Hi all. Sorry I skipped last night. Here is why: Little Luna (age 3) and Nico (who turned 6 months yesterday!) came for an overnight visit. All went well during the evening, particularly since Auntie Rachael and Ariel came to visit, which made everybody happy. Nico even fell asleep in Auntie’s arms and was as…
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.
Photos from the Orange Grove
Here are photos I took yesterday at the orange grove. You will see the various succulents we have growing there. We returned to LA this morning ten minutes before my first student. I’ve been working steadily all day with students. College essay time has begun again and high school seniors are making their way in…
Almost Too Tired to Shower
I am sitting in a chaise lounge here at the orange grove. It is 7:20 pm and I am trying to work up the energy to walk over to our shower, which is in a tin building with no roof. Once there, I will be happy. Thanks to a heat-on-demand propane water heater, there will…
Ojai Tonight
Ray and I are up at the orange grove tonight. We are staying in our Airstream and will gather up collectibles tomorrow to take with us on our upcoming drive to Texas. We are due to leave on Thursday after having the chance to keep our grandkids overnight on Wednesday. That visit will hopefully hold…
A Special Gift: To Serve in Brit and Mark’s Wedding
I had the privilege to serve today as subdeacon at the wedding of two of our beloved parishioners, Brit Bjurstrom and Mark Frazier, at St. Thomas the Apostle Episcopal Church, Hollywood. This was my first time to perform my duties as subdeacon at a wedding and it meant that I served at the altar with…
Repost: A Lesson from the Past
This is a post that I wrote back in July of 2012. Somehow it speaks to me today. I hope it will speak to you as well. Len One of the toughest moments I have ever witnessed in my life is when many years ago a beloved priest of mine unexpectedly lost his daughter, Ruthie,…
Dallas Police Shootings Tonight
I have just come from watching the live coverage of the shooting of police officers in Dallas, which is part of my stomping ground since I grew up in North Central Texas. I know well those streets, the Crowne Plaza Hotel, and Parkland Hospital. Ironically, this all took place only blocks from “the grassy knoll”…
Prompt: When Do I Feel Most Free?
When do I feel most free? Ah, I know. When I write fiction. Nothing matches the sense of freedom I feel when I settle into a comfortable chair with either my laptop or notebook and pen, and write a random sentence or fragment of dialogue with no idea where it will take me. From there, the…
Luna & the 4th of July Parade
Today we went out to Sierra Madre to see Luna and her preschool in the 4th of July parade. I thought we were going to see a 10 minute parade of a bunch of kids and maybe a few parents. Instead, the little city of Sierra Madre (directly east of Pasadena) “put on the dog,”…
A Reading of Flash Fiction Story #2: Jacob’s Search
I am adding a second flash fiction story here, which is the one I put on my blog last week. Since several people said they liked these but prefer to see the text too, I am adding the text below the YouTube video. (I promise I won’t do this more than once a week!) I…
20 Minutes a Day 