Eliza Daley ~ Wordcraft & Musing on Home & Hope
Every time you wake up and ask yourself, "What good things am I going to do today?" remember that, when the sun goes down at sunset, it will take a part of your life with it. — Indian Proverb found in Tolstoy's Calendar of Wisdom for 21 November Can I just say that I really… Continue reading The Deadly Weight of the Series
Demon Copperhead Barbara Kingsolver Harper, 2022 I preordered Barbara Kingsolver’s latest book from our local bookstore because that’s just something I do, buy Barbara Kingsolver books. I had no idea what this one was about, had only a vague notion on the title, didn’t much care. I’ve never been disappointed by her writing. And I… Continue reading Demon Copperhead & an Idea
I am usually behind the times. No help for that. I find my kitchen and garden and books and making and doing far more interesting than much of what passes for au courant. Heck, I find sitting staring out the window far more interesting. Especially if there are crows. So I'm normally not motivated to… Continue reading Unmediated?
Embrace Fearlessly The Burning World: Essays Barry Lopez Random House, 2022 In his final collection of essays, Embrace Fearlessly The Burning World, Barry Lopez got me thinking on trauma. His was a life-long struggle to understand that we don’t ever get over it. Nor do we successfully bury it under a stoic silence. But his… Continue reading Embrace Fearlessly The Burning World: Book Discussion
To begin with, I have a mild case of COVID again. (Because, hello, People in Charge of Workplace COVID Policies, working in close quarters with someone who has tested positive in the last fortnight, even if masked, means certain transmission for many of us. But, by all means, pay me to sit at home and… Continue reading Not a Garden
I had the singularly dis/en-couraging experience of getting well into writing an essay in the wee hours of the morning and then, at lunch, opening up the 4th chapter of Elvia Wilk's Death by Landscape: Essays and reading nearly what I had written. Different anecdotes, different style, exact same message. Even many of the same… Continue reading Quandary
A Narrow Door Joanne Harris Pegasus Crime, 2022 Joanne Harris continually amazes me. Her writing prowess, her vast breadth of knowledge, her wit and open-eyed clarity all make for fascinating reads. Every single time. I will admit to being small enough to feel jealous of her skill when I open her books. And A Narrow Door… Continue reading A Narrow Door: Review
There are not merely seven colors in the rainbow. Have you noticed? Of course, you have in some sense. But have you really noticed. If so, if this is generally noticed, then why do we require every school child to learn this easily disprovable “fact”? We can all see it has no basis. Even its… Continue reading Blinkered: On Time and Being
How to Fly (In Ten Thousand Easy Lessons) Barbara Kingsolver Harper, 2020 Dearly Margaret Atwood Ecco, 2020 It’s been a rough few years. The roughest bit may be that it’s not likely to be un-roughed. Maybe ever, but certainly not within my lifetime. We’ve lost loved ones to COVID, to violence, to depression. We’ve lost… Continue reading Two Restoratives
The Radiant Lives of Animals Linda Hogan Beacon Press, 2020 This small book of poetry and prose is a love letter to Linda Hogan’s home. It is a narrative of recovery. Hogan must come back to health and strength after a severe horse-riding accident. The Depression-era cottage she buys to hide away and live quietly… Continue reading The Radiant Lives of Animals
By My Solitary Hearth 