Friday night I am going to see John Prine. It’s an early birthday present, and a great one at that. My friend Terry is picking me up from work and we are driving over to Greensboro to soak up one of my songwriting heroes. Today at work at the computer store, I told a couple…
I have spent the evening baking, not writing. I have swirled my sadness into the mix of butter, sugar, eggs because I know what to do with butter, sugar, and eggs. Baking the same cookie doesn’t feel repetitive; why does writing about grief feel as though I am saying the same thing over and over…
Over the past several weeks, I have been working towards another book. What that means for me is a string of almost daily photos from Cocoa Cinnamon, our neighborhood coffee shop, of my coffee, pen, and notebook because I find it best to write in longhand in the early stages. I like thinking through the pen…
We gathered this morning in our church, along with Christians around the world, to observe the first Sunday of Advent, our intentional, patient walk to the birth of Jesus. Our tradition on this day is a service called “The Hanging of the Greens” (needless to say, we are not alone) where we decorate the sanctuary…
it is the morning of the next day — I have come down- stairs to the kitchen to make coffee . . . the room still smells of pork chops and laughter; the empty glasses — both wine and water — stand like a skyline on the old farm table that soaked it all in…
we walked tonight at sunset just in time to see the fading sun reach across town for an old building and bask it in the splendor of what was left undone home now my kitchen smells like that sunset full of sorrow and stories while the singer reaches for what is as true as…
a year ago, this room was filled with reclaimed lumber and pregnant dreams; now I sit in my spot, trying to give birth to new ideas as though I have always come here. the path from then to now is not mapped, but discovered — looking back into the woods of hope and friendship, of…
Several years ago, Thanksgiving became synonymous with pie at our house. The week before I go on a pie baking frenzy and the results are shared throughout the neighborhood, as well as around our table. Here are a few of the recipes that have become keepers over the years. I’ll start with my mother’s pie…
Though we have still have a few days before the feast, I thought I would point to a few recipes that have served me well in the past. Many of them will make a repeat appearance this year. Follow the links to the recipes. Pimento cheese stuffed sweet potatoes Roasted red curry carrots Green bean…
If you have followed this blog for very long, you have heard me make reference to my songwriting days with my friend, Billy Crockett. This week, his wife Dodee posted a video of him singing what is perhaps my favorite song we wrote together. The idea grew out of our reading Paul Bowles’ amazing novel…