I am not certain what to write about tonight. I’ve had several false starts, meaning that I’ve written a paragraph and then erased the whole thing. Some days are easier than others when it comes to writing this blog and today is one of the harder ones. I have attempted at least four different topics,…
Category: Flash essay
Binge-Watching Again
Ray and I have begun the next TV binge-fest. This time it is Bloodline. We are only about four episodes in so I don’t quite know what I think, but it is definitely intriguing. The most interesting aspect of this family drama so far is the slow revelation of how far-reaching dysfunction can be in…
Online Shopping, Who Knew?
My children give me gift certificates for birthdays and Christmas at my request so that I will be motivated to go clothes shopping. This is not my strongest suit so all motivation is needed. One of the gift certificates I received was for Talbot’s, which was thoughtful of my girls since they know that this…
Off They Go
Good bye to Jan and John Davies, who this evening boarded a Virgin Atlantic airplane and headed back to Wales. Jan and John are two of the nicest people I know. They are the parents of our priest and friend, Father Ian Elliott Davies, and they visit our parish at least once a year for…
Ojai Kitchen
I am sitting here looking at a pink-purple sky against faraway mountains. Dusk in Ojai. Ray and I are staying until tomorrow because we have been busy all day buying materials for a freestanding kitchen that will be nestled between two orange trees near the fire-ring and sitting area. This will be an 8 x…
Stretching Time
I am sitting here in Ojai. The kids are gone; it’s just Ray, me, and the dogs. I can hear a mourning dove cooing off in the distance, a bird tweeting in a nearby tree and a car shifting gears on the highway, which is at least two miles away. Cordelia – the Corgie –…
Mad Max: Fury Road
We have just returned from seeing Mad Max. Ray hated it; thought it was a waste of time. I, surprisingly, thought it was pretty good for the type of movie it is, which is pretty much one huge monster truck chase after another. Still, I have to say that I thought Charlize Theron stole the…
Visitors in Ojai
We have just returned from an overnight visit to Ojai. We had the pleasure of having two visitors while we were there: Rachael and Luna. This was possible because Sarah is currently working nights and Gregorio had a graduate class on Wednesday night so Rachael was able to bring Luna up for the night. We…
Lessons from Two Masters
I just finished helping a student finish his 10 page term paper on how Edith Wharton’s and Tennessee Williams’ lives inspired Ethan Frome and The Glass Menagerie. The truth is that both of their lives are right there on those pages, disguised as other people dealing with problems of guilt, abandonment, thwarted dreams and societal…
A Great Essay by Phillip Lopate
This is a wonderful piece written by Phillip Lopate, who is one of the premier essayist in the United States. It is very informative to anyone who writes memoir because Lopate encourages the writer to not only include scenes which showcase the child’s perspective of the world (or the less mature perspective), but also to…
20 Minutes a Day 