Writers Weekend Coming Up

Tomorrow and over the weekend fifteen women will be attending a writing workshop in the mountain of Colorado at the Redstone Inn, a quaint hotel originally built as a boarding house for coal and marble miners at the turn of the nineteenth century. I am delighted to be included in this group of women.

One of our readings in preparation of the workshop, in case you might want to take a further look at an author with whom you might be unfamiliar, is entitled The Tiger in the Grass by Harriet Doerr.   Born in 1910, Doerr began writing at the age of 67 and made a splash of a debut with her novel Stones of Ibarra at the age of 74.

excerpted from The Tiger in the Grass:

Updating information from the workshop next week.,,

Heralding our 25 Years of Marriage

A quarter of a century we have been married.

Gene and I have seen several family and friends' marriages occur over these years.  A few births in the family have happened, several pets acquired, and we have helped more than a few people through their last months on earth.  My husband and I have traveled a bit together, I was away in North Carolina for a graduate degree, and we both have since retired from our economic careers.  We have been through sickness and health. There has been a small lifetime of tragedies and triumphs through the years.

So I made a movie for Gene as an anniversary present.  (Journey supplies the lyrics and music.)

Through the Years

A faded wedding photograph.
You and me in our first dance.
Our eyes are closed.
We're lost in one sweet embrace.

Since those days the world has changed.
But our love remains the same.
God knows we've had our share of saving grace.

And I'm proud of all the blessings you have given me.
The mountains we have climbed to get this far.
We've learned to take the laughter with the tears.
After all these years.

You make it feel brand new.
After the fires that we walked through.
Against the odds we never lost our faith.

In a house we made our home.
Where our children all have grown
Precious moments time cannot erase.

Make a living up and down the gypsy highways.
The seasons that we had to share apart.
Somehow in my heart I always keep you near.
After all these years.

After all these years.
You stood by me the days and nights that I was gone.
After all these years.
You sacrificed, believed in me, and you stood strong.
Cause with our love there's nothing left to fear.
After all these years.

After all these years.
You stood by me the days and nights that I was gone.
After all these years.
You sacrificed, believed in me, and you stood strong.
Cause with our love there's nothing left to fear.
After all these years.

There is Just No Explaining

There is Just No Explaining 2014

Dave Berry says it all here.  I laughed out loud.  Go the the link if you want to be amused or bemused at the state of our union.

Justin Bieber?  The White House having security not as tight as a Dunkin' Donuts'? a state dinner for French President François “Le Muffin de Stud” Hollande, who arrives at the White House driving a red scooter with two women riding on the back and three more chasing on foot?  And those are just the highlights of the first eight weeks in 2014.

Really, just read it.  The cartoons are great.

credit for illustration goes to Charlie Powell seen here