kanasmith13

[kanasmith13]

A Leap

We just signed the closing paperwork on the shape of our future: We bought a sailboat. Not a dink-around-the-shallows “plastic” white toy boat for weekends. (Not me!—Oh boy, I always leap into the deep end.) No, we bought a 42-foot blue-water cruiser to LIVE in. (A few years down the road, that is—but I do mean ‘few’.) Here she is! A Swanson 42 offshore cutter, built in Australia We want to GO…

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"When God is Your Travel Agent": Another Installment

“When God is Your Travel Agent”: Another Installment

Last time I wrote about God playing Travel Agent in my life, it was about a different October, and the blessings that arose from my stay in a psych ward. (Halloween-themed craft projects? I’m now an expert!) This time God played a more literal Travel-Agent role… and naturally I have a Story to tell. To set the stage, let me tell you what I think about myself as a Travel Agent: I’M AWESOME! I…

[kanasmith13]

a visit to the “little apple”: Manzanita, OR

a visit to the “little apple”: Manzanita, OR

[kanasmith13]

One Decoder Ring, No Cereal Required...

One Decoder Ring, No Cereal Required…

My late husband used to say: “Don’t ask a question unless you actually want to hear the answer.” Instead, this morning, I popped the top on a Can of Worms without a second thought. See, I’ve been writing. And yesterday when I checked out some Dictionary apps, a ‘Dream Dictionary‘ showed up in the search. I touched ‘GET‘ purely for kicks, a few laughs… like reading a horoscope. ZERO percent of me…

[kanasmith13]

Ready, Set... Oooh! More Research!

Ready, Set… Oooh! More Research!

My mom, who lives a couple miles from my son’s college dorm, reported this morning that he came over for dinner and laundry last night, but left after only one NCIS episode because he “had some writing he wanted to do.” I’m grinning just writing that. (Christian hasn’t spoken to me in five years, but [sorry, Kid!] he continues to be very ME.) She noted that he does a lot of research for his…

[kanasmith13]

The 2020 Letter to Santa

The 2020 Letter to Santa

Dear Santa, For four decades I’ve been submitting an annual catalog of book-titles for your consideration. (And okay—some other, less-noble-sounding stuff as well. Thank you, by the way, for that Pink & Pretty Barbie in 1981: a fantastic exhibition on your part of compassionate acquiescence in the face of a petitioner’s truly horrendous personal taste.) As the bookshelves will attest, you have…

[kanasmith13]

Between the Covers

Hey, take your mind out of the gutter!

BOOK covers. I’m between the BOOK-covers of one of the hilarious social commentaries novels penned by Charles Dickens—and this particular copy of this particular book has me thinking…

I really do love the heft and the presence of a real paper book. BUT. Because I don’t have the shelf-space for a thousand books; and because a thousand books are porta…

[kanasmith13]

You Might be a Cat Lady if...

You Might be a Cat Lady if…

If you have ever joked that you’re “in danger of becoming a Cat Lady,” well… I’m sorry—you probably already ARE one!

But in case you’re still uncertain, I’m happy to offer this handy scoring system:

Cat Lady? Who, ME?? #1: PHOTOS. You might be a Cat Lady if…

…you’re thinking of writing a “cat lady” post and go looking for photos to accompany it and realize that…

[kanasmith13]

Allow Me to Enunciate This Clearly In the years since Jon married me, I've lost count of the number of people who have apologized for swearing around me.

[kanasmith13]

"and stuff like that until she died."

“and stuff like that until she died.”

How’s THAT for a strong finish? Thus ended my first book.

Back when “book” meant folded sheets of gradeschool writing paper (blue dotted lines to guide your letter-heights) stapled within a construction-paper cover and illustrated in Crayola. Come to think of it, “Annie Ant” also became my first publishedwork (a result of living in such a small town its news-starved local paper printed the…

[kanasmith13]

"Hello My Name Is"

“Hello My Name Is”

This morning a customer didn’t bother to tell me his name, just went straight to spelling it.

Yeah, it was one of THOSE names. Not as confounding as some, but definitely not one I would have gotten right without having him spell it out.

My sister and I grew up with a maiden name we always had to spell. Now she’s a Jones and I’m a Smith!

On the other end of the phone my customer…

[kanasmith13]

How to Read the New York Times (the A.D.D. Edition)

How to Read the New York Times (the A.D.D. Edition)

Do you ever try to retrace the mental rabbit-trail that somehow connected the thing you WERE doing with the thing you find yourself doing NOW? If you’re like me, that rabbit trail may take several days to loop around to its starting point (assuming it even does). But if you’re one of those Focused People With Organized Heads who completes an entire task before taking up the next, you may not…

[kanasmith13]

How God Talks

I’ve often wished that God would just text me.

Hey, girl, turn around and say something to that silent person you just passed. She needs a smile. And while you’re at it, tell her she has beautiful hands, because that will make her think of playing her piano, and she’s been missing her music without realizing it. Oh, and that other guy over there? His name is Michael, and he’s going to find the…

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Vacation Metrics (a Blog from the Back of the Bike)

A stop at my favorite lighthouse at Yaquina Head

This week’s metrics might be miles (on the motorcycle) or meters (SCUBA diving)… Or we might just measure the days in smiles! Whatever the maps and the dive tables have to say about it, we’ve been purely enjoying…

Coastal Highway 101

Whenever we get to this part of the country, a requisite stop is Gracie’s Sea Hag for a bread-bowl of their…

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Surprise! It’s the Ocean!

Coffee and a map… and open road!

I usually start any travel with a carefully-planned itinerary, complete with reservations and budgeted activities. My journal pages ahead of a trip will be filled with addresses and prices and confirmation numbers… But yesterday we climbed into our truck with just a map and our coffee and our camping and diving gear, hooked up the motorcycle trailer, and headed…

[kanasmith13]

Go, Go, Glow

Red bike at the Red House (my AA home group)

I joked in a post last year that “you never see a motorcycle parked outside a psychiatrist’s office,” but last week that’s exactly where I parked my bike. So okay—riding a motorcycle doesn’t actually cancel out my need for mental-health meds, but it sure does put a grin on my face.  A manager said this week that I’ve been glowingsince I started showing…

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Setting Sail: the Launch of a Serial Novel

Setting Sail: the Launch of a Serial Novel

I’ve been writing “creative nonfiction” for years–-my Master’s thesis in poetry, essays (for introspection), freelance articles (for pay), and  this blog (for joy)… But I haven’t touched fiction-writing since I was a schoolkid.

Until last summer, when I did.

Not sure exactly why, but this person called Gayla wanted to go whaling, so I let her. And she turned out pretty stubbornly not to fit in to…