Welcome to the beauty of the last months of the year, the change of the trees, the chill in the air, the land going fallow (at least in this northern half of the planet). The first frost can worry and terrify those without shelter or those who need the bright warm sun. The falls calls …
October arrives! Welcome witches and all! I'm here for it, in spite of everything. But this post isn't really about Halloween. One of my goals as we in this hemisphere slide into winter is to create more space or rather to clear out more stuff that I do not need. Last year, I tried the …
I found this pin in a bowling alley parking lot when I was about ten. This was in my hometown in central Florida. It was covered in grit. I was walking from my grandmother's house to a nearby gift shop that had a wall of books. I may have had a few dollars to spend …
2020 feels like trying to build a house in a nonstop earthquake. Well, that sounds like the problem is Mother Nature. Perhaps it is more like trying to build a house while others run around with bulldozers, jackhammers, and wrecking balls. Or maybe it's like building a house in the dark with no idea what …
When I was a toddler, my mom spent time in a hospital in Tampa. It would have been in the summer of 1971 or 72, right around the time of The Baker Act. I don't know if that had anything to do with her time in the hospital. I know that she tried to harm …
My mother would be 76 years old today if she were around to experience such earthly things as birthdays. Now I for one don't believe in heaven or hell, but should these places exist, do the dead celebrate birthdays? I would think not. "I'm 202 years old now, 64 of those years on Earth." Would …
When my mom died 30 years ago today, she left behind many pieces of unfinished art. Though not enough. I wish there were more. Much of her art was in the hands of others, and I have only my memory of them. She made things before the days of Instagram and camera phones. When she …
When October arrives, it brings in magic. At least it does for me. I'm always a little sad when October departs (in no small part because my excuse to walk around in an outlandish dress must be packed away into the dark) though all is not lost. Christmas with its lights and ornaments is coming. …
I still have my little altars of objects and treasured things. We still have hundreds of books. No one is ever going to walk into this house and say, "Are you a minimalist?" I feel that's important to make clear before I again mention that most trendy of lifestyle phenomenon names Marie Kondo and confess …
It's that holiday again. Every holiday seems to come with issues, right? New Year's Day has its resolutions and people who mock resolutions. It makes Facebook hit us with the-year-in-review, which for some folks is more of a reminder-of-heartache-loss-and failure. Thanks, FB! Valentine's Day makes some lovers happy, makes some lovers guilty (gifts? argh!), and …
Marta Pelrine-Bacon 