Labyrinth of Life

April 24, 2022.Reading time 3 minutes.

When we were in Kauai, we visited Christ Memorial Episcopal Church. This is an old church made of native stone and surrounded by colorful flowering plants and bushes. Inside, the stained-glass windows splash multicolored light across mahogany pews and altar. I was struck by how small the church was and how the sense of hope […]

And Soon It Will Be 2022

December 26, 2021.Reading time 5 minutes.

In a few days, we will open up a figurative calendar that seems to be a blank slate where anything is possible. Being somewhat of an optimist, I’m looking for good things: for happy times, for good health, for milestones reached, for spiritual peace, and for Teddy to finally stop seeing guests as giant hairy […]

A Golden Sky

April 4, 2021.Reading time 4 minutes.

I’m looking at what I call my “James orchid,” a plant given to us when James passed. I think it is somewhat of an anomaly. After the original blossoms faded, the stems that held them did not die off but remained healthy. A few months later, I noticed a shoot growing off one of the […]

The Orchid

December 20, 2020.Reading time 2 minutes.

Yesterday, I was wrapping gifts on our desk. On a corner, out of harm’s way, a blooming orchid glowed in filtered sunshine. The beauty and serenity of the plant accompanied me as I cut, taped, and labeled. A dear neighbor had given us this orchid when our grandson James passed away early in the year. […]

Giving Thanks in 2020

November 22, 2020.Reading time 6 minutes.

After a very warm October and November, fall seems to have truly arrived in Southern California. Today there is a crisp wind, bright trees in autumn shades, and clear blue skies. Soon Thanksgiving will be here, and like everything else in 2020, it will be different. Looking out on our serene valley, it is easy […]

Election Night

November 8, 2020.Reading time 5 minutes.

By the time you read this, the election will (hopefully) be settled and those of us who suffered from election traumatic stress disorder will be on the road to recovery. This moment of peace made me think long and hard about what is real and what is not … It’s 5:00 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, […]

In the Garden

March 22, 2020.Reading time 5 minutes.

Even though it is always curled in the back of our minds as a little knot of anxiety, I am not going to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic. Well, maybe just a little … If you are like me, you are up to your eyeballs in breaking information, including political dithering, self-isolation advice, closures and shortages, dire […]