I have just returned from seeing my sweet grandbaby, Luna, along with her mother and dad, plus my daughter, Liz, her boyfriend, Ron, and my husband, Ray. We went down to Heritage Park in Pasadena to the Levitt Pavillion there and had a picnic on the grass while we listened to the bluegrass and folk…
Category: Writing
College Essays – A Chance to Grow
I started my day with a student who came to work on his college essays. He is an impressive young man with a 2290 (out of 2400) on his SATs so his options are great. He is applying to several Ivy League schools – including Harvard – and has much work to be done since…
Stuck in Late Afternoon Traffic
We are now in Santa Monica making our way east with a lot of other people. It is 6:44 pm and we are creeping down Santa Monica Blvd. at what seems like an inch an hour. The only upside to this drive is that I don’t have to do this everyday. The orange grove in…
Off to Ojai and the Meteor Shower
We are heading out to Ojai to escape the city lights and enjoy the meteor shower from the dark recesses of our orange grove. The skies are crystal clear and the temperature is mild. It should be a lovely night to savor the stars and the howls of coyotes. Our dogs are with us, snuggled…
“Healing” Writing
Well, I still haven’t done my paperwork – no muse visited this afternoon – but I have written my little heart out this evening and I’m happy about that. I have just concluded my “Writing as a Way of Healing” class and I spent this evening doing some healing writing of my own. While I…
That Elusive Paperwork Muse
I am looking at a pile of papers in stacks on the table around me. This is unusual because I tend to keep my workspace tidy –too much clutter usually makes me jittery – but I am forcing myself to take note of this paperwork that demands my attention. I have bills to pay, calls…
Music, Travel and Musings
We have just returned from an evening with Sarah, Gregorio and Luna where we went to Levitt Pavilion in Pasadena and heard a band from Austin named Whiskey Shivers. The park was crowded with families and other residents of the city, and the night was cool. Everyone either brought lawn chairs or spread blankets out…
First Mice, then Baby Luna
We have just arrived home from a workday in Ojai at the orange grove, then a stop-in at Sarah and Gregorio’s for turkey tacos. I literally might have to use my hand to keep my eyelids open. I am so tired. In Ojai, I tackled the bi-yearly job of cleaning out our old Spartan trailer…
Twenty Reasons I Write Fiction
1. It makes me happy. 2. It gives me something positive to think about (those imaginary worlds). 3. It is fun. 4. It is creative. 5. It connects me to other people who enjoy being creative. 6. It makes me more aware of the world around me (so I can better describe people, places and…
Flash Fiction: Fire and Luck
I put tulips under all the pillows and then I set fire to the house. I know that sounds crazy, but it really wasn’t because it was an old house – my grandmother’s – and it was out in the country where nobody ever came and it was a week after Grandma died and squatters…
20 Minutes a Day 