Ray has the flu now. So, today, after returning from church, I have done nothing but sit upstairs and watch movie after movie with him. We saw a Doris Day/Rock Hudson movie called Lover Come Back, then a Katherine Hepburn/Spencer Tracy movie, Adam’s Rib, then two episodes of the new HBO series True Detective, one…

When I need comfort, I cook. There’s nothing like chopping garlic and onions and starting them to saute in a pan with olive oil to make me feel a little more grounded. Today, I added carrots, celery, green pepper, yellow squash, zucchini squash, and fresh mushrooms, then sautéed them until they were coated with the…

I spoke to the FBI today. This was a woman agent from New York State who was alerted to the disappearance of Michelle Sandoval by my friend, Charlotte Watson. I gave the agent the contact information for Elda and her daughter, Melissa, who is fluent in English. She said she would contact them. I do…

I have been emailing all day with Charlotte Watson and her group of very active folks and we have a plan of action to present to Elda’s family, which includes contacting the Missing and Exploited Children Hotline as well as Homeland Security and ICE, which is part of that organization. ICE has agents in Guatemala City,…

Today our housekeeper, Elda, came to work crying. Her granddaughter, Michelle, disappeared on December 19th as she was leaving school for the winter holiday. She called ten days later to say that she was in Guatemala and that she had been taken there by a man she had gotten to know from her church. She…

Ray and I are holding our own with the flu bug in our house. Liz is not faring quite so well. She had a good day and the fever went down for a while, but now it’s back up with a vengeance. She was up to 103 just a while ago and had a headache….

We have the flu at our house. Our daughter, Liz, woke up this morning with 101 degree temperature, a vague cough and lots of body aches. Over the course of the day, her temperature went up to 103. Our other daughter, Sarah, and her husband, Gregorio, are at their house with the same symptoms. They…

Tomorrow I start teaching an online class for Story Circle Network entitled “Food, Memories and Writing.” I’ve taught this class before and it’s one of my favorites since food is such a great catalyst for memoir writing. After all, many memories are tied to food, such as my Aunt Millie’s silky egg custard that she…

I made this meatloaf today for a luncheon in celebration of our beloved Deacon Shireen Baker who was ordained as an Episcopal priest today. I was on Shireen’s discernment committee 4 or 5 years ago when she began what is a very long process to become a priest in our church. She has since gone to seminary…

Tomorrow we head back to CA from Texas. We’ve had a brief, but wonderful time here in the Lone Star State even if the temperatures plummeted to 12 degrees while we were here. Last time there was an ice storm. People are starting to suggest that the bad weather seems to always coincide with our visits….