Before you try a new restaurant, do you check out the menu online? As a vegetarian, I always make sure a new place will have good veggie options. If someone else suggested the meet-up, I need to know if I should snack beforehand. Checking out the menu in advance has another value: it builds anticipation. … Continue reading Use anticipation to build the good.
We need goals to get to finally moments.
We all want those “finally” moments: Finally, I’ve saved enough money to take that trip.Finally, I’ve lost the unwanted weight.Finally, I earned that raise.Finally, finally, finally, but how do we get there? Many of us either dream too big, too fast or we waffle in trying to determine the goal worth reaching for. I have … Continue reading We need goals to get to finally moments.
Bottlebrushing my Attention
I have no way to know how many times I’ve walked the short stretch of Thune Ave. It’s so close to our street that I may walk one direction or the other as many as four times in one day several days of the week. So of course I’ve seen the ginormous bottlebrush tree. And … Continue reading Bottlebrushing my Attention
Lime Lessons
We’ve all heard the sentiment: When life gives you lemons, make lemonade. We have a key lime tree on our deck, potted in a retired Napa Valley wine barrel, & we enjoy her bounty in sparkling water & salad dressings, marinades & other sauces. We don’t pick her fruit, however. She freely offers it to … Continue reading Lime Lessons
Reading: Mar-April 2024
The most amazing recent events in my bookish life are as follows: I attended the Festival of Faith & Writing at Calvin University, where I heard great lectures on books and writing and other fascinating things writers write about, connected with old friends and met so many wonderful new people, many of whom I already … Continue reading Reading: Mar-April 2024
The Lupine Lady
The lupines are beginning to bloom. I noticed one flower a week ago. Today that one flower had become a patch of purple. “Spring has sprung” is fun to say but “spring is springing” more accurately describes the situation, as more and more plants will push forth, spring up, and unfurl their beauty. As I … Continue reading The Lupine Lady
Reading: Jan-Feb 2024
FICTION Amazing Grace Adams by Fran LittlewoodMy rating: 5 of 5 starsEmotionally intelligent & entertaining novel about a woman having a significant mid-life crisis on her daughter's 16th birthday. It is ironic, & the book says so toward the end, that a woman who can speak five languages can't communicate with her loved ones, & … Continue reading Reading: Jan-Feb 2024
Meatless Monday: Game Day Snacks
I don't Super Bowl (beyond commercials & half-time). I don't football (when the NFL takes concussions seriously instead of putting players in danger, I'll reconsider). Yet I am the MVP of veg-forward game day snacks that make a meal. I cook while they cheer & all is well. Yesterday's menu: Deviled potatoes Sheet pan nachos … Continue reading Meatless Monday: Game Day Snacks
I met author Michael Cunningham
I met Michael Cunningham, the PEN/Faulkner and Pulitzer Prize winning author of The Hours, subsequently made into a movie starring Meryl Streep, Nicole Kidman, and Julianne Moore. He was at Book Passage, an independent bookstore in Corte Madera, CA, to promote his new book, Day. As he signed our books, we chatted casually about the … Continue reading I met author Michael Cunningham
Do you have ANTs?
Hi, I’m Siv (“See-v”) and I struggle with negative thinking. That might seem like a vulnerable thing to write, but I suspect I’m not alone. I won’t ask for a show of hands, but I wonder if you relate. I snapped this selfie before a special occasion. I deleted it the next day when my … Continue reading Do you have ANTs?