Tonight I am sitting in a warm (well, slightly drafty) house while outside, the night is clear-skied and a cold 20 degrees (heading down to 18 before the night is through). Today, during the day, I saw a thermometer reading of 14 degrees even though the sun was shining. The wind, coming straight out of…
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.
More Thoughts on My Writing Students…
I just finished uploading the work of my students for the Scholastic Artists and Writers contest. A frustrating bit of effort given that my internet here in Texas seems to be running exceedingly slow this evening. So, three hours later… Still, the submissions are in and now we wait until the end of the month…
Making This Creative Writing Teacher Proud
I have been working with one of my creative writing students for the past 3 hours via telephone and the Internet on her short story for the Scholastic Artists and Writers contest, the oldest and most prestigious writing contest for youth in the United States. The deadline is January 6th, Monday, and we are in…
Just Gittin’ Her Done
I am sitting in the green room in our house in Texas. It is past midnight and cold outside. I am out of words. While here, I talk to more people in one day than I do in a week in CA. That isn’t exactly true, but I interact a lot more here and by…
Here, Safe and Sound
We have arrived safely at our Texas home, making the 1400 mile trek listening primarily to “The Moth” podcasts. These are real stories told by either storytellers or regular ole folks about their lives, and because it was the end of the year, we heard the “Best of 2013” stories all day long. If you…
Waiting for the New Year Countdown
I have no great emotion with the ending of this year and the beginning of the next save for the surprise that we’re well into the 2000’s at this point. How did that happen? I remember the ’50’s and 60’s a little too well to be able to compute that we’re right at the cusp…
A Simple Smile – A Memory
When I was nineteen, I transferred from the University of Texas to the University of Utah. My sister was getting a divorce and asked if I would come out and be there in Salt Lake City with her and her kids. I was happy to do that. The idea of being out-of-state for the first…
A Little Inspiration from a Master
My friend, Jane Monteagle, sent me this link to a TED talk featuring Diana Nyad, the 64-year-old woman who swam the 110 miles from Cuba to Florida in August of this year (her 5th attempt), and I must say, take the time to watch it. Anybody who thinks that once you’ve hit 60, it’s time…
Conquering Inertia – At Least Today
Today, my two daughters – Liz and Rachael – looked at me and said, “We’re going hiking up on Runyon Canyon, Mom. Want to come with us?” My immediate response was, “Well, thanks, but no. My tummy is a little upset.” The truth was it was a little upset – not very much, of course,…
Our Ojai Orange Grove in a Few Pictures
We headed up to Ojai today and spent part of the day at our orange grove. The temperature started out at 34 around 8 am and was 80 before we left in early afternoon. This is an orange blossom with others on the way to blooming. Ah…a scent so pure and sweet it defies words….
20 Minutes a Day 