4 days ago2 minShipping NewsI love to ship things. That's likely the nerdiest thing you've ever heard, but let me clarify: I love to ship things that people have...
May 124 minThe House is a Parking LotMy Granny Pearl thought her husband, my Papa, gave too much money to the church. This was an ongoing conflict between the two of them,...
Apr 143 minThe Book Backstory, Part 2Every book has a story. The idea for Move the Needle came soon after we started Storia Editing and Publishing. My collaborators and I are...
Apr 22 minMartha's Journey (Or, Why You Should Buy My Book)When she was 12 years-old, Martha was forced to leave her biological family in the Volta Region of Ghana and move halfway across the...
Mar 204 minThe Book Backstory, Part 1On my 32nd wedding anniversary, I had a breakdown. It had nothing to do with my husband, my marriage, or my failure to get him a gift or...
Feb 244 minMove the NeedleWhen I was a little girl, I wrote stories on rough sheets of unlined construction paper my mother bought at Gibson’s Five and Dime store....
Jul 28, 20213 minGoodbye, GraceI guess everyone thinks their dog is the best. We told her this a hundred times in the week before we said goodbye, and we meant it....
May 8, 20215 minMy Mother in Blurry ShadowsThere is an app called Blur Photo that allows you to safely post a photo that will, no surprise, blur faces. This Mother’s Day, I...
Feb 14, 20215 minOne Year of Love Letters“I think these are love letters,” my daughter said as she sat cross-legged on the floor of a storage unit that held the last of my...
Sep 23, 20205 minQuarantine Goal: Ace the Citizenship ExamA few weeks ago we were having a pleasant family dinner on the front porch and when the conversation lagged a bit, my husband thought it...
Aug 24, 20205 minQuarantine Survive and Thrive: JournalingMarch 10 was the last semi-normal day I remember. After an eye doctor appointment, I went back to work then stopped by the store on the...
Jul 12, 20204 minA Pandemic Lesson from GraceMy dog is terrified of storms. They are debilitating for her. Her legs shake, she can’t eat, she can’t sit or lay down and she pants as...
Apr 20, 20202 minHere for the Imperfect DaysMy mother died 12 years ago today. I’ve been thinking about her more than usual, which means instead of five times a day, it’s ten times....
Oct 31, 20195 minAbout That Costume (and Trick or Treating)The only photos I have of my childhood Halloween are the two years I was dressed as a clown. My mother was an excellent seamstress, but...
Dec 30, 20185 minBaking Like 1973I’m a little edgy the week between Christmas and the New Year, trying hard to “take time off” but also feeling a looming sense that I...
Sep 18, 20184 minWhat Came Across My News Feed in Sewing ClassYesterday we welcomed 13 new students for the fall session of our Refugee and Immigrant Sewing Enterprise. They came ready to sew, but...
Jun 20, 20186 minAnd Now, the Rest of the StoryBefore we moved into our house last year, we constructed a long list of things we needed to purge and cable television was one of them....
May 24, 20183 minGenerous People and Amazon ShoppingA while back, before I lived in the non-profit world and realized how truly generous most people are, I decided to ditch the corporate...
Apr 14, 20185 minDo the Right Thing: Some Thoughts on the WalkoutOur middle child, Erin, started kindergarten at a large public school in a suburb of Tulsa. On her first day at Jenks East Elementary, I...
Apr 2, 20184 minLenten Deep DiveMy proclamation a few weeks before Lent began – that I was giving up grumbling for the six weeks – was probably a relief for the people...