Eavesdropping

May 25, 2018.Reading time 4 minutes.

We are full of the excitement of making plans, and after signing more papers, decide to go out for lunch. Both of our minds are going in different directions, so when the hostess seats us, I barely notice the couple sitting next to us, except that they are young – she a striking chestnut-haired beauty, […]

Writing Class #4

March 27, 2018.Reading time 7 minutes.

(As a final prompt for the writing class I am enrolled in, we are asked to think about signposts along the way. This is my entry.) The Tour Guide I take a seat at the back of the open wagon, and wait with a handful of others for the tour to begin. The country air […]

Writing Class #3

March 17, 2018.Reading time 1 minute.

The prompt for this week is to consider the vulnerability of new growth and what it takes to protect it, tying it into nature. Here is the edited version, after the instructor’s suggestions. Rebirthing It came in the peak of summer that most optimistic time, when sunshine equates with health and bodies glow with exertion […]

Writing Lessons #2: Sparrows

March 1, 2018.Reading time 6 minutes.

(The prompt for this week is surroundings and we were encouraged to focus on one aspect of nature as it relates to the story. I chose sparrows.) Out the back gate, across the farmer’s field and into the woods I go in search of the child, knowing that she comes here frequently, alone, despite the […]

Writing “Brush Strokes”

February 16, 2018.Reading time 3 minutes.

Writing fiction is a stretch for me. I have experience with technical and instructional writing, poetry, and memoir, but seldom do I venture into the realm of fiction. So, when I signed up for an online writing class, I decided this would be my opportunity to take a risk. (The story referenced here was yesterday’s […]

Brush Strokes (Fiction)

February 15, 2018.Reading time 6 minutes.

The brush felt awkward in Kate’s hand and she could feel her frustration mounting. The last time she had painted had been the twin’s room more than a year ago and that was because the boys had outgrown the pastels of the nursery. Now, here she sat, legs crossed on the floor with four other […]

Dark Places

February 4, 2018.Reading time less than 1 minute.

What creatures dwell in tucked away places…. hidden in the darkness… observing those of us in the light… do they fear us, as we fear them…. or have they found contentment? (I’ve been a little obsessed with holes – thank you to the Daily Post for offering the prompt ‘creature’ so that I could use […]

Faulty Wiring

December 8, 2017.Reading time 1 minute.

“Varnish” I said aloud, rolling the word over my tongue as if we were new acquaintances. “What’s that you said, Mom?” My daughter, breezing through the kitchen, found me standing at the counter, gazing out the window. She was gone before I could answer. They were used to me by now, my family. How long […]

How Illness Improved my Writing

October 7, 2017.Reading time 5 minutes.

It’s no mystery that stripped of all obligations and confined to a bed provides the coveted time to pursue writing skills, however; it is the actual experience of illness (in my case ME/CFS) that provides the platform for expansion. Although I have been a ‘writer’ since my early years, the past four have marked a […]

Another Open Mic

October 5, 2017.Reading time less than 1 minute.

Here’s yours truly reading Absence and They’re Just Family, After All at an Open Mic (only my third). To see the full poems, please click on the links.

I dream that I am teaching again, and having assigned the class independent work, I am spending time connecting with each student to see if they are grasping the material. It’s my favourite part of teaching, and I wake up wondering if I’ll ever have that feeling again. So rewarding. It is bittersweet, growing old. […]

Fatal Fury

Really wasn’t your faultthis fury that overcame –Words evoked onslaught,a raging river of pain. Didn’t mean to push you,miscalculated my aim,swimming in swamp watersnot a recommended game. You floundered, gurgled,cursed me by name –our love story, now viralbrought an alligator fame. (Image my own. Tale is totally fictional, I promise.)