Living Large by Living SMALL

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!

Gypsying (OR: A Borderline Personality Working on Borders)

November 25, 2016December 19, 2016 ~ Kana Smith ~ 2 Comments

If you’re not familiar with poker, the thing to understand is that you start a hand with some cards of your own, and you don’t yet know what other cards will be available to you to use in that hand. You have to “sign up” to play that hand by putting some money in the … Continue reading Gypsying (OR: A Borderline Personality Working on Borders)

Full Circle: At the Wheel

August 29, 2014August 29, 2014 ~ Kana Smith ~ 20 Comments

Dad took me car-shopping my Senior year of high school, explaining that although he'd drive the new car for a while, it was intended eventually for my use. I pictured myself in a Jeep Cherokee: four-wheel-drive, room in the back for dive gear and camping kit, a rack on top for my parents' old orange canoe, and plenty of under-carriage … Continue reading Full Circle: At the Wheel

The Diarist’s Conundrum, & a Story About Community

March 24, 2013August 27, 2014 ~ Kana Smith ~ 23 Comments

I've been keeping journals since I was six years old. That first diary is a real gem, with one-sentence entries like: "Today I went crazy and thawt I was a frog." I wish I remembered the story behind that... The trouble with keeping journals, though, has always been the fact that when you have the … Continue reading The Diarist’s Conundrum, & a Story About Community

A Lesson on Letting Go

August 7, 2012August 8, 2012 ~ Kana Smith ~ 76 Comments

Here's my GRIN for the day: I have a new client for my freelance writing, and the "job application" I sent him consisted of (1) a link to this blog, as a "writing sample," and (2) a photo of my motorcycle tattoo. I regularly refer to my tats as Stories, but had never considered this … Continue reading A Lesson on Letting Go

Hill-Climbing, Hummingbirds, and Handguns

August 4, 2012July 13, 2023 ~ Kana Smith ~ 34 Comments

This evening, a particular piece of kid-art caught my eye. We have their notes and drawings tacked up all over the place---on the walls, on the fridge---but when something is always there you sometimes stop seeing it. That's the case with this piece , carefully dated 8-2-11 (almost exactly a year ago) with sticker-letters spelling … Continue reading Hill-Climbing, Hummingbirds, and Handguns

Can’t Stand the Heatstroke: Getting Out of the Kitchen!

July 16, 2012July 16, 2012 ~ Kana Smith ~ 24 Comments

When my sister and I were kids, we spent a good chunk of every summer with our grandparents in Colorado. We both remember fondly the traditions and rituals of those summers---the daily swimming lessons at their pool, the picnic pool-lunches (fingers coated orange by Cheetohs, and purple tongues from grape soda), the yellow slip-n-slide on … Continue reading Can’t Stand the Heatstroke: Getting Out of the Kitchen!