I've been at a writing retreat all weekend. It was at Scarritt Bennett, a center in the middle of the labyrinth that hosts programs on diversity, women's empowerment, and spirituality. (That's a photo of the labyrinth at Scarritt Bennett to the right, though I focused more on the blooming Redbud and Dogwood trees when I […]
While I'm in Nashville, I asked several friends to guest post. Here's the first one, from the wonderful Welsh Zen master Derek Ayre. Be sure to visit his blog and tell him you read him here! Zen Creativity: Working with Nothing by Derek Ayre Zen practice is not for everyone and it is important to […]
…for other people to figure out what it is that we writers do? Yesterday, a member of my family (who, for the record, I absolutely adore) was talking about people working, people who are retired, and me, about whom he said, "whatever it is that you do." I just laughed because I get this so […]
I made Panna Cotta* yesterday. And potatoes for Easter breakfast. But it was the Panna Cotta that taught me something about writing. It is not a complicated recipe, and doesn't have a lot of ingredients, basically milk, cream, sugar and honey (it is not particularly good for you). Maybe for that precise reason, yesterday I […]
I'm breaking my rule of no blogging on the weekends to bring you this information which I've been asked to post. This event is going to be so cool and I'm attending myself. So grab your tickets and I'll see you there! Please join us for the filming of the PBS Special, "Empowered Living: Embracing […]
The other day, I was out walking in a neighborhood next to mine. And for some reason, I started thinking about the name of the neighborhood that I live in, which is Rose City Park. And the thought occurred to me that it is a lovely, evocative name. This is something I've always known, but […]
Every week my family gets together with my sister's family for dinner. We instituted this after my Mom died last year as a way to make sure that we all see each other regularly. It has been a wonderful thing, and we guard our Sunday Supper time zealously. Last night at Sunday Supper, in between […]
When something isn't working, there's a reason. I know. Duh. But how many times have you sat at your computer, beating your head against your desk, trying to make something work that isn't working? Trying to force a character to do something she doesn't want to do, or writing a scene in a location that […]
Yesterday, all writing and other activities came to a screeching halt. This happened suddenly. One minute I was in the middle of a writing session. The next minute I was paralyzed. I realized that everything I had written was complete and total crap. And that there was no use writing anymore, ever, for the rest […]
First there was the story I read online about how the Northwest, including Portland, could expect a major earthquake of the sort that just decimated Chile sometime in the next 50 years. I hate earthquakes. I expect the earth beneath my feet to stay steady, thank you very much. Then I watched a little bit […]
