What Are the Odds?
What Are the Odds? Synchronicities. I’ve experienced a lot of these over the years, but one stands out in my mind. Years ago, living in Scottsdale, Arizona, I took an art class—several, really—and one of the instructors, a woman whose name I don’t remember now, befriended me. One fine morning, when I was in the…
Something New…
I’m in the plotting stage of writing my next novel, tentatively titled THE REFUGE, and let me tell you, I’m excited. And grateful. Grateful because I was blocked and burned out for several years, and the results were discouraging, to say the least. Depression can be brutal, as I’m sure many of you already know,…
An Evening in San Diego
San Diego is full of friendly people and pleasant places, and yesterday, Jeremy, Wendy and I visited a local Farmer’s Market. Unlike many others, this one was limited to a few hours on Friday afternoon/evening and set up along a street lined with restaurants and shops. Honestly, the experience was quite nearly magical. Music played,…
Meeting Burt Reynolds!
As some of you may know, I’m the daughter of a town marshal—Grady “Skip” Lael, of Northport, Washington, the small community where I grew up. Things were so different back in the day that some of my memories are in black-and-white, like an episode of “Leave It to Beaver” or, more to the point, “Gunsmoke.”…
Kintsugi is a Wonderful Analogy
At last, I’m feeling better, although I’m not fully recovered. This cold has been a challenge, that’s for sure. It’s my belief, though, that even things we see as bad are very often part of a long-range plan that will result in something good. God is the Potter, after all, and we are the clay. …
I Know a Guy…
I can’t, but I know a Guy. That’s a line from a t-shirt I love to wear. In fact, I have quite a collection of what I call Jesus shirts. Some are funny—like the one where Jesus is looking over the top of His sunglasses and saying, “I’m telling Dad.” Another shows the lyrics of…
New books and old favorites
Well, that nasty cold is still hanging on, so I didn’t get to this blog as soon as I wanted to. This afternoon, while rummaging through a box of my older books, out in the garage, I came across the paperback version of THE MAN FROM STONE CREEK, published way back in 2006— twenty years…
Morning Pages
As I write this, I’m recovering from a nasty cold. I’ve spent the last few weeks grappling with this—ironically, it started as soon as I finished my 6-week round of TMS treatments–but I’m getting better, however slowly. Last week, I mentioned Julia Cameron’s marvelous book, “The Artist’s Way”, which I originally read three decades ago,…
Happy Birthday
Next Saturday would have marked my mother’s 97th birthday. She passed six years ago, and I miss her every day. Her name was Hazel Bleecker Lael, and she was born on January 31, 1929. Her mother died when Mom was only eleven months old, and she and her sister, Shirley, were raised in their hometown…
I’m back!
Dear Readers, I’ve been out of the loop for a while now, and I’ve missed blogging regularly and reading your responses. So I’m back. Not that I mean to bore you with all the details of my absence. This is just a brief overview. My absence was caused by a combination of depression, the loss…