I’ve been through a lot with my books. They moved across the country from Ohio to Seattle, across the Pacific Ocean to Dubai, then at last across the Atlantic and up the mountain to our house. Between Tom and I, we have many hundreds of books. One of the things we loved about Azalea was the … read more The weight of my books
Month: December 2016
A roof over my head
Roof is NAKED! the email from my neighbor exclaimed. Fred’s been keeping an eye on the progress of the house repairs and sends me reports. Mostly, he’s astonished it has taken so long. This week, the tarp ripped and the house suffered water damage. It was kept to a minimum only because I happened to go … read more A roof over my head
Flutter byes
Said goodbye to some old friends today. Little by little, I am winnowing my belongings so that our rebuilt house doesn’t feel so stuffed when we move back in. Clothes. DVDs. Books. Art supplies. Bulky accumulations of memories and identity that I can’t let go of. Today it was herbs. I learned the basics of Southern … read more Flutter byes
Drawing near the hearth
It’s gotten bitterly cold at night. I can’t wait to be back in my basement office at Azalea. The temperatures there plummet every winter. The corner where my desk sat was the coldest square footage in the entire house. Using a thermal gun, I learned that this corner was 10 to 12 degrees colder than Tom’s office. I poked … read more Drawing near the hearth
Price fixing
A kid walks into the barbershop. It’s an old-fashioned, family-run place at the northern edge of Atlanta. Early evening on a weekday, it’s busy. Full of professional guys – consultants, techies, marketing men. I’m waiting while Tom gets his hair cut. The boy’s pudgy, a little bit country. He has thick hair and a square … read more Price fixing
Random beauty
Some days the beauty is unstoppable You just have to stop for it It began early, with the mist enfolding the newly naked trees That would have been good enough for the whole day The mist lifted, and I drove to our house, where the new roof is being put on this week… In the past, I’ve been … read more Random beauty
Get out
I woke up feeling as gray as the day itself. Heavy, soggy, misty. The weight stayed on me through coffee, through my morning work, through lunch when my eyes began raining for no reason at all. It seemed like it might turn into a wasted day. Browsing my email listlessly, I came across a story about … read more Get out
Written in black ink
We’ve had lots of rain the past few days. The streams are flowing through the woods. The chickadees are tittering and laughing. There are so many things to love about the rain. Most of all, how it strips the trees bare. Naked tree limbs and soaked tree trunks make such lovely patterns against the sky. … read more Written in black ink
How to do nothing
Meditation is hard. I’ve read books, had tapes, taken two classes on meditation. But being able to breathe deeply and not let thinking take over is difficult for me. My brain just likes to stay busy. I have practiced meditation sporadically for more than 30 years. But I never managed to make it a daily … read more How to do nothing
A loud therapy
RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!!! It’s that time of year when my tranquility is destroyed almost daily. I’ve always detested leaf blowers. From the first time I heard that horrible noise, I declared that all leaf blowers should be outlawed and their users thrown in jail. I can’t count how many times I’ve had a meditative hike, an afternoon … read more A loud therapy