Relaxing at the orange grove
Reflections on a Sweet Bonhi Reunion
The biggest frustration with a Friday evening, all-day Saturday high school reunion is simple: there’s not enough time. Not enough time to sit, settle in, and have a real, meaty conversation with old friends. Just a quick hug, a handful of sentences to catch up, then—before you know it—someone else walks up for their own…
Home At Last!
Here is our 2 1/2-year-old grandson Ethan’s message to us this morning when we were on the last leg of our three-day driving trip back from Texas to California. Liz and Ethan met us as we drove into the orange grove, and Liz was happy to let Ethan ride the rest of the way while…
Traveling Cross-Country
Ray and I are headed back to California after a stay in Texas for both of our high school reunions. I have photos and thoughts on both reunions but they will have to wait. I am the primary driver, which is why you haven’t heard from me for a couple of days. By the time…
Mrs. Mary Wilshire, A Sweet Memory
I wrote this a while back, but since this is my all-school reunion weekend in Bonham, Texas, I wanted to reshare this sweet memory. I took a private Speech class from Mrs. Mary Wilshire for two years when I was in middle school. I walked to her house from school along Agnew Street and I…
An Approach to Writing Flash Fiction That’s Fun and Fast
I wrote the story below a while back during one of those quick writing exercises I like to do when I’m looking to stir things up creatively. I grabbed a deck of alphabet cards—the same kind I’ve used with younger kids when they’re learning letters—and spread them face up on the table. From that deck,…
The Art of Getting Lost on the Page
If you’ve taken one of my personal essay classes, you’ve probably heard me say this more than once: Use your writing to discover something you didn’t know when you started. That’s not just teacher talk. It’s how the best essays—especially the personal kind—find their legs. Here’s the thing. When you sit down with the intention…
Buddha in the Orange Grove: A Tranquil Place
Several years ago, we bought a large statue of Buddha from an estate we were handling. The statue had been stored in a small closed garage for years with miscellaneous household objects and boxes stacked all around it. Ray and I were happy to unearth this beautiful Buddha and knew that we’d like to find…
5-Star Macaroni and Cheese Recipe – Pure Comfort Food
When in doubt about the current state of the world, I reach for comfort food recipes. Mac and Cheese is one of those dishes that ranks way up at the top of my comfort food list, so yesterday I found an excellent recipe and made it for dinner. This particular recipe calls for 1 cup…
Flash Fiction: A Matched Pair
Madeline was tired. She had been boxing up all sorts of antiques all afternoon since the owners, Maude and Jason Fredericks, were going out of business. These boxes would be heading to an auction where they would all go for what Maude described as “pennies on the dollar.” Madeline was especially upset about three different…
20 Minutes a Day 