I love to edit. I love it so much that you would be right to ask why I am not an English teacher. That is another question for another time. But deep editing a manuscript is like putting together the pieces of a puzzle to make the whole, beautiful picture. Any misplaced comma or misspelled…
Writing always wins. Whenever I think it is time to quit, I find I am totally unable to do so. Thinking I can stop writing is as ridiculous as thinking I can stop breathing. You can see in the comments of my post “To Write or Not to Write,” my friend, Maria Foss, give me…
Just a quick update on my efforts to live a healthier lifestyle and arrive at 60 (three years) ready to take on the new decade with a ferocious and enthusiastic love of life. It is September 21, and I have been counting calories for 101 days, 1800 or less per day. I have mostly achieved that goal and I…
Today my husband asked me the question I have most been dreading for the last 17 years. “What is the point of your writing? Are you just doing it for something to do, or do you mean to make money at it?” He has never asked before. He has put up with my self-indulgent behavior,…
A quick, drive-by post to say that British Week was a big success with the husband, and so I am trying again, this time with Italian food. Like British food, I am not claiming that this is authentic, it is just something fun to do. Last night we had Shrimp Scampi with orzo. Tonight, Chicken…
Last night was the last night of my British meals week because I had dental work done today, and my husband is getting Publix rotisserie chicken and mac and cheese for dinner today. However, I made Cottage Pie last night, and it was flat out delicious. I haven’t made it in a long time because…
I’m always looking for ways to make cooking routine meals more entertaining, so now I have come up with a-country-a-week. This week is British week, and I am having a blast. Last night I made Beef and Guinness Stew. Oh, the aroma! Ah, the delectable blending of flavors! Here, briefly, is that recipe: 3-4 lbs stew beef (since…
I have had quite an adventure since my last post, which is why it has been so long. That day was July 27. On July 28, I went back to work. I have been a paraprofessional at an elementary school, meaning that I support the teachers and the students in whatever way is necessary. Up until now…
This is nearly stream of consciousness, but has a logical flow, I think. When my boys were young, we took a long walk from home to a nearby landmark called Settles Bridge. It is an old relic of a bridge, now a favorite stop for teenagers who love to jump off its rusting trestles into…
For this musing, let me share with you some of the beauty I see in my neighborhood. Once upon a time I was a gardener, and so I have always appreciated the talents and efforts of our neighbors, but seen it most often through a car window. At sidewalk level, that general sense of beauty becomes more…
On today’s walk, my mind wandered to philosophical musings. What is the nature of the world and where do humans fit into it? How has history brought us to where we are, and what is waiting for us in the future? Please be assured that I have no inflated opinions of the importance or uniqueness…
Ok, so I’m 57 and 60 is three years away. Still, I am closer to 60 than I am to 50, and for me this is a time of reckoning. With my son, Brian, as my fitness trainer, I have undertaken an endeavor that I have actively avoided for the last 15 years or so. I…
