Blog
A Good Alaskan Summer Moment
“Summer afternoon—summer afternoon; to me those have always been the two most beautiful words in the English language.” ― Henry James Chip took the little kids and big dogs for a walk while I tidied up, watered the flowers and called a friend in the hospital. He...
Advent Thought(s) Dec. 10 (A Low-ish Day)
“It is good just to sit quietly in that place of loss and sadness, and let the feelings be feelings.”—Jeanette Winterson in Christmas Days: 12 Stories and 12 Feasts for 12 Days. I’m half in the middle of unpacking from Tenakee, sorting mail, catching up on...
Advent Thought(s) for Dec. 9 (Sometimes it’s all Good)
“Sometimes things don’t go, after all, From bad to worse.” – Sheenagh Pugh The ferry docked close to midnight after a ride that could have been worse, considering the northerly gusts to 65 knots, heavy freezing spray and seas to twelve feet. I took Dramamine...
Advent Thought Dec.8– Holding the Light
"See how everything we have made gathers the light inside itself and overflows. A blessing.--Stuart Kestenbaum in his poem Holding the Light in The Wonder of Small Things: Poems of Peace and Renewal edited by James Crewes. The power went out in Juneau before we woke...
Advent Thought(s) for Dec 7 (& 6) Snowing Kindness
“Seeing the goodness in someone does not imply ignoring their difficult qualities or unskillful actions. Rather we can fully acknowledge these difficulties while at the same time we choose to focus on the positive.”—Sharon Salzberg in Loving Kindness And, I...
Advent Thought (s) for Dec. 5 or The Tenakee Peace Prize
Visiting the graves, The old dog Leads the way.--Issa “Two things put me in the spirit to give. One is that I have come to think of almost everyone with whom I come into contact as a patient in the emergency room. I see a lot of gaping wounds and dazed expressions…The...
Advent Thought (and pictures) for Dec. 4
“We are here for a little window. And to use the time to catch and share shards of light and laughter and grace seems to me the great story.” Brian Doyle, from his “Notes on Wonder” in One Long River of Song. A collection of his work published after he died. Everyone...