I am roused from sleep by a deep rumbling.  An inquisitive and very cold nose pokes the crannies of my face, “Are you awake?” it purrs.  Poke, poke.  I am now.
“Hi Hooter.  How’s my boy?” I mumble, reaching out to stroke the soft black fur and to gently remove a probing paw from my ear. 
He has the good sense to keep his claws retracted.  Hooter ( Read more... )

Everything lately seems to be about loss.  I'm in a dark and drained space today.  Maybe if I try to put a few words down "on paper" I can clear my head.

A week ago, a young man, who works for my husband's company and on one of his projects, was killed on the job.  It was a heartbreaking and tragic accident.  He was on a job site in Peru, sampling ( Read more... )

Spent the early, coffee-drinking part of my morning on my sitting rock, on the patio, surrounded by frolicking butterflies.   They were dazzling.
The blue flowers in the photo are ageratums.  Butterflies adore them. I counted eleven Monarchs close by, but there were several more dancing around the salvias that are set  further into the garden.  ( Read more... )

Glanced at my wall calendar the other day to send an email to a friend confirming a date for coffee.  Realized hours later than I had given her the wrong date.  I had never flipped the page from July to August.  Where did July go and where was I while it was slipping away?

Actually, I do know where I was.  Right here, hardly ever leaving the house ( Read more... )

The actual fall happened to a friend (about a year ago), but the situation inspired me to write this bit of free verse, which I have also posted to my portfolio on FanStory.

If I were young and nubile, fresh of face with upturned breasts,
would you have still stepped over me when I fell, or
 would gallantry have emerged, replacing boorish ( Read more... )

This post is just a simple catch-up about where my time and energy has been going of late.

I’ve been focusing my reading/writing time on FanStory.com.  Reviews and edits of other members work earns ‘member dollars’, which I can use to promote my own work, enter contests, create a contest, or take an online class.  So, I have been reviewing like ( Read more... )

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I came across my old Medicine Bag yesterday, hidden behind layers of forgotten necklaces and pendants: strands of shells, wooden and ceramic beads, an ancient Chinese coin, and sundry carved stones strung on cords of leather or silk.  The sueded black leather of the Medicine Bag was dusty, the neck cord hardened from age.  The contours of the once- ( Read more... )

Just got back from Sedona (northern Arizona).  Red rocks country.  Vortexes. Spectacular views in all directions.  We were up there for two full days, arriving late in the afternoon last Thursday and hanging out at Sky Ranch Resort through Sunday morning.

When I packed for the trip, I copied my writing-in-progress to a thumb drive, inserted hard ( Read more... )

Lived through my first Spotlight performance last night.  There were 97 heats, the first beginning at 6:15.  We wrapped up after 10:00pm and finished the evening off with numbers performed by the pros.  They were amazing. 
My first dance was Heat 2 and my last was Heat 96 (16 total, the first five were one after the other).  I survived !!!  Even ( Read more... )