After delivering my Ignite West Linn: History on Fire talk yesterday, I surveyed the crowd as to who had ever set foot in a J.K. Gill store. More hands were up than down, leading me to imagine many more than just those in the Willamette Ale & Cider House on a June Sunday afternoon might … Continue reading J.K. Gill: In 5 minutes or less
Time for another Ignite: History on Fire
Today is the fourth West Linn Ignite: History on Fire, sponsored by the West Linn Historical Society. Join us from 4:00 - 5:00 pm at the Willamette Ale & Cider House (1720 Willamette Falls Drive, West Linn). Here's what's "on tap" for history shorts: Greg Nokes: The Troubled Life of Peter BurnettPam Krecklow: Historic County … Continue reading Time for another Ignite: History on Fire
Before the Oregon Trail
Memaloose, Island of the Dead, from the Memaloose rest stop on Interstate-84. Each June for the past decade I've driven the Columbia Gorge Highway, from Portland to Eastern Oregon, to attend a conference for my "day job." (You know, the one that pays for most everything in my life.) The first few years I continued … Continue reading Before the Oregon Trail
An event at midlife: crisis, challenge, breakthrough, or opportunity?
This blog was originally posted at Women Writers, Women's Books on May 1, 2019. When I was 26 years old, my 54-year-old mom received her doctorate. She had divorced my dad a few years prior, moved from Portland, Oregon to San Francisco, and enrolled in a Ph.D. program that seemed crazy to some of her … Continue reading An event at midlife: crisis, challenge, breakthrough, or opportunity?
A road to the coast
Hundreds of times in my life I have traveled from Portland to our Oregon Coast through the Coast Range. At least a quarter of those times I have stopped at the one rest area off Highway 26. Once, yesterday, I actually took a few minutes to view the historic kiosk located there, usually too eager … Continue reading A road to the coast
Of trees, transformations, and a visitation
Populus tremuloides, Rocky Mountain front by Kodak, 1981 Memories from my past seeped back into me as I pictured Richard Powers' character Nicholas Hoel view photos documenting a chestnut tree's daily transformation over years as if a flip book. I set down The Overstory, and remembered. Back to a brilliant fall forty years ago in … Continue reading Of trees, transformations, and a visitation
Sadness in the beauty
Sadness in the beauty of the day.My cold fingers ache in half finger cycling gloves, yet early morning sun shines bright enough to need shades. I feel sad in the beauty of it.Sad for those I miss who no longer are here.Sad for those who no longer are as they once were. The stillness of the air, … Continue reading Sadness in the beauty
Of posts, publications and possibilities
Today is publication day for Beyond the Ripples! Yippee! In addition to three wonderful author endorsements, I am pleased to see the first (of hopefully many) reader reviews to show up on GoodReads and Amazon. I appreciate Women Writers, Women's Books for featuring my essay today on their website. When I wrote it I wasn't … Continue reading Of posts, publications and possibilities
From Zidell to Illahee: put these bunks to bed
I will admit that rarely has a bunk bed been my favored, most comfortable sleeping spot. Decades ago a fall from my brother's top bunk led to a jagged, sloppily sewn scar I still wear today, created after I struck the corner of a dresser drawer. A decade or so later, I suffered through nights … Continue reading From Zidell to Illahee: put these bunks to bed
Bursting into May
I could be referring to the blast of cherry blossoms, tulips or cottonwood. Or this week's bluster of rain and wind. Instead, my thoughts are full with planning for the release of Beyond the Ripples, my debut Oregon-based novel, in just a few weeks. Above all else, I feel such gratitude for the support I … Continue reading Bursting into May
