For many many years, I have had a divided self – torn between the practical and the spiritual, the creative and the logical. I’ve tried so many ways to work it – mostly, by giving a chunk of my time to “work” and another chunk to “art. I grew up seeing this division in the … read more Zen and the art of office design
Author: Lisa
City lights at night
Dark comes so early now – it’s hard to make myself get out and exercise. But the evening was warm, the air moist, a lovely mist had rolled in. I went for a walk in the city. Even that early, 6:15 p.m., the city seemed quiet. Still lots of traffic, but the air itself muffled … read more City lights at night
Rolling on
I remember the day Tom got his wheelchair – Aug. 6, the day he was discharged from the rehab hospital. Only a month after his stroke, he could get to and from the chair and a bed, a regular chair, and a shower bench. The chair was a liberation, a sign of great progress, an … read more Rolling on
The weight of my books
I’ve been through a lot with my books. They moved across the country from Ohio to Seattle, across the Pacific Ocean to Dubai, then at last across the Atlantic and up the mountain to our house. Between Tom and I, we have many hundreds of books. One of the things we loved about Azalea was the … read more The weight of my books
A roof over my head
Roof is NAKED! the email from my neighbor exclaimed. Fred’s been keeping an eye on the progress of the house repairs and sends me reports. Mostly, he’s astonished it has taken so long. This week, the tarp ripped and the house suffered water damage. It was kept to a minimum only because I happened to go … read more A roof over my head
Flutter byes
Said goodbye to some old friends today. Little by little, I am winnowing my belongings so that our rebuilt house doesn’t feel so stuffed when we move back in. Clothes. DVDs. Books. Art supplies. Bulky accumulations of memories and identity that I can’t let go of. Today it was herbs. I learned the basics of Southern … read more Flutter byes
Drawing near the hearth
It’s gotten bitterly cold at night. I can’t wait to be back in my basement office at Azalea. The temperatures there plummet every winter. The corner where my desk sat was the coldest square footage in the entire house. Using a thermal gun, I learned that this corner was 10 to 12 degrees colder than Tom’s office. I poked … read more Drawing near the hearth
Price fixing
A kid walks into the barbershop. It’s an old-fashioned, family-run place at the northern edge of Atlanta. Early evening on a weekday, it’s busy. Full of professional guys – consultants, techies, marketing men. I’m waiting while Tom gets his hair cut. The boy’s pudgy, a little bit country. He has thick hair and a square … read more Price fixing
Random beauty
Some days the beauty is unstoppable You just have to stop for it It began early, with the mist enfolding the newly naked trees That would have been good enough for the whole day The mist lifted, and I drove to our house, where the new roof is being put on this week… In the past, I’ve been … read more Random beauty
Get out
I woke up feeling as gray as the day itself. Heavy, soggy, misty. The weight stayed on me through coffee, through my morning work, through lunch when my eyes began raining for no reason at all. It seemed like it might turn into a wasted day. Browsing my email listlessly, I came across a story about … read more Get out