had my crochet corner back in order Friday night, I needed to crochet to test drive it but the several projects that were active when I was so ru… Read More

Pincushion MugThis pincushion in a mug was one of the items I bought at a artisan booth at the Highland Festival I attended last August and wrote about in my post, Jazzed.  I'm posting… Read More

UprightSeveral times since the late 1980s when I first conceived the concept of the storyworld I call Fruits of the Spirit, I've lost much and once most of all of the related materials in a… Read More

Fingerfood for Read-a-ThonsToday, for the moment anyway, I'm holding this weekend's read-a-thon as a triumph rather than a fail.  I only made it fifteen of the twenty-four hours as I co… Read More

   I am reading for The Office of Letters and Lights the folks who bring us NaNoWriMo today as I love what they are doing for literacy with their Young Writer's… Read More

35 Years, a Million Words and No End In Sight NaNo kickoff is closing in and I'm not ready to commit to a new story in my storyworld.  Oh, there are possibilities that tempt me--se… Read More

Swallowed by Shadows or Floundering in FireMy mood has been off all weekend and possibly since as early as Thursday evening.  But I noticed it sinking on Friday afternoon and it kept on… Read More

Boxed and Bindered Scribbles It took four 6-10 hour days of effort to undo the chaos that the forced switch of the beanbag/tramp with the table last August created.  As featured in… Read More

Back in My HavenBack in early August I had to switch the beanbag/mini-tramp with the table beside it in order to pass an inspection to avoid eviction.  I had to move the cooler over to… Read More

CrystallineThe crystal sculpture pictured above is another of the treasures I picked up at the Highland's Festival in Kelso WA two weeks ago today.  See my Jazzed post for details of th… Read More

Handmade Leather NotebookThe notebook pictured is one of the treasures I bought at the artisan booths at the Highland Festival I attended last Sunday.  If you missed that post, which is… Read More

Celtica Nova & The Wicked Tinkers: "The Atholl Highlanders" I went to the Highlander Festival in Kelso, Washington this afternoon and sat through three sets of the Wicked Tinkers.&n&hell…Read More

Live Jelly Cam -- Monterey Bay Aquarium 7am-7pm PacificIf it's black when you tune in just back it up I've decided to revive one of my old memes, Sunday Serenity, making it the focus of… Read More

A Round of Words in 80 DaysRound 3 2023The writing challenge that knows you have a lifeShame was the main game we played in my home, in my church, in my classrooms, on my playgrounds.&n&hell…Read More

A Round of Words in 80 DaysRound 3 2023The writing challenge that knows you have a lifeI know I promised a deeper dive into the theme of shame and how it relates to my relationship with… Read More

    A Round of Words in 80 DaysRound 3 2023The writing challenge that knows you have a lifeThings in terms of the goals are still about where they were the last two… Read More

  A Round of Words in 80 DaysRound 3 2023The writing challenge that knows you have a lifeI'm hoping to keep this essay part short and sweet.  LOL  'Yeah, right.'&nbs&hell…Read More

  A Round of Words in 80 DaysRound 3 2023The writing challenge that knows you have a lifeWisdom in WeepingA friend sent me that image this morning and I teared up as I read it… Read More

  A Round of Words in 80 DaysRound 3 2023The writing challenge that knows you have a lifeWith a timeline like this it is hard not to see self-sabotage or a very unserious inte… Read More

A Round of Words in 80 DaysRound 3 2023The writing challenge that knows you have a lifeThe pain is less but still a significant factor as it is easily triggered in unpredictable ways.&n&hell…Read More

A Round of Words in 80 DaysRound 3 2023The writing challenge that knows you have a lifeThis week is full of hiccups.  Or maybe hiccup is just another word for life.The only two goa… Read More

A Round of Words in 80 DaysRound 3 2023The writing challenge that knows you have a lifeAbbie Emmons MotivationalI thought I would 'cheat' a bit with this post and save time by not tryin… Read More

A Round of Words in 80 DaysRound 3 2023The writing challenge that knows you have a lifeI think I broke my insight machine.  The last two weeks and thus for most of the check ins th… Read More

A Round of Words in 80 DaysRound 3 2023The writing challenge that knows you have a lifeWith more full YESes and two partials that were once flat NOs I can congratulate myself on steady… Read More

   I am reading for The Office of Letters and Lights the folks who bring us NaNoWriMo today as I love what they are doing for literacy with their Young Writer's… Read More

A Round of Words in 80 DaysRound 3 2023The writing challenge that knows you have a lifeI am at the moment managing to fight my natural inclination to see failure at one part as failure… Read More

Library LustAlong with my writing mojo, I've got my reading mojo back this year.  On the last day of June I tallied up all the books I'd finished on all my devices since the first of th… Read More

A Round of Words in 80 DaysRound 3 2023The writing challenge that knows you have a lifeI didn't readjust my goals after the fallout from last week's fall.  But I did readjust my ex… Read More

A Round of Words in 80 DaysRound 3 2023The writing challenge that knows you have a lifeI may have to reevaluate my goals.  I am currently trying to decide whether I over-estimated… Read More

 Note: I am aware there are no paragraph breaks in the published post.  I have no clue why as they exist in the editor version.  I will try to figure it out later but it has b… Read More

Round Lace Baby Blankets for Twin GirlsIt's hard to top a 24 hour read-a-thon but a day of crocheting comes close.  Plus I can still read with audio books if I choose.  Tho I might… Read More

  I am reading for The Office of Letters and Lights the folks who bring us NaNoWriMo today as I love what they are doing for literacy with their Young Writer's… Read More

  I am reading for The Office of Letters and Lights the folks who bring us NaNoWriMo today as I love what they are doing for literacy with their Young Writer's… Read More

 500 Stellas Can Put Anyone In the MudIn a discussion with my sister-friend Jamie several months ago, I was ragging on myself and refusing to see what Jamie saw as positives instead of… Read More

Evita and Me by Erika Rummel Publisher:  DX Varos Publishing (May 24, 2022) Category: Historical Fiction, Crime, Women's Literature Tour Dates June 21-July 22… Read More

A Round of Words in 80 DaysRound 2 2022The writing challenge that knows you have a lifeSince the last time I made a goal post many things have changed in my life circumstances.  I… Read More

A Gift Upon the Shoreby M K WrenM K Wren's A Gift Upon the Shore was a gift to readers everywhere and everywhen back in the day before smartphones and internet.  It's a post-apocalyptic… Read More

My DVD ShelvesThe read-a-thon was supposed to end at 5am for me but I read on until 7:30 trying to finish that novel I spent more than twelve hours with during the thon.  I woke up afte… Read More

  I am reading for The Office of Letters and Lights the folks who bring us NaNoWriMo today as I love what they are doing for literacy with their Young Writer's… Read More

Over 50K in a memoirBack again after long hiatus.  Recent events give me hope I might be back on a regular basis.I just spent the month of April participating in Camp NaNoWriMo and… Read More

Time and the Tree by Roisin Sorahan Publisher: Adelaide Books, NY (September 6, 2021 Category: Literary Fiction, Fantasy, Modern Fable, and Self-actualization Tour dates: Janu… Read More

This is just a stub post.  I'm going to sit down and eat this before I tell the story of how I made for myself for the first time the 'special occassion' dinner that Ed used to make for… Read More

My NaNo ProfileIt's time to put writing fiction back into the passion category in my life. I set it aside after the death of my husband last fall in favor of personal journaling and poe… Read More

I am reading for The Office of Letters and Lights the folks who bring us NaNoWriMo today as I love what they are doing for literacy with their Young Writer's Programs and… Read More

Writing StationBy placing my blue tray table with laptop between the white tray table and the white drawer on the couch I created a 'desk' that is a little wider than my spread out arms.&nbs&hell…Read More

Sweaterless Sleeves We've all heard of the sleeveless sweater but did you ever consider the sweaterless sleeve as being a thing?  A useful thing at that?Well it had never occurred… Read More

 Odyssey of Ashes: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Letting Go by Cheryl Krauter  Publisher: She Writes Press, (July 20, 2021) Category: Memoir, Grief, Loss, Healing Tour… Read More

My Happy Place Became My Wallowing PlaceAfter encountering some grief grenades last week followed up by heat whammies and exacerbated by incipient blisters across the bottoms of both feet fo… Read More

I am reading for The Office of Letters and Lights the folks who bring us NaNoWriMo today as I love what they are doing for literacy with their Young Writer's Programs and… Read More

The Bed Alcoveshowing the back wall cleared for the shelves and the table moved in for the buildThe last ten days has been a hectic blur of shifting stuff from one place to another.  At… Read More

The Microwave and Toaster Oven are Now In PlaceThanks to my caregiver yesterday afternoon we unboxed and set up the toaster oven and microwave.  This afternoon I got Ed's knives placed… Read More

Mini Tramp In Front of the Front WindowThe latest happy place created is making room for my tramp in front of the front window.  It matters what I'm looking at when using the tramp and… Read More

My Happy Place Saturday NoonFeaturing the Portable Desk I Unboxed Late Friday EveningI took this view of the bed alcove early afternoon on Saturday as part of a series of photos showing the… Read More

Closing in on my first 24 hours alone in my new place.  Above are a few of the new things I acquired in the weeks since I learned I was next in line for placement.  I broke them ou… Read More

Walking towards the front door of the efficiency unit duplex I was being shown for my approval nearly a month ago.  I approved.  This week I'm moving in.The window on the left is t… Read More

I am reading for The Office of Letters and Lights the folks who bring us NaNoWriMo today as I love what they are doing for literacy with their Young Writer's Programs and… Read More

Ed & I Embarking This Night 1978 This season between September and February is a minefield of memories that tyrannize me with explosive emotions.  Emotions that tear-N-eyes me… Read More

I'm not feeling it.The usual NaNo win euphoria is MIA.  It feels a bit like the win is a scoop of ice-cream atop a mud pie, rendering the ice cream as inedible as the pie.In spite of th… Read More

Dis wut missgn u feelz lykAfter over a week maintaining a fairly stable mood with the grieving on a slow simmer and the tears playing peek-a-boo for a few minutes a few times per day, I had… Read More

Bedwriting-- will soaks yu in streamz of consuchasHave had a fairly calm week.  I'm sure that has much to do with having put a very high priority on sleep.  I'm almost starting to… Read More

When what you want is hopelessly beyond your reach Learn to want something elseThe last three days have been much calmer than the three culminating in the wee hours of Monday morning as I wa… Read More

via GIPHYSeriously.  This is wearing me out.  I fear I'm going to wear out what's left of my audience if I keep posting about it.  Yet if I make this topic taboo I'll pro… Read More

Happy Birthday Song - Puddles Pity Party So it's the first birthday without Ed. Well, I knew this would be one of the difficult milestones but so far it's not as bad as I'd expecte… Read More

Hurt covered by Puddles Pity PartyI discovered Puddles Pity Party over the weekend and have become addicted to him. It isn't enough to just listen.  Otherwise I could listen to the song… Read More

 Joe Biden and Kamala Harris Victory Speeches This has been the roughest week yet to muddle through.  Yes even rougher than the 12 days I spent cleaning and packing up Ed's ap… Read More

Dish Drainer and SinkHaving spent the last twelve days wiping surfaces along with moving, sorting and packing stuff--all while grieving the loss of the husband who made the mess and owned th… Read More

Raven Kissing a Rainbow Bird?That's my new mousepad for my Fusion 5 Windows Tablet.  I found it when I was shopping for Raven misc. in honor of Ed a couple weeks ago.  Ed considere… Read More

Kate and Abbie Emmons Writing PodcastRe: Prepping Mentally for NaNo Prepping mentally for NaNo is about all I can manage right now anyway so I found it really helpful to listen to this… Read More

I am reading for The Office of Letters and Lights the folks who bring us NaNoWriMo today as I love what they are doing for literacy with their Young Writer's Programs and… Read More

Ed's Clothes Pile.4ft from front edge to back of closet3.5 between closet doors16 to 18 inches deep.Today I tackled Ed's clothes.  I spent hours at it and I've barely put a dent in it… Read More

Here's the #ROW80 #Preptober portion of this post.This is Ed's office after I got done creating my island of sanity before returning to work on Ed's mess.  I changed my mind about using… Read More

Standing in the doorway facing the long wall between the hall and the kitchenI chickened out spending the night. The mess was worse than I imagined and I have a good imagination with past ex… Read More

Shadows of Our Former UsTaken at the lake March 2016 the week Ed moved to Longview After 3 years separated by 300 miles.Blinded by a big happy.Today I'm finally getting access to Ed's a… Read More

Christina Aguilera - Say SomethingWell.  I started journaling again late Thursday after Mom was in bed.  It began as an exercise in testing out my lap desk set up in bed for my new… Read More

Say Me Else I Shall Not BebyJoy RneeWords gone astrayGone awayGoneWords gone missingStolen awayGoneWords gone southGone out of my mouthGoneGone out of my mindWordless I wail,Words! Oh my wor… Read More

iz gonna haz a boo kwissmus wifowt UI woke up Monday morning before dawn after less than seven hours of sleep and in spite of having taken a double dose of the Trazadone as I lay down hoping… Read More

Still haven't started writing this round.  Though I have set myself down in front of the screen with the file open and also sat with paper and pencil but only doodled.  Every time… Read More

Dewey's 24hr Read-a-Thon Fall Edition 2020:October 24Reader Sign-Up I am so ready for the Dewey Thon!! I definitely need the distraction of a read-a-thon.  It would be a lot m… Read More

BedwritingI haven't yet started the writing portion of my goals or the scavenger hunts in my files but I've done fairly well on the other aspects.  My primary focus has been on prepping… Read More

Ten Years In - 1989Ten Years Out- 2009I began the last round with the announcement that I'd just walked away from my 41 year marriage.  This round begins with the announcement that I wi… Read More

Go Forth Ed and Be in PeaceSeptember 24, 1958-September 25, 2020Pic taken at the LongviewGo Fourth celebrationJuly 3, 2017I've been sitting here for over an hour gazing at the pictures I cho… Read More

Yooz doing it alls wrongvisit and vote it up :)So, I used to illustrate my posts with LOLcats.  Some made by others but mostly made by me.  I would spend hours on the cheezeburger… Read More

 Medieval, Middle Ages MusicThere is something about this Medieval music that is addictive.  Many moods are represented from glee to gloom and from longing to whimsy but overall I'… Read More

Surf Breaking on Sand and RockWhite Noise to Write Byor Read...or Sleep...or Muse... Last Sunday's check-in was the first one this round that I got a 'satisfactory' or better on all the… Read More

I am reading for The Office of Letters and Lights the folks who bring us NaNoWriMo today as I love what they are doing for literacy with their Young Writer's Programs and because I've p… Read More

Power of Vulnerability: Teachings on Authenticity, Connection, and Courage by Brene BrownBetween this section and the goals section there is a video of Brene Brown's TED talk on this subject… Read More

dat is a big bad wuntzIn yesterday's post I shared a classic poem that had given me the insight that defeat is not always, if ever, something to be despondent over or even unwelcome because… Read More

Kahil Gibran's poem Defeat gives me a new perspective on making mistakes, not measuring up, not meeting expectations: Defeat is our teacher, our companion on our path who reminds us the path… Read More

This is my first attempt at making a six foot scarf.  My specialty over the last several years has been skinny scarves that hang no further than the collar bone and won't wrap around.&n&hell…Read More