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The Turtle-Shell Autobiography

drawing of a sea turtle
October 15, 2025October 23, 2025 ~ Kana Smith ~ 1 Comment

Baby green sea turtles hatch on the beaches of Baja California on the Sea of Cortez, hump their way toward the water, and vanish in the surf. They vanish for five years, before they return to those beaches to lay their own eggs. In his achingly lyrical Telling Our Way to the Sea, Aaron Hirsch … Continue reading The Turtle-Shell Autobiography

On Hobbits & Hobbit-Holes

a marine-themed study
October 11, 2025October 11, 2025 ~ Kana Smith ~ 4 Comments

One of my favorite coffee mugs was a gift from my sister, covered all over with "famous first lines" of novels. I have a degree in English literature, and I still had to look a few of them up---I guess they can't all be "Call me Ishmael." But I do think there's one first line … Continue reading On Hobbits & Hobbit-Holes

Stop, Don’t Make Me Chinkle!

cartoon toilet paper roll with smile and tagline "roll with it"
October 1, 2025October 2, 2025 ~ Kana Smith ~ 2 Comments

It's a word of my own coinage, particular to post-childbirth and post-menopausal experiences---a mashup of "chortle" and "tinkle." A mashup word for the mashup experience. A chinkle is a laugh that makes you wee a little. At the risk of venturing into TMI territory: in earlier stages of my life, damp panties were indicative of … Continue reading Stop, Don’t Make Me Chinkle!

A Visit (And a Visitation)

June 19, 2017June 19, 2017 ~ Kana Smith ~ 6 Comments

One of the interesting things about working at Home Depot is that our customers have a definite expectation that anyone in an orange apron will be able to answer any of their questions. And the reason our customers have that expectation is because we are encouraged not to answer with “I don’t know.” When I … Continue reading A Visit (And a Visitation)

Addendum to a Eulogy

Thanksgiving rose
December 4, 2016November 20, 2025 ~ Kana Smith ~ 3 Comments

Yesterday my dad should have turned seventy. He passed away this year on my birthday, so this weekend we've been missing him on his. Ironically, I could still practice my favorite joke-ritual, which was not to call my dad (whose depth of phone-phobia was rivaled only by my sister's and my own) on his birthday. I … Continue reading Addendum to a Eulogy

Living Large by Living SMALL

fifth wheel RV camp
November 30, 2016December 9, 2016 ~ Kana Smith ~ 1 Comment

Sometimes the Stuff we own ends up owning us... Here's a look at life with LESS!

Bathing Ferrets, Idaho Wildlife, & Pumpkin Pie

November 28, 2012November 20, 2025 ~ Kana Smith ~ 40 Comments

I used to think that my sister and I had the best-ever outlet for playing with our bath toys. We grew up in an Idaho farm-town that practiced irrigation-watering for the lawns in town, so our front yard was flooded in several inches of water for a couple evenings every week. I still have memories … Continue reading Bathing Ferrets, Idaho Wildlife, & Pumpkin Pie

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"As for me, I am tormented with an everlasting itch for things remote. I love to sail forbidden seas, and land on barbarous coasts."

~ Herman Melville, Moby-Dick

  1. yusefasabiyah's avatar
    yusefasabiyah on In Which We Don’t Sail Into the SunsetFebruary 16, 2026

    Owning the boat was associated with beautiful dreams of romance and adventure. If you sell the boat, you'll have a…

  2. judy thompson's avatar
    judy thompson on The Accidental Cat LadyFebruary 3, 2026

    I suspect we have a magic 'hobo' sign on our mailbox, for forty + years cats have wandered up our…

  3. Metal Odyssey's avatar
    Metal Odyssey on What is WRONG With People?January 31, 2026

    After reading this, all I can say is you have a soul of gold to put up with such Neanderthal…

  4. Jimena's avatar
    Jimena on In Which We Don’t Sail Into the SunsetJanuary 29, 2026

    It looks good on you ;) In my case, it"s not like it has completely disappeared from my belongings... Once…

  5. Kana Smith's avatar
    Kana Smith on In Which We Don’t Sail Into the SunsetJanuary 29, 2026

    My "teal phase" has lasted four decades, and shows no sign of waning. ;)

"It is not down on any map; true places never are"

~ Herman Melville, Moby-Dick

What is WRONG With People? A Pain in the Neck If the Present is a Gift, so is the Past Cow Physiology 101 The “Year in Books” On the Palm Tree as an Antidepressant Untitled Dragon Biography The Christmas-Tree Trade-In
  • When you Assume... you make an ASS out of U & ME
  • Hunting for Answers in Pink Camo: Why is it...
  • Pushed Over the Edge?
  • Looking for YA Reading Recommendations
  • Mythbusters Edition: "Depression is Just in Your Head"
  • Freelance Job Opportunity!
  • Marginalia & Time-Travel
  • February Sunshine!
  • A Lesson on Letting Go
  • The Reluctant Fashionista Springs Forward

"Not all those who wander are lost."

~J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

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