personal takes on life, the universe, and everything
Originally published March 2018 The term “Big Five” is tossed around by camera-safari tourists, but the phrase has more sinister origins. Big game hunters named these animals, as they were the most dangerous to hunt and the most difficult to kill. Lions are unwilling members of the Big Five, as are both black and white …
Share the summer solstice sunset at our new home! Lucky Friday 13th to you all! A lot of Life is going on, good and notso, but Thor and I prevail and tell our stories. This week I fell behind, so here’s a sunset from the Salish Seashore of the house we had built. More stories …
The first time I had a pickled egg, it was in my very first Greek salad, which I bought at something probably called Greek Market, quite close to Yale’s Old Campus. In addition to my first pickled egg, this salad contained my first feta cheese and my first anchovy. I swooned for hours. Whatever your …
Thor and I diligently pursue our physical and spiritual therapy in the clear, nurturing Mediterranean off Southern Crete. NOTE: Of course, Thor and I had to make another trip to Greece, as he’s fallen as much in love with the islands as I am. This time, in addition to other island-hopping, I wanted to return …
A Rambling Writer Rerun: Crete, part 7: Back to the Sea Read More »
Originally published September 2019 I personally feel that a person’s personality is ruled by their date of birth. Dynamics are in play that we never notice. Odd behaviors by one’s family are suddenly explained. Suggest that a baby is born on her sister’s third birthday. This illustrates astonishing accuracy on the part of her parents, …
Humans are both hyper-cooperative and hyper-competitive. Often, at the same time. (Picture from here.) There’s a continuing discussion of human intelligence that goes something like this. Well, that is a quality that no other animal has. Therefore, humans are special. Oh, wait a minute. Other animals have something of that quality, so what we have …
Old Dogs Do Learn New Tricks I am sixty-eight years old. That means I’m at the point where age alone is enough to affect my karate performance. It doesn’t bother me as much as you might assume it does. My local club is composed almost entirely of members who began their life journeys even earlier …
Join me in another flashback to my early backpacking trip across Crete, when I camped in the Minoan ruins of Falassarna and heard whispers from the past. NOTE: Of course, Thor and I had to make another trip to Greece, as he’s fallen as much in love with the islands as I am. This time, …
A Rambling Writer Rerun: Crete, part 6: Falassarna Whispers Read More »
A friend recently and relatively artlessly started talking to me about this OTHER firend that she has – he’s in his early seventies, he’s “also” widowed (twice, as it turns out, with wife #1 dying tragically and young in a freak accident and wife #2 whom he married less than three years after that …
I’m a two-margarita girl. When I lunch with my pals, I can pour them down between layers of food and I’m fine. Never met a margarita that intimidated me. This was before I met mezcal. This recipe is adapted from something I had in a Mexican restaurant that kicked me straight in the frontal lobes. …
The journey and accommodation were a lot different from my previous trip to southern Crete 37 years ago. But the magic of swimming the purple-blue sea remains the same! NOTE: Of course, Thor and I had to make another trip to Greece, as he’s fallen as much in love with the islands as I am. …
A Rambling Writer Rerun: Return to Crete, Part 5: Plakias Pleasures Read More »
Phyllis’ blog originally published November 2011. Bringing this back because costumes! And because whatever happened to American Steampunk!? [For an update, check out Neverwas magazine’s opinion on that. Steampunk is alive and well–just not here.] The weekend of July 22-24, 2011 Portland, Oregon’s first convention dedicated solely to Steampunk. Since I sold my first SF/F trilogy …
Another flashback to my hippie backpacking days on Crete, camping and exploring the rugged south coast. NOTE: Of course, Thor and I had to make another trip to Greece, as he’s fallen as much in love with the islands as I am. This time, in addition to other island-hopping, I wanted to return to Crete …
A Rambling Writer Rerun: Return to Crete, Part 4: South Coast Memories Read More »
