There are few things that can make me just sit still, or instantly transport me to a different time and place: the cry of a plaintive violin, a lingering sunset, the warm nuzzle of Pacific waters, music that gives heartache such enviable beauty. And poetry—the kind that cuts right through, needing no excess of words to drown its sentiment, letting you fill the necessary spaces with your own voice.
When a poem is so masterfully written, hearing it read aloud is often a hit-or-miss affair. When it misses, it’s almost painful to hear. But when it hits, oh, what new life it gives to those familiar words.
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Update: Congratulations! Random winner was comment #5: Kristy. Send me an email at and let me know where to send your book! I know you’ll love it. It’s so wonderfully written. Thank you to everyone for playing!
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Growing up, I was a wimp when it came to spice. Oh, I could ingest enough garlic to leave vapor trails and I’d pile the sauteed onions on my bistek Tagalog until you couldn’t see the beef underneath, but if I so much as half-bit into a whole peppercorn, I’d be fanning my mouth and asking for water. I couldn’t even tolerate our local banana catsup that was flavored ever-so-slightly with banana peppers.
A wimp. That’s what I was.
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Some weeks ago, I received an email from a lovely lady named Anne. (Yes, I already knew then that she’d be lovely.) She wrote to invite me to spend a day in San Francisco taking photographs of the sights, followed by a 3-hour Lightroom workshop with the amazing Julieanne Kost the following day. Oh, and Adobe was sponsoring the whole thing. She then so kindly remarked that she thought I might need the break.
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The disadvantage of being on Eastern Standard Time out here in the west is that your body wakes you up at 4:38AM and soon after, it wants breakfast.
The advantage of being up at 4:38AM is that you get to catch one of the most beautiful sunrises you’ve seen in a while.
Never mind that I was standing on the window ledge, in my pajamas, and folks standing on the street may have thought I was two shakes shy of a cocktail.
That’ll just the be perfect setup for the rest of my day.
Yes, I know it’s been a while since I last put up a new post. While I absolutely love my homemade Nutella chips, that’s not the reason you’ve had to look at them for the past few weeks. Not entirely. (I do think they deserved the extended exposure anyway. Those cookies are good.)
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