When I was young, Canada geese were a rare occurrence, but now they are common and are usually viewed and an annoyance. A whole industry has been created to get rid of them: Birds Beware, Bird B Gone, Goosinator, and GooseBuster - to name a few. But I think geese are beautiful, graceful, and devoted friends.
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Finding Paris
I’ve been missing that sense of adventure this summer, and so I’ve found that I have been traveling in my mind through reading books. For the past several weeks, I’ve been in Paris by way of Hemingway.
Experience of Place
For the past thirty-six summers, my husband and I have been fortunate to be able to wander and travel around the country – our beautiful diverse country: mountains, plains, deserts, and coastlines. Most summers are now spent in the Green Mountains of Vermont or the White Mountains of New Hampshire, or the rocky coastline of Maine. This year is different. Very different. This year is a summer of home and schoolwork. As I look towards the fall, I yearn for those wondrous summer places. I look back at photographs and remember.
Memory is Hunger
Memory is hunger. When I read this recently, I paused, I underlined it, I wrote notes beside it in pencil. I’ve been concentrating on Hemingway this summer, and this quote came from his memoir, A Moveable Feast, about his time in Paris in the 1920s with his first wife, Hadley. It is Hadley who says these words as they reminisce about shared experiences: “There are so many sorts of hunger. In the spring there are more. But that’s gone now. Memory is hunger.” In this post I describe the power of food to trigger memories and help create healthy recipes with fresh, simple ingredients.
A Pause for Celebration
“Sorrow comes in great waves...but rolls over us, and though it may almost smother us, it leaves us. And we know that if it is strong, we are stronger, inasmuch as it passes and we remain.” - Henry James After the events of the past weeks: the COVID pandemic, George Floyd’s murder, rioting and … Continue reading A Pause for Celebration
Ascent: Sharing Our Stories
This week's Sharing Our Stories prompt from Ruth Ayres was "spreading your wings wider." I thought about her words for a little while. Lately, I've been spreading my wings a little wider each day even though we remain in quarantine. It's funny how being physically inside has made me become more open and wandering within my mind and heart...
Come into the Garden
As a child, I took great delight in my grandfather’s garden. Though it was just a small, backyard patch of land, my grandfather transformed it into a magical place with an abundance of vegetables and fruits. He planted rows and rows of lettuce, cucumbers, carrots, a variety of squash and beans, tomatoes, and tall … Continue reading Come into the Garden
Wings Wide Open
Ruth Ayres recently encouraged me to think about what it means to live with arms wide open. Even though I’m an introvert at heart, I love to take quiet risks. I was born curious and that curiosity hasn’t subsided in my sixth decade of living. I guess that’s why I also love teaching. I … Continue reading Wings Wide Open
Anger
How much more grievous are the consequences of anger than the causes of it. - Marcus Aurelius Anger is hard for me to write about. It is probably hard for most people to write or talk about. I most certainly would rather write about children, art, or cupcakes. However, the whole point of beginning again … Continue reading Anger
To begin again…
Sometimes, to begin again feels like a long hike in the summer sun up a steep slope. Sometimes, to begin again is like swimming in honey. Today, I received an invitation from Ruth Ayres to begin again, and I accept it as a gift. Now, I don't know Ruth personally, but I subscribe to … Continue reading To begin again…
Word Dancer: Literature, the Arts, & Education 