Solace in a Book

Everyday is a gift

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Everyday is a gift so says the plaque on the bathroom wall. Of course there should be a space between every and day. It is each and every day that is the present. But the everyday is a gift too, wrapped in plain paper addressed in Papermate blue, left at the doorstep, bound in time and string near the mat, common as dirt and dust, ordinary as tap water, easy to miss. When you return to the table it may have taken your place —look before you sit. It … [Read more...]

Poem for my mother

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August 1999: Light is a measure of time Scientists have found the oldest point in the universe: a galaxy filled with new stars, and all day long I’ve been thinking about my mother. How long it has been since the nun came to fetch me from class so I could wait for my brother to take me home, even though I was in trouble for using CliffNotes in my Macbeth paper. I practiced driving on the way, Jack tossed the keys to me, figuring, perhaps, concentration would hold … [Read more...]

Blogs & books to overcome the mid-winter blahs

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Hello you. Yesterday was supposedly Blue Monday, the saddest day of the year. I don't know if I was sad, but I sure have been lazy. I cannot get it together to be productive. How about you? The biggest effort I have put forth this year (besides a few submissions) was to participate in a challenge on Facebook to post nature photographs for seven days and to nominate others to do so too (like a chain letter).  Posting my photos gave me something to do and I have really dug … [Read more...]

Creativity and coloring

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Greetings. Hope your first week in the new year went splendidly. I haven't gotten much accomplished but I have been having fun. No doubt there are downsides to being so hyper-connected to the Internet and our phones. For instance, we often don't spend time in the moment. We're distracted. And it's been said we're losing the art of conversation. But I think that in a way this connectivity has driven creativity. Whether you're creating a meme or snappy Tweet or shopping … [Read more...]