Window Over The Sink

By Kristina Knight It’s been an odd couple of years. Maybe four. Mostly likely right at three-and-a-half. Years where I couldn’t find the words. Literally. Story ideas? Plenty of ‘em. Characters? All over the place. Twists and turns? Everywhere. But when I would sit down at my desk to write, nothing.  I thought I was done. That the stories in my head were just destined to just live in my head.  It was frustrating. Demoralizing. I felt like a failure. To some extent, I’d alway

by Roseann McGrath Brooks One of my husband’s favorite Christmas carols is the somewhat obscure “ ’Twas in the Moon of Wintertime .” Those readers unfamiliar with the hymn, also called the “Huron Carol,” may be surprised to see verses about mighty Gitchi Manitou and hunter braves. Such words remind me in these disheartening times of division and animosity that the Christmas story is meant for everyone.  The hymn was written in 1642 by Jean de Brébeuf, a Jesuit missionary amon

by Maggie Blackbird I asked my father what it was like to spend Christmas at St. Charles Garnier Indian Residential High School for Boys, which he attended in Spanish, Northeastern Ontario in the mid-fifties as a young teenager.  Being so far from home, he had to stay during the holidays since my grandparents couldn’t afford to bring him back to the reserve located a good 1,200 kilometres away in Northwestern Ontario. He mentioned the priests and staff did their best to make

by Meryl Brown Tobin Holidays are important for anyone. They get you away from everyday concerns and allow you to disconnect, unwind, relax and refresh. Unplugging and focusing on what you want to do––travelling, beachcombing, bushwalking or whatever––is good for your mental health, stops you feeling overwhelmed, improves sleep, as does increased physical activity. According to research, spending time in natural environments, as I do, is especially good for your brain.  As a

by Donna Cronk I’m not talking about a holiday table where everyone talks at once, anticipating the turkey and dressing. The family members filling my dining room table of late came from afar: from not only the previous century but the one before that.  They were around when horses and buggies were the only local public transportation. They butchered their own meat, raised their own chickens, and the ladies wore long-sleeved floor-length dresses daily as they canned food and

by Lori Matsourani December is here, ringing in the holiday season and, for me, the busiest time of year! Putting up decorations, scouting out gift ideas, planning holiday get-togethers, pulling out everyone’s favorite recipes, scouring Kroger and H-E-B for the ingredients I need for all the requested holiday dishes, and then baking a cornucopia of holiday treats. As I rifled through my holiday files (that makes me sound extremely organized; but don’t be fooled, I’m really no

by M.J. Schiller Thanksgiving is barely in our rearview mirror. In fact, some of us may still be full from our turkey dinner. But, let’s face it, the stores have been pushing Christmas since shortly after the 4 th  of July. Okay, that might be a slight exaggeration, but...  What makes your house Christmassy? Is it the smell of cookies baking wafting from the kitchen and swirling about the fragrance of pine needles in the living room? Is it the sight of that snowman that your

by Joe DeRozier Joe DeRozier It is Thanksgiving week! Life can be hard at times, and it can be difficult to not focus solely on our troubles. This week is a good time to see the good that is shining through... Steve was the Chef du jour at his restaurant when he saw Kathy and me at a table under the painting of Frank Sinatra. "Joe! I'm glad you're here. I have something for you." ... My "bad day" had started a full four hours before the clock struck midnight the previous nigh

by Charley Sutton Thanksgiving has come and gone, and Christmas is coming soon. The food left over from Thanksgiving dinner will get us through the weekend, but there seems to be nothing good to eat between Thanksgiving and Christmas after the leftovers are gone. Why? They sell turkeys all year round, but Thanksgiving and Christmas seem to be the only time we eat them. Dressing goes with the turkey, but I’d eat it at least once a month. The mashed potatoes are a dinner time s

Quite honestly, I'm not sure when I wrote this, so if you've read it too recently to like reading it again, my apologies. The greatest gifts...the greatest reasons for Thanksgiving...are the people in our lives, and I'm so grateful for Aunt Nellie. She gave more richness to my life than I can ever explain. I'm posting today because tomorrow will start the annual Window Holidays Project, when I'll have a guest blogger every day I could get one between now and New Year's. I hop

Okay, this is where I admit I just wrote almost a whole blog about being popular. Or not. Had I been writing on paper, it wouldn't have been worth the surface I wrote it on, so instead I just copied and cut and voila, it was gone. It was several paragraphs of self-serving crap no one should have been subjected to. You're welcome. However, now I don't have anything to say. Facebook has been busy for me this week, due to my inability to keep my posting mouth shut and due to pol

Look for the helpers. - Fred Rogers It's November, so I'm all about gratitude and holidays and food (don't those go together great?) So on Wednesday, someone on Facebook asked if any of her friends were involved with "the cheese ball sorority." That would be Psi Iota Xi sorority. I didn't know much, although I'd bought a few cheese balls and eaten parts of several more. By yesterday I had learned that they make a lot of cheese balls. A lot. I don't have exact numbers. I don't

I wrote this in August of 1991, when my years on bleachers were winding down, and it's probably been my most repeated essay ever--especially since I drag it out from "under the bed" every few years about this time. It's a little dated, I guess, because it's been a long time, but I still think there's very little that's better than watching your kids be engaged, whether it's in sports, drama, debate, or anything else. There are things I'm sorry for from my active parenting day

There’s beauty in not being the loudest voice in the room. - Elizabeth Warden I knew that. Really, I did, but sometimes I forget it. Because I have firm convictions and firm views on politics and I might be a little too convinced that everyone wants to know my opinion on things. Reading this quote in a very wonderful essay about age just made me think about it and try to decide what to do about it. What we should do about it. Truthfully, I don't think I usually AM the loudest

I will begin this with Nan's post on our last day ... and a half ... and end it with being back home. Thanks to those who've journeyed with us this week.

After our obligatory hair appointment today, sporting curls on Nan and my usual flat-iron look on me, we went to lunch at Vinny Vanucchi's in downtown Galena. We had excellent service and excellent food and opted not to have one of the most decadent looking desserts I've ever forced myself to turn down. Only minutes later, we were in a candy shop and never mind what we were doing there. What happens in Galena stays in Galena. Then we went on the history part of the day, enjo

Well, kids, I’m tired, I’m brain dead after a day of writing and I’ve had too much wine (I blame Liz for that, although I poured it myself, but she could’ve stopped me.)  That’s me in my “writing sweater”–a very tattered sweater that once belonged to my sister Kate, who left us way too soon. I wear to write because it’s magic–words come when I have it on. I think they come in through the holes… I could be wrong about that, but I don’t think I am. It was a day of all writing a

Day 2 from beautiful Galena, Illinois. We slept pretty well last night, considering we weren't in our own beds. We do have those fireplaces in our rooms, which have a lovely mesmerizing affect. At least until the timer goes off and the fire goes out. We were up pretty early this morning, ramping up our word counts and talking about what we would do this afternoon and what we needed to do with our works-in-progress. Oh, and we ate some stuff. And drank some stuff. And talked s

We arrived! We drove...and drove...and drove, but we got here safely and are loving our place! I knew that sister PJ vacationed with aplomb, but who knew Lizzie and I would enjoy such luxury? First though, the trip. I asked Gigi (my GPS) to avoid toll roads and interstates, and boy, did she! Part of our trip was on long country roads, past cornfields and farms and pastures with cows and horses. Delightful scenery! Interestingly, the route she took us on had so few towns, larg

"October air is sweet and cold and clear; it cleans the mind and lifts the spirit." - Faith Baldwn I'm looking for that, what Faith Baldwin promises in that quote. I like my mind as it is, because it's open and welcoming and confident in what it learns, but my spirit is suffering. It flinches a lot these days. I'm grateful this week, for the late-night drone of combines and the people who drive them. I like the wide-openness of the fields being empty, of being able to look bo