Writing Fiction 101, 201, 301…

Writing Fiction 101, 201, 301…

This coming Tuesday I’m leading a workshop for “gifted” writing students in WI. I’ve done this before, in the Rohr Forest among other gorgeous places and it is a joy to work with students who are motivated learners and writers. The problem with these sessions is that...
In Memoriam – Dr. Coleen Grissom

In Memoriam – Dr. Coleen Grissom

I recently returned to San Antonio, Texas to attend the memorial service of Dr. Coleen Grissom. She was a legend at Trinity University in her capacities as English professor and university administrator. I took every English class that she offered in my four years at...
Mass Public Shootings Empathy Video

Mass Public Shootings Empathy Video

As a writing and literature teacher, herding my students into the corner of their classroom for unannounced lock-down drills, I could feel their fear. Could this happen here? We live in a small community, could this happen here? We all wonder. We know the inevitable...
New Year ’24 Goal – Blown on Day 2

New Year ’24 Goal – Blown on Day 2

I like goals. I like them even more now that I’m basically grown-up and it feels like there are more things pulling on your time every year. I write the goals in my journal at the beginning of the year and then revisit them at the end. Our family gathers around the...
Art Keeps Us Alive

Art Keeps Us Alive

In my morning email I received an invite from the Little Traveler shoppe in Geneva, IL to come on out for this weekend’s Christmas Walk. This is one of my favorite holiday events because it takes place in the town where I grew up, you can buy chestnuts roasting on an...
Of Babies, Boxwood and Bamboo

Of Babies, Boxwood and Bamboo

Three weeks ago our first grandchild surprised us by coming into the world a month early, welcome Asher Scott! Countless friends have told us, “Being a grandparent is the most treasured time in life.” So many in fact, that we began to doubt this itty bitty...
Our Own Expiration Date

Our Own Expiration Date

I think there are two kinds of people, those who watch expiration dates and throw out the ketchup and mustard as soon as the date arrives and those who don’t look at expiration dates or think about them. My dad died on January 24th, 2023 and he did not look at...
Grandma’s Painting is Finished!

Grandma’s Painting is Finished!

Like Emma Toft before her, my Grandma Lehwald was one of Door County, Wisconsin’s early women entrepreneurs. In the 1960’s she told her husband she wanted to open a “hot dog stand” as a small hobby. We all know how “small hobbies” go. Today, almost...