Would you believe that exactly 230 years ago, my great-great-great-great grandmother traveled from East Tennessee along the Cumberland River to help establish Nashville?  For 6 months, she endured harsh conditions, wild adventures, and Indian attacks.  My mother brought this odyssey to life in her novel Perilous Journey.

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Just a few years ago, mother’s day for me meant breakfast in bed, big sloppy kisses, and hand-made cards proclaiming “I love you mommy.”  Now, with a house full of teenagers, I might get a meal with them and maybe, if I’m lucky, a mumbled “happy mother’s day.” (more…)

My daughter Victoria has just turned 13.  There are now 4 teenagers in my household – 3 of whom are female. Unbelievable!  Can you imagine such a concentration of hormones under one roof? (more…)

This blog was selected as one of the top finalists in the 2010 RDC “Earth Day” contest.

I’m not going to tell you about being awestruck by the northern lights on a warm Alaskan night or of side-stepping a horned toad on a dusty Texas trail (neither of which I’ve done).  Nor am I going to tell you about breathlessly watching a star fall in the inky sky or of falling to my knees in wonder to examine a wildflower (both of which I’ve done). (more…)

I am taking an on-line class on ‘Attention.’  I’ve been reminded that what we pay attention to tends to magnify.  One of the exercises was to spend the day noticing the color ‘blue.’  Amazing.  Blue popped out at me from every direction – the spines of books on the shelves, blue signs on the streets, blue in places I never knew. (more…)