I love collecting recipes and this one came from a recipe box I bought at an estate sale several years ago. The box is made up of two long file drawers in a small oak cabinet and each drawer is crammed full of the owner’s favorite recipes clipped from newspapers or magazines, along with hand-written…
Author: lenleatherwood
I am a native Texan who has lived for the past 30 years in Southern California. I am a published author of both short memoir and fiction, a two-time 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 four darling children and the wife of a man I still love after 44 years.
Ojai, Organic Blue Corn Chips and Agave-Sweetened Ginger Ale
Yep. Still here. Sitting with Ray in the Airstream, listening to KUSC broadcast Beethoven’s 7th Symphony while we munch on blue corn chips and swig agave-sweetened ginger ale. Could I be any happier? Hard to say. Probably not. Maybe if my grandkids were here, but they are coming over tomorrow night for a sleep-over so…
Ojai Tonight
After working a day that literally started at 6 am and ended at 8:30 tonight, Ray drove us up to Ojai to the orange grove. The wind is balmy and gentle, the sky clear and sprinkled with bright stars and the quiet that is enveloping this place is peaceful. I am so happy to be…
Reflections on Faith on All-Soul’s Day
I have two icons of St. Mary holding baby Jesus that are in the cabinet next to where I am sitting here in the living room. The icons are both gifts from our priest, Father Ian Elliott Davies at St. Thomas the Apostle, Hollywood. In both, Mary is looking right at me, as if she…
Repost: Homemade Pizza Recipe and a Fun Evening
On Sunday night, we had dinner tonight at Liz’s boyfriend’s parent’s house in Hollywood. Ron made a homemade pizza dough from a Bobby Flay recipe, and cooked it on the grill. Cindy, Ron’s mom, made a homemade tomato sauce. Then there were loads of toppings to choose from including smoked gouda and mozzarella cheese, red…
A Method to Combat Those Negative Thoughts that Undermine Creativity
One of the challenges of writing is overcoming the negative self talk that can paralyze creativity. Below are 25 different thoughts that often surface and a method that I’ve discovered that combats these negative messages. Why I shouldn’t write today: 1) I am boring and so is my life. 2) Why would anybody care about…
November 1 Deadline Met!
Let me congratulate all my students who have worked their rear-ends off to finish their early decision and early action essays and supplemental questions several days before the November 1 deadline. Some of these seniors have been working since mid-August on the multi-layered components in their applications and it is no joke to say they…
“Other”
Other? What does that mean? Other means not us. Someone different. Someone who does not share common traits or beliefs or locations or even species. Other is a word that comes up a lot when people want to judge someone harshly. He has other beliefs. She has other interests. Not ours. Against us. Not with…
College Essay Crunch Time: Early Action/Early Decision
I am in the throes of college essay crunch time. I have a sizable number of students who are applying early with November 1 as the first big deadline and we are hunkered down writing essays for Stanford, Penn, Michigan, Wisconsin, Chapman, Loyola Marymount, and many, many medical schools. Luckily, these kids are hardworking and…
20 Minutes a Day 