Today is Tisha B’av, a Jewish fast day dedicated to mourning the various acts that destroy holiness in the world. I learned this from the blog of composer Meira Warshauer. She and I have been friends since we were in first grade. She writes: “Today, for a few more hours, we can feel the sadness […] Read More

Brain research from Israel shows that what works best for taking immediate brave action is to disconnect from the fear and do it anyway. Neuron magazine reports that people watched in an MRI machine could let a live snake closer to their heads if they "dissociated" from the feeling of fear. "Courage is associated with […] Read More

I put my little kayak in the water yesterday and went for the first longish paddle of this year. Tennis elbow has kept me away from it for months. I was waiting for it to be totally healed, then got tired of waiting, and went for a little kayak ride anyway. I’ve used that strategy […] Read More

I’d heard that the gallery light in the new N.C. Art Museum had a mysterious ethereal beauty. Last night at dusk and in a thunderstorm, I made my first visit. (Characteristically, it was work that took me there: a gallery is going to be a setting for important stuff in my YA(young adult)-paranormal-romance-in-progress.) I did […] Read More

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Should you be in the mood for a hilarious compliment to boost your boldness factor, go get your writing “analyzed” at I Write Like Margaret Atwood. All you have to do is paste in a few paragraphs and the site’s software speedily decides what well-known writer uses similar word choice and syntax. I ran across […] Read More

So often it’s difficult to know which is “the better part of valor.” I think most of us would do the right thing most of the time if we were sure what it was. (Heady discussion at lunch today about the pros and cons of fundamentalist religion: it does give a secure sense of right […] Read More

How is it possible that my car failed, my computer got a virus, I lost my health insurance, my credit card was stolen, my psychologist husband moved into a new office and independent practice after 42 years with his old group, and major repairs are going on at our house–all in the same few weeks? […] Read More

A flower-mobile (see photo two posts ago) is a hard act to follow, of course. But my morning glory car was replaced — on the eve of Independence Day weekend — by this cherry-bomb-red 1998 Ford Escort. I'm thrilled and feeling a new surge of bold independence. [youtube PQt3p6IDFuk nolink] Add to del.icio.us – Stumble It! – Subscribe to […] Read More

Yesterday I sold my flowered ’92 Camry on Craigs List.(see photo below) About twenty people were interested within minutes of my posting, three of them fiercely so. I felt as if I were suddenly defending a dissertation (not that I really know what that feels like.) The experience was a bit agitating because I know […] Read More