Nine

BUTTERFLY If I’m being honest, I would have to admit that I have become more closely acquainted with bitterness over the past few years than at any other time in my life. It has become difficult to see past hurts and cold shoulders, even unintentional ones…maybe especially unintentional ones. How could you not know? How … More Nine

Eight

Seeing that it is already past the ides of November, it seems likely that my goal to pen 12 pieces in 12 months will remain elusive, however I feel compelled to continue nonetheless… When I was a little girl, I was not allowed to grow my hair long. The offered parental rationale seemed unreasonable to … More Eight

Seven

“Time is what we want most, but what we use worst.”― William Penn When I take the boys’ photos each Autumn, sometimes in my pop-up studio and sometimes out in the wild, I become reluctantly reacquainted with the relentless passage of time. The subtle changes in their faces are a fine example of the muse: “Isn’t … More Seven

Six

Bend and Stretch The inauguration of lazy summer mornings on July 1 was interrupted by urgent and violent trips to the loo, not by me, but by my poor husband. Over the course of the holiday weekend we spent many hours in ER, trying to resolve the issue – eventually identified as Campylobacter of unknown … More Six

Five

Rest (or, a love letter to Clayoquot Sound) As I sit here at my patio table, umbrella raised to shade the sun when she’s not obscured by the passing afternoon clouds, I am confronted by the heady scent of May Day and Schubert Chokecherry blossoms; I wipe a thick layer of yellow pollen from the … More Five

Four

Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass. ~ Anton Chekhov April is National Poetry Month, so it seemed fitting… When God made a woman He portioned Adam’s rib But when He made a mother He formed her from shattered stone And thread In the forge of … More Four

THREE

Don’t try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It’s the one and only thing you have to offer. ~ Barbara Kingsolver Nostalgia. The word, translated from the literal Greek, means “the pain of returning home”. Johannes Hofer, a Swiss medical student, originally coined … More THREE

Two

Writing is both mask and unveiling. ~ E.B. White If you can find a south-facing wall in February, on a warmish day when the sun is shining, you can plant yourself in a chair and take off your parka, sit bare-armed with your face to the sky, and feel as though Spring has arrived and … More Two

One

This year I decided to set a goal of penning 12 pieces of work (prose, poetry, essay, paragraph), and as inspiration, I selected 12 quotes on “writing” I thought would help get me started, or at least spark the engine. As it has been said, a dream without a plan is just a wish.  Writing … More One