I am very tired. We’ve been working hard for the past three days on an estate in a multi-million dollar condo in a posh Wilshire-corridor building near Westwood. The home owner association dues are $4000/month if that gives you a clearer picture. Anyway, we’ve been rushing to get all the art, antiques and collectibles packed…
Category: Writing as a Discipline
A “Nice” Rejection Letter for An Odd Story
I received this last night from the editor of Thrice Publishing. Dear Helen, Thanks for sending “The Mustache: A Social Experiment”. I’m going to pass on this one Helen, but am honored by the opportunity to see work of merit. Sometimes it only comes down to the direction we’re taking at the moment, more than…
Handling Estates, the Unexpected Pleasures
We are handling an estate in the Wilshire District of Westwood for a very nice woman who has recently lost her husband. Her condo is in one of the prettiest buildings on the Wilshire corridor and has a view at night that is hard to beat. Today we worked with her, deciding which pieces of…
My Very First Art Class as an Adult
I am not known for my artistic ability. I enjoy wonderful art and appreciate the skill that others bring to painting, sculpting, and pottery but producing beautiful pieces of art has never been part of my experience. That is until tonight when I attended my first art class since middle school…or maybe even elementary school…
Confession of a Neurotic Writer
Last week I made a goal to write every morning right after waking. This was not for my blog, but for my novel in progress. Monday – Thursday I did great. I got up, sat down, wrote and was pleased with myself. However, Friday morning, I was leaving early to go to see a client…
Shared Birthday Weekend Celebration
I have spent the last two days at our orange grove in Ojai with my family celebrating daughter Liz’s 29th birthday and my upcoming (next Wednesday) 62nd birthday. Ray and I arrived on Friday afternoon and returned today (Sunday) late afternoon. Our time with family, first at Surfers’ Beach in Ventura for several hours on…
To Elizabeth, On the Eve of Her Birthday
Tomorrow is the birthday of my beloved daughter, Elizabeth Beaty, who will be moving right up the line with the magic number 29. I happen to know that Elizabeth reads my blog, so this is the perfect spot to express my feelings without dissolving into a blubbering mess, which I would most certainly do if…
Happy Upcoming Birthday, Cousin Lee Leatherwood
Dear Lee, You have been my friend for as long as I can remember. You, who were born six days earlier than I, in the very same hospital and who lived less than a block away from me until we were five. At that point, we lived a whole five blocks away until we graduated…
In Search of a Writing Structure
Tonight, I have been sitting here for over an hour perusing news stories and Calls for Submissions trying to find a topic on which to write. I don’t mind writing once I have a topic, but sometimes figuring out what to write about is a pain in the butt. Tonight is one of those times….
Back in LA
We are safely back in LA after over two weeks away. We are happy to be back. Our first stop after returning the rent car was to go visit our little granddaughter, Luna. All our kids were together at Sarah’s where we celebrated our return with a meal. I am dead-tired now and ready to…
20 Minutes a Day 