You never know what we'll churn up in cleaning a stall
This “green can” at Heron Neck on Vinahaven Island has a gong mechanism rising from its base. Rocking in the waves makes it sound, as we observed on a cruise aboard the historic schooner Louis R. French.
For more schooner sailing experiences, take a look at my Under Sail photo album at Thistle Finch editions.
This Christmas is shaping up to be picture-perfect. Well, make that better than in previous years. Nobody will be sleeping on mattresses on the floor, as has usually been the case when the rest of the family or guests show up. But the still not remodeled kitchen lacks a full-size oven and, glory be, a dishwasher. Living here feels much less like we’re camping.
By taking the back wall up and turning the two small dormers in front into one long “dustpan” dormer, we gained more than 320 square feet of additional space in addition the parts where I’m now able to walk around fully upright. The two back bedrooms allow much more than a bed and dresser. Even though we still don’t have a second bathroom and laundry area, these are First World problems. Welcome to the 21st century, you old house, with your two centuries-plus already behind you.
You’ve earned some much overdue tender care.
You’ve really become part of the family.
That’s an advice given to authors, though it’s something I cannot avoid in my own novels and even poetry. Where else can we fully address the deepest values we hold?
Politics doesn’t seem to be working that way, for sure.
Is science fiction the best we can do for now when it comes to grappling with philosophical issues?
Still, I’ve dug in, ranging from the spirituality of yoga and Buddhism in Zen and Tibetan traditions to Quaker and Mennonite Christianity to Greek Orthodoxy as well as Indigenous strands.
I tackle this most directly in Light Seed Truth, an ebook that includes four earlier booklets investigating the revolutionary impact early Quakers found in applying the metaphors of Light, Seed, and Truth. To that I add examples of the power of metaphor in modern secular society, just for balance.
My goal is to raise readers’ awareness and sensitivity rather than convert anyway to a particular faith.
With religion, I want to hear how faith is experienced by different individuals, rather than what they speculate they should be experiencing.
The best mystics I’ve known have surprisingly practical and humorous.
~*~
You can find it and more in the digital platform of your choice at Smashwords, the Apple Store, Barnes & Noble’s Nook, Scribd, Sony’s Kobo, and other fine ebook retailers. You can also ask your public library to obtain it.
RETAIL THERAPY: used books or classical/jazz/folk CDs.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE HOTEL? To date, Omni, Providence, Rhode Island. Yes, over Boston, Chicago, and New York.
I’LL KNOW I HAVE IT MADE WHEN: I can rent a cottage by the sea or a mountain lake. Or I have grandchildren.
WHAT IS YOUR CURRENT PROJECT? Creating an author’s website and blog.
WHO WOULD YOU MOST LIKE TO INVITE TO DINNER? My agent or publisher. If only I had one.
UPCOMING: Retirement.
We find ourselves looking at evergreens in the wild a bit differently at this time of year. Remember, we cut our own Christmas tree once we locate the right choice.
Considering that X is also the Roman numeral for ten, here goes this week’s Tendrils.
The tree the kid wants ain’t natchural! At least not the ones we’ve cut from the wild.
What we find in the woods are typically lopsided, with the growth mostly to one side. And they tend to be more open than full, which can have its own appeal when it comes to adding ornaments.
Not that she perceives that on her arrival from the metropolis.
She’s always been challenging and demanding.
WHIPPED HIPS
WORSHIP
WARSHIPS
Serving fresh scallops quickly became a Christmas Day tradition in our household once we moved to Eastport. The fishermen set forth before sunrise on each of their preciously allocated days, and only the worst weather can convince them otherwise.
We were staggered and bewildered by the number of people – mainly from California, Texas, and New York – who were buying up properties out here, sight unseen during the height of the Covid epidemic. Well, that went for our Dover in New Hampshire, too. Their bids definitely inflated the selling prices.
It seemed pretty risky, from the locals’ point of view, and that included us. There are so many things, including warning signs, that you discover in a walkthrough of a property, fine distinctions that don’t appear in photos or descriptions. Just think of smells or the neighbors or even lighting as well.
There are also so many things you won’t catch if you see a property only in fine weather. Not just leaks or drafts, either. As a quip around here goes, will those buyers be selling once they’ve endured a winter living here?
We were lucky to purchase when we did. The prices not only went up dramatically soon after that, they’ve stayed up, We remain mystified about how young families are paying what they are for housing.
Jnana's Red Barn 