A Poet’s Unusual Neighbors
On the heels of All Saints Day and All Souls Day, it seems appropriate to review a book that I recently finished by a poet whose work I admire. Next Door to the Dead is a reflection on living in…
Writing Through Writer’s Block
As a cub reporter right out of high school, my first newspaper editor threatened to tear up my notebook if I did not compose directly from my scribbled notes to the computer. No second drafts. Just get the story done…
A Perfect Title
Finding the best title for a book has always been a bit of a puzzle and most book authors I know have stories to tell about how their books were ultimately christened. So how do you come up with three…
All in the Family
Memoir is a tricky business because there’s always someone in the family who doesn’t want the story told and others whose recollections don’t line up with your own memory. To write from personal experience can feel like working your way…
Unraveled
The weight of gravity presses me into my seat as the plane lifts off the ground. As the 737 banks over the Columbia River, pelicans wing low over the gray water. I am thinking about what it must be like to…
Aurora’s Winter Surprise
Our daylight may be returning but the darkness of the night sky still has some surprises in store. The magic of the aurora borealis never fails to impress those whose eyes are cast skyward this time of year — and…
November Tulips
As the calendar nudged into November, I dug through nearly two inches of frozen dirt to plant tulip bulbs. I felt compelled to finish this task before I left on a flight to visit my parents in Portland. They are…
October’s Tasty Harvest
It rained medallions of gold this past week as birch trees released their last leaves to the cool air of autumn. In years past we’ve had termination dust by late August…
Puppy Adventures: Part II
Earlier this summer I wrote about my son’s family and the birth of a litter of Labrador retriever puppies. Their household of six (including mother dog) grew almost instantly to thirteen with the birth of seven little loaves of…
A Tent for Two
Earlier this summer, we had the opportunity to travel backcountry into the Chugach Mountains with our sons—a trip where I looked forward, among other things, to sharing my old tent with my soon-to-be new husband. The…