Every year on Pearl Harbor Day, I like to tell the story of my late mother, who was picking oranges with her best friend on December 7th, 1941, when they got the news that the Japanese had bombed the US Naval Base in Hawaii. Every year after, she picked the first orange of the season … Continue reading Juicy
I wrote this a year ago when my cats were just babies. They’re much more disciplined now—ha! I was sitting on the toilet a half hour ago, getting a clear view of the leather belt I slipped through my denim belt loops this morning, and I noticed it—kitten teeth marks on the end of my … Continue reading Kittens for Christmas
Wherever you are, whatever you're doing, be aware of the grace that surrounds you.
As many of you know, I have two feline companions, Suzanna (aka Zuzu) and Valentine. They were born in a feral cat colony, littermates and sisters, and now they are happy to be indoor cats. Obviously, indoor cats need indoor facilities. Used to be I had two criteria for cat litter: it had to be unscented … Continue reading A Tale of Two Kitties
Written with my Thursday night writing group with a wild bunch of prompts, including: the dead man’s boxes (which we all changed to boxers), what is different today? No such thing as--, a jar of homegrown pansies, keep it local, later we went dancing, melted her heart Last night Betsy’s brother Tom called and asked … Continue reading The Magic Boxers
Written with my Thursday night group with the prompts: Angels don’t have to eat but Gabriel likes it, he missed tasting food, it looked impossible, my first reaction, or “It looks impossible,” Gabriel admitted, “but remember,” he added, pausing for effect, “impossible is my bread and butter.” Rafael winced at his colleague. It always came … Continue reading Angel Food
“Listen, are you breathing just a little and calling it a life?” Mary Oliver I like to imagine that the breath goes everywhere in my body, not just into my lungs, and—hey, it’s just occurred to me—it does!! I know this because I used to teach a very pared down simplified science lesson on the … Continue reading Breathing Just a Little
A journal entry from a few years back: Hanging in the sunny back yard with Angelcat this AM, I spotted what could be a large bird in the redwood tree across the street. I went inside to get my binoculars, expecting to be disappointed. Sometimes it’s a bird; sometimes it’s a hanging branch that’s been … Continue reading Stillness
Written at Thursday Group, after a guided meditation in which we were invited to imagine finding a gift under the water, and then transforming into a flower. My friends told me there was a gift under the water and I imagined something of earthly value—a rare coin, a beautiful ruby or emerald, or maybe one of … Continue reading The Lizard
We’re celebrating a rare and wonderful rainy day here in parched Northern California—complete with deliciously heavy downpours, lentil-sized hail, lightning and big time thunder. I was blessed this afternoon to get home before the big show started, but here’s a journal piece I wrote after driving home in a powerful rain last fall—back when we … Continue reading Celebrating the Rain
