I realized yesterday that I hadn’t added a hook to the song that I posted a couple of days ago. I had essentially written a poem instead. So, after listening to music all afternoon while I cleaned the garage, I came inside and added what I hope was a decent hook. This also meant that…

I wrote this piece a while back, but in this tumultuous time, I thought it might be nice to revisit a simpler era. This is one of my fondest memories of growing up in my little Texas town of 7,000 people. Mr. Morgan was a retired Episcopal priest who lived a few houses up from…

Daughter Rachael and I went to the UCLA Ackerman Donation Center today and gave blood. We had both read that all the hospitals in LA are badly in need of blood for patients so we decided to do our part. The people at Ackerman could not have been nicer. They said they were so pleased…

I found the silver Phoenix ring you gave me  It was on the closet shelf way up high  When you slid it on my finger you said, “My love is like that bird, it’ll never die.”  But what you said wasn’t what you meant You didn’t want the life we shared Instead you wanted anything…

Yesterday was Rachael’s 29th birthday. In the spirit of tradition, I am going to chronicle on paper what I usually do in person with each of my three children on their birthdays, which is to recap my pregnancy with them and the events surrounding their births. Their birthdays, after all, are not only important days…

Our youngest daughter Rachael turned 29 today. She is still our baby and our whole family loves her very much. She has the good fortune of being beautiful both inside and out. She is kind, considerate and a great listener, but is also strong, straightforward and clear. In addition, she has a great sense of…

Today is my son-in-law Ron Betty’s 33rd birthday. He and our daughter Liz have been together for several years now and were married last August in Mexico. Ron and Liz live in Ojai at the orange grove and I have had the pleasure of watching them settle in there, first building a little mini-house, then…

I am not an apricot kind of girl, all small and soft; squishy and sweet. No, if I had to choose a fruit to characterize myself, I would have to pick a cantaloupe: a rough exterior, but sweet once you find a way to break me open. This exercise we’re doing in group therapy today…

With the quarantine, it’s easy for the days to run together. I decided to chronicle my last three days, just to remind myself I have actually done some things this week. Here is my list which is certainly not conclusive and is in no particular order. You will see that since my housekeeper is not…