Chiseled on a plain, pale gray tombstone in a country graveyard in Texas are the words “IN MY END IS MY BEGINNING.” The phrase lies below the outline of a simple cross, the name KATHERINE ANNE PORTER, and the dates May 15, 1890, and September 1980. This granite marker stands beside a darker but smaller … Continue reading Literary Texas: Katherine Anne Porter, Part 2
Literary Texas: KATHERINE ANNE PORTER
For a woman whose famed writing career took her to live in such places as Chicago, New York, Denver, Mexico, and much of Europe, and who rubbed elbows with the likes of Ezra Pound, Hart Crane, Frida Kahlo, Eudora Welty, Carson McCullers, and Robert Penn Warren, it is a shock to find Katherine Anne Porter’s … Continue reading Literary Texas: KATHERINE ANNE PORTER
New Year’s Eve
The Passing of the Year by Robert W. Service My glass is filled, my pipe is lit, My den is all a cosy glow; And snug before the fire I sit, And wait to feel the old year go. I dedicate to solemn thought Amid my too-unthinking days, This sober moment, sadly fraught With much … Continue reading New Year’s Eve
Children and Literature
"Why, sometimes I've believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast." Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland Christmas Day is over for another year. So, now is the time when I like to imagine houses, where children of all ages live, filled to the rafters with new, dazzling books sporting velveteen rabbits, talking trains, courageous … Continue reading Children and Literature
Welcoming Winter
This week, Christmas week, is supposed to be a cold one. So—winter is here. I am one of those hot-natured people who look forward to winter, when I don’t have to drive in ice or work outside for long periods. I adore the coziness of soups simmering on the stove, bread and cookies baking in … Continue reading Welcoming Winter
The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Many of us of a certain age become nostalgic this time of year. For me, “the most wonderful time of year” is not a cliché we easily attach to the month of December. It is truth. Yes, sometimes memories swirling around in the chill winds at Christmastime can be as difficult as they are sweet, … Continue reading The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
The Christmas Season in Media
Last night I watched Eloise at Christmastime. I love Christmas movies. Actually, I’m fond of most Christmas media—short stories, books, and movies, in particular. Eloise at Christmastime was a movie I’d never seen, and I’ve seen most of the “old favorites” and a lot of others. Like many Christmas movies, it was a bit over … Continue reading The Christmas Season in Media
German Christmas Markets
Nuremberg Christkindlmarkt Thanksgiving is over—again. I’d rather not think about how many Thanksgiving Days I’ve been through, though each has been a blessing. Gratefulness is a gift we do not want to shun as it is the very joy of life. We delighted in family, food, and fun, as we realized family and friends are … Continue reading German Christmas Markets
Over the River for Thanksgiving
Being a Texas girl, I remember how surprised I was to learn (at a not so tender age) that the long-time favorite “Over the River and Through the Wood” was a Thanksgiving song and, to make matters worse, that snowy old sleigh in the song was originally going to Grandfather’s house. With lines such as … Continue reading Over the River for Thanksgiving
An Ever-Fixed Mark
William Shakespeare's birthplace and childhood home. Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. Life is change. There is no way around it. People come into our lives--and leave. We grow up and eventually grow old. Our families change. In the following sonnet, William Shakespeare addresses one of the most important aspects of our lives and relationships--that of love. What … Continue reading An Ever-Fixed Mark
Story Mill Ranch 