Like many writers, I have a love/hate relationship with social media. Marketing gurus tell writers that a social media presence is an essential part of an author platform, and we must have a platform and an author brand to sell books. And yet, we also hear we can’t be everywhere, […]
Continue readingCategory Archives: Philosophy
On Birthdays, Goals, and Priorities
My birthday was yesterday. I celebrated sedately, ordering dinner from an Italian restaurant my husband and I like and cake from a bakery I hadn’t tried before. I also voted in a municipal election and met with a banker. It was a decent day, though I doubt this becomes one […]
Continue reading
Distressed Jeans? I Can’t Even Wear Them Frayed
I read recently that the 1990s trend of distressed and ripped jeans is happening again. I never noticed it had stopped happening—I think I’ve seen torn jeans wherever I look for at least the last twenty years. Distressed jeans are a fashion statement I’ve actively avoided. They distress me. When […]
Continue reading
My Journaling, Then and Now
Twenty years ago today, March 16, 2002, I opened up a lined blank journal and began writing. I’ve posted before about my first words in that journal (“The only way to start is just to start—take the plunge”). I still recall the trepidation I felt as I faced that blank […]
Continue reading
Women Who Led Through Story: An Art Show by Patricia Streeper
Last week I had the opportunity to attend an artist’s talk by painter Patricia Streeper at The Story Center, located in the Mid-Continent Public Library’s Woodneath Branch. Patti is a fellow retiree and friend from Hallmark Cards, and she has taken up painting since she retired. She currently has two […]
Continue reading
A Book My Mother Gave Me: The Thorn Birds
My mother’s birthday would have been later this week, and so I’ve been thinking a lot about her. One of the things I think about is all the books we read and discussed. Both of us loved reading all our lives, from the time we first could read until, in […]
Continue reading
Well, Wordle You Know!
Like everyone else I know, I now play Wordle. I started sometime in January, and I treasure that small dose of satisfaction at solving the puzzle as a bright start to my day. When do I Wordle? If I wake during the night, I might pull out my tablet and […]
Continue reading
Happy Fortieth Birthday to My Son
My son, my first child, turns forty in a few days. It certainly does not feel like forty years ago that I gave birth to him in a bad snowstorm. I wrote about his birth in an earlier post, so I won’t repeat that here. I’ve written many posts about […]
Continue reading
January Is National Oatmeal Month
I was surprised to learn there is such a thing as National Oatmeal Month. But then, with eaters like my husband and children, maybe I shouldn’t be surprised. My husband is a huge fan of hot cereal in the morning. He makes it from scratch—none of that instant stuff for […]
Continue reading
You Know Your Children Are Grown When . . . [Part VIII]
This might be the last time I post on the topic of grown children because I don’t have a lot to add to my many earlier posts. Still, the recent holidays had me reflecting on my adult children again. I posted about my two grown children after Christmas 2018, when […]
Continue reading