Wild Beasts
Merry Merry
It’s crazy how fast this year has gone. And even crazier how fast Christmas is coming up. If you, like me, are looking for a few last-minute gifts, here are some suggestions: Beeswax candles from Three Sisters Farms. We buy a pair or two of tapers every year at the end of the summer. When…
Read MoreA Review! A Book! And A Gratuitous Slobbering Beast Photo!
Happy almost Halloween! I have all kinds of treats here, and very few tricks, I promise. First, I’m over today at Writer Unboxed, interviewing the talented Bryn Greenwood about her novel All the Ugly and Wonderful Things. Bryn is the kind of writer who takes my mind, turns it inside out, stretches it, gives it…
Read MoreHow to Create Readers
Hi there! I’m over at Writer Unboxed, talking about a topic that is very dear to my heart — how to create readers and read more yourself. (Hint: It has nothing to do with balancing books on your head.) Please stop by and let me know what you think!
Read MoreTo Thine Own Self Be True
I never used to have gray hair. Or wrinkles. Or a loud voice. I do not blame these things on age. I blame them on the little being who came to live with us almost 10 years ago. The one who likes to jump off tall lifeguard stands (resulting in a knocked-out filling), run helter-skelter…
Read MoreLetting Go
A few days ago, a friend and I met up for a hike. Just before the trail entrance, we heard a weird noise, like the commotion of a bunch of chickens. We stopped, tried to locate the sound, couldn’t, and continued on. The Slobbering Beast was with us, and it’s been a bit since he was…
Read MorePick One Thing
Lately when riding, I am a hot mess. (That’s the technical term. The actual term used by my instructor is unprintable here.) There are so many things going on — my seat isn’t balanced, my legs slide forward, my knees are jammed up against the knee roll, my reins get floppy — hence, the hot…
Read MoreDon't Think. It Can Only Hurt the Ball Club.
We had a chance to take a last-minute trip last week, to Ireland. When we were lucky enough to go two years ago, I had plenty of advance notice. That meant I checked out the six-disc audio book on Ireland’s history, signed us up for online Irish lessons, collected movies on Irish culture, and basically…
Read MoreMuscle Memory
I have terrible muscle memory. Ages ago, the first several times I tried aerobics, I always went left when everyone else went right. When I rode, my biggest fear was rarely the size of the jumps — it was doing them in the wrong order. (From personal experience, I can tell you there are few…
Read MoreI Did Not Cry
Today was the first day of school, and it’s tradition for me to drop off the kids and then bawl my eyes out. Three years ago, when my son transitioned from kindergarten to first grade, I didn’t even make it out of the parking lot. The second grade teacher on parent duty had to pat…
Read MoreDigging In
For someone who hates being cold, I love winter hiking. There are no ticks or mosquitoes to contend with, no vicious horse flies, no gasping for air in the humid New England summer. Often, particularly if the weather is unpleasant, the Slobbering Beast and I can go for miles without seeing another human soul. There’s…
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