Category: love

  • Sunday Evening

    Sunday Evening

    I went for a walk this evening. The weather had been stormy earlier in the day, but by the time I wanted to stretch my legs, it was sunny, with just a light breeze.  I walked along quiet small-town streets, past inquisitive dogs, was surprised by the sweet scent of a blooming lilac – something…

  • Pottery and Willow

    Pottery and Willow

    Nine years. Happy Anniversary, my beloved First Reader. You had no idea what you were getting, did you? At the end of a long drive, when we walked over the threshold of a little house in OH, I was only beginning to upend your life in so many ways.  It’s been a good time. Let’s…

  • Lonely Birdhouse in My Soul

    Lonely Birdhouse in My Soul

    Now that song is going to be stuck in my head all day. I took a photo this spring, in one of the conservancy prairies around Dayton OH, and looking at the final edits got me thinking. Not about the song. No, I was thinking about loneliness, and friendship, and the connections every human needs…

  • Pull Up Your Socks and Get to Work

    Pull Up Your Socks and Get to Work

    I’m a big fan of wool socks. I’m not sure when my love affair with thick, warm, wicking socks began, but probably some time in my teens when I realized that although cotton socks with colorful creatures on them are cute, there’s nothing like wool socks for keeping your feet warm and dry in the…

  • Woodsmoke and Violets

    Woodsmoke and Violets

    There was a meme going ‘round on social media recently I shared, because I liked it. It described a person’s traits in evocative words and terms, asking ‘what fits you best?’ with header words like woodsmoke, ink, saltwater, and such-like. My First Reader looked at it and pointed out that most of the sections were…

  • Musing on Gifts

    Musing on Gifts

    I’ve been getting ready for a flying visit from friends, and as I was preparing the house for eyes other than family, and baking because my love language is ‘have you eaten? Here, have a cookie.’ I was also thinking about gifts, and their impact on our lives. It’s not easy to give meaningful gifts…

  • Love is… Marriage

    Love is… Marriage

    Sometimes it’s the little things, the quiet moments. The sigh of contentment after a long day when you finally have nothing to do but sit. The look on his face when I come in the door after work. The noise he makes when I scratch his back without being asked. The time we get to…

  • Labor of Love

    Labor of Love

    Two years ago today the First Reader and I stood together under a shade tree and pledged our vows to one another. The day after, we had a rowdy unorthodox celebration in the gardens before a convention, leaping a sword to signify broken ties to all others but one another, our hands linked as we…

  • Curmudgeon’s Corner: The Ring

    Curmudgeon’s Corner: The Ring

    Written by Sanford Begley Rings have a long history of significance in human culture. Whether as signs of wealth or insignia, or tokens of magic and love. They are so significant in northern European culture that one of the old names for a chieftain is Ring-Breaker. That is one who breaks a ring off his…

  • Curmudgeon’s Corner: Breakup Counseling

    Curmudgeon’s Corner: Breakup Counseling

    Written by Sanford Begley Breakup counseling, should it be a thing? A young couple I know is going through a breakup. Not quite a divorce because they never married and were only together for a few years, but a hell of a lot more than the typical date for a few weeks or months and…

  • Romance isn’t Homogeneous

    Romance isn’t Homogeneous

    This could have been simply a blog about my life and love, but I was thinking about it. The First Reader and I sometimes get gently twitted by friends about the ‘romance’ we have. Why not be different? Romance isn’t always about flowers, chocolate, and expensive jewelry. Romance is about finding the thing that lights…

  • Mother’s Day

    Mother’s Day

    It’s the day we celebrate motherhood. I am a mother myself, and I find that today I am remembering those first months of motherhood, before the birth, when I was trying my best to prepare as much as possible for what was coming. I couldn’t possibly prepare myself, but I tried, reading books, talking to…