A Little Aloha “Up North”
You can take the girl out of Hawaii.... We live in Oshkosh, WI now. We've gotten into native plants and creating rain and butterfly gardens and killing as much nasty grass as possible. Yesterday we took a field trip up to Rhinelander which is considered up north. It was our first time up there and it was way hotter than anticipated. We went to a native nursery for a tour which was great. I happened to mention we were from 2.5 hours away but that when we moved from Hawaii we knew zero about WI or gardening. So after the tour a TV reporter asked to interview me for the local new segment about this week. It's National Pollinator's Week so this was a big deal I guess. We had a fun chat, she got photos of my dog, of course, and that was that. As I was in the [...]
Why Articles Can Reach More People Than Books
My third book was published by Harold Shaw Publishers which immediately got purchased by Random House. I pitched them at a conference and sold that manuscript all by myself. That book caught the attention of an agent who sold a series of four books a few years later. I wish I could tell you that I became rich and famous, but I’d be lying. When Gary and I got married in Atlanta my editor said that Random House would be paying for our first meal. I have to admit to feeling like a best-selling author when we walked into the intimate and expensive antebellum mansion and the maître de said in a hushed ton reserved for expensive restaurants and funeral homes, “Follow me. Random House will be paying for your meal this evening. It was a lovely meal, but the book never paid out its advance because I [...]
Wanna Get Away Day
Today is Wanna Get Away Day. You have no idea how much I want to go on a real vacation not in the state of Wisconsin. Today is the anniversary of the car wreck that changed every single part of my life. The wreck that eventually landed us in Wisconsin where my son lives. This is the last photo I took that day We were at the beach enjoying a day off and reading and walking and loving the sun and the astounding beauty. It was a little after 5:00 pm and Gary was going to drop me at a house for book club. I was the passenger and so I grabbed my phone to look up the address. We were at a stop sign on Kalanianaole Highway near Temple Valley. Gary later said that he saw the SUV in the rear view mirror and relaxed his body like he [...]
Tulips Make Me Happy
April showers bring May flowers. They also bring weeds. So many weeds. But today I choose to focus on my tulips. When we moved here six years ago the area next to the porch had [...]