Just a handful of years ago, I was a newly-single mom with two little kids, and the after-school heap of things by the door consisted of Tinkerbell backpacks and Toy Story notebooks, and those cute little shoes that are so adorable they can make you want to have more babies. Fast-forward (past the wedding which … Continue reading Coach Dad & The Wicked Stepma–The Joys(?) of Parenting Teens
Tag: Language
From Volcanic Hotspots to an Atomic Town
Third day on the roads of Idaho for the Western Byways Editorial Team (see 'Western Byways on the Road... Carey, Idaho and Ice Fishing, Hot Springs, and a Duck-Hunting Writer)... Lunchtime... We’re parked on a dirt road in the narrow plain between the Lost River Range and the White Cloud Range of mountains. Normally at this time … Continue reading From Volcanic Hotspots to an Atomic Town
Reading Review (Idaho Writers series): “Bright’s Passage” by Josh Ritter
Imagine, for a moment, a musician who'd been named to the list of "100 Greatest Living American Songwriters" before the age of thirty, whose albums are laden with lyrical language and layers of literary and intellectual references... And imagine that same musician writing two hundred pages of fiction with all the lyrical allure of his … Continue reading Reading Review (Idaho Writers series): “Bright’s Passage” by Josh Ritter
Another Hawai’ian Ventures into the Owyhees
[This was the magazine sidebar accompanying the story of our jaunt to Silver City, Idaho...] The Owyhee Mountains were named for a trio of native Hawai'ian trappers, working for the Hudson Bay Company, who disappeared in these mountains around 1820. For my husband Keoni, a native Hawai'ian himself, this bit of history put an intriguing … Continue reading Another Hawai’ian Ventures into the Owyhees
It’s a Turtle Life
My husband Keoni has some Dates of Importance among his tattoos. There's the date John hanged himself and Keoni rose from the ashes ("Shifting Paradigms and Half a Pair'o'Dimes")... There's a Lucky Thirteen for our wedding anniversary... And there's December 23, 2008, right below the kanji meaning "A New Life." Today is the anniversary of … Continue reading It’s a Turtle Life
O Peeing Tree, O Peeing Tree!
The rich singing-voice of my German Grandpa is part of the soundtrack of my childhood. We used to live with my grandparents for the summers, and I remember him tucking me into bed with songs from the 40’s. “I’d rather have a paper doll to call my own than have a fickle-hearted green-eyed girl”… And … Continue reading O Peeing Tree, O Peeing Tree!
Words Have Meaning, Names Have Power
“Proper names are poetry in the raw. Like all poetry they are untranslatable.” ~W.H. Auden I wrote the other day about my husband’s new life with new name, so it seems appropriate to share about mine as well. My given name is Janna, which means “Gift from God.” (And, interestingly enough, is a feminine form … Continue reading Words Have Meaning, Names Have Power
Kana's Chronicles 