Thoughts, tales, and travels

July 5, 2023

July 4th, 2023

A two-day visit from Bill’s cousin Debbie was a good excuse to take two of our favorite day trips. On Sunday, we drove to Sisters via the Old McKenzie Highway. On Monday, we drove along the Oregon Coast from Depoe Bay to Newport to Florence. Great visit. Wishing everyone a...

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January 27, 2023

Looking Back on 2022

Last year was truly memorable, like being reborn. It was our first year of living fully engaged with the world after the isolation and frustration of the pandemic. A new year free of the fear that I had Parkinson’s Disease, a fear that was finally banished after consultations with specialists...

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November 30, 2022

Augustine Herrman, Gentleman Smuggler

One of the historical characters who makes an appearance in my novel Branches and Bones is Augustine Herrman, who is best known for his map of the Chesapeake area. He was also a smuggler. Before there was a Chesapeake and Delaware Canal to transport goods between the Chesapeake Bay and...

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November 23, 2022

Delta Ponds Walk

Went walking with Bill at Delta Ponds yesterday while our Prius was getting an oil change. It was a dim day, sky sagging with the predicted afternoon rain. Good day for ducks, and they were out on the pond, along with coots and egrets and herons. At the end of...

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August 1, 2021

Vuong: Young and Beautiful

Review: On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeousa novel by Ocean Vuong I don’t want to forget this is a novel. But when the main character is adressing the story to his Ma, it’s hard to keep that thought in mind.I can’t forget for a minute that Ocean Vuong is a poet. Every...

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November 5, 2020

We Can’t Breathe

It’s day two after election day, and we still don’t know who will be president. In an effort to avoid obsessive magic wall election coverage, I’ve turned to Exhalation, a short story collection by a master of speculative fiction, Ted Chiang. I found there the first story I had read...

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August 31, 2020

And the Books Go On

Today I actually went through the doors of a library for the first time since March. Our little Sheldon branch of the Eugene Public Library is now open. I’ve been picking up and dropping off books curbside for a few weeks, but today I picked my own books off the...

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