I know my life is getting busier by the number of days a week I wear make up.   Hunter is playing tennis on a doubles team.   I like tennis and am so glad he is not playing soccer this year. I hate watching a bunch of 11-12 year olds play soccer.   Or actually watching them kick the ball out of bounds (or whatever it’s called) every other hit.   Gah, I’d rather watch paint dry, it’s less frustrating.   My 4 year old is not a tennis fan.   I...

Link   Chapter 34   Verin’s four stubby leather wings echoed dryly in the dark chamber as he circled round and round the tower’s perimeter.   The dust, disturbed after decades of slumber, fell on invisible waves and landed atop the rotting bed canopy.   A lone figure lay unmoving beneath the heavy blankets.   Dark black hair spilled a shadow on the yellowed pillow, violet eyes stared unseeing at the canopy above.   Verin stop...

Link Chapter 33   “The witch DeTac your majesty,” the guard to the royal receiving room announced.               Kryler’s eyes narrowed.   “Bid her wait,” He turned grey eyes back to the map laying on the gold gilded table.   He waited for the heavy wood door to click and leaned back in his chair glaring at the raven perched on the back of a crimson cushioned chair acr...

Link Chapter 32   Mikota was sleeping when Samanda entered the chamber.   “Where is the king?”   Mikota rubbed violet eyes and pushed dark tangles of hair from a pale face.   Samanda held up a blue linen dress.   “He is locked in the war room with several guests.   We must get you dressed.”   Mikota shook her head, cheeks colored.   “No, no.   The king bid me be here when he returns. &n...

Sarah shoved the small brown paper bag into an over sized black purse.   She wasn’t hiding anything, she told herself.   It was just easier to carry in the purse.   She looked in the rear view mirror.   Tired.   She looked so tired!   And the makeup she applied to hide the dark rings under her eyes, made them look worse.   She sighed and looked longingly at the black purse.   No.  Not now, you have too much to do today.   Focus...

We PAR-TAY at my house. Link    

My 11 year old son, Hunter, punched another boy, J, in the face at school a couple weeks ago.   Our family is familiar with J.  He attended a sleep over in our home earlier this winter.   His mom showed up to drop him off an hour early, in shorts (it was 20 degrees outside), with no tooth brush, pajamas, coat, or anything.   It can be difficult keeping track of Hunter's numerous friends.  I remember J   because the entire time he was in our home...

    Last night I dreamed.     There were two tribes of people.   Believers and non believers, not necessarily in the Christian sense.   It was more generic, less Jesus.   The believers consisted of a variety of people who followed God.   Each person was in different stages, levels, heights of belief.   The non believers consisted of a wide range, from really good people (who just didn’t follow God), all the way down...

Here are a few shots of some birds who come to feed in our yard.  Today, with all the snow, the red ones really stand out.  (Of course I couldn't get any closer without them flying away.)    

America doesn't do well in world geography. We were given a commercial break of reality on 9/11. And that we have a chip on our shoulder after 9/11. We're imperialists who never really did land on the moon. That we don't have a sense of humor.... We're consumption crazy....... No Smoking Laws are facist..... We're slaves to credit.... This fits my personal mental picture of America.  

America doesn't do well in world geography. We were given a commercial break of reality on 9/11. And that we have a chip on our shoulder after 9/11. We're imperialists who never really did land on the moon. That we don't have a sense of humor.... We're consumption crazy....... No Smoking Laws are facist..... We're slaves to credit.... This fits my personal mental picture of America.  

What is the deal with little girls?   My 11 year old plays basketball.   He is on one of about twenty teams.   They alternate playing games at each of our five elementary schools.   The basketball floor is standard size, just.   And there is nowhere for parents to sit except a filthy little stage which overlooks the basketball court by about four feet.   There are no chairs or risers, and often a lot of theatre props litter the small stage. &n...

Christmas is over.   The tree is put away.   The only things left are the wreaths on the windows.   I cleaned house today.   Scrubbed toilets, polished mirrors.   And I wondered.   What would I do with all the extra time if I ever hired a maid?   How did women in medieval times keep their castles clean?   I know the servants or slaves did the work, but did they ever roll up their sleeves and muck the rushes off the floor?   Did they ta...

Today the mail woman rang my door bell.   I opened the door, and the bitter cold draft biting my toes was forgotten upon observing she was holding a box with my name on it.   I’m sure people all over the country are opening front doors to the mailman, the UPS man, the Fed Ex Guy.   But for me, opening the door and finding a package with my name on it (that I didn’t order and pay for), well, it’s like CHRISTMAS.   I received my cookie swa...

Location   I based Jude’s locale loosely on a map of southeastern Arizona.   If you go straight west of Drake, and straight North from Bagdad, where the line intersects, that’s Jude.   Carr County and Drake County are fictitious.   As far as I know there are no counties by those names in Arizona.   I created highway 30 to run from highway 89 to Jude.   All the other highways mentioned are real, though I don&rsquo...