Little scraps of paper hold me together. Each piece soaked in a homemade solution of effort mixed with anxiety and then layered one strip at a time over the clutter, chaos, and disarray; Clair salmagundi. These pieces of paper are lists. Ordinary registers of tasks or goals scrawled on every kind of paper that followed me through the stages of my life; from Holly Hobby notebooks to my standard yellow notepad. . If I were to crawl inside each memory and poke around a little, I would find at least …

People tell me the strangest things. My husband is frequently amazed by the stories I recount from random people I cross paths with throughout my day; everyone from crossing guards to grocery clerks tell me stories that should be saved up for professional counseling or maybe even the cops. For most of my life I assumed I had a sort of weirdness magnet and in a way I do, but mostly what I do is listen and ask. Every person has a crazy story and even boring people have an …

I almost forgot my March  10 on 10.  It was my sweetheart’s birthday and the kids and I had lots of fun things planned. Glad Alysha reminded me!
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The explanation: I learned about 10 on 10 from Alysha Gray  (in January via Twitter – view my January 10 on 10) and believe it was started by Rebekah.  As Rebekah says “take a photo once an hour for ten consecutive hours on the tenth of each month. document a snapshot of your life and find beauty among the ordinary things of your day.”
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Happy Birthday, MWD!

My advice for anyone with a camera . . .
Eliminate the background noise
 
You can solve the problem of photography background noise in two easy steps:
#1 – Pay Attention To Detail.
#2 – Move Yourself.
I’m a voyeur. Looking at pictures is one of my favorite things to do and I don’t even have to know the people in them. Sometimes I spend hours hopping from site to site looking at photos that catch my eye. Most of the photos I’m intrigued by are ordinary snapshots from everyday life. But, I also have …

The world is being converted to ones and zeros. There hasn’t been a day in years that I went without touching a computer and for the most part I can roll with it, but it dawned on me the other night while watching my husband by the fireplace reading a book on his iPhone; some things don’t translate.
In this instant gratification world everything is digital or heading that direction. I don’t have to go rent a movie – I can download it. Instead of waiting until I have time to …

I have always loved dogs. When MWD and I were dating, I told him I would always have a dog; he took it like a man. There are benefits to having a dog that go beyond security and companionship. It’s hard to explain, but I love dogs. However, I don’t have a dog, I have a puppy and that’s a whole ‘nother show.
When my sweet Sadie died after sticking by me for twelve years, I told MWD we could have a dog break. We would wait until there were no …

I am a zelig. Some days it’s hard to tell which pieces of me are mine. It used to be kind of an embarrassing habit, but now that I have accepted my chameleon tendencies, I realize that it is less copycat and more adaptation.
I was living in Scotland during my parent’s divorce the first time I became aware of my superpower. Mom moved, with my brother and I, to her parent’s Glasgow flat taking the concept of running home to the extreme and putting at least four thousand miles between us …

Today I discovered that writing about yourself is challenging.  Actually it’s hard. And to quote the great philosopher Homer (Simpson, of course): “If something is too hard to do, then it’s not worth doing. (You just stick that guitar in the closet next to your shortwave radio, your karate outfit and your unicycle and we’ll go inside and watch TV.)” And with that, I’m done. Not gonna do it. Nope. Maybe MWD will do it for me (please, Honey?).
While I’m trying to take my crack at writing, I have decided …

I searched the world (wide web) for some kind of barrette garage, but apparently the general population only buys/makes these for 5 years old girls who like pink. So – when you can’t find something, make your own. I can be crafty when it is a matter of necessity!
To copy me: Find some kind of framed art to your liking (that won’t make your husband whine too much), matching ribbon & mitten clips (like these). Cut the ribbon to a length that will wrap around to the back and clip …

I should be working on my current short story, but I want to share with you the journey of my soufflé.
Soufflé is gross. At least that is what I thought most of my life. It always looks and smells way better than it tastes and seems like a grown up food (which is bad, right?). In addition, I have a niece that was traumatized once by quiche (which to me is a better version of a soufflé) furthering my feelings. We cannot see that sweet girl without her asking me …