News

Mozambique would be my new favorite destination even if we were not visiting Chris and Laurie, Peace Corps son and daughter-in-law.  It did help that they speak Portuguese fluently after two years and some local languages too. But the people, the colors and the simplicity of life in Mozambique made the experience.  Add to that the spectacular and varied beaches and travelers from around the world...exotic and bohemian. My kind of place.  Watch out Steve, this is where I would retire with one drawback.  It takes a long time to get there including [...]

I was invited to join the Next Big Thing World Blog Tour by friend and writer Deborah Prum.  Deb and I met in college and we even took a Children's literature class together.  Back then people called it Kitty Lit...very politically incorrect.  Debbie and I have only been in touch a few times since college but we both pursued our passion for writing for children.  See her new book Fatty In the Back Seat and check her out at http://deborahprum.com/blog/Or go to amazon.com.Now on to my projects.  My most recent publication is Beatrice's Dream, Life [...]

Italians are passionate.  They love their pasta and seafood, cheese and wine.  Who doesn't?It  turns out Italians also love their poetry.   Traveling in the southern region of Calabria we came upon this poem on the wall of a tiny cafe/bar.Unfortunately I cannot read Italian but it was lovely to see this illustrated, framed bit of writing decorating the wall of a bar in a mountain top village.I too am passionate about poetry.  I even write some so this idea intrigued me even without the translation. See my recent blog about traveling in Italy [...]

Once in a while I do a Where I Write Now blog.  In the past I have gone to a coffee house in the Amish community of New Wilmington in PA or I have taken a few days to stay at a B and B in Confluence.Out here in Chinle I have found it more difficult to get out of town to a place where I can write without the distractions of home.  A new place to inspire.So what a pleasant surprise to find The Coffee House right here in "Wild and Wooly" [...]

If you are tired of reading about the joy of reading stop here.Otherwise consider your own favorite reading places and spaces.Would you, could you in a tree?  Would you could you read a book ......here?Could you there?Could you read a book in the car or at a bar?  Would you could you at the beach?  Or on a plane or in the rain? When my kids were growing up they knew they could get out of a summertime chore with the excuse "But mom I was just going out to the porch swing [...]

Coming from back East I knew about deer mice moving into bluebird houses but I was not prepared for the feathered squatters I have recently met out here on the mesa.  On one of my regular mesa walks with Reena on this barren land, what  I thought was a small hawk- like creature began dive bombing us.  It was the kind of behavior you would expect from a bird trying to keep you away from it's nest and eggs or young. But looking around, where would one build a nest here? It took some more [...]