Nearly every day, people evaluate what they consume. We tend to accept nutritional information from valid studies of coffee, eggs, or trans-fats and adjust our approach. But I don’t see that same interest in thoughtful verification elsewhere. Folks seem to set aside perceptive reasoning and critical thought, and readily accept statements offered by charismatic personalities […]
This Covid isolation has finally gotten me down. I’ve begun to wonder why I do anything. Why bother cooking when there’s no one to eat what I cook. No one to eat the bread I bake. And if it weren’t so frigid and icy outside, I’d drive and drop a fresh loaf by a friend’s […]
Sit with me on this brink of time. Tonight is the threshold of a new calendar year. It could be a turning point – we hope it is. And this kind of assessment could be part of any turning point, any transitional moment. I don’t make New Year resolutions, but I can assess the situation […]
All those years gone. All the tender memories that could have been. I wish I’d spoken out stronger over the years. I wish I’d taken a stand. I will now. My objective is to develop a fresh practice of personally valuable Christmas ideals. I’ll gather remnants of my naïve attempts to celebrate this season, consider […]
Happy Throwback Thanksgiving! This is not my newest book. I published a memoir in March and have another manuscript simmering – buried under a stack of notepads in my office. However, this baby-book developed from a sentimental dream and identified itself as my first-born. Its theme of gratitude seems as important today as any other […]
I shuffle through ankle-deep crisp and crunch. All these leaves are sepia beautiful; they vary only in their shape. Pin oak, cottonwood, ash, and elm. But below this maple, a blanket of gold lays full-circle ‘round her graceful trunk. Twenty-five years I’ve watched her undress and dress, but the fascination never fades. A few cut-offs from […]
It was one of those days. I looked in the refrigerator for a remedy – none there. Maybe a cup of tea or hot chocolate would ease this particular tension. Nope. I went to the greenhouse looking for weeds to pull – couldn’t find even one tiny little thing, so I squished a few kale […]
Brene’ Brown, research professor, lecturer, and author, says it’s dangerous to question our own lovability, creativity, or divinity. Whatever scars traumatic experiences have left us with, they are not to define or describe our intrinsic values in these three categories. I apply that same philosophy to the context of land. The land I live with […]
Confessions of an absentee blogger I sat down to write a confession and explain to you my lack of posting, so, of course, checked my email one more time. It wasn’t procrastination this time, it was a gift. Two authors I subscribe to had written – and sent – similar confessions! They both wrote honestly […]
Ojo Caliente, just a few minutes north of Santa Fe, had not yet developed into the luxurious spa resort it is today when I got lost there. I’d heard a frail young woman on the train tell how its waters helped her illness. She planned to return there after the next surgery on yet another […]