Theodore Albers, WW II Veteran #MondayBlogs #MemorialDay2023

I wrote this post in 2019 and reposted it in 2022. I'm doing so again this year. Every Memorial Day (and most days in-between), I think of Ted Albers and how much I miss him. While Memorial Day is for remembering those veterans we've lost, do me a favor and also hold close the ones…

Lens-Artists Challenge #250 – Skyscapes or Cloudscapes

This week's challenge comes from Amy of The World is A Book. She asks us to share our "cloudscapes over land, sea, or cities, or just clouds." I love clouds and am often looking up to see what they're doing, and just as often I trip over my feet trying to take photos of them.…

Three For A Girl by Kevin Brennan #BookReview

Three for a Girl by Kevin Brennan is one of those character-driven stories that gets into my head and stays and stays and stays. The story is told from the point-of-view of LeeAnn Heartney as she recalls the summer of 1973 when she was 17 and the Watergate hearings dominated the news. Not that she cared.…

Fractured Oak by Dannie Boyd #BookReview #MagicalRealism

The premise of this novel--that a woman dies and becomes a sentient tree--is intriguing enough, but that the tree is also a witness to a murder and actually tries to help in the resulting investigation is truly original. Two stories are laid out and told with sympathy, utilizing two distinct POVs, one being that of…

Every Day is a New Day

I've been finding a lot of ways to avoid writing. Firstly, I challenged myself with a new-to-me method of knitting. Well, not entirely new to me as I had knitted "top-down" sweater patterns before, but those patterns always resulted in raglan sleeves ... you know, the ones with a diagonal seam from armpit to collar.…

My, How Times Flies #Anniversary #Blogging

According to WordPress, I registered on WordPress.com 15 years ago. I wasn't planning to post anything today, but when this image popped up in my notifications, I took it as a sign that I should write ... something. Alas, words do not pour out of me, at least not onto paper or my computer screen.…

A Love Story That Began Almost 60 Years Ago

Today, April 2, is the anniversary of my sister Shirley's wedding. Several days after she died last July, my brother-in-law shared the story of how they came to be together. Imagine the year 1962, in a rural town in north-central New York. Three houses keep company with each other, hugged by cornfields and the main…

In the Company of Wolves #BookReview #PoetryCommunity

What is a wolf if not the hungry wildness in the heart? --"Human Origin" I read fairy tales when I was a child and was often hoodwinked by them. I tended to take things literally so, for example, when reading about Rapunzel, I considered whether I go could grow my hair as long. Or, after…

To Submit or Not Submit, That is the Question #WhyWrite #WhyBotherWithSubmissions

January turned out to be a real bust when it came to writing. I had started the Smokelong Fitness Group in earnest but quickly lost my will to write. I submitted two pieces to my group for feedback, but I'm not sure if either is worth working on further. I even went through a period…

Guest Post – The Last Drive by John W. Howell #newbook

I am so pleased to be with you today, Marie. I want to thank you for helping spread the word about The Last Drive. This book is about eternity and those finding their chosen way to spend the afterlife. It is not intended to be religious but does take on a spiritual tone as the…