Living with a dog is a humbling experience. They are so keenly observant, remarkably intuitive, decisive, affectionate, present in every moment, protective of their people, and, my favorite … utterly thrilled to be alive. Who of us can claim anything even close? I live in something like the Subaru commercial poignantly featuring a family with their dog in three different life stages. Although the ad aired some years back, even now just thinking about it […]
A few years ago I was cleaning out a storage space. I came across a large rectangular box that held a few canvasses. In the usual chaos of life that box had apparently been overlooked, and shoved to the back of our pole barn. I hauled out the dusty oversize box and after a sneezing fit pulled out everything inside only to discover the box held more than stretched canvas on frames. A nervous tiny […]
Outside it’s drizzling that ‘just above freezing’ damp, bone-chilling cold that I find particularly horrible. My dreams of a white Christmas went unanswered this year and maybe that’s a perfect ending to a particularly difficult year for both our country and for the world. I’ve tried reminding myself how badly we need rain here in Eastern Washington. Nice try, but the truth is, its yucky outside and no amount of pasted-on optimism is going to […]
My freshly cut Christmas tree is sparkling with tiny white lights. Every short needled branch boasts feathery birds, crystalline balls, handmade bird houses, and an odd assortment of miniature teddy bears, bells, and shiny stars collected over a lifetime. It’s gorgeous. Candles and strings of lights illuminate a shelf in our great room and a felted wreath hangs in between winter coats and hats on a clothes rack by the door. In the center of […]
5:35 am and already I feel like I might be running late. The forecast is an unseasonably hot day, could reach 100 degrees. In Spokane where we live, this is expected in July or August, certainly not in June. I have 2 choices as I look to the day ahead; grumble, complain and feel sorry for myself, or just get to work doing whatever I can to keep all living things in my care as hydrated […]
The acrid smell of diesel fuel stung my nose, jarring me awake. I was cold beyond shivering, bound in some kind of tight suit, confused and feeling nothing. I was numb, a block of stone covered in snow. Then I noticed the crystalline sky above the mounds of puffy clouds in shades of bluish gray. The stars were bright, beautiful and I sighed in relief. It was over. “If this is the end of my […]
The Spill... 