I do kid crafts. Sometimes I do them without kids. My latest big idea was a Leap Year Day with a frog theme. (Get it? Leap? Frog? I found this grand idea surfing around the Internet.) I planned to make a time capsule out of a Pringles can, green construction paper and various cheap decor… Read more
Adventures
When we first got on the ferry on our way to an island last week, I told my sons to look closely for whales. I had never yet seen one in the wild and always wanted to catch a glimpse. Maybe, I thought, today would be the day. They hang out in the waters near… Read more
Thursday night I was driving down to the church when I realized my fingers were freezing, my heart was beating, and my mind kept thinking of all the ways I was going to embarrass myself. I wasn’t headed to a solo performance with my clarinet. It was the rehearsal with the choir. The music I was playing for… Read more
“You know all those paintings your mother makes and then throws out?” My sister and I nodded as my dad said this. We knew. “Well, I pulled a few out of the garbage and stuck them up in the attic. Remember to get them out of there when I die so she doesn’t toss them.” I understand why… Read more
On Monday, I hobbled into my teaching job. Every other step, pain zipped though the right side of my hip and forced me into a jerking sort of movement just short of a collapse. I could not keep my face straight or look people in the eyes until it eased up again. Over and over I heard… Read more
I promised last week to write about deadlines. Sigh. I don’t want to write about deadlines. I spent the last two months working toward two deadlines: an application for a project I would love to do and a fiction contest. I’m tired. And I’m scared. I’m scared the people reading my submissions will laugh. I’m… Read more
One more deadline this week so another post heavy on pictures today. (More on deadlines and productivity coming up. Wow! Those things are motivating!) I spent Valentine’s Day at the zoo with my two guys and my wonderful Seattle family. I hadn’t considered it before we went, but it turns out other people think Woodland Park… Read more
I am staring down two deadlines this week so this week’s wonders will be long on pictures and short on words. Flaming Geyser State Park has a very small flame from a natural methane source (in the concrete circle), but the wonder there and at Neely Mansion in the Green River Valley kept us entertained this weekend… Read more