First day back to work after the Labor Day holiday. The temperature soared today, hitting a high of 97 degrees in Los Angeles. I saw students downstairs in the part of the house where there is no air conditioning. In the morning, I met with students in the den with the curtains pulled tight and…
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.
Last Day with Our Texas Friends
Our friends are leaving early tomorrow morning. We headed back from Ojai this afternoon and spent the late afternoon and evening visiting first at Liz and Ron’s house and then at Sarah and Gregorio’s. These are old family friends so they know our kids well and vice versa. It was important to spend time together…
Happiness is camping in Ojai with family and old friends. Campfires, a trip to Ventura beach, good food and a drive up Maricopa Highway. Here are the pictures: I hope everyone is having a good Labor Day weekend. Hugs to all.
Texans on Their Way to Visit!
We have our close friends, Darrah Dunn, Shann Schubert and three of their kids arriving early tomorrow morning for the Labor Day weekend. We have been up in Ojai preparing for a busy weekend there with them plus most of our family. Liz, Ron and Rachael will be there plus Luna, but Sarah has to…
Ojai This Evening In Photos
These are photos I took walking the orange grove this evening. ‘Nuf said.
Flash Memoir: “Seeing” As A Child
We had dark red linoleum in our kitchen at 902 East 9th Street where I grew up. The pattern had little bricks with gray jagged mortar lines and the bricks were slightly raised, as they would have been if they had been real bricks. The color was almost burgundy, and my parents had that linoleum…
My Day with Little Luna
Grandma is tired. We picked 2 1/2 year old Luna up at 7:30 am at the parking lot of the Barnsdall Art Center (Sarah is working at Children’s Hospital on a rotation for the next ten days and the hospital is a block away), then returned Luna to that same parking lot this evening around 6:30…
Lost Art: In Defense of Hardbound Books
I stand firmly in the camp advocating the importance of hardbound books. I realize we can save trees if we go entirely to a digital format for all books, but all I can say to that is, “Bah, humbug.” While I understand the value of reading on a digital device, I do not especially enjoy…
My Updated Website & What I’ve Learned
I have added several new pages to my new website, changed the colors, added more photos and, in general, given it my best shot so far with my current skill level in website design (read: minimal – moderate). I am still baffled by how to connect this to a Google search so it’s actually helpful…
Heatwave in LA
LA is experiencing a heat wave and it’s been tough on all of us. The temperatures over the past few days have been high. Yesterday is was 97 degrees; today close to 95. Plus the humidity has been up so the heat feels even hotter. Add to the mix all the asphalt from the roads…
20 Minutes a Day 