We made good progress today and are outside of Tucson. We will get up early and head straight to Rachael and Andrew’s place for a visit, followed by a visit to Sarah and Gregorio’s to see them and Luna, Nico, and Lyla. Then we will go to Ojai to see Liz, Ron, and Ethan. Yes, we…
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.
Our Rather Slow Process
We got a late start today due to trailer issues. Ray was a champ and managed to rearrange a dozen hefty items to distribute the weight more evenly. Before that, we thought we might have to scrub taking the tightly packed trailer altogether. Hooray for Ray! We’re in Monahans, Texas at present. Looking forward to…
Heading West
Tomorrow, bright and early, Ray and I will start our drive back to California. We have been delayed a couple of days because of the inclement weather. We also are driving south and picking up Interstate 10 so we don’t encounter snow. Though we love the Interstate 40 route, it is not in our future…
For All Who Expressed Concern: Our Family is Safe from the Torrential Rains
Thanks to all of you who wrote me privately or reached out via Facebook to ask how our family is weathering the current “atmospheric river” that has borne down on Southern California. As it turns out, Ray and I are still in Texas due to the inclement weather in California but will be leaving soon….
Great Recipe for a Cinnamon Sugar Apple Cake
I made this cake today. I used maple syrup and agave rather than brown sugar. I also made the honey butter to put on top. This very simple recipe made one of the best apple cakes I’ve ever eaten. Ray loved it too. The person who posted the recipe said this cake is the one…
Second Samuel: The Current Play Offered by Sherman Community Players
Last night, Ray and I joined two friends to see Second Samuel by Pamela Parker, a play put on by the Sherman Community Players where our friend Darrah Dunn is the artistic director. The play takes place in Second Samuel, Georgia in the late 1940s and offers a window into small-town life in rural America….
Our Progress, and Also a Touching Conversation with a Stranger
Today, Ray and I filled our trailer with metal to take to the recycling place and also met our local junk store friends, who graciously accepted the gift of a couple of SUV loads of our don’t-need-to-store-these-anymore antiques and collectibles. We are very pleased to have relieved ourselves of all of these “extras” that have…
Some Excellent Writing Advise
Below is a short article that contains wonderful writing advice the author received from Knopf’s Charles Elliott. A variation on this advice came from a teacher I’ve worked with but I cannot recall which teacher. His/her advice was, “Pretend you have a camera on your shoulder and let the reader see exactly what the camera…
A Ramble About My Day
I am tired. Today was busy. Lots of visiting, which was all pleasant and with people I am very fond of, so that wasn’t the problem. The problem is that I went from one activity to the next with no downtime in between. We went to breakfast with one of our antique dealer friends to…
The Success of SCN’s “20-Minutes-a-Day” Writing Challenge
I just concluded hosting Story Circle Network’s “20 Minutes a Day” January writing challenge. We had 44 participants who committed to writing for 20 minutes a day from January 2 until today, January 30th. Here’s to your success, writing participants! Daughter Liz Beaty, SCN’s program director, and I created this program a few years ago. This…
20 Minutes a Day 