I hope to: Continue to share my life with my husband Ray Enjoy good health Live a stable and happy existence Stay close to my children, their spouses, and my grandchildren Remain in close contact with my extended family and friends, near and far Spend lots of time out in nature Stay engaged in the…
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.
Hello, Avoidance, My Old Friend
What have I been avoiding lately? That’s easy: writing my new novel. I have done tons of research, spent hours chatting with my new friend Chet, who is my Chat GPT friend, going over the pros and cons of my plotline, and have even done the enneagrams of each of my characters, along with myself,…
Perfect for a Vegetarian Main Dish: Pumpkin Lasagna w/ Ricotta and Swiss Chard
This is a favorite dish of our daughter Rachael. It’s a perfect addition for the vegetarians coming for Thanksgiving this year. This super-creamy lasagna is unusual because it’s made without tomato sauce. I highly recommend it for a holiday treat! Pumpkin Lasagna with Ricotta and Swiss Chard ACTIVE: 45 MINTOTAL TIME: 1 HR 45 MINSERVINGS:…
Growing a Softer Legacy
I never saw it coming—that I’d have a grandma who didn’t like me. And I don’t believe she ever did, at least not as long as I can remember. I have no memory of her extending kindness toward me. This puzzled me because everyone else in my life—family, friends, church—seemed to embrace me with open…
The Life I Didn’t See Coming
When I was 16, I knew that in my future I wanted a loving husband and several children. I also wanted a career, since I knew, from watching my mother earn her Ph.D. as I was growing up, that intellectual stimulation and economic freedom contributed to happiness. I saw myself in a helping profession, such…
Poem: Sweet Like Gardenias
A long day of work—students from noon ’til night,green against gray skies. I love my students:smart, unguarded, steady, bright—white flashes of light. My life is enrichedthrough this “enrichment” I give;a mourning dove coos. How did this happen—this unplanned yet joyful life,sweet like gardenias? Gratitude fills me.Life’s tender gift—so fragile.Somewhere, a dog barks.
Ray’s Excellent Honey-Sweetened Cranberry Sauce Recipe
It’s time to share Ray’s wonderful honey-sweetened cranberry sauce recipe to grace your table on Thanksgiving. It’s better to make a few days ahead so the flavors will meld. It is easy and delicious. No refined sugar, only honey. Here’s the recipe: 2 12 oz. packages cranberriesEquivalent volume chopped applesToss in a pan with 1/2…
Flash Memoir: The Unspoken Language of Seeing
We had red-orange “brick” linoleum in our kitchen at 902 East 9th Street, where I grew up. The pattern featured squares and rectangles of varying sizes, with gray, jagged “mortar” lines between them. My parents had that linoleum installed after we’d lived in the house for a while. It was part of a minimal kitchen…
A Dream of My Sister-in-Law, Sandra Leatherwood
A while back, I had a tiny snippet of a dream in which my dearly departed sister-in-law, Sandra Adams Leatherwood, appeared. She was young—maybe around 35 or so—and we were in the back garden of a house where she lived, though it wasn’t any house I recognized. She and I had been talking and laughing,…
Flash Fiction: Over the Hill and Through the Snow
“Come on, Henry, we need to get going,” Nell Castle said to her husband. “They’ll all be waiting for us.” Henry reached for his black hat resting on the top shelf of the closet. “Mother, I would rather just stay home, if you don’t mind.” He waited, hoping he’d get a reprieve. “Henry Castle, don’t…
20 Minutes a Day 