Lyla Gabriella Pacheco Beaty turned four today and I am very happy to celebrate her life in a few photos tonight. She is a darling little girl with a big smile, lots of energy, and a sharp mind. She is also one of those kids who likes to dance around a room, stay close to…
Author: lenleatherwood
I am a native Texan who has lived for the past 27 years in Los Angeles. I am a published author of both short memoir and fiction, a Pushcart nominee, a nationally award-winning writing coach, an editor, as well as a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Texas. In addition, I am the mother of three grown daughters of whom I am extremely proud, a grandmother of three darling children and the wife of a man I still love after 41 years.
Poem to My Late Sister, Leslie
My older sister died in March 2012 of what looked like Alzheimer’s but was instead dementia that resulted from brain trauma. At 50, she hit her head while biking and suffered a debilitating concussion. Though she appeared to fully recover, over the next nineteen years we watched as her memory slowly faded. This poem was…
5-Star Recipe for Creamy Coconut Curry Lentils with Spinach
Rachael made a variation of this recipe the other day and it was exceptionally delicious. The earthiness of the lentils, the lightness of the coconut, and the warm and fiery taste of fresh ginger make for a wonderful taste treat. Rachael didn’t have the roasted carrots but I think they would be an excellent addition….
A Walk to the Ventura River Preserve
This evening I am up in Ojai at the orange grove with Liz, Ethan, and Ron. We went for a walk after dinner to the Riverview Trail Head of the Ventura River Preserve, which is comprised of 1600 acres that are owned and maintained by the Ojai Valley Land Conservancy. On the preserve, there are…
When the Writing Won’t Come
Finding a topic for writing is one of the toughest parts of blogging daily. On a busy day, it’s often no problem since I might have a ready subject to pull from, but sometimes even on those days, I’m not inspired to write about what I’ve done. That’s when I sit and stare at the…
Baby Ethan Update
Today I had the pleasure of little Ethan Arthur Betty and his mama, Liz Beaty, coming to visit Grandma. Ethan, who turned 3 months old on March 14, is displaying all sorts of big boy behavior. He can now coo and carry on, look you straight in the eye, smile, and even occasionally burst out…
Flash Fiction: Life Is Short
I wrote this story today after looking around the room and picking three things: a tile-topped mission oak table, a red dog leash, and the color green. I’m not sure if it works but I was fascinated with how this story emerged simply from those three prompts. Life Is Short Marcy grabbed the red dog…
Flash Fiction Story: Three Weeks After
She woke up lonely. She knew it would happen. She’d been expecting it. One day she was busy and life was filled to overflowing and then it wasn’t. She could hear the silence bouncing off the walls in her now too-big house; her only companions, her dog and her cat. She sat down on her…
Congratulations to Rachael, Andrew, Ron, & Michael!
Today, my daughter Rachael and son-in-law Ron (Liz’s husband) ran the LA Marathon for the first time; Andrew (Rachael’s boyfriend) ran it again after several times, and Andrew’s little brother (Michael) also ran it and I’m not sure if it was his first time or not. The bottom line is that these four people ran…
Happy Birthday, Ray!
Today started early with a visit to grandson Nico’s first baseball game of the season. He played first base, displayed an impressive arm when throwing to the pitcher, and also made a hit on his first swing. He is also the tallest boy on his team at age 7. We then headed to Sarah’s house…
20 Minutes a Day 