While using our riding lawn mower to cut the grass at the historic family home, he nearly rode face-first into this swarm of bees. Too bad, we weren’t ready with a bee hive set-up like at Frugal Kiwi.
Truth. Writing is hard. Greater truth. Primary research is harder, especially when the subject led an elusive, often-desperate, carousing sort of life. That’s one reason (among many) Quincy Tahoma: The Life and Legacy of a Navajo Artist is such a triumph.
The details dug from scraps. The real-life characters interviewed. The piecing together of biographical bits astound me nearly as much as Tahoma’s life story and artwork.
Authors Charnell Havens and Vera Marie Badertscher, a couple of sorority sisters going way back, weave the various narrative threads with skill I doubt I could manage on my best day.
It. Won’t. Stop. Snowing.
Today, I fly to New York City so that I can speak at the upcoming American Society of Journalists and Authors conference. My topic is finding and maximizing your blogging niche. But, first I have a long travel day ahead.
Monday Tom and I celebrated our 19th wedding anniversary. Our low-key celebrations included breakfast out at the lovely Blue Sky Cafe in Golden, a long nap (because we’re both exhausted on the cosmic level), and … the addition of a new pet into the household. That’s BIG news, kids.
Knitting is saving my sanity in these stressful days when I’m buried by deadlines, steeped with family medical worries, and overwhelmed by bad news in the world.
However, I’m incapable of knitting simply to knit, so one of my grown nieces (who is due with her first baby in June) and one of my writer friends (who is due with her second pretty much any day) became my focus. The babies that is.
I had not done any clothes yet, only things like purses and towels and blankets, so I figured small clothes might be the best place to start.
Last week was a doozy, with a wildfire burning just miles away. I posted real-time updates via Twitter and on our Champion of My Heart Facebook Fan Page, but here is our story and timeline of the Indian Gulch Fire of 2011.
[Sorry. This post is WAY longer than usual. Lots of pictures, though.]
My friend Leslie Petrovski, who blogs over at Nake-id Knits, alerted me to a request from Interweave (a knitting magazine) for readers / Facebook fans to post photos of their dogs with crafty items they inspired. Some of the posts and photos are just too cute.
Lilly and I benefited from SO MUCH voting help in the run up to the Petties (2010 DogTime Media Best Dog Blog Award), so we’re returning the favor. SEVERAL of my favorite blogs are finalists in the 2011 Bloggies, which are a very big deal. Will you vote for them before Sunday, February 20? Please?
If you have not yet discovered the wit and wisdom of Ruth Pennebaker, get thyself over to the Fabulous Geezersisters this second. The impeccable writing and larger life lessons astound me, post after post.
I share this recommendation today, of all days, because I just finished Pennebaker’s newest book — Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakthrough.
Pals Edie Jarolim from Will My Dog Hate Me and Amy Burkert from GoPetFriendly.com teamed up on this Pet Blogger Challenge, where they urge folks like me to ponder some of the bigger questions about why we blog.
Through work connections, I meet and know many, many terrific writers. That means I often get to read advance copies of new books. So, imagine my surprise when a book about marriage included some VERY telling experiences with DOGS.
So, here is a book review and my commentary about what we can all learn from the dogs in the family.
Since Thanksgiving is just a week away, and (if you’re like me) there is still menu planning and shopping to be done, today I’m just going to point you to an old post about the holiday breakfast frittata that I had pretty much every holiday growing up. (I’m Italian-American, so c’mon … you know it’s good.)
Being such purveyors of praise around here, we go through a LOT of dog treats … very few of which are store bought. I came up with this particular “snack mix” when I needed something to put in food delivery toys that was low-cal. Clearly, the Cheerios work better for that than the Rice Chex, but this mixture has more of a party-planning, holiday flavor. Plus, it does NOT take long to make … so if you are short on time and have dog friends who need a little gift … it’s perfect.
Whether it’s because of the economy, reaching a certain age, or other even-less-pleasant circumstances, many people now seek some sort of reinvention in their lives. Yes, I’m talking to, you, (insert your name here).
