A Really Odd Idea

The world is sort of seething with restless, unhappy people. Our country seems among the most restless as people are being told they may have been taken advantage of and should see themselves as victims. Other people are afraid that perhaps they are guilty for wrong thoughts and attitudes, although they’ve never been aware that […]

While I Wasn’t Looking

While I Wasn’t Looking

While I wasn’t looking, things changed, time passed, and books accumulated. And accumulated. Now, books lie stacked on my carpet, newly released from their box prisons and I wonder, Where do they go from here? Used to be, books, I mean actual pick-it-up-in-your-hands books, were my mainstay. Now, everything from fiction to how-to information, can […]

Banishing Shadows

Banishing Shadows

Do you ever wake in the darkness before dawn and lie in bed, just thinking? It’s in those moments that thoughts, both good and bad, come creeping. Things that we suppress during the day find this is a good time to keep us awake. Maybe it’s then that we are at our creative best. Francis […]

People Like You and Me

People Like You and Me

People. Have you ever wondered what makes them tick? Have you ever pondered what keeps them going? If you knew, really knew someone, would you like what you found out? If others really knew you, would they like you? Sometimes, these questions take on too much importance. We’re afraid of letting others get to know […]

Oils and Thinking

Oils and Thinking

It had been a long time since I’d painted in oils. Oh, I’d gotten canvas boards, paints, brushes, all the paraphernalia, but then, I just left them tucked away. The thing of it was, I was intimidated. Pencil sketches, watercolors, Prismacolor–all those media were familiar to me, as oil once was, so why did I […]

Hummers in the Maple Tree

Hummers in the Maple Tree

I am convinced that a mama and papa hummingbird have set up housekeeping in my front yard maple tree. I wish them good fortune and blessings. I’ve never seen a cat in that maple, but I’ve seen lots of squirrels. Maybe the tiny birds have attached their nest to a limb that’s too fragile for […]