>As I struggle to write both nonfiction and fiction well, I feel like a circus rider balancing with one foot on the nonfiction quarter horse and one foot on the fiction Arabian.The quarter horse does pretty much what I want it to do; I just have to keep it moving at a steady pace. But … Continue reading >Riding

>While I was typing my "Dry Spell" post yesterday morning, my mailman was slipping a small envelope into the appropriate cubbyhole in his sorting case. After lunch I found that envelope in my mailbox and, seeing my name and the name of the sender, tore it open and read the note as I walked back … Continue reading >Encouragement

>Some unusual circumstances in my life have contributed to a writing dry spell. For the past several weeks, I haven't even enjoyed my work. I feel as if I've been wandering through the desert without the manna of creativity falling from heaven.I am also reminded of the parched bones in Ezekiel's vision. But one can't … Continue reading >Dry Spell

>This morning I reheated one of yesterday morning's blueberry muffins in the microwave. I cut it while it was very hot and as I sliced off a slab of butter, I thought, "So that's what they really mean by 'a hot knife through butter'." Never before had the experience so visually impressed me. There are … Continue reading >Visual Aids

>I've been translating the book of John from the Vulgate, and I've been translating it at the rate of a chapter per week. At the same time, I've been reviewing Wheelock's with an online group at the rate of a chapter per week. No wonder I have so much difficulty getting anything else accomplished!The translation … Continue reading >Vulgate

>Among the big things that have kept me from blogging recently is the issue of balance. There are many advantages to working from one's home, but a continual and complicating undercurrent is finding the appropriate balance in my mind between work and family. Complications increase exponentially when the work is writing. Writing is not the … Continue reading >Balance

>One of my favorite fall treats is apple cider. A local nursery makes fabulous cider that the nearby Fareway stocks during the fall. I cringe when I pick up a gallon for $4.99, fully realizing how much I would protest if forced to pay that much per gallon of gasoline.As a related aside: People might … Continue reading >Apple Cider

>This is a picture of the woodpile that Dave and Glenda built. Last week we had only the few pieces in the small stack on the right. Dave built part of the big pile on Saturday and we built the rest on Monday. Now we are tired. We hurt.

>This is this morning's dawn from our deck.If you look closely, you can see the slice of moon shining through the intertwined tree branches.

>Yesterday we were informed that our three-year-old grandson had received four stitches in his chin. Something to do with rocking a kitchen chair, against which he had been repeatedly warned. Apparently his mother was in the middle of feeding Baby Logan, so she had to pack up a squalling Logan (normally a very laid back … Continue reading >Mothering Memories