Remember those long, lazy summer afternoons that never seemed to end? You know, when the cotton was high and the livin’ was easy? Well, I want to know where they went. I’m not talking about this summer, although, heaven knows, it shot by while I was still shopping for an Easter dress, but summer in general. I think about it all through the rainy winters. I say, “Next summer, I’m really going to use the pool. I tell myself that wet hair easily becomes dry hair, even curled hair, in just a few minutes with the help of a hairdryer….
Floribundas and Tea Roses
I love roses. My house is rarely without a bowl of the fragrant blossoms somewhere, and from early to spring to late fall, they bloom in my garden. I know. Roses are considered by some to be way overdone. And there’s some truth to that. God created an infinite variety of flowers, from the shy violet to the brash, platter-sized sunflower. And roses have claimed far more than their share of the limelight. But what can I say? I still love them. Right outside my front door is a huge rose bush, maybe fifteen feet high, which puts…
Living Every Day
Our Town, by Thornton Wilder is a mainstay of high school drama departments and community theater, It tells the story of one woman, Emily Webb who died young and is given the opportunity to pick one day of her life to relive. She returns to her twelfth birthday and is at once elated to be back in the shelter of her childhood home and heartbroken at the easy way they take each other for granted, not realizing how very precious each moment, each day of their lives are. All too often, though, just like Emily, we don’t remember to live…
Searching for Real Mexican Food
When I was growing up, going out to eat usually meant going out for Mexican food. Probably a lot of that had to do with the fact that that was what was available, but it also just tasted wonderful. And it was hot. I really got those cartoon pictures of people eating something hot and having steam shoot out their ears. I could feel it, even if no one could actually see the steam. The yolk of a fried egg on top of the enchiladas tempered the heat a bit, and so did the honey squeezed into the interior of…
Launch Week!
It’s finally here! After writing, editing, pitching, editing some more, and waiting, waiting, waiting, Welcome to Last Chance finally hit the shelves this week. It was such a thrill to walk into a bookstore and find copies of my book on the shelves. I felt like I should do something—turn the book over so the author picture showed, maybe, and strike a pose to see if anyone noticed the resemblance. But no, I just looked at it a while, picked it up, gave it a pat, and put it back. And then I left, hoping it would soon find someone…