Rain, rain, stay.  From Sunday night to Tuesday it rained. And rained and rained some more. Having come from Austin where we broke the record for the number of 100+ days in one summer, I was delighted. The harder it rained, the happier I was. Monday morning I wake up in the top bunk but Continue Reading

Stopping to get ice. The dogs’ nails on the cabin floor and insatiable enthusiasm to further dampen the rain forest wake us up; wag and pace, wag and pace. The air in the cabin is colder by some ten degrees putting it in the 50′s. Paul lets the dogs out, starts the generator, makes a Continue Reading

Homer DL: In case you were wondering, Homer lies on Kachemak Bay on the southwest side of Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula (southern coast). It’s named for Homer Pennock, a gold mining company promoter, who arrived in 1896. Alas, gold mining was never profitable here. Coal was but eventually ran out. According to Homer’s Chamber of Commerce, Continue Reading

Lucky Day. Instead of a six hour layover in Anchorage we get an earlier flight, reducing the layover to 40 minutes. Party! Melinda picks us up and drives us to the house. We drop our stuff off and go for a walk with the dogs. I thought aloud about how cool it would be to Continue Reading

Flight from Seattle to Anchorage Mom and I are sitting in row 8 reading as the remaining passengers board. An older man in front of us engages in conversation with his rowmate. He had breast cancer, he says. I prick up my ears. I know men can get breast cancer, I’ve just never (over) heard Continue Reading

Yesterday we — my 81-year-old mother and I — boarded one of four flights from Dallas to Alaska, to visit my brother and favorite sister-in-law. In a few hours we will board a floatplan which will drop us in the middle of nowhere where we will be staying in a cabin-in-progress for the next six Continue Reading

No, it’s not my birthday. I’m just feeling old. Here’s the thing… Except for a few hiccups (stepping on a nail in the 70’s, broken arm in ’97, cat bite in 2003 — last time I put a cat on a leash) I pretty much coasted my way to 39. Then all kinds of shit Continue Reading

It’s been 11 years since I officially transitioned from project manager to copywriter. I’ve learned a lot since then, some of which has to do with work. Here are a few things I like to keep in mind: Respond to work inquiries ASAP. Just this week, I had a prospective agency say, “We’re reaching out Continue Reading

MOM: What is that crap you’re drinking? It looks awful! ME: I’m going to give you a chance to rephrase that. MOM: What is that…stuff…you’re drinking. It looks absolutely horrible. ME: And let’s try that one more time. MOM: Okay, what is that…you’re…drink…ing? I was visiting Mom for the weekend, celebrating her impending birthday, and Continue Reading