Here are Cordelia and Sammie in their bed on our return journey to California. We left north central Texas at 6 pm and are just arriving in Amarillo at midnight. Tomorrow we hope to have a long day on the road, stopping in either Kingman, AZ or Barstow, CA. This time we plan on 2…
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.
Texas and Our “Little” House Renovation
I am here in Texas where the weather has been beautiful. We’ve had cool breezes – but not too cool – and clear skies. We have been doing a lot of work on our guesthouse here, getting it ready to rent, so we’ve been outside a lot. The wind has been blowing from the south,…
Hurricane Sandy’s Aftermath
I watched a news show with Brian Williams tonight showing the devastation in New York, Statin Island, and New Jersey in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. It was disturbing to see such loss; upsetting to see such human suffering. Hopefully, the Red Cross and FEMA are on their way to Statin Island, in particular. People…
Halloween at the Dallas Opera
We are in Dallas at the Dallas Opera Center for a performance of Aida. We are with our friends Darrah Dunn and Shann Schubert from Sherman, Texas. This is our Halloween treat to ourselves, a night out with close friends enjoying the new Winspear Center. The lights are about to go down. The orchestra is…
Hurray! Two Publications.
I am happy to report that two of my memoir pieces have been accepted for publication: one in the 2012 Story Circle Network hard copy anthology and the other in the SCN online anthology. The best part is that both of these pieces came from right here: my blog. I wrote them in my 20…
One Nation
I am standing in front of the space heater which is glowing orange while I write this post on my phone. It is cold here – in the 30’s – and I look forward to warm covers and a soft bed. My thoughts and prayers go out to all those on the east coast who…
2 am – We Have Arrived
We have made it to our Texas home. Finally. We arrived at 1:15 am, after having driven since 7:45 am. Except for gas and a few dog pit stops, the only time we weren’t in the car was in Albuquerque for lunch at around 3 pm. We passed the time today listening to NPR and…
Travels East
We are en route by car to Texas for business. Left LA at 5:15 pm and are now in Williams, AZ (the turn off 40 for the Grand Canyon). We arrived around 1 am. I missed my blog deadline for the 27th, but here I am early on the 28th. Ray and the dogs are…
A Poetry Book That Pulls You In and Teaches You History
My daughter Rachael has introduced me to a book of poems from her poetry class at UCLA entitled Blue-Tail Fly by Vievee Francis. This is a wonderful volume of persona poems written in the voices of either real people or composites of people living from the pre-Mexican American War through the post-Civil War era. This book…
The Santa Ana Winds Are Here
The wind is rustling the leaves in the tree outside my back door; I can see the Nandina bushes bending and shaking through the front window. The Santa Ana winds have been blowing since yesterday, sending the pollution out to sea and making the LA air smell cleaner. Unfortunately, because the winds are dry, they…
