After all I went through with this house, and despite all the new parts to it, much is the same – the architecture, the possessions, the view. The great room isn’t quite the same – half the books are gone from the shelves. The wall hangings are still in a box. The stained glass lamp … read more Unchanged
Tag: change
Claims on me
It’s a rather long list. Coffee table, stained glass lamp, two storage bins, Turkish stone vase, Baluch tapestries, stoneware crock and mixing bowls, fireplace, patio table, cantina lights, solar driveway lights, window blind … Twenty items, all told, that were damaged or destroyed in the past six months – when the tree fell, during house … read more Claims on me
The wind
Awake at 5 a.m., I curl up on the couch and listen to the wind hurling acorns against the house like bullets. There is a magical sound among the bangs and booms. It’s the heavy silver wind chime that my cousins gave us in memory of Mom. I asked my sisters if I could have this chime so that … read more The wind
Jagged edges
As I stepped out onto the broken deck, I felt a shifting, an instability, as though the whole house was moving under my feet. Vertigo… the house weaving as though to spin and suck me down into the earth. Though I wasn’t there when the oak fell, the impact hits me whenever I enter the house. We … read more Jagged edges
The worst job I ever loved
The worst job of 2015, according to an analysis by CareerCast, is one that I held for 12 years: newspaper reporter. That job was hard and often exasperating, but I loved the challenge, was fascinated by the people I met and stories I reported, and was proud of my profession. It seemed a perfect fit for my curiosity and my … read more The worst job I ever loved
Day XX: Making change
When I was young, the ability to make change and count it back to the customer was a standard skill expected of waitresses and cashiers.