Today, Rachael and I made homemade macaroni and cheese, lentil soup and orange cookies. It’s been too hot lately to have the oven going, but today was just cool enough so we could go back into baking mode. I am always happier when I can bake. Somehow life feels more stable and settled. Half of…
Repost: If I could Turn Off My Fear, I Would…
I wrote this list a couple of years ago. Everything is still pertinent except I have accomplished #4: skydiving. My kids also have given me an online Spanish class which I will be starting soon. So that’s the beginning of #36. Now if I can just find that pool where I can skinny-dip every day……
How Longevity is Related to Feeling a Sense of “Social Integration” or Community
I just watched a TED Talk about the highest predictors for longevity. The number one predictor was social integration, meaning interacting with lots of people in one’s community. That means all types of relationships from primary, such as close family and friends, to tertiary, which might include the checker at the grocery store. While the presenter…
Musings on Family
My father’s family, the Leatherwoods, come from deep Southern roots. My grandfather and grandmother Leatherwood were the son and daughter of two of the founding families in the Texas county where I was born, where my father was born, where his father was born. I grew up where three of the successful businesses on the…
Our Family Gathering in Mississippi for our Beloved Cousin Jack Hammonds White
Ray and I just returned from a trip to Mississippi to attend the memorial service for my first cousin, Dr. Jack Hammonds White, who died in June. Jack’s lovely and gracious wife, Emilie, has been preparing for this memorial over the past several weeks and, with the aid of their parish priest, the Very Reverand…
Repost from a Few Years Back: A Brush with Near Death
A few years back, my husband and I were traveling from California to Texas, and I was pulling a 1958 Buick on a trailer behind our 15-passenger Ford Van. This was my husband’s idea of love at first sight – that ’58 Buick – a car from his birth year that he hoped to restore…
The Saga of Ray’s New Tractor
Several weeks ago, Ray let me know that he’d driven by a house in Ojai where there was an old tractor for sale out front. Now, those of you who know Ray are aware that he loves old things, and he has a special place in his heart for old vehicles, hence our ownership of…
Luna and Nico Heading Off to School
Tomorrow our oldest grandchild, Luna, starts kindergarten at the Jackson STEM Dual Immersion Academy in Alta Dena, CA. She will be entering a class where 90% of the classroom instruction will be in Spanish, 10% in English. By 5th grade, the English/Spanish instruction will be 50/50. She will also have the opportunity to be exposed to…
High Temperatures and the Different Hats I Wear as a Writing Teacher
Written yesterday – today’s forecast is for temperatures to reach 94 degrees. I am sitting with Riley, it’s quick write time. Frankie is on the couch with Riley, Cordie is lying on the floor at my feet. The windows are open, two fans are on, it’s 5:52 pm and it is currently 94 degrees, down…
Happy to Announce: Winner of “Hot Flash” Contest with Story Circle Network
I am very happy to announce that I was awarded 1st place and won a cash prize for the flash fiction story below submitted to the “Hot Flash” contest sponsored by Story Circle Network. Thank you, SCN, for this honor. Lost and Found by Len Leatherwood of Beverly Hills, CA Theresa was tired of…
20 Minutes a Day 