exploring life and love with pictures and words
Last week I recorded my audiobook. I read my memoir from beginning to end, while the talented Mary Catherine listened carefully to every word. She caught the ones I swallowed, skipped or mispronounced. If my voice was too loud, or too soft, or if my intonation was wrong, she coached me until I got it... Continue Reading →
When I moved to Italy, I traveled light, selective about the contents I’d be carrying in only two suitcases. Yet, a small glass dish, the kind that holds jewelry or coins, made the cut. I couldn’t resist the call of the six-words that covered its surface. WHY NOT HAVE A BIG LIFE? Safely sandwiched... Continue Reading →
When you are loved by a writer eventually, she is going to write about you. It could be in a book or a blog post, or a journal entry in a tattered notebook. I’m guilty of doing all three. I have even typed notes into my phone, capturing a moment before it slips from my... Continue Reading →
There was a time when airplanes, elevators and crowded places caused my anxiety to flare. I opted out of air travel, took the stairs, and steered clear of claustrophobic spaces. If I avoided these situations, I was mostly fine. But then anxiety upped the ante. Impending doom arrived at first light, lingered all day, and... Continue Reading →
My grandson Luca sings along to Twenty One Pilots’ Stressed Out as I drive. I pick him up after school every Tuesday, giving his mom a break from the south county--north county roundtrip commute. Living with his dad half time in Huntington Beach, Luca has attended school here since he was a little guy in... Continue Reading →
The coffee shop empties as the morning shift locals make their exit, and the noise level quiets to a low hum. Staring into space, I absentmindedly click the end of my pen against my chin. I’m searching my brain’s thesaurus for an adjective to describe a snort, the laughing kind. Loud comes to mind, but... Continue Reading →
The mail store is busy and I don’t have much time. I’m hoping they have a computer that can read the contents of a CD I received in the mail yesterday. Honestly, who uses these ancient disks anymore. Looking around it’s not clear who is next in line, or if there is a line. People... Continue Reading →
Bedding and sheets lay neatly folded in cardboard boxes in the corner of the guest room. Gigantic plastic bags stuffed full with new pillows are piled high on the corner chair. Two suitcases packed with the only clothes I own, and a single chair I purchased on sale a few weeks ago are ready for... Continue Reading →
I slide the window shade up a few inches, careful not to let too much light into the airplane. We are pretending it’s nighttime as we chase the sunset on this flight. The cabin is quiet. I cannot sleep and I cannot resist the view, thirty-eight thousand miles above an enormous snowy mass somewhere over... Continue Reading →
Tap, tap, tapping away on my keyboard, reading and rereading chapters, my eyes burn. I understand now why other writers have said that editing a story is sometimes harder than the initial writing. This has been the case with my memoir. Having never written a book I had zero expectations about the process other than... Continue Reading →
Bare Naked in Public 