What’s New
My Reading Life by Pat Conroy
I don’t often go out on a limb to recommend a book before finishing it. But today, after listening to a quarter of My Reading Life, narrated by it’s author, I give it two thumbs up. As a mom, a teacher, an avid reader, a writer, and too broke to take a long vacation...
A Taste of Spring
Last week’s mild weather was a tantalizing tidbit of spring. Sun-starved and heat-seeking Iowans lumbered out of their winter dens to feast upon day after day of light and warmth. Since the cold arrived over the weekend, everyone I’ve talked to has been downright...
Roots by Alex Haley
Roots, Alex Haley’s ground-breaking novel was first released in 1976. The saga of an Kunte Kinte, an African abducted by slave traders and shipped to North America, and his descendants made a big splash at the small pond midwestern college I was attending. I read the...
Mom’s Lasagna
My mom discovered lasagna in the late 1960s, about the same time she discovered another Italian dish - pizza. We said I-talian with a long “i” and the accent on the first syllable, our pizza assistant was Chef Boyardee, and mom’s version of lasagna culminated with...
Waiting for the Ocean View – Recycled
This morning, I was feeling sorry for myself, stuck in Iowa for the entire winter, slogging through the rewrites of my new book, day dreaming about February of 2009 when Hiram, my sister, and I went to sunny southern California for a long weekend visit with an elderly...
Reptile Disfunction & Other Sticky Wickets
Last night, our small church group was in charge of Adventure Club. In other words, we wrangled a whole passel of kids so all the other groups could meet in blessed peace, without pint-sized distraction. The evening was a smorgasbord of PBJs, games, Veggie Tales,...