I'm just trying to walk myself home.
This story was first published in September 2008 when my oldest son, Cole, started middle school. Actually, this story was also published in a story collection. I, of course, told no one about this because that was before I could say out loud that I Am A Writer. Tread Lightly When It Comes To Middle …
Don’t worry. This story has a happy ending. I feel like I owe you that much after yesterday’s story. And if you stay tuned through all twelve days, I also promise to redeem my father from Christmas Gambler to Mountain Hero. Deal? So like I said, a happy ending. I, myself, really enjoy happy endings, …
A Story about Christmas This is not a warm fuzzy Christmas story. Because it is Christmas, and because I myself enjoy happy tales on Christmas, I feel the need to warn you that this one ends in tears and fighting.
Welcome to the first story of Twelve Days of Stories. Since it is Christmas Eve, I have a really happy, sweet story for you. (I am trying to make up for tomorrow’s sad story by making you feel all warm and fuzzy inside today.)
Friends, I have an announcement. I am giving myself a gift this Christmas. A big one. I am opening a gift this Christmas Eve that I should have given myself a long time ago. I am giving myself the gift of being a writer.
Last week for Instagram Travel Thursday I shared Snapshots of Venice, which was the second to last city Mary Polly and I visited on our Mediterranean Cruise. Today I’m sharing… Snapshots of Sicily It was over a year ago that we visited our final port of call, the island of Sicily. Until this week, I …
Today’s Expat Story is from my friend Linda, who moved to the Canary Islands (which are off the Atlantic coast of Morocco, but a province of Spain) from England over 25 years ago. After you read it, I’m pretty sure you’ll agree that maybe we should all consider heading to the islands for the next …
12 Homemade Treats for the Holidays! If you follow me on Twitter or Facebook, you might have heard me engaging in battle with my current nemesis, Tiny Oven. I have admitted Tiny Oven is suffering mostly in my eyes from an unfair comparison to Dream Oven, my industrial wonder from Christmas Past. One of the …
Last weekend, Taido and I went downtown by ourselves and we walked up and down Union Street and did just a tiny bit of shopping. Mostly we just enjoyed looking at the lights that are making Aberdeen’s city center shine so bright! LOVE! Then we went to a pub, where I had an ale that …
I am sharing photos of Venice for Instagram Travel Thursday this week! All of these images were taken from the front seat of Vaporetto #1, which is a water bus that runs along The Grand Canal. I’m not sure any place gets the kind of reaction that Venice does on Instagram. Instantly recognizable, the floating …
[pe2-image src=”http://lh6.ggpht.com/-p3IlPLZ9v9E/Up4RG0J0EOI/AAAAAAAAFsk/XclpIOIOzd8/s144-c-o/DSCF0044.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/100212479652479288017/LochNessHunterTour#5953214566207066338″ caption=”Loch Ness, Scotland” type=”image” alt=”DSCF0044.JPG” ] Loch Ness Hunter Tour Early on a Saturday morning, Mary Polly and I made our way up the still dark street in Edinburgh from our room at Smart City Hostels to Haggis Adventures, a ridiculously convenient distance of 417 feet. We boarded a bus and headed …
A dear friend of mine, Jerusalem Greer, wrote a book that was published last spring called A Homemade Year. It is a lovely book of of stories, photos, recipes and craft ideas for celebrating the Christian liturgical year. The recipes and crafts are wonderfully practical for giving your family ideas for celebrating some of these …
Cold weather makes for lonelier walking paths and on our latest foray into the woods, on the first weekend of Advent, I let the boys get ahead of me on the trail. Autumn is now almost gone. The bare branches of the trees and the quiet trails work together to calm my soul. Simple beauty …
This is my view at 3pm every day right now. Dark, wet city from underneath an umbrella. I’m the only person carrying an umbrella. Most people do not bother because of a little thing called Gale Force Winds. I had no idea what those were until this week when the windows were rattling in the …
Snapshots of Edinburgh, Scotland For Instagram Travel Thursday this week, I am sharing images of Edinburgh. Mary Polly and I went to Scotland’s capital city a couple of weekends ago to go on a Haggis Tour to Loch Ness for a day. We stayed right off the Royal Mile with Smart City Hostels and spent …
Today’s Expat Story is coming to us from a city I cannot wait to visit. Cassey is sharing about what life is like as an expat in Amsterdam. Enjoy! Expat Story: Amsterdam Tell us a little bit about yourself. I’m Cassey, an Australian small business owner and Masters (graduate) student at Vrije Universiteit in Amsterdam. …
Whenever I come across an old chapel on one of our walks in the country, I want to stop for a while. Sometimes I lag behind my family while I circle a church, and if I really want to get behind, I walk all the way inside. The Chapel of St. Lesmo is usually closed …
Writing is wretched, discouraging, physically unhealthy, infinitely frustrating work. And when it all comes together it’s utterly glorious. Ralph Peters Yep. That’s pretty much how I feel. I did not make my goal of 50000 words for NaNoWriMo, but I have over 36000 words, and more importantly, I am really beginning to see the project …
A Love Letter to Lakewood Lake In honor of wishing I was smack dab in the middle of a giant family gathering today, I am sharing an ode to one of my favorite spots in my hometown, Lakewood Lake. A Love Letter to Lakewood Lake You have been my stomping grounds since I was a …
Family Hiking in the Lake District While we were in the Lake District, we did five different walks together as a family. All of our walks were fairly “lightweight” compared to what many of the other hillwalkers we met were doing, but we were happy with doing shorter walks and taking breaks from the rainy …