Wendyrw619

LATEST ARTICLES ( 72 )

• Pneumonia and the Human Animal

  

  My friend Leslie called yesterday:  “I’m worried about Hillary’s health.”  I talked over her: “Jeez, don’t worry about it. It’s walking pneumonia. Read more

  Posted on 12 September 2016 CREATIVITY, SELF EXPRESSION

• Dear New Portlander Walking the Little Gray Dog with an Underbite:

  

  I am sure you are very nice person. But I think we must have neglected to fill you in on a little custom we practice here in Portland because you didn’t show an... Read more

  Posted on 29 May 2016 CREATIVITY, SELF EXPRESSION

• Dearly Beloved

  

  I just got in from driving 250 miles. I cried for about 190 of them. I woke up in Pendleton, in Northeast, Oregon, worked out, did a little writing with the pla... Read more

  Posted on 22 April 2016 CREATIVITY, SELF EXPRESSION

• The Imperative of Gratitude

  

  What a tangled up snarl of a November it has been.  On one hand, it is November! The trees shot forth their last bright flames before settling into winter bones... Read more

  Posted on 24 November 2015 CREATIVITY, SELF EXPRESSION

• The Trouble with Tomatoes

  

  I have been gardening for enough years now to make a proclamation: I have a harvesting problem. I love to be in the garden. It brings me tremendous,... Read more

  Posted on 07 October 2015 CREATIVITY, SELF EXPRESSION

• On Praying for Kim Davis

  

  I spent the last few weeks (mostly) detached from Facebook and Twitter.  I’m not taking a moral stand here. I just needed a little time to hear my own mind. Read more

  Posted on 01 October 2015 CREATIVITY, SELF EXPRESSION

• On Tempting the Fates

  

  I am a great lover of beginnings. I love both New Year’s Day and my birthday (which are conveniently spaced about six months apart, giving me two opportunities ... Read more

  Posted on 27 August 2015 CREATIVITY, SELF EXPRESSION

• On the Question of a News Fast

  

  From time to time one of my friends announces she is going on a media fast. She (or sometimes he) cuts herself off from the barrage of outside stimulus in... Read more

  Posted on 14 February 2015 CREATIVITY, SELF EXPRESSION

• As If Vinegar Were Added to Wine: On Tired

  

  It was a bumpy start to the day around here. I hauled upstairs four separate times to drag the girls out of bed. Their breakfast got cold on the counter, and... Read more

  Posted on 10 February 2015 CREATIVITY, SELF EXPRESSION

• If So Many Are Dead and Others Pan Gold

  

  In Memory of Shaimaa el-Sabbagh1984 – January 24, 2015Who will honor the city without a name If so many are dead and others pan gold Or sell arms in faraway... Read more

  Posted on 06 February 2015 CREATIVITY, SELF EXPRESSION

• In Love & Awe

  

  Thanks to the fabulous Erin Coughlin Hollowell, I have recently been following Jeffrey Davis’ Quest 2015. The basic premise is that smart, imaginative people... Read more

  Posted on 10 December 2014 CREATIVITY, SELF EXPRESSION

• a Boy—that’s All He Was—

  I am a baby of the first order. I can’t watch violent movies. I am repelled by songs that are woman-hating and threatening. In fact, we had to walk out of... Read more

  Posted on 27 November 2014 CREATIVITY, SELF EXPRESSION

• A Chicken Dish, a Curlicue, a Pecan Pie

  

  Grandma EdnaYesterday the darling-but-not-very-speedy-clerk at my local yarn shop took what seemed like hours winding five skeins of red worsted weight yarn. Read more

  Posted on 10 November 2014 CREATIVITY, SELF EXPRESSION

• And Then There Was the Day When Their Mama Lost Her S&%*t . . .

  

  I hope my daughters will remember the sweet times – the family trip to celebrate my parents’ 50th wedding anniversary, the time I let them stay up until midnigh... Read more

  Posted on 16 October 2014 CREATIVITY, SELF EXPRESSION

• Let’s Stop Hating on the Potato (plus a Recipe)

  

  I have borne witness to an awful lot of handwringing lately.  Handwringing about the fighting in Gaza and the fact that a mob of Russian separatists can lay... Read more

  Posted on 05 August 2014 CREATIVITY, SELF EXPRESSION

• For the Love of the Material World

  

  I hate to do this.  But I am going to have to take issue with the great Joseph Campbell, from whom I have gained solace and comfort and inspiration from for... Read more

  Posted on 06 July 2014 CREATIVITY, SELF EXPRESSION

• Aging into Van Gogh

  

  Last week, I dragged Violet to the Museum of Modern Art in New York City.  I took her to New York for a few days to celebrate her birthday, and it was a... Read more

  Posted on 28 June 2014 CREATIVITY, SELF EXPRESSION

• The Power of Kale

  

  For the past few months, we have eaten kale for basically every meal.  Mostly, we eat kale salad, which we fondly refer to as the magic salad. Read more

  Posted on 08 June 2014 CREATIVITY, SELF EXPRESSION

• A Scattered Heart

  

  Good Lord, my mind is a sieve these days. I am misplacing bills and forgetting to turn in permission slips and–worse!–mistaking one person for another even... Read more

  Posted on 31 May 2014 CREATIVITY, SELF EXPRESSION

• Violet at the Creation

  

  VioletOh look at this big girl!  Today, she turns 12.  Violet is a singular spirit. . . and in honor of her day, this poem from oh so many years ago.  But it... Read more

  Posted on 04 April 2014 CREATIVITY, SELF EXPRESSION