Ray and I went down to Disney Hall tonight and heard the L.A. Phil perform Mahler’s 1st Symphony. It was “casual” Friday so Gustavo Dudamel, the LA Phil’s 30-year-old conductor, came out in jeans, a polo shirt and Converse tennis shoes. All the rest of the orchestra was dressed in jeans and tee-shirts, too, which…
Tag: writing discipline
An Empty-Nester on the Move
Tonight I am too tired to write much. The truth is I hand wrote an essay for my blog, but am too tired to transcribe. Students and preparation for my online class, plus a major room switch prompted by our youngest child moving out are the blame. I am happy with the room switch, however,…
My Imaginary Friend, Tommy Wizzims
I told this story to some of the volunteers at the St. Thomas the Apostle Breakfast Club where we were feeding the homeless this morning. Someone was saying she fell in love with a teenage boy when she was three. I had to tell her about Tommy Wizzims. Here is that story written a while…
Liz’s Birthday
The end of a satisfying day Lots of good food Lots of good company Lots of laughter No better way to celebrate a birthday My middle daughter looked happy today She smiled And laughed And said lots of thank you’s The best gift a mother can have
The Secret of How to Help A Baby Go to Sleep
Tomorrow is my daughter Elizabeth’s 26th birthday. She is coming over so we can celebrate. Waffles and turkey bacon are on the menu for brunch, then we have a few movies to watch before having the “official’ birthday meal, which will be of her choosing. It is a tradition in our family that we talk…
LA News Highlights 11 pm January 14, 2012
Murders in Orange County Returned Iraqi vet Accused of killing four homeless men Crowds mourning the men’s deaths Tracking rain tonight A few clouds out there already Rain likely for later tomorrow We really need the rain Two LA area women Managed to escape the sinking Italian cruise ship Life boats went down sideways Since…
Prompt: The Gift of a Quilt
I am giving each of my three daughters a quilt as a keepsake. These are not quilts made by me with fabric from their Easter dresses or from their first days of school. How I wish I had been so forward thinking that I had saved those favorite dresses and tops for that purpose! No,…
Childhood Games and Career Choices
You know how sometimes you read that if you go back to what you loved doing when you were a little kid – 4, 5, or 6 – then that will tell you what your ideal occupation should be? Well, in my case, this is exactly true since when I was a little girl, my…
Prompt: A Photograph of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Usonian House Living Room
The light was soft in the room, the windows covered by three lines of bookshelves that allowed the sunlight to come in but also diffused it. A long built-in wooden couch ran right below the bookshelves, with lime green cushions on the bottom and back with periodic splashes of orange pillows. Jacob lay sprawled on…
Flash Fiction Prompt: Write an Embarrassing Moment for a Person Quite Different Than Yourself
My daughter came home one night and announced, “I’m getting a divorce.” I wasn’t surprised about this since I’d told her before she married James that this was a mistake. First of all, James was a good-looking boy – or young man since he was twenty-five – but he was just not right for my…
20 Minutes a Day 