Storytelling. Fact and fiction. One word at a time.
The poetic wandering through the forest It was a partially overcast evening. The sun was still out, making our walk through the forest surprisingly bright. The evening light filtered through everything around us, giving each object gorgeous analogous hues. Occasionally, we'd catch sight of something vivid—a patch of lichen, bright orange and vibrant—a signpost that... Continue Reading →
"Isn't everyone an artist, really?" It's an interesting question. What's in a title? What makes a person an artist? Or a teacher? Or a writer, like me? If I create art, then I am an artist. If I write, then I am a writer. Our culture uses employment as a way to describe ourselves, and... Continue Reading →
The Restorative Sauna Session I've found myself in the middle of a very lovely group of earthy women. I know a few of them from my belly dancing days. We had a super fun sauna experience on Sunday, which included a group photo of our bare bums in the cold prairie. Yes, I said bums.... Continue Reading →
I found the following quote cut up and taped together in one of my bins of collage materials that I’ve been curating for over three decades. A completed sentence ends with a small black dot, but that’s how epiphanies begin. A coffee bean. A tiny, good thing from the earth. But the best ones have... Continue Reading →
On my way to Edmonton for the Oilers–Bruins hockey game, my friend Ashlee sent me a message wishing me a safe trip. She included a screenshot of a conversation she’d had with a colleague on their work chat platform. Colleague: Good morning, Ashlee. Are you the Ashlee Ballan that Angie Counios acknowledged in her book... Continue Reading →
I’m not a fan of shopping or buying much, but what I have bought into is Christmas. It took some time, but I did it. I love Christmas. I fell in love by the spoken law of a beautiful older Greek woman. You can read about it here. And over the years that I have... Continue Reading →
New Year, New Me?Nah. I like the current me quite a bit. I like the tenacity I’ve shown over the years of teaching and writing—lugging heavy boxes of books to book fairs, chatting with new readers and fans of our books. I like the openness I bring when welcoming new folks into our book world.... Continue Reading →
Fan mail that is... Paranoid about spam, I clicked on an email I didn’t recognize. The name was Ali. I do not know an Ali. Turns out it was not spam at all. It was a forward from my WordPress contact page. And it was fan mail! I got FAN MAIL. Here’s what she said:... Continue Reading →
I was leaving school. It had been a long day. There was a lot of cleanup and correcting to do in the art studio at this old school. The burden of my backpack reminded me I still had work to finish. I pushed open the door, having spent the entire day inside. A warm breeze... Continue Reading →
Taking care I loved books so dearly that I read them while keeping them in pristine condition. I was careful about where I read, and if a book ventured out into the world with me, it traveled safely in a Ziploc bag. They often looked untouched. To me, they were tender storytellers, and I treated... Continue Reading →
Angie Counios 