The How-To List

I told my writer friend Stephanie that I'd mostly manage to write 1,000 words per day this week.  She kindly complimented me and then asked what the difference between this week and other weeks had been.  I thought about her question.  What was the difference?  I finally realized I had made a determined decision to bump the writing part up my daily To-Do list.  And then I made a specific plan about how that writing would happen.  What time would I write?  Where?  What did I have to ignore to get it done?

I'm a big fan of To-Do lists.  In fact, tomorrow's column is devoted to the topic.  But I'm beginning to realize that identifying what you want to do isn't enough.  You have to make a plan.  You have to make a How-To list.

Algie and Erika

I read this Trib story with a great deal of interest.  Erika and I have been acquaintances since childhood, and I used to see her during the summer when she would visit her grandmother Algie Ballif, one of Provo's grandest grande dames.


Algie was a natural born crusader, a tireless fighter for social justice, the very epitome of a happy warrior. I can't help but think she's cheering her granddaughter on.

Random Photo Day Three (and also a meditation on why it's so hard to write in the 21st Century)

Behold!  The new peony Heather put aside for me at Trellis Garden Center!  Holy cow, folks, it's a yellow!  peony!  It's a new beast--part tree peony and part herbaceous peony.  I am thrilled with the
huge-y dahlia-esque flowers.  (If only peonies lasted longer.)

As for the meditation part--it's hard to write in the 21st-century and here's why:  you dutifully open up your computer to write.  But instead you get online and notice that a story called "Miami Cannibal Attack" is currently trending.  Which do you choose?  The pain of writing?   Or the perversity of reading about possible cannibals in Miami?

Yup.  Me, too.

Random Photo Day Two

Since it's Memorial Day, I think this column is particularly appropriate.  I love the picture of my dad here. He looks so young and natty in his uniform, don't you think?  Meanwhile, another gnome . . .

Random Photo Day One

I am going to be uploading photos that have nothing to do with my blog posts, mostly because I want to practice using my camera and then posting them.  AND THEN I WILL BE AS AWESOME AS ALL YOU GUYS.

As you can see I bought another gnome.  I think maybe this is a form of mental illness?

My calendar says . . .

. . . that I have "knitting" tomorrow.  At 11:00.  That's what it says--"Knitting!  11:00!"  But what does that mean?  Did I really commit to knitting tomorrow at 11:00?  But why?  And where am I knitting?  And what am I knitting?  And with whom am I knitting?  PLEASE HELP ME!

Yes!  It's another Cryptic Calendar Message!

(I feel crazy.)

The way some mothers say things

I think I've mentioned here before that TRQ, one of the brightest women I know, sometimes processes things sideways.  Like, words go in her ears and then ride the twilt-a-whirl in her brain for awhile, after which they stagger out of her mouth feeling not quite like themselves.  Example.  Once my dad handed her a map and told her to look for a street named "Owensmouth."  And eventually she smacked him on the side of the head with said map and told him there was no street in America, let alone Southern California, named "Oscarsjaw."

Anyway.  I mentioned this to a friend over breakfast yesterday, and she burst out laughing.  "My mom does the exact same thing.  She always refers to the arches in her feet as crotches."

Your assignment today?  Have fun thinking about THAT.  And you're welcome.