#augustbreak: just ordinary
This year the sunsets have been very unimpressive compared to the stunners I saw in 2011. But I like them anyway, even if they’re only weakly colorful, because they come with this view that I won’t...
View Article#augustbreak: make my day, why don't you
This day has not gone well. I woke up with a stiff neck and it’s gone downhill from there. And then the doorbell rang, and a very nice man handed me a package full of wonderful books. I can’t wait to...
View Article#augustbreak: unboxed
I asked Dominique yesterday for an idea of what to shoot for the daily photo, and then my camera battery died so I put it off until today. One of her ideas was “the contents of the box nearest...
View Article#augustbreak: inspired
I usually take a more workmanlike approach to writing than an inspired one. When I take time off here, it’s not because I’m not inspired but because the shit I have to say has been judged not suitable...
View Article#augustbreak: thirteen + thirteen + thirteen
I remember thirteen. I remember twenty-six. If it occurred to me then to look ahead to thirty-nine, I’m pretty sure I thought I’d have everything wrapped up by now and that I would feel well and truly...
View Article#augustbreak: unchained
The way I complain about this move you’d think I’d never done it before. But I’ve had lots of keys in my time, and I’ve sentimentally kept them long after I should have. I tossed them on a binder,...
View Article#augustbreak: detritus
This is going to be my last August Break post, so that I can get back into writing more. But this is a wonderful way for it to end—with the old eavestroughs (US: gutters) finally coming down and new...
View Articlewhat I did on my summer vacation
I am a summer girl. I love the way that everything slows down, the way the heat is an excuse for any self-indulgent behavior you can imagine. I look forward to it all winter long when the snow piles up...
View Articlefive from ottawa
My shoulder is at about 85%. This week is one where I have to use it extensively—I have to finish packing, and more than just a box or two at a time. The shoulder will also have to support me while I...
View Articlebrimstone and phosphorus
When my littlest brother was in nursery school, he came home with this book about death called The Fall of Freddie the Leaf. I read it. Freddie rustles in the breezes and offers shade for picnicking...
View Articlea hole in the cold: #FortnightofFlash
The Garlic Corner does not bother with one of the endemic names local shawarma joints use—Shawarma King, Shawarma Prince, Shawarma Palace. We are here for the garlic and the chicken and pita are just...
View Articlemonths vs. seconds
It’s awkward to write after long pauses, especially to write something with substance. You’d think I would know this by now. Whenever I tried to write, I realized that the results always read like...
View Articleswaddled and celebrating
Years ago, years and years, long enough that I’m over it in lots of ways, we buried my brother on a December 31. At the same time, there are lots of ways that I’m not over it. I learned the difference...
View Articlelist one: things I worry about
that I have packed something that is crucial to us getting through the next four weeks, something crucial enough that it will result in wasting money and upsetting people whose jobs I have made more...
View Articlechrysalis
A chrysalis (Latin chrysallis, from Greek χρυσαλλίς = chrysallís, pl: chrysalides, also known as an aurelia) or nympha is the pupal stage of butterflies. The term is derived from the metallic...
View Articlelist two: uprooting
There were boxes everywhere, but mostly in a large stack in the middle of the basement, our books and papers and heavy, sturdy things. And then the closets, where I stacked our clothes and the things...
View Articlelist three: tirekicker
1. In this house, it does not feel wrong to play jazz from about two in the afternoon on. It doesn’t even feel wrong to play it through my computer speakers instead of using a full-rigged vinyl setup....
View Article#scintilla13: swampwater
I’m a cofounder of The Scintilla Project, along with my friends Onyi and Dominique, two whip-smart and artfully snarky women with beautiful hair. This is my response to one of the Day 1 prompts, “Tell...
View Article#scintilla13: near-death by chocolate
I’m a cofounder of The Scintilla Project, along with my friends Onyi and Dominique, two whip-smart and artfully snarky women with beautiful hair. This is my response to one of the Day 2 prompts, Tell...
View Article#scintilla13: distance is a long-range filter
I’m a cofounder of The Scintilla Project, along with my friends Onyi and Dominique, two whip-smart and artfully snarky women with beautiful hair. This is my response to one of the Day 1 prompts, Talk...
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