When I found myself within striking distance of the Yucatan Peninsula, I knew I had to go to Chichén Itzá. I got up before dawn and took a ferry through rough waters from Cozumel, then climbed on a bus and headed across the swamplands to the Mayan ruins. Exhausted but happy, I arrived at noon […]
Coast of Haiti
On the way home from my holiday, I met a group of men in bright yellow shirts at the Miami airport. They’d been in Haiti, building shelters. We chatted about their work, and I asked one of them if he had a background in construction. “No, ma’am,” he said. “We’re just a bunch of knuckleheads […]
To the sea I went
To the sea I went, my heart full sore For the Norns, whose wrath I would now escape; But the lofty billows bore me undrowned, Till to land I came, so I longer must live. –from Guðrúnarhvöt (Bellows 1923 translation) One of my favorite passages about the sea, Gudrun’s Lament is from The Poetic Edda. […]
Rereading The Hobbit
I’ve loved J.R.R. Tolkien fiercely for many years. When I finally got to see The Hobbit on the big screen, I was simultaneously entranced, delighted, and dismayed. Very mixed feelings. I think I’ll have to see the film at least three more times before I’ll know how I REALLY feel. I got home from the […]
2012, The Year in Reading: Part 2
I’m back with Part 2 of my 2012 Year in Reading review. In my last post, I discussed some of the YA I loved most in 2012, and naturally I forgot to mention one of the best YA fantasies of the year: Laini Taylor’s Daughter of Smoke and Bone. Such a great story! Though not […]
2012, A Year in Reading: Part 1
For a few years now, I’ve been living a semi-nomadic life, making my home in Wisconsin, in Scotland, in Colorado–wherever life and work has taken me. But 2012 was a year of stability. I didn’t travel much. I didn’t divide my time between two homes. I stayed in Colorado long enough to raise a puppy, […]
Holiday Knitting Marathon
With a convalescent puppy at home, I’ve been doing a lot of knitting. I can’t write much or read fiction, since I need to keep one eye on Dulcinea at all times. (She is far too interested in her 7-inch incision, with all its bristling black stitches.) So I’m knitting a hat for a friend. […]
Patron Saint of Puppies
On Saint Lucia’s Day, our puppy Dulcinea had surgery. She’d been listless for days, picking at her food and resting on the floor with the kitties. We brought her to the veterinarian, who discovered a 3-inch mass in her abdomen. So we rushed her in for surgery, and then I lit a candle, as I […]