No Place Like Gnome
Even, or maybe especially, during strange and doleful times, the whimsical comes into its own. Yes, we have our daily work, our responsibilities. A book of class lists here, a book of hymns there. As the late afternoon shadows fall, we know what the evening news will say, how the numbers are mounting up; we watch it anyway, feeling ineffective on our sofas in comparison to those on the front lines, battling it out. We may not be the ones … Read More
Borderlines
Way back when I started this blog, almost a decade (!?!?) ago, I shared a photo of a wall painted one color and a ceiling painted another, to illustrate my interest in side-by-side contrasts, the kind that draw in the eye or the spirit. Things that melt together, merge, have their own kind of charm; but things (or plants, or animals, or people) that retain their distinct qualities while attaining an often astonishing closeness have fascinated me ever since I … Read More
Rescue Dogs…Any Which Way
It’s been so long since I’ve checked in here that, if I were to bring any animals at all to this site, these would be the most appropriate choice. But another species has been on my mind. And I daresay you’ll be relieved to hear about anything other than politics right about now. Some of you have been doggedly —oh, my topic slipped out– following all the mostly dreary news of late; you need a break. So, trying to be … Read More
We Can’t All Go to Angola
I once had a college professor who, perhaps in reaction to a student who was clearly unprepared for class, leaned back in his chair and mused that he’d always yearned for the opportunity to teach a course called, “Great Books I’ve Never Read.” This is close to the way I feel about my husband’s almost-over trip to Angola. Some months ago, when this was on the horizon, we both thought it might be possible for me to accompany him on … Read More
Not At Convention; but Not Entirely Unconventional, Either
Marriages are amazing contraptions. Sometimes humming along, sometimes rattling through, occasionally soaring over; staying the same, in a way, but also ever-changing, like the clouds in an autumn sky at the end of a day. Nobody said anything about my absence last Saturday up at the annual Convention for New Hampshire Episcopalians, but still I felt some pangs about not being courtside—no, wait, I mean in the conference room—while my husband gave his address. I bet it was a really … Read More
Three Ring Circus Time
I saw a bumper sticker the other day that went something like, “Elect a Clown, Get a Circus.” But really, this is not at all fair to anybody — a good friend of ours comes to mind — who is involved in the wonderful and aesthetically rich field of the circus arts. And besides, how about the rest of us who regularly feel that our lives consist of much juggling, a fair amount of running in circles, some leaping, an … Read More
Smokey Sang It Best
Smokey Robinson, that is. One of his songs has been cruising (not, not that one) through my mind during this end-of-August, not quite end-of-summer. Outside, there’s abundance just about everywhere… And when we’re fully enjoying the abundance, we might look something like this, particularly if we’re female and happen to find ourselves in a field of lavender. But a close neighbor to abundance is often the quality of too-much-ness. Or here’s the dreary basement version of gotta-cut-back…. Abundance brings a … Read More
Some Gaps We Don’t Mind; This One– Yes
It’s a good thing it’s so beautiful, day after summer day, right here at home, because we don’t have much for travel plans. Blame it on the will-it-ever-end revising work; blame it on the dog and no dog sitter; don’t blame it on the kids. But really, it’s OK. I bet not absolutely everyone is gallivanting around, anyway. And besides, I already had an unusual trip to California just as summer was starting. It’s appropriate that this happened more than … Read More
It’s Hot Now; Frederick Douglass Was Fiery Then
Sometimes a merely middling writer knows when the time is right to defer to—get out of the way of — a Knock You Out Writer, the expert kind. That’s my plan for this blog. I’ll offer just a bit of preamble, context first. Here’s hoping you had a lovely 4th of July, free of heavy tanks rolling down your street. The weather around here sure has been magnificent, if on the hot side. This is when New England ponds and … Read More
Post Playoff Packing Up
Ah, the first half of June— time of fragrant blossoms, gentle breezes, lawns a-greening, birds a-twittering. And, depending on your perspective, either right in keeping with the burgeoning season or completely out of synch with it, the double whammy of TWO Best-of-7 Series (make that plural). Did you watch? I sure did. Having been steeped in athletic activity from a young age, I’m not about to change now. Yep, I’m a pastor’s wife, and proud to be. But when I … Read More