Write with TLC

  Read an Ebook Week has arrived! All my ebooks on Smashwords are on sale from March 2, 2025-March 8, 2025. Check out most of my titles for 50% off.  My short story, Alone, is free during this Read an Ebook Week. Check out most of my books on Smashwords  or my latest book and short story at Smashwords . (Smashwords and Draft2Digital are merging resulting in me temporarily having 2 pages.) Or individually by clicking on each book below. While you’re there, check out the many other authors participating in the Smashwords Read an Ebook Week promotion! Thank you to everyone who has supported me over the years since I started publishing my books beginning all the way back with All She Ever Wanted in 2001! I am grateful for every reader! I will continue to write about the things that make life worth living, the lessons I learn, and the challenges we face in the world. I have a new book of poetry, Earth in Silhouette, coming soon! Disclosure: This blog contains affiliate links ...

Kit, Little Loves Forevermore  (for Kit ) Your sweetness and light Shined through every day Whether you were setting Or enforcing Your boundaries Snuggling Baby Or your humans Protecting your kitty siblings From doggies walking past Or your human Mama  F rom a garter snake in the yard Telling the vet who was boss At every single visit          Just in case he forgot Chirping at the birds in the yard           Or on the television screen Chasing the sunny spots in the house Or sitting in front of the blazing fireplace You were always So very regal in play or rest From the very first moment You chose our home as yours And us as your family You brought sweetness and light To our lives Making you  Then and forevermore Mama’s Little Loves Disclosure: This blog contains affiliate links meaning if you click on those links and make a purchase, I earn a commission at no additional cost to you. To learn more about me a...

Kit died on January 16, 2024 at   West Hills Animal Hospital   with her humans by her side. Kit's birth place and date remain a mystery.  She found her furever family in December 2008 when she came to live in our home. The vet estimated her be to between 2 and 3 years old at the time, so our best guess is she was born some time in 2006. Read Kit's origin story here. Kit always brought much personality to any space she inhabited.  She was fiercely independent and just as fiercely affectionate when she chose to be. She gave strong lessons in boundaries! As in respect hers! As in it became a common refrain to remind myself and others "Not without her permission." But, a little conversation usually resulted in cooperation. She generally got bored with toys quite quickly, but she loved her Baby (a stuffed mouse with coloring similar to hers) and Ballie (a soft brown ball). She carried them around the house and cuddled with them often ignoring all the other toys. She would...

We all experience grief. It is universal and unique all at once. Grief is devastating and grief is a gift. My forthcoming book of poetry, The Gift of Grief , (ebook available for preorder ) explores my journey through various bouts of grief. It took me a long time to embrace grief rather than fight it or ignore it or work to process it seeking an end date. Grief works on its own time. Embracing it brought me to a place where I could see the gift it brought to my life. I discovered that grief is something we learn to live with not something we process as a one-and-done. I really wanted to check off items to show progress like it was some kind of task list.  At times I felt like the waves of grief just couldn't end because as soon as I started feeling settled, I lost someone else, I sometimes felt like the grief was just too much. I began to realize this was probably true for many other people as well. Between 2020-2024, I grieved the deaths of several friends, myriad extended family...

As someone who has long refused to register with either of the major political parties in the United States as a statement on the issues I have with both parties, I've struggled with how to embrace Uncommitted Oregon . While my values tend to trend liberal, even progressive, I often find the Democratic Party falls short due to the influence of lobbyists, PACs, and corporate influence in general. And the Republican Party's values tend to be completely out of line with mine, or frankly my world view in general. When Uncommitted Oregon started getting off the ground, and I saw the behind-the-scenes work going on, I was both intrigued and conflicted.   In Oregon, I have to be registered with a major political party to vote in that party's primary. I fully support Uncommitted Oregon's message that an immediate and permanent ceasefire throughout Palestine must happen now - well, yesterday or many yesterdays ago, that humanitarian aid must be allowed into Gaza via land crossi...

Story of Todd (for Todd ) Todd May 14, 2009-February 2, 2024 Sleeping quietly All the others scampering Can’t take my eyes off Your little white and gray body Snuggled up against the edge I wait for you to wake up Keep glancing back Finally, I can’t wait any longer I pick you up Your brilliant blue eyes Capture my heart In less than a beat You yawn Not scared Not too excited Not agitated Settle in Home Bringing you home You bounce through the house With such enthusiasm Snuggles and pets Kneads and kisses Purring so much and so loud Always so happy Yet so very sensitive To noise To upheaval To chaos You loved hard You played hard You lived hard Always looking for a new challenge Entertaining yourself and us You were life personified Tenacious to the very end Loving to the very end Filling our hearts day after day Beyond the very end Disclosure: This blog contains affiliate links meaning if you click on tho...

Todd (aka Toddy) died on February 2, 2024 at West Hills Animal Hospital with his humans by his side. He was born in California on May 14, 2009 and brought to Oregon by Safehaven Humane Society shortly thereafter and given the name Powder. He chose us as his family in July 2009 when we met him at Safehaven. From day one, Todd was a loving, sweet, gentle cat who wanted everyone - human and cat alike - he loved to be happy and peaceful. He loved both his humans and both his kitty sisters.  He purred so frequently and so loudly that on his first visit to the vet, Dr. Glaze proclaimed "He's purring so loud I can't hear his heartbeat."  He became easily bored with toys but always loved a new one. He loved to run through tunnels and chase dangling things. He would challenge himself by climbing up the six-foot cat tree using only his front legs. Boxes full of packing paper always made him happy. He didn't care for the outdoors though he did give it a try a few times. He...