To Whom it May Concern, Counios and Gane attended the Argyle North Community Winter Market. I was taken back to the neighborhood where I spent most of my childhood and teen years. My writing partner and I took the opportunity to be present in a neighborhood we don't typically attend for book events. How the... Continue Reading →
My List My Rules: the year a checklist changed my life
What it's about---the short version I wrote a book on my own. It's called My List My Rules and it's about a year I did 101 things in 365 days. Initially, I created this list just because. But as the year progressed I realized that this checklist was life-altering. Not like open heart surgery life-altering... Continue Reading →
Chain Stitch. Hook. Loop. Repeat.
**Stories that were not in My List My Rules Goal: Crochet Something Mindful this. Mindful that. I grew up watching my good Greek Ma craft her brains out. She did not paint or draw but she did everything else. She sewed. She embroidered. She rug-hooked. Remember that one? She took a stab at beading and... Continue Reading →
Montblanc Pens Have No Scent
**Stories that were not in my book My List My Rules Goal: Write With a Montblanc Pen Montblanc pens are hundreds of dollars. Some are thousands of dollars. They are the Rolls-Royce, the Bugatti, the Jaguar of the world of pens. They are for the fancy, the rich, the famous. Therefore, they are not for... Continue Reading →
Happy Anniversary Counios and Gane
Mostly I never loved celebrating my birthday, but my friend Cathy talked me into it. I never acknowledged anniversaries much either---this coming from a string of flopped relationships. Who wanted to brag about a mess? Clearly not me. However, I'm in a good one now and I celebrate every year---and every day. Despite my resistance... Continue Reading →
Rest Relaxation Work and Writing
The first part of this post was written at school. I finished all my duties: room cleaned, marks entered, boxes packed and ready for transport. I am being moved to a new school. Last-minute administrative duties are done. With this bit of free time, I thought why not work on the writing side of my... Continue Reading →
101 in 365
In a moment of just trusting that an idea was for me, I decided to spend a year doing 101 things in 365 days. There was no logic or even desire just a very deep feeling of trust to do 101 things in 365 days with no outcome except completing the list. A thing every... Continue Reading →
Speaking of Being Neighborly
I have an elderly neighbor who's been around for about 30 years. Up until a couple of years ago, he and his even more elderly parents shared the home. They've passed. Now he lives alone. He's quirky, with quirky ideas. Whenever we chat the conversation always finds its way to the biblical ominous end of... Continue Reading →
The Lilac Bush
I had a beautiful yard surrounded by mature lilac bushes that served several purposes. They gave my yard privacy from a busy street. They absorbed sounds from outside the yard and absorbed vibrations from passing trains. They looked pretty. They smelled nice. I loved the oasis that this green wall created. Then one day I... Continue Reading →
The Star and Graduation
Excuses. Excuses. Excuses. I spent the last few days of the school year packing and moving and hauling and cleaning because I am being moved to a new school. I was spent. June is typically met with exhaustion, but let's add to that packing up a decade's worth of teaching tools and supplies and stuffing... Continue Reading →