Category Archives: Writing

Now Playing: “Brave” by Sara Bareilles. Because my heart apparently doesn’t think I’m brave enough and dear god, what would it have me do next? I cannot write any braver. I’m about to roll up my scroll and go home. Saturday’s fundraiser left both me and Word Raccoon, my writing sidekick, with burnt noses andContinue reading “Of Books and Burnt Noses”

Now Playing: Checkered Past Word Raccoon was up before six. Was she writing? No…Was she reading? Wrong again.  Silly raccoon ordered breakfast and went to fetch it. She had to brake for a squirrel, though she checked her rearview first to be sure it was safe.  She also swerved to scribble a couple of ideasContinue reading “Interchangeable Tattoos”

Now Playing: Jane Austen’s Bookshelf (It’s on Libby, and I requested both it and the eBook, and this is what I ended up with. Not that I’m complaining about it.) I think we’re still on the introduction, and it’s one of those “Do I have any closets that need cleaning out for hours or shouldContinue reading “Quiet on the Set!”

Now playing: Banana Pancakes by Jack Johnson. Because sometimes you need music that whispers, even if every song sounds pretty much the same and his music is like a warm hoodie for your brain and if you need more of an explanation you just haven’t heard his music ever. And don’t fight me on thisContinue reading “Please Do Not Adjust Your Set”

Now Playing: Don’t Stop Me Now, Queen Go get ‘em, Freddie! Put that on repeat and your day will be made. Y’all, I’ve felt rough the past few days, but today? Better.Maybe it’s the caffeine, the breeze on the café porch, or the mercy of the rain finally moving on. (I love rain, just notContinue reading “Word Raccoon Unlocks New Superpower”

Mimosa trees don’t often get star billing in literature, though they do appear if you look closely. There’s one leaning over the Finch house in To Kill a Mockingbird, part of the Southern landscape where childhood collides with adult injustice. I admire the book, but I don’t want to re-read it any time soon. TheContinue reading “Mimosas Loitering in Literature”

Or, Down With Exceptionalism Now playing: “Just the Way You Are,” Billy Joel I came across this yesterday:“Your purpose is not the thing you do. It is the thing that happens in others when you do what you do.” — Dr. Caroline Leaf (This post is for me and all of those I may haveContinue reading “WR Wants You to Smell the Limburger”

Now Playing: “All I Wanna Do” — Sheryl Crow I’m on the sunporch, and Word Raccoon is on my shoulder, listening to Tuesday Night Music Club, and I’ve promised to share a poem with her that I had to learn by heart in junior high. I don’t remember it all now, but it’s Longfellow. AndContinue reading “Happy Hour: A Pause in the Day’s Occupations”

Now Playing: “Because the Night” – Patti Smith This morning, I was thinking about my grown children, before they were grown. Something about the chill in the house reminded me of weekends at the cabin we used to rent on the lake. I grabbed my favorite mug and filled it with tea and came outdoors.Continue reading “Unstuck in Time”

Now playing: All the Brian Wilson, and you should play it, too. Brian Wilson has left us. I had a moment when I heard, some tears. You know how it is when you’re in public, and you don’t want to display emotion, but some displays do not ask permission, and there we were. (If I’mContinue reading “I Guess I Just Wasn’t Made for These Times”