Hi I felt it so clearly a few days ago as I sat in the quiet of my studio between lessons; a heavy wet blanket settled over me from my head to my feet, leaving me feeling weighted down both physically and mentally. Depression. I know this feeling well and it always follows on the … More On Wet Blankets and Bright Spots
Don’t let this angelic face fool you- this too-good-to-be-true loving dawg is an addict. Her drug of choice? Shiva’s cat food (and she’s possibly an adrenaline junkie, too, as she is certainly challenging fate by taking said food from the said Demon Seed..I mean, that takes guts, right? We found Shiva’s bowl wiped out a … More Marley-Tails: Upon Which a Mystery is Solved
I am yet again mired in one of my frozen phases, causing my ever-growing level of anxiety to go through the roof. By ‘frozen’ I mean that I cannot seem to focus or accomplish tasks that are normally ridiculously easy for any normal person to do. I feel frozen in place mentally; sometimes just writing … More On Freezing in Fall
I took the kids in for nail trims this morning…but first, we had to find Shiva. I whistled for her (the one trick she has, she always comes to me when I whistle for her). We looked all over and then Dan exclaimed from our bedroom, “I hear her!” Sure enough, when I whistled again … More The Shiva Chronicles: A Trip to the Vet
As I’m sure it was for so many this year, Thanksgiving was a bit sad and a bit surreal. I wanted badly to have as normal a holiday as possible after months of living with the pandemic, even though it would just be Dan and I on the guest list. We planned and cooked a … More On Gratitude Between the Cracks
I don’t remember when I first started seeing him hanging around our home. I do remember that he was beautiful and sleek, a confident tuxedo cat, one of several feral cats in our neighborhood taken care of by our retired neighbor down the street. We named him Romeo, as he and Shiva would stare wistfully … More Romeo and Juli-Shiva
A friend from a creative group I belong to told me she has noticed that many typically positive people seem to be especially struggling these past weeks in particular. I can vouch for that; I feel like I’ve hit an emotional wall with all that has happened since March; being so ill for weeks with … More On Sinking and Swimming
I must admit that I am a bit of a control freak…I believe many musicians are because we sort of have to be to achieve success in our field. When things feel like they are spinning out of control such as during, oh, I don’t know- a global pandemic and my husband enduring an eight-day … More On Letting Life Unfold
I have often used writing to help myself sort through things, and this piece is no exception. After ending my last post with the happy postscript that Dan was safely home with me after a surprise appendectomy, our happy ending turned sour; hours after bringing him home he began to have severe abdominal pain, shortness … More On Circling the Wagons
‘Twas the night before Christmas, and all through the house, Shiva was racing and then she would pounce; On stomachs, on couches, on forbidden dining tables, On Marley, on headboards- even Nativity stables! Marley sighed deeply and ignored the cat’s flight, All snugged by the fire lit by Dan’s LED light. Me, I was fasting … More ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas Rebooted
The View from Here 