elk in switzerland

I have known my good friend Louise for almost twenty years now. She has been an inspiration to me and an example of how to integrate artistic pursuits into a full time job at home. Through the years she's always been adept at staying creative in the middle of the sometimes mundane, at times hectic…

It was one of the hottest days of the summer but I was crawling around in the attic, scraping dusty boxes across the plywood floor, opening them up, searching for that old box, the one with my wedding dress in it. And there it was in the corner, hidden behind the Christmas ornaments, it was…

I've been taking the off-label, psychoactive drug LSD for most of my life. Not the trippy, psychedelic one but the boring one known as long slow distance to those of us in the running world. I guess you could say it's my drug of choice although a lot of days I grapple with the choosing part.…

It's never easy. You avoid it, you wait around until some perfect moment presents itself, but it never does. You put it off, thinking that your kids are smarter, more informed than most. You wait and you procrastinate and you even start to think it's an imposition and not really your personal responsibility at all.…

It was early October in Montana, and already there was a bite in the air even inside of our heated rental cabin. We busily gathered snacks and extra layers, getting ready to spend the day hiking in the old forests of Yellowstone with our son as a guide. Lewis had it in mind to find…

Just a bit of slimy water beneath the eaves on the side of the house, it hardly even qualifies as a fish pond. A plastic, fifty-five gallon, kidney-shaped container surrounded by rocks. I didn't care about the stupid thing when we left for Switzerland, I was tired of maintaining it and I knew there were…

Everything's changed since we've been gone. The other night when I was lying in the tub, I tried to take it all in. I slipped down deep and let the water creep up behind my neck as I peered out across the calm, still surface, gazing at a sort of imaginary horizon near my toes.…

It's my last run here in Switzerland.  I'm trying to decide which course I'll take as my final farewell to this country that has been our home for a year and a half. And since our apartment is on the edge of a mountain full of endless trails, I have many choices, each route offering…

I hate the annoying periods when nothing sparks my attention and I feel dull and uncreative. It's uncomfortable because I feel somewhat diffuse and unfocused, lacking purpose. I call these times my grocery store moments. The mood is characterized by the static, generic feel of the supermarket. The drugged, heavy sensation that drips in my…

The Baltic Sea flows through the port of Copenhagen and the city's vibrant culture revolves around its vigorous current. Fishing boats, huge barges, cruise ships, even kayaks all pump busily through the canals. Everyone is drawn to the water, a gathering place to bike, skateboard or to sit at cafes and eat open-faced sandwiches (smörgåsbord). And…

Looking back now, it was the summer when everything changed. It was 1974 and I was eleven years old, not exactly a child but not nearly a teenager yet. My family was poised to move to a new city where I was excited to make new friends and even have a new identity if I…

Last week I spent two days without my husband and also without my internet connection. You haven't lived until you've dealt with a Swiss cable company employee for an entire afternoon. I did my best  to decipher the loud, guttural Swiss-German commands over the phone. And I tried to translate the annoyed and impatient words…

A few days ago, I was sitting on the steps outside our apartment, and I heard a bird I'd never heard before. It had a restless call, full of fluster. And, just as I realized what it was, I spotted it's huge dappled wings wafting down through the pine tree. It was an owl. The…

My son is a big hiker. Last fall he trekked down the coast of Portugal, averaging thirty or so miles a day. Long, silent hours spent all alone on a windy expanse of rocky coastline. I asked him what he thought about during all of the silence - how did he fill it? Did he…

They are the perfect family members. They never fail to show up, greeting us at the door, no matter what kind of day they've had. They accept what we have to offer and rarely complain, even if they disagree. They sense when our emotions are out of whack and never fail to come to our…

The young graduates strode briskly across the small stage, with red satin sleeves flapping at their sides. Their smiles were wide and frozen, like they knew they were supposed to be feeling elated, but weren't completely convinced. They seemed in a hurry to be done - out of there and on to someplace else. Like…

Some days the ideas just won't come. The morning feels stale, with little possibility for creative inspiration. I want the words, the ideas, to percolate and drip down with my morning coffee. I crave a jolt to my brain that will flow down my arm and distill onto the page. I cast about for any…

Last night, while doing the dishes, I looked out the window at the most glorious sunset. It was the dramatic, spectacular kind, with bright orange and cadmium yellow smeared across the entire sky. It had edges of dusky violet that glowed. I called to my husband, told him he should come over to look.And I…

On the other side of the mountain, behind our apartment lies the Zürich zoo. Many days on my run, I follow the wooded trails that lead to the large enclosure that houses the famous Asiatic elephants. They are big favorites of the tourists here. But it makes me sad to go there, to imagine those…

My uncle is still waiting to die. Last night I woke up and thought about him, lying prone, still and silent, just like me. I imagined him underneath his blankets, breathing in and out softly. But while my own thoughts kept percolating restlessly, I really hoped that his were not. I hoped that he was…