If you have ever joked that you're "in danger of becoming a Cat Lady," well... I'm sorry---you probably already ARE one! But in case you're still uncertain, I'm happy to offer this handy scoring system: Cat Lady? Who, ME?? #1: PHOTOS. You might be a Cat Lady if... ...you're thinking of writing a "cat lady" … Continue reading You Might be a Cat Lady if…
Allow Me to Enunciate This Clearly
In the years since Jon married me, I've lost count of the number of people who have apologized for swearing around me. Ironic, really, because in the years before marrying Jon I had a serious, Pirate-Sized Potty Mouth. (He never chided me for my language---but my F-bombs suddenly felt disrespectful around someone whose outcries in … Continue reading Allow Me to Enunciate This Clearly
“and stuff like that until she died.”
How's THAT for a strong finish? Thus ended my first book. Back when "book" meant folded sheets of gradeschool writing paper (blue dotted lines to guide the letter-heights) stapled within a construction-paper cover, illustrated ala Crayola. Come to think of it, "Annie Ant" also became my first published work—-a result of living in a town … Continue reading “and stuff like that until she died.”
White Space
Junior High Journalism class first impressed the term "White Space" on my mind. In the context of a yearbook page, it's just what it sounds like: the portions of page with nothing printed. But White Space took on a life of its own as we created layouts arranged around the White Space Statutes as stated … Continue reading White Space
What WASN’T in the Job Description…
Two years ago on an August evening, an unknown Oregon number rang my Idaho cell, and I picked up the call that changed EVERYTHING. Jon and I were agitating to get out of Boise, which has outgrown itself ----wanting to move closer to the Coast, somewhere small-town, more like Idaho used to be... (When I … Continue reading What WASN’T in the Job Description…
“Hello My Name Is”
This morning a customer didn't bother to tell me his name, just went straight to spelling it. Yeah, it was one of THOSE names. Not as confounding as some, but definitely not one I would have gotten right without having him spell it out. "My sister and I grew up with a maiden name we … Continue reading “Hello My Name Is”
How to Read the New York Times (the A.D.D. Edition)
Do you ever try to retrace the rabbit-trail... ...that somehow connected the thing you WERE doing with the thing you find yourself doing NOW? If you're like me, that rabbit trail may take several days to loop around to its starting point (assuming it even does). But if you're one of those Focused People With … Continue reading How to Read the New York Times (the A.D.D. Edition)