I live and write on Lingít Aaní, and gratefully acknowledge the past, present and future caretakers of this beautiful place, the Jilkaat Kwaan and Jilkoot Kwaan.

Four Good Things

At the end of the yoga retreat we were challenged to begin a practice of thinking of four things each night before we fall asleep that brought us joy that day. Only four? My squirrel brain hoards these good nuts. When I close my eyes to do this, I start listing things...

Holy Mother of God. Books as Weapons?

It is my grand daughter’s first day of school. I will be volunteering in her kindergarten room once a week and I’m looking forward to it. Yesterday, I had my weekly book talk on the Zaandam, a Holland America Lines ship docked in Haines. The assistant...

Sunday’s Thought

I am once again at Sarana’s yoga retreat here in Haines. It is so close to home I can walk, which is my favorite way to “vacation.” And this morning, during the meditation we begin each day with, Sarana spoke of gratitude, and then she said some very...

Those Crazy Haines Folks

Yes, the man in the bear suit does live here and I’m pretty sure I know his name, as there is only one guy with a bear suit in town and he wears it often, usually while roller blading. (And writes about it for the Chilkat Valley News in his column.) I ran into...

Mixed blessings

Grandma Joanne is making a divinity pie, which is made of Ritz crackers, walnuts, sugar, and egg whites, with a lot of whipped cream on top. It has been known to send at least one of our friends to the hospital with heart failure (he got better and joked it was...

Sunday’s Thought

“Summer afternoon ~ summer afternoon; to me those have always been the most beautiful words in the English language.” – Henry James