Singing Along the Journey

Author: @susansevier

Adulting continues apace…but…

Adulting on steroids...ac almost installed, rental unit cleaned and handed over to new tenants, almost in the clear. But I can't resist one more from the weekend...not the best picture in the world but I've never seen a bluebird before. I almost missed this one...it was just a flash of purple in the distance. Thank goodness for zoom lenses...
Read More

Unexpected benefits…

I've taken a brief pause from adulting which lately has been in overdrive. No sooner were repairs to the ironwork complete and the contract for the kitchen renovation signed than the air conditioning system died completely, just as the heat climbed. I've gotten all ducks kind of in a row, the new AC will be installed on Monday, all permits have been obtained and posted in the 100+ heat, and I'm heading for the hills...literally. I've used all my adult cards for the next quarter, folks. One by product of the permit process, though, is this deep summer portrait of the front door, a view I don't often have of…
Read More

For the beauty of the earth…

I always think that I have planned my garden well, that I have spaced things nicely and given each and every plant enough space to do its own thing. And then comes the end of June and the full sun of a DC summer. And the rain, there is so much rain sometimes (like this year). And silly me, I forget that those growing conditions turn plants labeled as "growing to 12 inches in diameter" into plants that would cover a small car with their height and width. I planted new rose bushes this year, and I was oh so sure that I had taken everything into consideration. And yet,…
Read More

350 degrees, for 35 minutes…

Today, my mother, Mabel, would have been 105 years old. Usually I share one of my favorite pictures of the two of us, from a time before our family life together became so complicated. Today, instead, I am sharing one of the few things that I have in her own handwriting...the recipe for my favorite birthday cake, a cake which she made for me over and over again from a recipe she got from her mother during the Great Depression. In fact, it is sometimes called a depression cake, because it substitutes mayonnaise for eggs and oil, which were so difficult to find and so expensive to buy. Apparently Hellmann's…
Read More

Do you think I planted enough…

Daylilies. The final word in that sentence is daylilies. And maybe roses. I'm not sure if I planted enough of either. I've just returned from more time in the mountains of the western part of Virginia, and I returned to a flower explosion. I like that. Yes, I probably planted a few things too close to one another, but hey, I can always move them in the fall. And no matter how carefully I scan the planting guidelines, I never get the distancing right. That is mostly because nothing ever grows to the size stated in those guidelines -- most plants get at least two times bigger than specified! I…
Read More

Everybody needs a little away time…

For the past few days, I have been out of town, taking a little time to work on a project that is close to my heart and soul. This trip is, for me, the first time that I have been away from home without my trusted pod companions since before the pandemic began. In fact, I can't remember the last time that I was away and on my own. I've been getting a lot done, and you will eventually hear more about that, when it is time. Today, though, I took some hours away from my efforts to enjoy the nature around me. That's right, even when you are doing…
Read More

Starting all over again…

I don't know about you, but for me, picking up any task these days, no matter how familiar, feels like starting all over again.  There is this great bright line between my understanding of life before COVID and now in pandemic life, and yet another one that divides these COVID times before we saw the truth through the death of a man named George Floyd and after our heart's vision was forever changed.   The only thing that these lines in the passage of time had in common for me, I thought, was that they were deep chasms that separated me from a big part of my self-identity, the part of…
Read More

Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened…Advent 2013 Day 16

Those are the words I am most familiar with from our passage today because with any luck I have an opportunity or two to sing them each holiday season.  Because of that, I tend to think of them as a stand-alone prophecy, but they are not.  They are part of a long litany of transformation through faith: Isaiah 35:1-10 The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord,…
Read More

Lo, how a rose ‘ere blooming…

No. I haven’t jumped ahead to Christmas. I am fully aware that today is Thanksgiving. Painfully aware most of the time. The day we celebrate as Thanksgiving is such a complicated day for so many, and for me. Even without the personal struggles that so many of us (myself included) face as the holiday onslaught of images of perfect families and perfect houses and perfect lives flood our way, there are the cultural struggles that we face as we work our way through the mythology of “America” to something closer to a truthful history of the taking of this land. I survive all of this internal complexity by holding tight to the…
Read More

Adulting continues apace…but…

Adulting on steroids...ac almost installed, rental unit cleaned and handed over to new tenants, almost in the clear. But I can't resist one more from the weekend...not the best picture in the world but I've never seen a bluebird before. I almost missed this one...it was just a flash of purple in the distance. Thank goodness for zoom lenses...
Read More

Unexpected benefits…

I've taken a brief pause from adulting which lately has been in overdrive. No sooner were repairs to the ironwork complete and the contract for the kitchen renovation signed than the air conditioning system died completely, just as the heat climbed. I've gotten all ducks kind of in a row, the new AC will be installed on Monday, all permits have been obtained and posted in the 100+ heat, and I'm heading for the hills...literally. I've used all my adult cards for the next quarter, folks. One by product of the permit process, though, is this deep summer portrait of the front door, a view I don't often have of…
Read More

For the beauty of the earth…

I always think that I have planned my garden well, that I have spaced things nicely and given each and every plant enough space to do its own thing. And then comes the end of June and the full sun of a DC summer. And the rain, there is so much rain sometimes (like this year). And silly me, I forget that those growing conditions turn plants labeled as "growing to 12 inches in diameter" into plants that would cover a small car with their height and width. I planted new rose bushes this year, and I was oh so sure that I had taken everything into consideration. And yet,…
Read More

350 degrees, for 35 minutes…

Today, my mother, Mabel, would have been 105 years old. Usually I share one of my favorite pictures of the two of us, from a time before our family life together became so complicated. Today, instead, I am sharing one of the few things that I have in her own handwriting...the recipe for my favorite birthday cake, a cake which she made for me over and over again from a recipe she got from her mother during the Great Depression. In fact, it is sometimes called a depression cake, because it substitutes mayonnaise for eggs and oil, which were so difficult to find and so expensive to buy. Apparently Hellmann's…
Read More

Do you think I planted enough…

Daylilies. The final word in that sentence is daylilies. And maybe roses. I'm not sure if I planted enough of either. I've just returned from more time in the mountains of the western part of Virginia, and I returned to a flower explosion. I like that. Yes, I probably planted a few things too close to one another, but hey, I can always move them in the fall. And no matter how carefully I scan the planting guidelines, I never get the distancing right. That is mostly because nothing ever grows to the size stated in those guidelines -- most plants get at least two times bigger than specified! I…
Read More

Everybody needs a little away time…

For the past few days, I have been out of town, taking a little time to work on a project that is close to my heart and soul. This trip is, for me, the first time that I have been away from home without my trusted pod companions since before the pandemic began. In fact, I can't remember the last time that I was away and on my own. I've been getting a lot done, and you will eventually hear more about that, when it is time. Today, though, I took some hours away from my efforts to enjoy the nature around me. That's right, even when you are doing…
Read More

Starting all over again…

I don't know about you, but for me, picking up any task these days, no matter how familiar, feels like starting all over again.  There is this great bright line between my understanding of life before COVID and now in pandemic life, and yet another one that divides these COVID times before we saw the truth through the death of a man named George Floyd and after our heart's vision was forever changed.   The only thing that these lines in the passage of time had in common for me, I thought, was that they were deep chasms that separated me from a big part of my self-identity, the part of…
Read More

Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened…Advent 2013 Day 16

Those are the words I am most familiar with from our passage today because with any luck I have an opportunity or two to sing them each holiday season.  Because of that, I tend to think of them as a stand-alone prophecy, but they are not.  They are part of a long litany of transformation through faith: Isaiah 35:1-10 The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord,…
Read More

Lo, how a rose ‘ere blooming…

No. I haven’t jumped ahead to Christmas. I am fully aware that today is Thanksgiving. Painfully aware most of the time. The day we celebrate as Thanksgiving is such a complicated day for so many, and for me. Even without the personal struggles that so many of us (myself included) face as the holiday onslaught of images of perfect families and perfect houses and perfect lives flood our way, there are the cultural struggles that we face as we work our way through the mythology of “America” to something closer to a truthful history of the taking of this land. I survive all of this internal complexity by holding tight to the…
Read More

Adulting continues apace…but…

Adulting on steroids...ac almost installed, rental unit cleaned and handed over to new tenants, almost in the clear. But I can't resist one more from the weekend...not the best picture in the world but I've never seen a bluebird before. I almost missed this one...it was just a flash of purple in the distance. Thank goodness for zoom lenses...
Read More

Unexpected benefits…

I've taken a brief pause from adulting which lately has been in overdrive. No sooner were repairs to the ironwork complete and the contract for the kitchen renovation signed than the air conditioning system died completely, just as the heat climbed. I've gotten all ducks kind of in a row, the new AC will be installed on Monday, all permits have been obtained and posted in the 100+ heat, and I'm heading for the hills...literally. I've used all my adult cards for the next quarter, folks. One by product of the permit process, though, is this deep summer portrait of the front door, a view I don't often have of…
Read More

For the beauty of the earth…

I always think that I have planned my garden well, that I have spaced things nicely and given each and every plant enough space to do its own thing. And then comes the end of June and the full sun of a DC summer. And the rain, there is so much rain sometimes (like this year). And silly me, I forget that those growing conditions turn plants labeled as "growing to 12 inches in diameter" into plants that would cover a small car with their height and width. I planted new rose bushes this year, and I was oh so sure that I had taken everything into consideration. And yet,…
Read More

350 degrees, for 35 minutes…

Today, my mother, Mabel, would have been 105 years old. Usually I share one of my favorite pictures of the two of us, from a time before our family life together became so complicated. Today, instead, I am sharing one of the few things that I have in her own handwriting...the recipe for my favorite birthday cake, a cake which she made for me over and over again from a recipe she got from her mother during the Great Depression. In fact, it is sometimes called a depression cake, because it substitutes mayonnaise for eggs and oil, which were so difficult to find and so expensive to buy. Apparently Hellmann's…
Read More

Do you think I planted enough…

Daylilies. The final word in that sentence is daylilies. And maybe roses. I'm not sure if I planted enough of either. I've just returned from more time in the mountains of the western part of Virginia, and I returned to a flower explosion. I like that. Yes, I probably planted a few things too close to one another, but hey, I can always move them in the fall. And no matter how carefully I scan the planting guidelines, I never get the distancing right. That is mostly because nothing ever grows to the size stated in those guidelines -- most plants get at least two times bigger than specified! I…
Read More

Everybody needs a little away time…

For the past few days, I have been out of town, taking a little time to work on a project that is close to my heart and soul. This trip is, for me, the first time that I have been away from home without my trusted pod companions since before the pandemic began. In fact, I can't remember the last time that I was away and on my own. I've been getting a lot done, and you will eventually hear more about that, when it is time. Today, though, I took some hours away from my efforts to enjoy the nature around me. That's right, even when you are doing…
Read More

Starting all over again…

I don't know about you, but for me, picking up any task these days, no matter how familiar, feels like starting all over again.  There is this great bright line between my understanding of life before COVID and now in pandemic life, and yet another one that divides these COVID times before we saw the truth through the death of a man named George Floyd and after our heart's vision was forever changed.   The only thing that these lines in the passage of time had in common for me, I thought, was that they were deep chasms that separated me from a big part of my self-identity, the part of…
Read More

Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened…Advent 2013 Day 16

Those are the words I am most familiar with from our passage today because with any luck I have an opportunity or two to sing them each holiday season.  Because of that, I tend to think of them as a stand-alone prophecy, but they are not.  They are part of a long litany of transformation through faith: Isaiah 35:1-10 The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord,…
Read More

Lo, how a rose ‘ere blooming…

No. I haven’t jumped ahead to Christmas. I am fully aware that today is Thanksgiving. Painfully aware most of the time. The day we celebrate as Thanksgiving is such a complicated day for so many, and for me. Even without the personal struggles that so many of us (myself included) face as the holiday onslaught of images of perfect families and perfect houses and perfect lives flood our way, there are the cultural struggles that we face as we work our way through the mythology of “America” to something closer to a truthful history of the taking of this land. I survive all of this internal complexity by holding tight to the…
Read More

Adulting continues apace…but…

Adulting on steroids...ac almost installed, rental unit cleaned and handed over to new tenants, almost in the clear. But I can't resist one more from the weekend...not the best picture in the world but I've never seen a bluebird before. I almost missed this one...it was just a flash of purple in the distance. Thank goodness for zoom lenses...
Read More

Unexpected benefits…

I've taken a brief pause from adulting which lately has been in overdrive. No sooner were repairs to the ironwork complete and the contract for the kitchen renovation signed than the air conditioning system died completely, just as the heat climbed. I've gotten all ducks kind of in a row, the new AC will be installed on Monday, all permits have been obtained and posted in the 100+ heat, and I'm heading for the hills...literally. I've used all my adult cards for the next quarter, folks. One by product of the permit process, though, is this deep summer portrait of the front door, a view I don't often have of…
Read More

For the beauty of the earth…

I always think that I have planned my garden well, that I have spaced things nicely and given each and every plant enough space to do its own thing. And then comes the end of June and the full sun of a DC summer. And the rain, there is so much rain sometimes (like this year). And silly me, I forget that those growing conditions turn plants labeled as "growing to 12 inches in diameter" into plants that would cover a small car with their height and width. I planted new rose bushes this year, and I was oh so sure that I had taken everything into consideration. And yet,…
Read More

350 degrees, for 35 minutes…

Today, my mother, Mabel, would have been 105 years old. Usually I share one of my favorite pictures of the two of us, from a time before our family life together became so complicated. Today, instead, I am sharing one of the few things that I have in her own handwriting...the recipe for my favorite birthday cake, a cake which she made for me over and over again from a recipe she got from her mother during the Great Depression. In fact, it is sometimes called a depression cake, because it substitutes mayonnaise for eggs and oil, which were so difficult to find and so expensive to buy. Apparently Hellmann's…
Read More

Do you think I planted enough…

Daylilies. The final word in that sentence is daylilies. And maybe roses. I'm not sure if I planted enough of either. I've just returned from more time in the mountains of the western part of Virginia, and I returned to a flower explosion. I like that. Yes, I probably planted a few things too close to one another, but hey, I can always move them in the fall. And no matter how carefully I scan the planting guidelines, I never get the distancing right. That is mostly because nothing ever grows to the size stated in those guidelines -- most plants get at least two times bigger than specified! I…
Read More

Everybody needs a little away time…

For the past few days, I have been out of town, taking a little time to work on a project that is close to my heart and soul. This trip is, for me, the first time that I have been away from home without my trusted pod companions since before the pandemic began. In fact, I can't remember the last time that I was away and on my own. I've been getting a lot done, and you will eventually hear more about that, when it is time. Today, though, I took some hours away from my efforts to enjoy the nature around me. That's right, even when you are doing…
Read More

Starting all over again…

I don't know about you, but for me, picking up any task these days, no matter how familiar, feels like starting all over again.  There is this great bright line between my understanding of life before COVID and now in pandemic life, and yet another one that divides these COVID times before we saw the truth through the death of a man named George Floyd and after our heart's vision was forever changed.   The only thing that these lines in the passage of time had in common for me, I thought, was that they were deep chasms that separated me from a big part of my self-identity, the part of…
Read More

Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened…Advent 2013 Day 16

Those are the words I am most familiar with from our passage today because with any luck I have an opportunity or two to sing them each holiday season.  Because of that, I tend to think of them as a stand-alone prophecy, but they are not.  They are part of a long litany of transformation through faith: Isaiah 35:1-10 The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord,…
Read More

Lo, how a rose ‘ere blooming…

No. I haven’t jumped ahead to Christmas. I am fully aware that today is Thanksgiving. Painfully aware most of the time. The day we celebrate as Thanksgiving is such a complicated day for so many, and for me. Even without the personal struggles that so many of us (myself included) face as the holiday onslaught of images of perfect families and perfect houses and perfect lives flood our way, there are the cultural struggles that we face as we work our way through the mythology of “America” to something closer to a truthful history of the taking of this land. I survive all of this internal complexity by holding tight to the…
Read More

Adulting continues apace…but…

Adulting on steroids...ac almost installed, rental unit cleaned and handed over to new tenants, almost in the clear. But I can't resist one more from the weekend...not the best picture in the world but I've never seen a bluebird before. I almost missed this one...it was just a flash of purple in the distance. Thank goodness for zoom lenses...
Read More

Unexpected benefits…

I've taken a brief pause from adulting which lately has been in overdrive. No sooner were repairs to the ironwork complete and the contract for the kitchen renovation signed than the air conditioning system died completely, just as the heat climbed. I've gotten all ducks kind of in a row, the new AC will be installed on Monday, all permits have been obtained and posted in the 100+ heat, and I'm heading for the hills...literally. I've used all my adult cards for the next quarter, folks. One by product of the permit process, though, is this deep summer portrait of the front door, a view I don't often have of…
Read More

For the beauty of the earth…

I always think that I have planned my garden well, that I have spaced things nicely and given each and every plant enough space to do its own thing. And then comes the end of June and the full sun of a DC summer. And the rain, there is so much rain sometimes (like this year). And silly me, I forget that those growing conditions turn plants labeled as "growing to 12 inches in diameter" into plants that would cover a small car with their height and width. I planted new rose bushes this year, and I was oh so sure that I had taken everything into consideration. And yet,…
Read More

350 degrees, for 35 minutes…

Today, my mother, Mabel, would have been 105 years old. Usually I share one of my favorite pictures of the two of us, from a time before our family life together became so complicated. Today, instead, I am sharing one of the few things that I have in her own handwriting...the recipe for my favorite birthday cake, a cake which she made for me over and over again from a recipe she got from her mother during the Great Depression. In fact, it is sometimes called a depression cake, because it substitutes mayonnaise for eggs and oil, which were so difficult to find and so expensive to buy. Apparently Hellmann's…
Read More

Do you think I planted enough…

Daylilies. The final word in that sentence is daylilies. And maybe roses. I'm not sure if I planted enough of either. I've just returned from more time in the mountains of the western part of Virginia, and I returned to a flower explosion. I like that. Yes, I probably planted a few things too close to one another, but hey, I can always move them in the fall. And no matter how carefully I scan the planting guidelines, I never get the distancing right. That is mostly because nothing ever grows to the size stated in those guidelines -- most plants get at least two times bigger than specified! I…
Read More

Everybody needs a little away time…

For the past few days, I have been out of town, taking a little time to work on a project that is close to my heart and soul. This trip is, for me, the first time that I have been away from home without my trusted pod companions since before the pandemic began. In fact, I can't remember the last time that I was away and on my own. I've been getting a lot done, and you will eventually hear more about that, when it is time. Today, though, I took some hours away from my efforts to enjoy the nature around me. That's right, even when you are doing…
Read More

Starting all over again…

I don't know about you, but for me, picking up any task these days, no matter how familiar, feels like starting all over again.  There is this great bright line between my understanding of life before COVID and now in pandemic life, and yet another one that divides these COVID times before we saw the truth through the death of a man named George Floyd and after our heart's vision was forever changed.   The only thing that these lines in the passage of time had in common for me, I thought, was that they were deep chasms that separated me from a big part of my self-identity, the part of…
Read More

Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened…Advent 2013 Day 16

Those are the words I am most familiar with from our passage today because with any luck I have an opportunity or two to sing them each holiday season.  Because of that, I tend to think of them as a stand-alone prophecy, but they are not.  They are part of a long litany of transformation through faith: Isaiah 35:1-10 The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord,…
Read More

Lo, how a rose ‘ere blooming…

No. I haven’t jumped ahead to Christmas. I am fully aware that today is Thanksgiving. Painfully aware most of the time. The day we celebrate as Thanksgiving is such a complicated day for so many, and for me. Even without the personal struggles that so many of us (myself included) face as the holiday onslaught of images of perfect families and perfect houses and perfect lives flood our way, there are the cultural struggles that we face as we work our way through the mythology of “America” to something closer to a truthful history of the taking of this land. I survive all of this internal complexity by holding tight to the…
Read More

Adulting continues apace…but…

Adulting on steroids...ac almost installed, rental unit cleaned and handed over to new tenants, almost in the clear. But I can't resist one more from the weekend...not the best picture in the world but I've never seen a bluebird before. I almost missed this one...it was just a flash of purple in the distance. Thank goodness for zoom lenses...
Read More

Unexpected benefits…

I've taken a brief pause from adulting which lately has been in overdrive. No sooner were repairs to the ironwork complete and the contract for the kitchen renovation signed than the air conditioning system died completely, just as the heat climbed. I've gotten all ducks kind of in a row, the new AC will be installed on Monday, all permits have been obtained and posted in the 100+ heat, and I'm heading for the hills...literally. I've used all my adult cards for the next quarter, folks. One by product of the permit process, though, is this deep summer portrait of the front door, a view I don't often have of…
Read More

For the beauty of the earth…

I always think that I have planned my garden well, that I have spaced things nicely and given each and every plant enough space to do its own thing. And then comes the end of June and the full sun of a DC summer. And the rain, there is so much rain sometimes (like this year). And silly me, I forget that those growing conditions turn plants labeled as "growing to 12 inches in diameter" into plants that would cover a small car with their height and width. I planted new rose bushes this year, and I was oh so sure that I had taken everything into consideration. And yet,…
Read More

350 degrees, for 35 minutes…

Today, my mother, Mabel, would have been 105 years old. Usually I share one of my favorite pictures of the two of us, from a time before our family life together became so complicated. Today, instead, I am sharing one of the few things that I have in her own handwriting...the recipe for my favorite birthday cake, a cake which she made for me over and over again from a recipe she got from her mother during the Great Depression. In fact, it is sometimes called a depression cake, because it substitutes mayonnaise for eggs and oil, which were so difficult to find and so expensive to buy. Apparently Hellmann's…
Read More

Do you think I planted enough…

Daylilies. The final word in that sentence is daylilies. And maybe roses. I'm not sure if I planted enough of either. I've just returned from more time in the mountains of the western part of Virginia, and I returned to a flower explosion. I like that. Yes, I probably planted a few things too close to one another, but hey, I can always move them in the fall. And no matter how carefully I scan the planting guidelines, I never get the distancing right. That is mostly because nothing ever grows to the size stated in those guidelines -- most plants get at least two times bigger than specified! I…
Read More

Everybody needs a little away time…

For the past few days, I have been out of town, taking a little time to work on a project that is close to my heart and soul. This trip is, for me, the first time that I have been away from home without my trusted pod companions since before the pandemic began. In fact, I can't remember the last time that I was away and on my own. I've been getting a lot done, and you will eventually hear more about that, when it is time. Today, though, I took some hours away from my efforts to enjoy the nature around me. That's right, even when you are doing…
Read More

Starting all over again…

I don't know about you, but for me, picking up any task these days, no matter how familiar, feels like starting all over again.  There is this great bright line between my understanding of life before COVID and now in pandemic life, and yet another one that divides these COVID times before we saw the truth through the death of a man named George Floyd and after our heart's vision was forever changed.   The only thing that these lines in the passage of time had in common for me, I thought, was that they were deep chasms that separated me from a big part of my self-identity, the part of…
Read More

Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened…Advent 2013 Day 16

Those are the words I am most familiar with from our passage today because with any luck I have an opportunity or two to sing them each holiday season.  Because of that, I tend to think of them as a stand-alone prophecy, but they are not.  They are part of a long litany of transformation through faith: Isaiah 35:1-10 The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord,…
Read More

Lo, how a rose ‘ere blooming…

No. I haven’t jumped ahead to Christmas. I am fully aware that today is Thanksgiving. Painfully aware most of the time. The day we celebrate as Thanksgiving is such a complicated day for so many, and for me. Even without the personal struggles that so many of us (myself included) face as the holiday onslaught of images of perfect families and perfect houses and perfect lives flood our way, there are the cultural struggles that we face as we work our way through the mythology of “America” to something closer to a truthful history of the taking of this land. I survive all of this internal complexity by holding tight to the…
Read More

Adulting continues apace…but…

Adulting on steroids...ac almost installed, rental unit cleaned and handed over to new tenants, almost in the clear. But I can't resist one more from the weekend...not the best picture in the world but I've never seen a bluebird before. I almost missed this one...it was just a flash of purple in the distance. Thank goodness for zoom lenses...
Read More

Unexpected benefits…

I've taken a brief pause from adulting which lately has been in overdrive. No sooner were repairs to the ironwork complete and the contract for the kitchen renovation signed than the air conditioning system died completely, just as the heat climbed. I've gotten all ducks kind of in a row, the new AC will be installed on Monday, all permits have been obtained and posted in the 100+ heat, and I'm heading for the hills...literally. I've used all my adult cards for the next quarter, folks. One by product of the permit process, though, is this deep summer portrait of the front door, a view I don't often have of…
Read More

For the beauty of the earth…

I always think that I have planned my garden well, that I have spaced things nicely and given each and every plant enough space to do its own thing. And then comes the end of June and the full sun of a DC summer. And the rain, there is so much rain sometimes (like this year). And silly me, I forget that those growing conditions turn plants labeled as "growing to 12 inches in diameter" into plants that would cover a small car with their height and width. I planted new rose bushes this year, and I was oh so sure that I had taken everything into consideration. And yet,…
Read More

350 degrees, for 35 minutes…

Today, my mother, Mabel, would have been 105 years old. Usually I share one of my favorite pictures of the two of us, from a time before our family life together became so complicated. Today, instead, I am sharing one of the few things that I have in her own handwriting...the recipe for my favorite birthday cake, a cake which she made for me over and over again from a recipe she got from her mother during the Great Depression. In fact, it is sometimes called a depression cake, because it substitutes mayonnaise for eggs and oil, which were so difficult to find and so expensive to buy. Apparently Hellmann's…
Read More

Do you think I planted enough…

Daylilies. The final word in that sentence is daylilies. And maybe roses. I'm not sure if I planted enough of either. I've just returned from more time in the mountains of the western part of Virginia, and I returned to a flower explosion. I like that. Yes, I probably planted a few things too close to one another, but hey, I can always move them in the fall. And no matter how carefully I scan the planting guidelines, I never get the distancing right. That is mostly because nothing ever grows to the size stated in those guidelines -- most plants get at least two times bigger than specified! I…
Read More

Everybody needs a little away time…

For the past few days, I have been out of town, taking a little time to work on a project that is close to my heart and soul. This trip is, for me, the first time that I have been away from home without my trusted pod companions since before the pandemic began. In fact, I can't remember the last time that I was away and on my own. I've been getting a lot done, and you will eventually hear more about that, when it is time. Today, though, I took some hours away from my efforts to enjoy the nature around me. That's right, even when you are doing…
Read More

Starting all over again…

I don't know about you, but for me, picking up any task these days, no matter how familiar, feels like starting all over again.  There is this great bright line between my understanding of life before COVID and now in pandemic life, and yet another one that divides these COVID times before we saw the truth through the death of a man named George Floyd and after our heart's vision was forever changed.   The only thing that these lines in the passage of time had in common for me, I thought, was that they were deep chasms that separated me from a big part of my self-identity, the part of…
Read More

Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened…Advent 2013 Day 16

Those are the words I am most familiar with from our passage today because with any luck I have an opportunity or two to sing them each holiday season.  Because of that, I tend to think of them as a stand-alone prophecy, but they are not.  They are part of a long litany of transformation through faith: Isaiah 35:1-10 The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord,…
Read More

Lo, how a rose ‘ere blooming…

No. I haven’t jumped ahead to Christmas. I am fully aware that today is Thanksgiving. Painfully aware most of the time. The day we celebrate as Thanksgiving is such a complicated day for so many, and for me. Even without the personal struggles that so many of us (myself included) face as the holiday onslaught of images of perfect families and perfect houses and perfect lives flood our way, there are the cultural struggles that we face as we work our way through the mythology of “America” to something closer to a truthful history of the taking of this land. I survive all of this internal complexity by holding tight to the…
Read More

Adulting continues apace…but…

Adulting on steroids...ac almost installed, rental unit cleaned and handed over to new tenants, almost in the clear. But I can't resist one more from the weekend...not the best picture in the world but I've never seen a bluebird before. I almost missed this one...it was just a flash of purple in the distance. Thank goodness for zoom lenses...
Read More

Unexpected benefits…

I've taken a brief pause from adulting which lately has been in overdrive. No sooner were repairs to the ironwork complete and the contract for the kitchen renovation signed than the air conditioning system died completely, just as the heat climbed. I've gotten all ducks kind of in a row, the new AC will be installed on Monday, all permits have been obtained and posted in the 100+ heat, and I'm heading for the hills...literally. I've used all my adult cards for the next quarter, folks. One by product of the permit process, though, is this deep summer portrait of the front door, a view I don't often have of…
Read More

For the beauty of the earth…

I always think that I have planned my garden well, that I have spaced things nicely and given each and every plant enough space to do its own thing. And then comes the end of June and the full sun of a DC summer. And the rain, there is so much rain sometimes (like this year). And silly me, I forget that those growing conditions turn plants labeled as "growing to 12 inches in diameter" into plants that would cover a small car with their height and width. I planted new rose bushes this year, and I was oh so sure that I had taken everything into consideration. And yet,…
Read More

350 degrees, for 35 minutes…

Today, my mother, Mabel, would have been 105 years old. Usually I share one of my favorite pictures of the two of us, from a time before our family life together became so complicated. Today, instead, I am sharing one of the few things that I have in her own handwriting...the recipe for my favorite birthday cake, a cake which she made for me over and over again from a recipe she got from her mother during the Great Depression. In fact, it is sometimes called a depression cake, because it substitutes mayonnaise for eggs and oil, which were so difficult to find and so expensive to buy. Apparently Hellmann's…
Read More

Do you think I planted enough…

Daylilies. The final word in that sentence is daylilies. And maybe roses. I'm not sure if I planted enough of either. I've just returned from more time in the mountains of the western part of Virginia, and I returned to a flower explosion. I like that. Yes, I probably planted a few things too close to one another, but hey, I can always move them in the fall. And no matter how carefully I scan the planting guidelines, I never get the distancing right. That is mostly because nothing ever grows to the size stated in those guidelines -- most plants get at least two times bigger than specified! I…
Read More

Everybody needs a little away time…

For the past few days, I have been out of town, taking a little time to work on a project that is close to my heart and soul. This trip is, for me, the first time that I have been away from home without my trusted pod companions since before the pandemic began. In fact, I can't remember the last time that I was away and on my own. I've been getting a lot done, and you will eventually hear more about that, when it is time. Today, though, I took some hours away from my efforts to enjoy the nature around me. That's right, even when you are doing…
Read More

Starting all over again…

I don't know about you, but for me, picking up any task these days, no matter how familiar, feels like starting all over again.  There is this great bright line between my understanding of life before COVID and now in pandemic life, and yet another one that divides these COVID times before we saw the truth through the death of a man named George Floyd and after our heart's vision was forever changed.   The only thing that these lines in the passage of time had in common for me, I thought, was that they were deep chasms that separated me from a big part of my self-identity, the part of…
Read More

Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened…Advent 2013 Day 16

Those are the words I am most familiar with from our passage today because with any luck I have an opportunity or two to sing them each holiday season.  Because of that, I tend to think of them as a stand-alone prophecy, but they are not.  They are part of a long litany of transformation through faith: Isaiah 35:1-10 The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord,…
Read More

Lo, how a rose ‘ere blooming…

No. I haven’t jumped ahead to Christmas. I am fully aware that today is Thanksgiving. Painfully aware most of the time. The day we celebrate as Thanksgiving is such a complicated day for so many, and for me. Even without the personal struggles that so many of us (myself included) face as the holiday onslaught of images of perfect families and perfect houses and perfect lives flood our way, there are the cultural struggles that we face as we work our way through the mythology of “America” to something closer to a truthful history of the taking of this land. I survive all of this internal complexity by holding tight to the…
Read More

Adulting continues apace…but…

Adulting on steroids...ac almost installed, rental unit cleaned and handed over to new tenants, almost in the clear. But I can't resist one more from the weekend...not the best picture in the world but I've never seen a bluebird before. I almost missed this one...it was just a flash of purple in the distance. Thank goodness for zoom lenses...
Read More

Unexpected benefits…

I've taken a brief pause from adulting which lately has been in overdrive. No sooner were repairs to the ironwork complete and the contract for the kitchen renovation signed than the air conditioning system died completely, just as the heat climbed. I've gotten all ducks kind of in a row, the new AC will be installed on Monday, all permits have been obtained and posted in the 100+ heat, and I'm heading for the hills...literally. I've used all my adult cards for the next quarter, folks. One by product of the permit process, though, is this deep summer portrait of the front door, a view I don't often have of…
Read More

For the beauty of the earth…

I always think that I have planned my garden well, that I have spaced things nicely and given each and every plant enough space to do its own thing. And then comes the end of June and the full sun of a DC summer. And the rain, there is so much rain sometimes (like this year). And silly me, I forget that those growing conditions turn plants labeled as "growing to 12 inches in diameter" into plants that would cover a small car with their height and width. I planted new rose bushes this year, and I was oh so sure that I had taken everything into consideration. And yet,…
Read More

350 degrees, for 35 minutes…

Today, my mother, Mabel, would have been 105 years old. Usually I share one of my favorite pictures of the two of us, from a time before our family life together became so complicated. Today, instead, I am sharing one of the few things that I have in her own handwriting...the recipe for my favorite birthday cake, a cake which she made for me over and over again from a recipe she got from her mother during the Great Depression. In fact, it is sometimes called a depression cake, because it substitutes mayonnaise for eggs and oil, which were so difficult to find and so expensive to buy. Apparently Hellmann's…
Read More

Do you think I planted enough…

Daylilies. The final word in that sentence is daylilies. And maybe roses. I'm not sure if I planted enough of either. I've just returned from more time in the mountains of the western part of Virginia, and I returned to a flower explosion. I like that. Yes, I probably planted a few things too close to one another, but hey, I can always move them in the fall. And no matter how carefully I scan the planting guidelines, I never get the distancing right. That is mostly because nothing ever grows to the size stated in those guidelines -- most plants get at least two times bigger than specified! I…
Read More

Everybody needs a little away time…

For the past few days, I have been out of town, taking a little time to work on a project that is close to my heart and soul. This trip is, for me, the first time that I have been away from home without my trusted pod companions since before the pandemic began. In fact, I can't remember the last time that I was away and on my own. I've been getting a lot done, and you will eventually hear more about that, when it is time. Today, though, I took some hours away from my efforts to enjoy the nature around me. That's right, even when you are doing…
Read More

Starting all over again…

I don't know about you, but for me, picking up any task these days, no matter how familiar, feels like starting all over again.  There is this great bright line between my understanding of life before COVID and now in pandemic life, and yet another one that divides these COVID times before we saw the truth through the death of a man named George Floyd and after our heart's vision was forever changed.   The only thing that these lines in the passage of time had in common for me, I thought, was that they were deep chasms that separated me from a big part of my self-identity, the part of…
Read More

Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened…Advent 2013 Day 16

Those are the words I am most familiar with from our passage today because with any luck I have an opportunity or two to sing them each holiday season.  Because of that, I tend to think of them as a stand-alone prophecy, but they are not.  They are part of a long litany of transformation through faith: Isaiah 35:1-10 The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord,…
Read More

Lo, how a rose ‘ere blooming…

No. I haven’t jumped ahead to Christmas. I am fully aware that today is Thanksgiving. Painfully aware most of the time. The day we celebrate as Thanksgiving is such a complicated day for so many, and for me. Even without the personal struggles that so many of us (myself included) face as the holiday onslaught of images of perfect families and perfect houses and perfect lives flood our way, there are the cultural struggles that we face as we work our way through the mythology of “America” to something closer to a truthful history of the taking of this land. I survive all of this internal complexity by holding tight to the…
Read More

Adulting continues apace…but…

Adulting on steroids...ac almost installed, rental unit cleaned and handed over to new tenants, almost in the clear. But I can't resist one more from the weekend...not the best picture in the world but I've never seen a bluebird before. I almost missed this one...it was just a flash of purple in the distance. Thank goodness for zoom lenses...
Read More

Unexpected benefits…

I've taken a brief pause from adulting which lately has been in overdrive. No sooner were repairs to the ironwork complete and the contract for the kitchen renovation signed than the air conditioning system died completely, just as the heat climbed. I've gotten all ducks kind of in a row, the new AC will be installed on Monday, all permits have been obtained and posted in the 100+ heat, and I'm heading for the hills...literally. I've used all my adult cards for the next quarter, folks. One by product of the permit process, though, is this deep summer portrait of the front door, a view I don't often have of…
Read More

For the beauty of the earth…

I always think that I have planned my garden well, that I have spaced things nicely and given each and every plant enough space to do its own thing. And then comes the end of June and the full sun of a DC summer. And the rain, there is so much rain sometimes (like this year). And silly me, I forget that those growing conditions turn plants labeled as "growing to 12 inches in diameter" into plants that would cover a small car with their height and width. I planted new rose bushes this year, and I was oh so sure that I had taken everything into consideration. And yet,…
Read More

350 degrees, for 35 minutes…

Today, my mother, Mabel, would have been 105 years old. Usually I share one of my favorite pictures of the two of us, from a time before our family life together became so complicated. Today, instead, I am sharing one of the few things that I have in her own handwriting...the recipe for my favorite birthday cake, a cake which she made for me over and over again from a recipe she got from her mother during the Great Depression. In fact, it is sometimes called a depression cake, because it substitutes mayonnaise for eggs and oil, which were so difficult to find and so expensive to buy. Apparently Hellmann's…
Read More

Do you think I planted enough…

Daylilies. The final word in that sentence is daylilies. And maybe roses. I'm not sure if I planted enough of either. I've just returned from more time in the mountains of the western part of Virginia, and I returned to a flower explosion. I like that. Yes, I probably planted a few things too close to one another, but hey, I can always move them in the fall. And no matter how carefully I scan the planting guidelines, I never get the distancing right. That is mostly because nothing ever grows to the size stated in those guidelines -- most plants get at least two times bigger than specified! I…
Read More

Everybody needs a little away time…

For the past few days, I have been out of town, taking a little time to work on a project that is close to my heart and soul. This trip is, for me, the first time that I have been away from home without my trusted pod companions since before the pandemic began. In fact, I can't remember the last time that I was away and on my own. I've been getting a lot done, and you will eventually hear more about that, when it is time. Today, though, I took some hours away from my efforts to enjoy the nature around me. That's right, even when you are doing…
Read More

Starting all over again…

I don't know about you, but for me, picking up any task these days, no matter how familiar, feels like starting all over again.  There is this great bright line between my understanding of life before COVID and now in pandemic life, and yet another one that divides these COVID times before we saw the truth through the death of a man named George Floyd and after our heart's vision was forever changed.   The only thing that these lines in the passage of time had in common for me, I thought, was that they were deep chasms that separated me from a big part of my self-identity, the part of…
Read More

Then shall the eyes of the blind be opened…Advent 2013 Day 16

Those are the words I am most familiar with from our passage today because with any luck I have an opportunity or two to sing them each holiday season.  Because of that, I tend to think of them as a stand-alone prophecy, but they are not.  They are part of a long litany of transformation through faith: Isaiah 35:1-10 The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad, the desert shall rejoice and blossom; like the crocus it shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice with joy and singing. The glory of Lebanon shall be given to it, the majesty of Carmel and Sharon. They shall see the glory of the Lord,…
Read More

Lo, how a rose ‘ere blooming…

No. I haven’t jumped ahead to Christmas. I am fully aware that today is Thanksgiving. Painfully aware most of the time. The day we celebrate as Thanksgiving is such a complicated day for so many, and for me. Even without the personal struggles that so many of us (myself included) face as the holiday onslaught of images of perfect families and perfect houses and perfect lives flood our way, there are the cultural struggles that we face as we work our way through the mythology of “America” to something closer to a truthful history of the taking of this land. I survive all of this internal complexity by holding tight to the…
Read More