I have filled several boxes with comp books like this one. A convenient size for holding in my lap and storing compactly, I prefer them to any other format I've tried over the years. That they are inexpensive helps me to write freely rather than asking if each word is worth putting down. I have … Continue reading The Journal
Threshold
I am now eighty-eight years old; my husband is ninety-three. We have crossed the threshold into late old age. That threshold came late for us. Both of us were active and freely mobile until the fall of 2024. The change came suddenly when Bill slipped and fell in the bathroom. Fortunately, nothing was broken, but … Continue reading Threshold
The View from my Window
This photo was taken in February of last year. The rain had stopped, and a shaft of light was illuminating the landscape. It looked like a delicate watercolor painting, and I wanted to capture and preserve that moment. I have no regular camera, but there is a camera function on my Kindle Fire and I … Continue reading The View from my Window
Ordinary Life
Stockton, California (1945) Ever since I was a child, I have wanted to live an ordinary, private life, a life like the one I was living in my family’s house in Stockton, California. I had no desire to be a movie star or be famous. I liked my small world, not just my neighborhood, my … Continue reading Ordinary Life
A Room with a View
It is February. There is snow on the ground here in Bellingham. Good writing weather. So what do I want to write? Not another book, that's for sure. That part of my writing life is over. What I want now is to reflect on my life and on life in general. Short pieces, the kind … Continue reading A Room with a View
August 2024
August will always be Nina Renee's month for me. She was born August 9, 1956, in Tokyo, Japan; she died last August, here in Bellingham, Washington. This is the first anniversary of her death, and I want to mark it with two photos of her that I love and would like to preserve here. The … Continue reading August 2024
Books & Borscht
Last Thursday, July 25, my daughter Beni and I drove up to the Mennonite Heritage Museum in Abbotsford, British Columbia to spend the day with the good people up there. I was invited to be one of the presenters in their Books and Borscht series. It was a wonderful day. It's an easy trip up … Continue reading Books & Borscht
Joy
"If you suddenly and unexpectedly feel joy, don't hesitate. Give into it. .... Joy is not made to be a crumb." Mary Oliver, "Don't Hesitate", The Swan (2010) Nina Renee & Benith Richardson in front of my parents' house in Phoenix, January 1962. I love this photo of Beni and Renee. It captures them as … Continue reading Joy
Agnes Young Willems (1921 – 1986)
The photo below, of my mother and my two daughters, was taken in August 1969. Nina Renee turned thirteen that month; Beni turned eleven the previous March. Mom turned forty-eight in May of that year—yes, she was barely thirty-five when she became a grandmother! Nina Renee Richardson, my mother, Benith Richardson, August 1969 Phoenix, Arizona … Continue reading Agnes Young Willems (1921 – 1986)
Book 3 is now available on Amazon
The third book of my family heritage trilogy, A Sense of Presiding Goodness, is now available on Amazon. There is a link at the bottom of this post that will take you to the Amazon site where you can order the book if you so desire. It also lets you see inside the book and … Continue reading Book 3 is now available on Amazon
Heritage 