Tales from the Nexus
What is it about time with certain authors that makes me want to write? Anne Lamott. Geneen Roth (kinda). Mike Perry. Looking at the list du jour, it seems that those who make me want to write are those who write like me, or those whom I want to write like, and on my better... Continue Reading →
This post has been kind of falling together for a few days. How fitting that it's ready to hit the interwebs on Mother's Day... Anne Lamott wrote this letter to her Grandson Jax at 4 months old: "Dear Jax: Yesterday was your first Thanksgiving, and it is time for me to impart to you the secret... Continue Reading →
All these years--there have been so many--I've been writing book reviews in Goodreads, and then copying and pasting things over here to m'blog, and maybe adding in a little bit more flavor as a sort of prelude. Apparently I think the followers of the blog are in it for something different than the Good People... Continue Reading →
"Is it possible to practice noticing? I think so. But I also think it requires a suspension of yearning And a pause in the desire to be pouring something out of yourself. Noticing is about letting yourself out into the world, Rather than siphoning the world into yourself in order to transmute it into words.... Continue Reading →
The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse by Louise Erdrich My rating: 5 of 5 stars I think that The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse has been on my to-read shelf for almost a decade. Back in the days when my super-reader-friends were just introducing me to good... Continue Reading →
This is it, folks. The third annual WWF Retreat is coming to an end tomorrow. Sad Face. 😦 To avoid confusion and possible excommunication, I'll just lay things bare: WWF in this version of reality means Writing With Friendsand Writing With Friends only. To commemorate the end of the world as we know it, I'd... Continue Reading →
Welcome! Tucked happily into the gorgeous hills and woods of Wisconsin, I write about life, faith, and the humor that both require. I spend most of my time homeschooling my kiddos, reading and writing in the space between. Pull up a cup of cocoa and stay a while!
Nabs, in her favorite spot. In 2010, we took our first trip into the Boundary Waters with kids in tow. Two years prior, we ventured in for our honeymoon, and resolved to somehow figure a way to get all the kids into the wilderness with us. Spoiler Alert: Careful readers will note that the Annual... Continue Reading →
I set my Goodreads 2019 Reading Goal at 30 books. I think I was one book shy of the same for 2018. At this rate, I'll hit 50. But who are we kidding, I never maintain this pace for more than a few weeks. 30 it is, and 30 it shall remain. Up at #3... Continue Reading →
From my Goodreads review: Almost Everything: Notes on Hope by Anne LamottMy rating: 5 of 5 starsAh, Anne Lamott. I love her so. Almost Everything is classic Lamott, witty, comical, heart-wrenching, and honest to the point of breaking. Her very first words tell the whole story: "I am stockpiling antibiotics for the apocalypse, even as... Continue Reading →
Man, do I love a good book. I haven't been hitting the fiction very hard lately--I always wonder at the ebb and flow and general chaos of my reading tendencies--but I feel myself headed back down some excellent fiction roads. Thank God. Every now and again, fiction is the quickest way to my heart. I... Continue Reading →
I had to make a clandestine run for breast milk this morning. One of the kiddos, who shall remain nameless, appears to have contracted pinkeye over the weekend, and for those who don't know, breast milk is the single best cure for pinkeye. Scoff if you must, but don't cry to me about your goop.... Continue Reading →
This just in: Death, that wicked foe, hath overtaken him. My laptop is dead in the water. It would be generous to my character to say that I am saddened. I am, in terms more fitting of reality, getting grumpy. Pissy, even. Because while a hard drive and other miscellaneous parts are indeed on their... Continue Reading →
And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie My rating: 5 of 5 starsAccording to Goodreads, Agatha Christie is the best-selling author of all time. Yeah. I can believe that.This was my first exposure to The AC, and well, I wasn't disappointed. Riveting. Funnily enough, it reminds me of Ellen Raskin's The Westing Game, that... Continue Reading →
I love Christmastime. I do. But there are certain aspects of this glorious wintertime holiday that I pay for every year. #1: Shopping. I don't shop. I loathe shopping. I have seven children and one grandson, and someone has to shop for them. Argue with me all you want about the merits or horrors of gift-giving... Continue Reading →
Sherm has come for a visit. With the exception of one hideous experiment in the rescuing of motherless (and untrainable) kittens, we have not had cats in the house since we've been married. I've always had cats. I love cats. Scott is allergic to cats. Sherman is here because my folks are on their way... Continue Reading →
It took conjuring up all my best and greatest obsessive tendencies, bringing to bear the entire Google Photos arsenal, and employing a shameful willingness to ignore my family and all that I love most, but the old blog has gotten a new face. You might not see it so much from here on the individual... Continue Reading →
1 two-year-old $900 van 4 Ottingers (occasionally 5) 8 National Parks 14 States 23 Days 308 Gallons of gas (regular) 6,916 Miles Whew. I’ve yet to meet a good family vacation that was made better by the presence of a laptop. So I left mine at home. Thank God. I did blog. Sort of. I... Continue Reading →
All the Crooked Saints by Maggie Stiefvater My rating: 5 of 5 stars Can I give it six stars? Eight? I need more stars. A few weeks ago I was driving across the Colorado desert with my 18yo and she suddenly drops into a reminiscent haze in the midst of the red rocks and tumbleweed.... Continue Reading →
It’s day five of my five-day writing retreat, and I am winding down my time here in this Northwoods cottage with some of my writer buds. Two hours and counting, if you should want to keep track. The place we have this year is great. Spacious, warm, clean, and cozy. I don't have a lot... Continue Reading →
I have long been a devotee of J.I. Rodale’s Synonym Finder, the Colossus of the thesaurus world, a reference mutant juiced up on creative steroids. Rodale, known more for his organic living evangelism, was apparently also a lover of words and the palaces that are built on them, and for that we should all be... Continue Reading →
The latest installment of the Ottinger Christmas Letter: Christmas Letter 2017 (Past Years: Christmas Letters from the Nexus of the Universe) Christ is Born! Glorify Him! KJ
Perfect by Rachel Joyce My rating: 2 of 5 stars I loved Harold Fry. I loved Queenie Hennessey even more. Perfect is not Harold and it is not Queenie. This Fourth of July weekend I was asked why I only write positive book reviews. I've said it before, but I'll say it again; I'm not... Continue Reading →
Small Victories: Spotting Improbable Moments of Grace by Anne Lamott My rating: 5 of 5 stars My first Anne Lamott. I know. But it is. I loved most of it. I love her brokenness shining forth unapologetically, unabashed vulnerability, and snarky humor. Thus, Anne Lamott is a hit. But I do have to say that... Continue Reading →
Where'd You Go, Bernadette by Maria Semple My rating: 4 of 5 stars I wish I could go four-and-a-half. But until Goodreads brings in a 100-point rating system, I'll never really be able to drop the stars I'm looking for. (Except maybe My Grandmother Told Me to Tell You She's Sorry. That one would still... Continue Reading →
