Gather 'round…
I was with a few close friends the other day, and we were talking about our experience of God. Now, please understand, Im’a simplify the context violently here, or we'll never get anywhere. I'll just cut to my part, which was kinda' two parts: First there was my general presence answer. The deep knowing, the... Continue Reading →
Some Assembly Required by Anne Lamott Just as she chronicled the first year with her son, Sam, Anne Lamott this time lays bare her first year with Sam's son, Jax. And of course she does it beautifully. Lamott is Lamott, and the artistry with which she washes her familial story will keep me coming back... 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 →
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 →
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 →
I love Annie Dillard. Non-Fiction, anyway. I can't speak to her fiction. But her NF is brilliant.It's interesting to me how I can forget things so easily. I was in the middle of An American Childhood when it had to go back to the library many months ago, and I never did get it back. Plum... 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 →
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 →
In an effort to keep the Christmas spirit alive and well in the dregs of February, I have saved the posting of this year's letter until now. I'm certain you can see the wisdom of this approach. It can be read here if you're in need of a late winter's pick-me-up. Chagrined, KJ
It was one of those few and far-between epiphanies. The forehead-to-palm moments. In Quiet, Susan Cain was pontificating on the need for solitude in concentration and creation. The basic need for peace and quiet when embarking upon any creative - or deep thinking - process. She wasn't writing about writing, per se, but she did quote a... Continue Reading →
Tales From the Nexus 