A woman and her new hoe. That’s me. Yes, a hoe. Not just any hoe, however. A Husky 51″ fiberglass-handled garden hoe with a 4.5-star rating and 933 reviews on the Home Depot site. And no, I didn’t order it online. Ray and I went to Home Depot in Oxnard to purchase said hoe, along…
Month: June 2026
The Gift of Writing Together
One of the most nourishing parts of my life is the writing groups I participate in. These communities mean a great deal to me. There is some overlap between two of the four groups. Two are free-writing groups based on prompts, with twelve- to twenty-minute writing sessions; one is a critique group; and one is…
My “Baby” Bridegroom: 46 Years Ago Today
Ray and I got married 46 years ago today, when I was 27, and he was 22. Yes, call me a cradle robber if you must. The first photos are of our official wedding, performed by a county judge in Mountain View, Arkansas. We had a tiny wedding with seven people invited, and seven more…
The Comfort of Daily Routines
Another thing I find grounding and nourishing in my life is very simple: the small routines of everyday life. Yes, plain old routines. That means making my bed every morning—not because I enjoy making my bed (I don’t), but because I like how the bedroom looks when it’s made. I also love climbing into a…
The Sweetness of an Ordinary Friday
Today, Ray, Ethan, and I traveled early to our daughter Rachael, son-in-law Andrew, and baby Milo’s house in Covina, where we were later joined by Ethan’s mom and dad, our daughter Liz, and son-in-law Ron. Our original plan was to travel together to South Pasadena and spend the day at our daughter Sarah and son-in-law…
Bluegrass and Roots Music: Another Source of Nourishment in My Life
When I just need to relax while sitting or writing, my go-to music is Alison Krauss, a bluegrass and roots fiddle player and singer with one of the purest soprano voices this side of Joan Baez. Her 27 Grammys plus 44 nominations might suggest I’m not the only person who thinks this. I especially love…
A Recipe for Exceptional Homemade Chicken and Vegetable Soup
Today, my favorite three-year-old cook’s helper, Ethan, and I made chicken and vegetable soup in my Instant Pot. The Instant Pot is my go-to appliance for soup because pressure cooking melds the flavors beautifully in an exceptionally short time. My little helper and I cut up all the vegetables—he has his own kid’s knife that…
A Place Where Love is Found
Yesterday, Ray and I drove into town to attend St. Thomas the Apostle, Hollywood, the parish that has been our spiritual home since 1994, when we first moved to Los Angeles. St. Thomas is part of the same Anglo-Catholic, “high-church” tradition as Holy Trinity in Bonham, Texas, where I grew up, and St. Stephen’s in…
20 Minutes a Day 