Let me know if this has ever happened to you. You have a writing idea simmering in your mind.  Perhaps you overheard something interesting at the grocery store. (Yes – all writers eavesdrop! I’m shameless.)  Or maybe you had an unexpected and thoughtful conversation with a stranger and you just can’t stop thinking about it. […]

Years ago, a friend of mine found this print of The Skating Minister in a thrift store. I was green with envy. I almost challenged her to a snowball fight for it. However, common sense prevailed and I secretly grumbled to myself. All is fair in love, war and thrifting. So why do I love […]

What you’re looking at is where I’d be living if I had a dollar for every person who said this phrase to me: “I don’t know what to write about.” Maybe you can relate. You have probably always had the desire to write and maybe you’ve dabbled in writing over the years. But more often […]

Oh life, you can be a little trickster at times. You plant this desire in me to write. It brings my soul such joy! But you also plant the idea that I have to do other things too. Life tasks like keeping my husband, dog, garden, and, relationships alive. Listen. I have the best intentions. […]

A few years ago, The New York Times ran a short story about a company that branded their dried potato dish: Funeral Potatoes. The name had caused a bit of a ruckus. People were offended by it. Shocked right down to their little tater tots. Because I guess we aren’t supposed to say the words […]

We’ve been immersed in wickedly hot weather the past three weeks. Fry an egg on the pavement kind of heat. Some people love these long, steaming hot days. Not me. I enjoy the beauty of summer, but you can bring on Fall, thank you very much. I’m a woman with a big head of curly […]

It has been blistering hot this past month. (Yes – even in Canada!) A few weeks ago, my husband and I were going to be out of town, so I asked my garden-loving parents to water my garden. This wasn’t a small request. They had to drive 30-minutes each way. But they quickly said YES […]

At last! You have the time and quiet space to write and you sit down with a notebook and pen in a cozy spot. A cup of water/tea/coffee sits close by and you wait for the magical words to start flowing. The first few lines stumble onto the page and thennnnn….crickets. You scribble down a […]