His name was Heinz Gaugel. He died in 2000 at 73 years of age, but I met him five years before that, when I was an innocent and starry-eyed twelve. When I entered the studio, he sat with his back to me. A canvas road stretched away from him, with horses and buggies scattered along […]
Confession: I’ve been out and about a lot. Yesterday I realized that I’d been up till midnight three out of the last four nights, deep in laughter and conversation. I am both exhausted and new-made. I try not to tell other people’s stories on this blog, but I need to say that the ladies of
“Mommy, you needa buy DESE! …Can I try dem on? I think dey are a little too big.”
Ladies’ day shopping Read More »
All the flower shops and chocolate factories are heaving a collective sigh of relief and counting up the dough. We made it. One of my favorite things about Valentine’s Day is watching men with bouquets ducking sheepishly around in stores. They look lovely and fragile and full of hope. The bouquets do too. One of
Confession: It’s been that kind of week. It’s February in Meadville, where we have two options left open to us: to ignore the winter entirely, or to give up and wallow in it like swamp invertebrates. I looked up the weather forecast and it’s unbroken clouds for a week to come. My brain is filled
Recently, while browsing the web in search of ideas for simple homemade journals, I stumbled across this gem–how to make a book with only paper, one rubber band, and a “backbone” of choice, such as a twig… …a pencil …or chopsticks. {Check out the instructions here, from twowritingteachers.} It’s too cool an idea, and adaptable
Introducing flower journaling Read More »
You need to try it, at least once a year. A coffee shop is a good place to go, or a graveyard; or any other quiet place where people don’t expect much of you and are more or less unlikely to strike up lengthy conversations. It’s good for every man to lay down his accessories
Confession: Everything was locking up for me today. First my Kindle. Then Grooveshark. Then my laptop. After ten years of marriage to a tech man, I’ve learned a few things—not to bang the offending item on the countertop, for instance… and that restarting often helps… and even to open Task Manager and fiddle around exiting
I apologize for the delay. I have learned my lesson and from now on will substitute “more next time” in place of “more tomorrow.” Where was I? Ah yes. What if instead of arranging our goals around our weight, we arranged them around our habits? ***** There are several facts of the matter that I
Confession: I feel stupid about this and I’m truly not trying to string you along, but I just don’t feel like writing about food today. So hang on. Soon.